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Thorpe and Klim to compete against each on Friday

Jan 11, 2012

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by

rokur

in Competition

Update, not ‘tomorrow’ (as in Thursday), but on Friday …

It has been six years since Ian Thorpe and Michael Klim last went head-to-head in a competitive 100m freestyle race, but tomorrow they’ll do it again, returning to the same Melbourne venue for the Victorian state titles where Thorpe pipped Klim at the nationals in 2006 with a 49.28 against 49.38. But, Klim might have a problem, as the telegraph writes:

A decision will be made on Thursday whether 34-year-old Michael Klim, another Olympic champion on the comeback trail, will swim at the state titles after suffering a setback with a shoulder injury.

Read also The Sydney Morning Herald
Gator Swim Club head coach Bryan Woodward arrested for solicitation of a child

Jan 11, 2012

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by

rokur

in Safety

Read SwimmingWorld Magazine: Bryan Woodward, head coach of the Gator Swim Club in Gainesville, Florida, was arrested this Monday on charges of the use of a computer to solicit a child for sex and for travel to seduce a child for sex. He is currently being held in Osceola County Jail, but will be heading to home confinement to await trial.

See also Orlando Sentinel and The Gainesville Sun
Missy Franklin chooses NCAA over (a lot of) money

Jan 11, 2012

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by

rokur

in Gossip, Organization

16-year-old Missy Franklin has said no to a lot of money these past months, according to the Wall Street Journal more than $130,000, because if she accepts them, she will be ineligible to compete at the NCAA. No to $20,000 for winning the USA Swimming’s Grand Prix series trophy last summer, $50,000 for finishing second overall in the FINA World Cup series in November, plus $23,000 for winning several races. It is estimated that she could “pick up a few hundred thousand dollars” in the run-up to the Olympics, so it is no wonder that her parents called for a family meeting when facing the FINA World Cup series $73,000, to make sure she had some perspective. With them at the same time having to pay up some $13,000 to follow her to the Shanghai 2011 World Championships, and be her agent as NCAA rules won’t even allow her one of those.

“I was able to say, ‘You know the $73,000 you just made in four days of swimming? You see how hard Mommy has to work to earn that in an entire year?’” said D.A. Franklin, who works with developmentally disabled patients. “Because I don’t think you quite get it when you’re 16. You don’t understand what $73,000 or $100,000 really means.”

Read more here and here in the Wall Street Journal.
CC photo #12: HajÃ³s AlfrÃ©d plaque at the National Swimming Pool in Budapest

Jan 11, 2012

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by

rokur

in CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, History

This commemorative plaque says according to Google Translate:

HajÃ³s AlfrÃ©d
1878 – 1955.

Double Olympic gold medalist and design engineer.

At the first Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, winner in the men’s 100 and 200 freestyle. At the 1924 Paris Olympics, silver medal winner in the stadium plan art competition.
Designer of the Hungarian National Swimming Pool.

Hungarian Olympic Committee.

(Image of HajÃ³s AlfrÃ©d is in the public domain according to Wikimedia Commons)
Berns answers the SuSvim “can you do this” taunt

Jan 11, 2012

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by

rokur

in Can you do this?, Dryland, Fun, Training

There is a (friendly) verbal battle going on on Facebook between RenÃ© Thomsen headcoach of Berns in Denmark and JÃ³n Bjarnason headcoach of SuSvim on the Faroe Isles. Now RenÃ© answers with JÃ³n’s “Can you do this?” video series with “1 of 50”. This looks promising! :-)
Waterproof Toshiba tablet can even charge wirelessly while underwater

Jan 11, 2012

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by

rokur

in Technology

This year’s CES 2012 has been pouring over with waterproof gadgetry, including the Pantech Elements tablet for AT&T, the Fujitsu Arrows tablet still only for the Asian marked, the QooQ tablet already available on the European market, and now this Toshiba concept tablet that one-ups the three others by being able to recharge wirelessly via magnetic signals while underwater. Via The Seattle Times.
Brett Hawke still thinks Cesar Cielo is the 100 man to beat

Jan 10, 2012

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by

rokur

in Competition

Despite James Magnussen’s dominant displays in Shanghai last summer, USA-based sprint coach Brett Hawke from Australia still believes that his former charge, world recorder-holder in the men’s 100 freestyle, Cesar Cielo is the man to beat come London Olympics 2012.

‘I still think Cesar is the best swimmer in the world,” he said. ”It’s going to be a great battle, but I wouldn’t be handing the gold medal off to James at this point in time. When you’ve got an athlete like Cesar and a couple of others around the world who are very focused and determined and have the ability, I think you’re going to see a pretty good race.

”Cesar has a strong second 50, it’s not as strong as Magnussen’s â€¦ but Cesar has death-defying speed.

”There’s very few athletes in the world who can hold the water and pull it the way Cesar can, so I would be more fearful of that type of power than I would a second 50.”

Read more here in the Sydney Morning Herald

Image courtesy of EmmyMik, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Temporary job opening at SuSvim

Jan 10, 2012

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by

rokur

in Faroe Islands, Training

JÃ³n Bjarnason head coach of SuÃ°uroyar Svimjifelag is searching for a temp, see Facebook:

“If you are a job seeking swim coach, or if you know someone who is, let me know. Perhaps you would like to experience the Faroe Islands for a few weeks, starting in less than 3 weeks so hurry up :-)
Let me know, the pay is good and I promise you will love it here.”
Partially deaf dancer gets breakthrough underwater hearing aid

Jan 10, 2012

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by

rokur

in Technology

30-year-old Kirsty Swain finished fourth in the BBC talent show So You Think You Can Dance, this summer. She has been hearing-impaired since childhood, and suffered exclusion and embarrasment from wearing hearing aids, struggling with hearing rythm while dancing, and with getting hearing aid that could withstand the sweats and rigours of an active lifestyle. But now, with these waterproof and shock resistant Aquaris from Siemens, she might hear even better than ‘normal’ people at the pool. Read Sutton Guardian.

“Iâ€™ve been swimming with it and couldnâ€™t believe how amazing it was. I could hear people standing beside the pool chatting as I swam underwater, more than most people, which made me feel quite special.”