Posted in: 07-2009

Double-duty in the Pool and Open Water

31.Jul.09   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Swimmers   |  (0) comments

After pulling off one of the major upsets in open water swimming history in the women's 5K race at the 2009 World Swimming Championships and then following up with a 10K race the next day, Melissa Gorman of Australia finished 7th in the 1500-meter freestyle in the pool, dropping her time by 7 seconds.

Melissa's schedule was tough, but it may be tough to out-distance Kristel Kobrich at these World Championships.* After finishing 6th in the 5K and 8th in the 10K the next day, Kristel moved to the pool where she finished 4th in the 1500-meter freestyle and tied for 8th in the 800-meter freestyle today - meaning that she has to do a swim-off to qualify for the finals.

* Eva Fabian of the USA swam both the 10K and 25K at last week's world championships.

Recap of the Women’s 25K World Championship

31.Jul.09   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Races   |  (0) comments

FINA provided a summary of the women's 25K races in Ostia Beach.

This is how FINA described the race held under wavy conditions:

Germany's Angela Maurer explained her victory, "My goal in Rome was a medal and I got gold. With the waves, it is important to swim in the lead. Although I like the heat and the waves, today there was a little too much."

Silver medalist Anna Uvarova of Russia explained her view of the course, "It was very difficult because of the sea. It was really wavy. I was very satisfied with her final sprint. In the last lap, I sped up. I swam very fast. When I realized I was third, I aimed at reaching the Italian girl (Federica Vitale) and I managed to overtake her."

Federica in turn explained her bronze-medal swim, "[The bronze medal] is the greatest thing I have done until now. This time I really wanted to make it. I gaveit everything I could in these six hours and over the last six months. I did my best, especially so I could win in my town."

FINA also gave some detailed race highlights:

After 1 hour and 50 minutes of swimming, Anna and three other favorites - Natalya Pankina of Russia, Kate Brookes-Peterson of Australia and Martina Grimaldi of Italy - shared the lead. After 3 hours and 30 minutes, as the competitors were finishing their sixth of ten laps, the situation remained unchanged except two swimmers had left the race: Zaira Cardenas of Mexico with serious jellyfish stings and Kate who was suffering from dehydration and exhaustion.

By the conclusion of their seventh lap, Natalya, who finished ninth, was leading, followed by Martina and Angela. These three set the pace for some time, but not without appearances at the front by 15-year-old Eva Fabian of the USA (shown on left after race) and Celia Barrot of France who finished fifth.

Federica started to make her move towards the lead and Margarita Dominguez of Spain was also regularly applying pressure. Margarita would end up taking the frustrating fourth place at the end.

With 1.5K to go, Margarita, Angela and Martina were battling it out for the medals. But unlike the men's 25K race, numerous other swimmers were right on their heels and they were facing a considerable challenge if they wanted to hang on for a medal. It was a very close, fast finish considering the distance they had swum. In the end , Angela's experience gave her the edge and her eighth world championship medal (2 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze).

Where Women Earn More Than Men

31.Jul.09   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Races   |  (0) comments

The male and female winners of the 3K Rondje Noordereiland race in Rotterdam were Koen Florijn in 44:33 and Wendy Meder in 46:12.

Koen Florijn won the Rie Mastenbroek Trofee and €1000, which he has to spend for clean water, and €200, Wendy won €250 as a cash prize.

Similar to the world of modeling, the women are compensated more than the men at Rondje Noordereiland.

Beautiful Island of Ist

31.Jul.09   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Races   |  (0) comments

In Croatia, the beautiful island of Ist in the Adriatic Sea is the site of the annual 4.2K Oko Benusica. With clear, warm waters, the Island Ist is extremely swimmable - and so small (9.5 square kilometers) that no vehicles on the island are necessary.

Travel to Island Ist can be made through Zadar in Croatia. For more information, contact Mladen Levacic at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

82 Years and Still Going Strong - Thanks to Leroy Sparks

31.Jul.09   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Races   |  (0) comments

The Leroy Sparks Goguac Lake Swim held its 82nd annual 1-mile race last week on Willard Beach in Michigan.

16-year-old Clay Youngquist won in in 19 minutes and 29 seconds after a neck-and-neck battle in the battle and up the beach with Stanford University's Rob Andrews of Kalamazoo.

"It was weird, because when we got into the shallow area, I started having really short strokes. So I was like, 'I can't do much more of this,' so I started running. Especially after a mile of hard swimming, you try to stand up and you feel all dizzy. It's a lot different than what we're used to, but it was fun. First time getting in, it was pretty cold. The course is definitely set up very organized and it was good. Not too seaweedy at all either."

Becca Mann defended her women's title in 22:17. "I kind of got nervous because I wasn't sure how I was going to swim it, but I just kind of went for it. I liked having a rower and spotter for support, but I liked the start this year because you didn't have to find your boat. You could just take off."

