SEGA is producing the official video game of the Olympic Games – London 2012™ – to be released in June for Playstation 3, PC and Xbox 360. Here is a video showing the interior of the Aquatics Centre, looking very impressive with Omega OSB 11 starting blocks and everything.
At the USA Swimming Columbus Grand Prix in Ohio yesterday, Michael Phelps won the 200 butterfly in 1:55.32, bettering the 4-year-old meet record of 1:57.40 that Kaio Almeida swam in 2008. The 200 fly is just 1 of 4 individual events that Phelps has won gold in at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics (the others being the 100 butterfly, the 200 IM and the 400 IM), but the one that Phelps himself has named as his ‘signature event’. If Phelps should win one of these at the London Olympics, he will be the first male swimmer ever to win individual gold medals for the same event at three successive Olympics (Dawn Fraser and Krisztina Egerszegi having done it in the women’s division).
As listed here on SwimNews.com, after 8 days of trials at the London Aquatics Centre, Great Britain selected 38 swimmers for its home Games squad, with relays to be confirmed and additions to be made at the ASA in Sheffield in June. On the last day of Trials, Daniel Fogg became 3rd Brit ever under 15 minutes in the 1500 free with a 14:55.30, with David Davies also qualifying in 15:00.73. Fran Halsall matched Inge De Bruijn‘s fastest ever 50m freestyle in textiles with a 24.13, and Amy Smith also qualified with a 24.80. On an interesting sidenote, Halsall, Hannah Miley and Sarah Sjöström all wore Arena Powerskin Carbon Pro suits at this meet. See video from the 50 freestyle here on tvswimming.org
Icelandic breaststroker and 3-time Olympian Jakob Jóhann Sveinsson and (in white) coach Klaus Juergen Ohk at the Dubai 2010 World Short Course Swimming Championships. Friends we tag along with if possible, you might remember them from the 2011 Faroe Island vs Iceland Dual Meet video interviews. By the way, notice those bolstered seats, I think every single seat in that great Dubai arena was of (alt least) that quality.
When Australia’s best swimmers fight for Olympic selections this week, most including Leisel Jones and Libby Trickett will leave the latest in swimsuit technology on the rack, unconvinced by the Speedo Fastskin3 racing system that they helped launch last December.
Australian swimmers are demanding their governing body declare how much money has been spent to bankroll the return of comeback stars Ian Thorpe, Michael Klim and Libby Trickett amid rumors of “six-figure handshakes”. According to The Daily Telegraph, it is understood that in the team agreements, where rankings determine pay, Thorpe was given AUS $100,000 while triple Olympic champion Stephanie Rice was offered just $12,500.
(Image courtesy of Morton Lin, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Interesting fact, courtesy of Elizabeth Simmonds on Twitter
Was weird hearing the live commentary underwater during the race.. Very surreal hearing ur 50m split times blasted through submerged space!
— Elizabeth Simmonds (@QueenMond) March 9, 2012
And hilarious follow-up tweet
Also just got asked by a 6 year old if I would do him the honour of coming to his house to play tomorrow. Best chat up line ever..
— Elizabeth Simmonds (@QueenMond) March 9, 2012
Despite of having less than 50,000 inhabitants, it is a common saying here in the Faroe Islands, that you’ll find Faroese where ever you go. Like here at the Dubai 2010 World Short Course Swimming Championships, where we got to meet two Faroese families living there, and where that fair-haired boy with the #1 finger had even swum in the brand new competition pool before Pál.
That boy’s got an outboard motor for legs, splits 34.23 – 37.40 – 38.09 – 37.14 – 36.87 – 37.57 – 37.87 – 37.68 = 4:56.88 (pffft, no kick in the end ;-). Norway’s Gard Kvale predicts him to be 2nd behind Vanderkaay in the 400 freestyle at the US Trials.
[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/GardKvale/status/178333755969249280″]
