Sorry for not posting anything yesterday, was out on a boat trip before trying to juggle a company dinner with our swimming federation congress and my younger daughter performing music. Weather was nice, which is when these islands beat everything :-)
Hungary’s Cseh László, most valuable swimmer at the Debrecen 2012 European Swimming Championships.
(Renumbered from 160 to 220 on August 7, due to bad counting back then)
The Canon Crackers of the Pistol Shrimp is an eight-minute teaser for a proposed feature-length called Sound of the Oceans and has been made using a new method of capturing high-quality surround sound underwater, believed to be the first ever made with ‘real underwater surround sound’. Warning, featuring “a seriously terrible voice-over”, via Televisual
Canon Crackers of the pistol shrimp from Ambient Recording on Vimeo.
What do the stars of the Australian Olympic Team think of when they think of London? James Magnussen, Anna Meares, Stephanie Rice and the Team share a few surprises…
Now when I think of London, I think of mild weather and light drizzle! :-D
Via the17thman
Yesterday The Wall Street Journal brought this story on how some American coaches including Rowdy Gaines cry foul over NCAA teams subsidizing world-class instructions for foreign Olympians, also called ‘the enemy’. Naming athletes like New Zealand swimmer Lauren Boyle and Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry. My first reaction was, ‘well, your loss’, knowing that many an American college would love to have swimmers like our Pál Joensen setting the pace during endurance sets.
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/swimhardy/status/210839194464026624″]
Others have gone to greater lengths, Casey Barrett of Caps and Goggles suggesting as a former ‘enemy’ that, yes, by going to the States, foreigners also improve all those young entitled American kids around them. The American Swimming Coaches Association ASCA outright condemning the article in an open letter, and SwimNews seemingly agreeing.
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/Rolandschoeman/status/210836406048792576″]
I don’t know, when it comes to actual scholarships, it must be up to the Americans to decide if it is worth it or not. And if not, I expect an immediate improvement in for instance the European training environments, with all our champions staying at home :-)
A dare-devil cameraman narrowly avoided becoming dinner after a saltwater crocodile he was baiting on a remote Arnhem Land beach had a go at his video camera, via Nothing To Do With Arbroath
Tyler Clary with the Speedo Hydralign Goggles & Center Snorkel, via the17thman
Austrian Freediver Herbert Nitsch attempted a 800ft / 244m ‘no limits’ dive today in Santorini, Greece, managing a confirmed target depth and re-ascend up until the planned stop depth of 10m, but then felt unwell and had to be escorted to the surface where he received an oxygen regulator and went down again for a 15 minutes decompression dive. Conscious and communicated, his condition was still critical enough to require an air transfer to a decompression champer in Athens, now showing strong signs of recovery though still in intensive care under close observation. It is doubtful whether this will be accepted as a world record, without a clear and successful surface protocol and no AIDA judges present, but still, -244 meters. Read Deeper Blue here and here.
Finland’s Noora and Jenna Laukkanen competing at the Debrecen 2012 European Swimming Championships. I was told that they are sisters, Noora (1993) Finnish record holder in the 200 breaststroke (2:28.30) and Jenna (1995) in the 100 (1:09.39). In Debrecen they competed fiercely, Jenna leading up until 150 and Noora then edging ahead 2:32.21 to 2:33.33.