The event started in 1928 when local swimming coach Leroy Sparks established a summer swim program for children in Goguac Lake. Leroy is called "the father of swimming in Battle Creek" and gained a national reputation for his swimming and diving programs from 1943 - 1962. The event now sees participants from ages 9 to 86, including 82-year-old Don Korten who has done the race an incredible 44 times.

Photo and story by the Battle Creek Enquirer.

The Man Behind the Scenes at the World Championships

31.Jul.09   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Events   |  (0) comments

Andrea Prayer was the ever-optimistic, always-present, hard-working, far-forward-thinking race organizer of the open water races at the 2009 World Swimming Championships under very trying circumstances.

Under difficult conditions and tight deadlines, Andrea and his staff created an Open Water Village, costing over US$700,000, on Ostia Beach in Italy. The Open Water Village had everything for the athletes, coaches, support staff and fans. Andrea also coordinated with the live television coverage with Rai TV.

Andrea and his staff hosted an extraordinarily well-organized and much-appreciated competition for 152 athletes from 42 countries together with his colleagues at FINA and the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee. Thank you, Andrea.

James Pittar - Attempting the Ocean’s Seven

31.Jul.09   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Solo Challenges   |  (0) comments

James Pittar, the incredible blind swimmer, is more than halfway towards the first completion of the Ocean's Seven (to the best of our knowledge).

The Ocean's Seven includes (1) the Irish Channel between Ireland and Scotland, (2) the Cook Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand, (3) the Molokai Channel between Oahu and Molokai Islands in Hawaii, (4) the English Channel between England and France, (5) the Catalina Channel in Southern California, (6) the Tsugaru Channel in the northern Pacific Ocean between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido in Japan, and (7) the Strait of Gibraltar between Europe and Africa.

To date, James has completed a crossing of the English Channel, the Catalina Channel in Southern California, the Cook Strait and the Strait of Gibraltar.

He is currently planning his assaults on the Irish Channel, the Molokai Channel and the Tsugaru Channel which will be charity swims on behalf of the Fred Hollows Foundation, an organization whose vision was for a world where no one was needlessly blind.

It is our pleasure to help James plan and prepare for his Tsugaru Channel attempt in Japan.

A True Hero

31.Jul.09   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Races   |  (0) comments

We had the opportunity to speak with long-time USA Swimming open water swimming coach Rick Walker about his experiences at the 2009 World Swimming Championships as a referee in the women's 25K race.

"Eva Fabian and Emily Hanson [of the USA] did great. Eva led for a bit and so did Emily. They were in the race until the end," recalled Rick.

"But it was rough. [Experienced Australian swimmer] Shelley Clark was pulled from the race and we had a situation with Kate Brookes-Peterson."

After coaching at 11 world championships and numerous open water races around the world in nearly every kind of weather and water situation, Rick thought something was up when he saw Kate and wanted to be in a position to help if anything went wrong.

As he directed his official referee's boat towards the back of the lead pack, he recalled, "I saw her go through the feeding pontoon and she didn't look good. She was struggling. Because she was a [world championship] medalist in 2007 and normally a strong swimmer, I knew something was not right."

According to an interview with his local newspaper, Rick said he then informed the head referee Jorge Delgado of Ecuador that he was going to look after Kate.

"When I was heading over to her [in the official's boat], she stopped, went vertical and raised her hand. Then, she went under. I was watching her position as we were moving towards her. When she came back up, she was gasping for air. She waved her hand, went limp and went under again."

"When we got to her, her hand was up [towards the surface of the water], but underwater. I was able to reach down and grab her [underwater] and pull her up. I don't think she was not going to come back up. She gasped for air [as she surfaced] and we finally got her into the boat as she passed out. She was about for about 30 seconds."

By that time, the Italian lifesaving personnel had come over to oversee the situation.

But, it was Rick's foresight, his understanding of the athletes and his knowledge of the potential dangers of open water swimming that saved Kate. "It’s a good thing we got to her before she took in too much water and drowned,” said Rick to the Daily Egyptian newspaper. "We were thankful to get her out of the water and out of danger."

A hero for sure. Our hats off to you, Rick, and our best wishes to Kate.

Liked the Channel

31.Jul.09   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Solo Challenges   |  (0) comments

As always, this year's English Channel season has seen numerous successful swims, failed swims and swims that never started due to the turbulent weather.

This week on Wednesday, 16-year-old Nicholas Caine from northern California completed his Channel swim in 13 hours and 11 minutes. "3-5 foot swells along with the current changing 2 hours early added about 4 hours to my swim, but I made it and that's what's important. My Santa Barbara channel swim was great practice before the English Channel, thank you for the opportunity," wrote Nicholas to his colleagues from California.

His mother, Marilyn Caine, and other family members were with Nicholas on his support boat that took off at 4:20 am, "The last 7 miles took thee hours. It was very stressful So hard to watch Nick in all the waves, hour after hour. He battled till the end."

