Guess who's back in the suitsuit again - Mr. Michael Phleps!

I bet Under Armour is partially responsible for this change of mind - just a guess.

 From Swimming World:

"...Baltimore Bullet has grown bored with the lack of structure of his current lifestyle and will shortly be back in the saddle in Colorado Springs with mentor Bob Bowman. ..." 

[Link]

Open water starts causing heart attacks with those athletes with preconditions?

This clip was from a Jerry Lewis movie called Cinderfella; herein he runs up 72-steps in less than 8-seconds and suffers a mild heart attack when he steps off camera.

My mother worked on this movie behind the camera and told me all when I was child. (We still have the thank-you letter that Jerry Lewis wrote to her as well), Perhaps going from a resting state to an all out sprint could be the cause of heart attacks with those with a predisposition in place.

Note how the Escape from Alcatraz 2013 race start was conducted as an example in the second video. No acclimatization to the water, just jump sprint and go so as to get out of the way or as a reaction to the shock.

USA Today: Triathlon deaths infographic - Swimming leads in fatalities.

UPDATE: Disturbing quote from Rob Urbach, CEO of USA Triathlon:. " ...said the number of deaths simply reflects the sport's rapid growth. Between 2003 and 2011, annual participants in U.S. triathlons grew from 193,000 to almost a half-million..."

With that in mind, when you compare that there was a single triathlon swim death in 2003 versus 9-fatalities in 2011, why is it that when the sport grew 259% in those years the fatalities grew a disproportionate 900%?

From 2003 to 2012 Nearly 4xs the amount of athletes died during the swim than they did on the bike. When compared to running more than 15xs more swimmers died than runners.

Possible causes: Wetsuit fit, swim conditions, frantic race starts, heart defects, stress. However, one doctor who is a triathlete has his own theory which has been discussed here on the blog in the comments section:

Dr. Rudy Dressendorfer, a longtime triathlete, disagrees. He thinks the problems arise when athletes do not warm up before starting the swim. Going from a resting stage to a sprint can put pressure on the heart, and a violent escalation of blood flow can shatter capillaries in the lungs, causing pulmonary edema.

[Link]

I completely agree.

Ironman tri governing body making changes to the swim portion or their races!

The changes are very good; FINA should take note. Almost all of the suggestions (notably the pre-race swim warm-up) that I and others made on this blog including some innovative ideas such as numbered buoys for easy mapping during the event of a rescue are excellant. Apparently somebody cares within a governing body that involves swimming.

 I applaude the World Triathlon Corp:

From Bloomberg:

"... All North American Ironman events will also include a pre-race, in-water warm-up when possible. In addition, if the water temperature is below 52 Fahrenheit (11 Celsius) or above 88 on race day, the swim portion will be canceled or shortened, World Triathlon said in a statement. ..."

[Link]

Take advice from this cow, summer is coming so wear sunscreen!

This poor cow; I think it is a cow? Do cows have horns? Well, she only put the sunscreen on her face and look what happened to her. - Wear sunscreen!

The photo is entitled: "Cowliday", uploaded by belgianchocolate to their Flickr account

This is a re-post from 2007. Here is fresh information circa 2013 on how to correctly read sunscreen labels and protect yourself in the best way possible: [Link]

Montage of Sun Yang's Technique from different angles

He seems to slap the water or his hand enters a little late compared with his right hand entry. Nonetheless, Sun Yang will most lately be considered the best distance swimmer ever come 2016.

A "Google-Glass type" of swim goggle that reports pacing, heart beat and distance right on the lens of the goggle!

You can also export the data to your computer. From Med Gadget: [Link]

8-miles away from land with daunting swells a brother & sister take 7-to-12-hours to swim to shore after their fishing boat sinks.

A brother and sister are on a fishing trip in Puerto Rico and in the middle of their struggle to reel in a marlin their chartered boat begins to take on water. It's pretty bad and it's near sundown, the best the captain can do is radio in their GPS coordinates but within 5-minutes of the distress call the boat is gone.

The captain advises that they all remain in a group as they float helplessly at sea and within an hour of the distress call a rescue helicopter flies overhead but the misses locating the crew and passengers due to the waning light. Consequently the helicopter is forced to head back to shore.

It's dark and now everybody is officially stranded 8-miles out like the 2003 film, Open Water. If you saw the movie which was loosely based on actual events then you know that it does not end well.

The captain continues to argue that the group should stay together, a logical argument, but who wants to spend 12-hours in darkness when land is in sight. Hence, Dan Suski and sister Kate Suski decide to swim in.

AP reports that the swells were twice as tall as they were but I find that unlikely since 10-foot seas or so would be be a serious small craft advisory and vessels such as theirs would have never left shore.  Nonetheless, I suspect the swells sure looked that way when they were swimming for their lives.

