Naoya Tomita Gives This Blog A Shout-Out

It was only a matter of time before my public admiration for all things Japanese swimming was rewarded with a shout-out, and here it is. Naoya Tomita, World SC Champion and textile best time holder in the 200m Breast no less, gave his reasons for not swimming the event at this weekend's Japan Open as:

"...to build Speed and Endurance..."

So he's basically pulling out of the event to help this blog. Hey, I don't understand the reasoning, but I love the gesture. It's this type of selfless act that will keep me singing the praises of Japanese swimmers.

This is not a one-off event either, elite swimmers are bending over backwards to give dedications to this very site. Back in January, I was credited with helping Chloe Sutton during Open Water races:

“My biggest weakness is my lack of aggression. It’s just not in me to retaliate when others get nasty. I rely on my Speed and Endurance to get me through.”

My pleasure Chloe.



You think only swimmers name-drop their favourite London-based swimming blog? Coaches are getting in on the act too. Bill Furniss, coach of Rebecca Adlington, offered these kind words:

"At this point, 18 months away from London, we are doing training for both Speed and Endurance"

Totally understandable.

Today I'm laying down the challenge. Swimmers everywhere, unite. When a microphone is shoved in your face seconds after you've just busted a gut in the pool, don't bother with the usual media-training-induced sporting clichés, throw a dedication this way. Or, at the very least, get in a subtle mention of the words 'speed' and 'endurance'.