Nicholas sent his initial thoughts via text, "...didn't get cold at all. 1st 10 hrs. of the swim (I) loved. Liked the channel."

Where Women Earn More Than Men

28.Jul.09   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Races   |  (0) comments

The male and female winners of the 3K Rondje Noordereiland race in Rotterdam were Koen Florijn in 44:33 and Wendy Meder in 46:12.

Koen Florijn won the Rie Mastenbroek Trofee and €1000, which he has to spend for clean water, and €200, Wendy won €250 as a cash prize.

Similar to the world of modeling, the women are compensated more than the men at Rondje Noordereiland.

Riding The Wave Of Victory

28.Jul.09   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Races   |  (0) comments

Dr. Jim Miller took this fascinating photo of the 25K swimmers during the 2009 World Swimming Championships on Saturday.

Up and down the athlete competed for nearly six hours in the surf in another thrilling race at Ostia Beach in front of thousands of cheering Italian fans - only to end the race on an incoming wave.

Towards the final few frantic strokes, Angela Maurer (shown in the white swim cap with 2 black stripes) pulled slightly ahead and won by a half a stroke in 5:47:48 over Anna Uvarova of Russia (white cap with blue and red stripes) and Federica Vitale of Italy who were swimming right behind. But as Anna and Federica reached up to simultaneously touch the finish banner, a wave dropped Federica down and she could not reach the banner with her outstretched arm.

On her repeated attempts to touch the banner, Federica ended up with a bronze medal on her third attempt to touch the finish banner.

Recap of the Women’s 25K World Championship

28.Jul.09   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Races   |  (0) comments

FINA provided a summary of the women's 25K races in Ostia Beach.

This is how FINA described the race held under wavy conditions:

Germany's Angela Maurer explained her victory, "My goal in Rome was a medal and I got gold. With the waves, it is important to swim in the lead. Although I like the heat and the waves, today there was a little too much."

Silver medalist Anna Uvarova of Russia explained her view of the course, "It was very difficult because of the sea. It was really wavy. I was very satisfied with her final sprint. In the last lap, I sped up. I swam very fast. When I realized I was third, I aimed at reaching the Italian girl (Federica Vitale) and I managed to overtake her."

Federica in turn explained her bronze-medal swim, "[The bronze medal] is the greatest thing I have done until now. This time I really wanted to make it. I gaveit everything I could in these six hours and over the last six months. I did my best, especially so I could win in my town."

FINA also gave some detailed race highlights:

After 1 hour and 50 minutes of swimming, Anna and three other favorites - Natalya Pankina of Russia, Kate Brookes-Peterson of Australia and Martina Grimaldi of Italy - shared the lead. After 3 hours and 30 minutes, as the competitors were finishing their sixth of ten laps, the situation remained unchanged except two swimmers had left the race: Zaira Cardenas of Mexico with serious jellyfish stings and Kate who was suffering from dehydration and exhaustion.

By the conclusion of their seventh lap, Natalya, who finished ninth, was leading, followed by Martina and Angela. These three set the pace for some time, but not without appearances at the front by 15-year-old Eva Fabian of the USA (shown on left after race) and Celia Barrot of France who finished fifth.

Federica started to make her move towards the lead and Margarita Dominguez of Spain was also regularly applying pressure. Margarita would end up taking the frustrating fourth place at the end.

With 1.5K to go, Margarita, Angela and Martina were battling it out for the medals. But unlike the men's 25K race, numerous other swimmers were right on their heels and they were facing a considerable challenge if they wanted to hang on for a medal. It was a very close, fast finish considering the distance they had swum. In the end , Angela's experience gave her the edge and her eighth world championship medal (2 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze).

Open Water Swimmers Marking Marks in Pool

28.Jul.09   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Swimmers   |  (0) comments

Even though the open water swimming events are over at the 2009 World Swimming Championships, open water swimmers are still making their marks...in the pool.

In the women's 1500-meter finals, 3 of the 8 finalists are well-known open water swimmers. These swimmers include:

2nd-fastest Kristel Kobrich Schimpl of Chile (shown above) who placed sixth in the 5K race last week, 7th-fastest Chloe Sutton of the USA and 8th-fastest Melissa Gorman who won the 5K race. All three competed in the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim in Beijing.

Video Footage of the Thrilling Open Water Races in Ostia

28.Jul.09   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Races   |  (0) comments

For those outside Europe who were not fortunate to watch the comprehensive Rai TV live and repeated television coverage of the open water swimming at the 2009 World Swimming Championships, here is some nice footage of the open water swimming races at Ostia Beach, including the thrilling men's 10K race won by Thomas Lurz.

Another Lac St-Jean Victory For Stoychev

26.Jul.09   |  posted by: steve munatones  |   filed under: Swimmers   |  (1) comments