Somewhere between 7-to-12-hours later the couple makes it to shore but the swim in isn't easy. Their initial contact with land had them swimming towards steep cliffs and they were forced to swim some more till they found a small, rugged, beach safe enough to swim in. Once safely secured in a hospital they were tended too and releases. Later they found out that the captain and the crew were rescued some 23-hours after the sinking.

Was Dan Suski and sister Kate Suski wise to make a go of it? The result says yes. However, if any of us were faced with the same circumstance, should we take that same opportunity and our swim skill sets and do likewise? I would have for when faced with floating in an ocean for 12-hours plus when I could swim in to shore in well under 5-hours depending on conditions, I too would opt in for the swim.  

Here is a link to the AP article chronicling the events written above: [Link]

Beyoncé in H&M Summer Swimsuit Collection 2013

She is a swimmer you know and I have never seen a swimmer swim an easy-50 as relaxed as Beyonce. See this post for details: [Link]

Russian Swimmer Arkady Vyatchanin to switch nationalities!

Arkady Vyatchanin is a Russian backstroker  currently involved in a spat with with Russian Swimming. Their disagreements have gotten so bad that Vyatchanin had this to say: "I believe that I can offer nothing else to Russian swimming,” [...] “I will continue my swimming performances but not as a Russian athlete any more. I will decide which country's team to join in the near future."

I don't expect Vyatchanin to swim for the US despite that he trains here in Florida. I suspect he will offer himself up like a "free agent" and swim for a country that offers the most opportunities. The United Arab Emirates, perhaps?

I commend him for his decision - I would have no problem with American athletes doing likewise if it meant that they could finally take care of their families and/or support themselves.

From the Daily Times:

MOSCOW: Two-time Olympic medal winner Arkady Vyatchanin has decided to quit swimming for Russia and represent another country, the Allsport news agency reported Monday.

[Link]

I am on Twitter now but I am not really talking about swimming very much!

I am primarily linking to and posting some artwork, design links, talking about finely crafted watches, internet politics and business.

Join me for a 140-character conversation: [Link]

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) secretly bought Nazi filmmaker, Leni Riefenstahl's, "Olympia"

Above is an excerpt of the film with athletes swimming the 200-breast. Note the technique differentiations but more importantly why was it okay for the IOC to buy, distribute and profit form a  Nazi propaganda film?

It's creator, Leni Riefenstahl was a brilliant filmmaker born in Berlin, Germany in 1902 and died in Germany in 2003 at 101-years-old - Riefenstahl contributions to cinematic arts have been emulated and celebrated by film historians, film critics, the Associated Press, The BBC. and even Jodi Foster who had hoped to star as Riefenstahl in a biopic. I am glad it was never made.

Now, moving on to Riefenstahl's dark side: after reading Adolphe Hitler's manifesto or Mein Kampf she had this to say:

"I had an almost apocalyptic vision that I was never able to forget. It seemed as if the Earth's surface were spreading out in front of me, like a hemisphere that suddenly splits apart in the middle, spewing out an enormous jet of water, so powerful that it touched the sky and shook the earth". 

According to the Daily Express of 24 April 1934, "The book made a tremendous impression on me. I became a confirmed National Socialist [NAZI] after reading the first page. I felt a man who could write such a book would undoubtedly lead Germany. I felt very happy that such a man had come..." [Link]

As a self confessed Nazi she goes on to make two of the greatest totalitarian propaganda films ever made, Olympia and Triumph of the Will. The most terrible thing about these films is that she made Nazis, along with the help of noted clothing designer, Hugo Boss, look really awesome. Yes Hugo Boss circa 1932 was a nazi: [Link]

Moving forward to present time, Germany sold their portion of the rights to Riefenstahl's Olympia to the IOC in the hope that the IOC would allow Leipzig to win the bid for the Olympic Games in 2012. (London got them obviously) Riefenstahl, still alive in 2002 sold her 70% ownership for whatever reason but the fact remains the IOC bought the rights to a film sponsored by a Nazi regime and one time card carrying Nazi.

Read more on the sale at the Local.de

In 1964, West Germany drew up a contract with Riefenstahl, which agreed that while both parties claimed exclusive ownership of the films, the director was to hold the usage rights and claim 70 percent of the royalties from them. Riefenstahl was also allowed to choose where and when her films were screened - a potentially politically-explosive responsibility the West German state decided it could do without. In 1979 she refused an application by the Free Democrats (FDP) to screen "Triumph" at an anti-Nazi rally. 

[Link]

What a gal but the bigger question is, was it really that important for the IOC to disseminate such a product like that for a profit? You know their biggest purchasers will be white supremacist groups

KATINKA HOSSZU Swimmer of the year for 2013?

Katinka Hosszu is a 23-year Hungarian swimmer who has competed is three Olympic games: Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, and London 2012. From London till now she has accomplished the following: Dominated the FINA Short Course World Championships in Istanbul earning five total medals for her native Hungary, NCAA Champion in the 200 Fly, first in the 400 IM at Arena Grand Prix in Mesa, and it is only May.