If Ever There Was An Advert For Learning to Swim... And Paying Attention In Class...

... This is it.



PS. Funniest line of the entire video comes at the beginning: Dude 1 - "How is that possible?" Dude 2 - "It's the army, bro".

PPS. I know these guys are doing a hugely brave task in difficult circumstances... but driving a truck through 10 feet deep water was never going to end well.

PPS. As soon as there are some meaningful swimming competitions taking place again, I promise this blog will get back to actual performance swimming content!

Quick, Watch This Before USA Swimming Take It Down

 I don't know what just happened. I was going about my Sunday evening when I happened upon a link that pretty much changed the way I watch swimming forever. No joke. Like Neo in The Matrix, next time I watch a 400m IM, I won't see water and swimmers, I will see streaming green computer code.

The link below is a guide to using various race stats to help swimmers. Brilliantly, it uses Katie Hoff's 400 IM and Rebecca Soni's 200 Breast as case studies. It is stat-heavy, but well worth sticking with if you are swim-geek-inclined. Distance Per Cycle, Turn Time, Tempo Trainer, Cadence, Cycle Count.... there is no going back.

QUICK: There is no way USA Swimming should be handing this stuff out for free. If you are a coach/swimmer/fan... watch this.

This is how the best do it. As anyone who sat in the back of class knows, if you can see what the smartest kid is doing.... COPY IT!


PS. Anyone even thinking of getting into the anti-clockwise Freestyle Fast Lane lane when I go to my next public session... watch out. I am going to be distance-per-cycle-tempo-dougieing-streamline-lengthing all over the place.

Janet Evans Comeback Update (With Video)

We haven't checked in on the Janet Evans comeback story for a while, so here is a treat for you... a video from her recent 800m race at the Southern Pacific Masters meet in California.

Three things I love about this video:

1) The camera angle. We are watching this race as if we are sitting at the end of her lane. Talk about getting up close and personal to the action.
2) She is still sporting her famous windmill style stroke. Hey, it took19 years for someone to break her world record and she still has the 3rd fastest 800m Free time of all-time, why change?
3) The commentator. He manages to make Janet Evans older with every passing comment. She apparently won gold at the 1972 Olympics and was an age grouper in the sixties?!

British Swimming Finds a New Star

Express and Star Water baby Caitlin Morris has caused a sensational splash by swimming unaided across the nine-metre width of a pool – at the age of just two. Caitlin, from Stourport, could swim before she could walk and her doggy-paddle style stroke got her across the width in 47 seconds.

YES! We've done it! Britain has found their very own 'wonderkid'! Step aside Michael Phelps, Ian Thorpe, Missy Franklin etc... Caitlin Morris will soon make you all look like Eric Moussambani. Here is a serious question: Will London 2012 come too soon for Caitlin Morris?


Did anyone else shed a tear when they read 'Caitlin could swim before she could walk'? This is exactly what we should be doing here in Britain. For the record, I 100% agree with this new trend of water-dwelling athletes. It is the future of our sport.

If a major sports agency is not actively trying to sign up Caitlin, then they need to find a new profession. Why? Because Caitlin Morris IS 'Straight Cash, Homey'.

(Thanks to Swimmer's Daily for the video)

Image Quiz: The new London Aquatics Centre or Screenshots from the Michael Phelps swimming game?

Are these images of the new London Aquatics Centre or screenshots from the Michael Phelps swimming game?

Whichever one it is, it looks stunning.

Ian Thorpe Aiming To Improve His 'Perfect Stroke'

It's been a while since the last Ian Thorpe update, so here is your Thorpedo fix. The Aussie superstar and his coach Gennadi Touretski have changed his 'perfect' technique, according to The Australian's Nicole Jeffrey.

Key points:

• Touretski is changing Thorpe's technique to that of a sprinter as opposed to his previous style, which was "perfect for the 400m" according to the Russian coach.

• His technique now looks like a hybrid of his old stroke and that of god the sprint tsar Alex Popov (see below).



• The technical changes - more hip rotation, higher elbows.

• Thorpe is swimming 50km a week as well as doing dry land sessions for strength and conditioning. In a new development, Thorpe will also play tennis twice a week to help Australia's shaky tennis team improve his co-ordination.

• He will swim at November's world cup meets in Singapore, Beijing and Tokyo. He will swim Freestyle races in Singapore and then experiment with other events in Bejing and Tokyo. The move away from Freestyle in Beijing in Tokyo is aimed at racing with freedom and also not to show all his cards too early.

• According to Touretski "I think potentially, with his power and talent, there's no limit on how fast he can swim."

London 2012 Marathon Swimming Test Event - Eyewitness Report (Pulitzer Edition)

The things I do for this blog. Last Saturday I should have been chilling out, recovering creatively ahead of another hard week of swim blogging... instead I braved London transport on a weekend and headed down to Hyde Park for the London 2012 Marathon Swimming Test Event. Here is what I learnt, heard and saw (in picture form)


What I learnt

- Melissa Gorman (AUS) is kind of tall...

- Eva Fabian (USA) is kind of short...

- If a swimmer was ever to replace Chuck Norris as the world's toughest guy, Thomas Lurz (GER) is probably your guy on looks alone...

- The setting for this race is incredible. It doesn't get much better than Hyde Park on a normal summer's day, but with the added Olympic buzz thrown in it will be electric...

- You can walk alongside the swimmers for most of the course... or there is seating/standing with commentary and a big video screen. I kind of preferred walking...

- You can't rent a pedalo while the race is happening...

What I heard

I didn't make it into the post-race press conference, so I went in gonzo-style. This was overheard on the walk to the drug testing room with men's winner Richard Weinberger, his coach, two drug testers and a swim blogger walking just a little too close to them to be considered normal:

- Water temperature was great...
- He tries to swim 80k every week...
- The best way to put on weight is to drink McDonald's milkshakes, which are full of protein and calcium...

What I saw

The Setting

Pulitzer Prize Entry 1

When Your Reflexes Are Too Fast For Your Own Good

I kind of feel bad for the guy, no way was this his fault, the starter held them way too long.