Australia head coach Leigh Nugent predicted on Friday that multiple Olympic champion Ian Thorpe would stun the swimming world by qualifying for the London Games next week. Eamon Sullivan doesn’t think Thorpe should be given a go on the Olympic team if he doesn’t qualify. Thorpe himself says he hasn’t been foxing, but has been ‘training the house down’. Huegill is unsure if it is enough, thinks he might have left it too late. Trickett says critics are judging Thorpe too harshly, asks people to give him a break.
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Head & Shoulders – Michael Phelps Commercial
Olympian Michael Phelps gets his head in the right place with Head & Shoulders Active Sport for Men. Via Michael Phelps on Facebook.
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Penguins on a Plane
On Delta Flight 1641 from San Antonio to Atlanta on March 8th, there were two “special guests” flying First Class, Pete & Penny Penguin from Sea World. Actually quite logical when you think about it, as they couldn’t possibly fly themselves. Via BuzzFeed
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The Telegraph on those Brits who didn’t qualify
Brilliant (but sad) read here on the Telegraph, on those Brits who didn’t qualify for the Olympics, and had “to trudge past the cameras and their celebrating colleagues and, still wet from the pool, try to articulate their disappointment in a strip-lit interview area in the bowels of the Aquatic centre”. And the harsh reality that awaits. Via Speed Endurance on Twitter.
After missing out in the same event Richard Webb, who won the 100m breaststroke last year and competed in the World Championships in 2009, revealed the cost of failing to qualify.
“I’ve not been on funding now for six months. I’ve been living off savings and I’m pretty much bankrupt so I’ll probably quit now,” said Webb. “I’ve driven myself into the ground living off credit cards and overdrafts and I can’t really afford to continue. If you look at the depth in this event in the sport there isn’t really space for me on the team any more. So I just have to move on.”
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CC photo #70: Max 5 persons on the bridge
A photo from the Stockholm leg of the 2010 FINA/Arena Swimming World Cup circuit. Sign says (in Swedish) “Max 5 personer pÃ¥ bryggan!”, which in English translates directly to “Max 5 persons on the bridge!”. Problem only that many of these didn’t really read Swedish, maybe didn’t care that much if they got wet, and were not just ‘persons’ but ‘coaches’ (as in often at least 0,1 tonne of weight). Oh well, the bridge held up fine :-)
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Michael Phelps before the Columbus Grand Prix
Michael Phelps spoke to the media before the 2012 Columbus Grand Prix
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James Cameron completed an 8,000-meter dive this week (!)
The following is an excerpt from an email from James Cameron to Don Walsh, co-pilot of the bathyscaphe Trieste, following Cameron’s successful (and record-breaking) 8,000-meter solo submarine dive in the “Deepsea Challenger” to the bottom of the New Britain Trench, Wednesday. Don Walsh will be joining the expedition in Guam, prior to Cameron’s 11,000-meter dive to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench. See for instance The New York Times and read the entire email here on deepseachallenge.com
“Sitting down there at 27000′, alone in the dark, with no comms, no contact whatsoever with the world so far above, and nothing but the ingenuity of the engineering to get me back… it’s simultaneously scary and exhilarating. It’s the precipice we put ourselves on by choice, to test ourselves and our machines. I configured the cameras to get a good shot of the weights coming off and hitting the seafloor in 3D, but I can’t say I spent an undue amount of time on the lighting. I wanted to see those babies jettisoned as quick as possible. It’s a good feeling when 350kg comes off, with the characteristic “SHOONK†as the weight carriages run down the slide-rails.”
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6 more spots filled on Britain’s Olympic roster
Joe Roebuck added the 200 IM to his Olympic program today with a new personal best time of 1:58.16 today, ahead of also qualifying James Goddard in 1:58.42. Francesca Halsall won the 100 freestyle with a 53.57, well within the qualification standard, with Amy Smith also qualifying in 54.01, and Rebecca Turner qualifying for the relay in 54.83. Stacy Tadd qualified in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:26.63. Read more here on swimming.org
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Diana Nyad goes for her Xtreme Dream again
It’s official, Diana Nyad will try again this summer to swim from Cuba to Florida.