Pool and Open Water Swimming: Do Not Swallow the Water

[selkie]

Because who knows what is living in it.

Talk about Phelps, Lochte, Sun Yang, the Campbell sisters, Franklin, McEvoy, Ledecky...

Complaints about toxic face water and late finals session starting time aside, this is going to be a fun meet for swimming fans.

[Good Queen Jane]

I love that this topic was set up by someone whose screen name is Selkie. Hopefully the swimmers won't have to deal with your mythological namesakes.

[ZootSuitWyatt]

Turns out I still can't watch Ryan Lochte swim without thinking of his 30 Rock appearance.

[selkie]

I like Ryan. He's by all account a good guy and USA Swimming is very lucky that both him and Michael Phelps are active stakeholders who want to continue to grow the sport in both America and globally after they retire. But as his reality showed, he's probably not the sharpest crayon in the box.

 

(As for selkies, I think they'd probably get taken out by Rio's missing sewage treatment system)

[kittykat]

Damn.  I didn't know Michael was swimming in another Olympics.  Overall on both sides it looks to be another strong lineup on both ends.  Now to size up the French and South African teams.

[selkie]

Michael retired, got bored, started up back in the water, qualified for the 2015 World Championships, was removed from that international team by USA swimming after he pleaded guilty to a DUI charge, got sober, had a kid with his fiancee, and a few weeks back, got his athlete ticket to Rio at  the US Trials.

[AimingforYoko]

Phelps and Usain Bolt are in the same boat, anything they do in Rio is gravy. Their legacy is secure.

[luvbadtv]

Looking forward to Simone Manual, Maya Dirado, and Olivia Smoliga; Go USA!

[Phebemarie]

Am I the only one who thinks that an Olympian who went out of his way to distract and embarrass a college basketball player doesn't really exemplify "good sportsmanship"?  

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/14670378/michael-phelps-featured-arizona-state-sun-devils-curtain-distraction

[catray]

I think it's hilarious. It's a college bball thing... and it's typical for crowds to try and distract players when they make free throws by chanting and waving their arms. ASU started it this past season (I believe) and when they played my alma mater, they had a whole Harry Potter themed night. I thought it was great fun. It's not like Phelps just showed up; he was invited by the student section as he is there training while Bowman coaches the swim team. I guess you could say it's obnoxious, but I think it's pretty creative.

Edited August 5, 2016 by catray

[KenyaJ]

Not to mention that every student section in the country actively tries to disrupt the shooter. It's not bad sportsmanship, it's just sports. (Disclaimer: I went to Duke. We're not allowed to graduate if we haven't harassed an opposing basketball player at one point or another.)

[Phebemarie]

I understand distracting the shooter-but that's a theatrical performance.  Oh, well.  I guess I'll go back to the 70s when my high school got in trouble for holding up newspapers when the opponent came onto the floor.

[tanyak]

1 hour ago, KenyaJ said:

Not to mention that every student section in the country actively tries to disrupt the shooter. It's not bad sportsmanship, it's just sports. (Disclaimer: I went to Duke. We're not allowed to graduate if we haven't harassed an opposing basketball player at one point or another.)

I went to Carolina. We aren't either. Grayson Allen truly is the gift that keeps giving. ;)

Yeah, I thought the Phelps things was funny, too. 

[Daisy]

According to NBCOlympics - 
Finals start at 9:00pm ET 
with heats and semis starting around noon Eastern. 
(streaming available on olympics.cbc.ca and nbcolympics.com - if you're allowed to)

for the 
Men's 400 IM (heats + final)
Women's 100 Beast (heats)
Women's 400 IM (heats + Final)
Women's Fly (heats + semi)
Men's Breast (heats + semi)
Women's 4x100 (heats + final)
 

Hope that helps!

[Daisy]

Japan (Hagino) breaks the 6 Olympic streak of US men winning the 400 IM. 

[Daisy]

Sarah Soestrom (sp) from Sweden broke Dana Vollemer's OR record in the semis. 

[AimingforYoko]

Love Hosszu's husband/cheerleader/coach. I swear he expends almost as much energy as she does.

[KenyaJ]

Wow. I don't think I've ever seen anyone destroy a World Record the way Katinka Hosszu just did. That was unreal.

[Arynm]

I thought for sure the Chinese lady from last Olympics was doping and they hadn't caught her yet. Watching Hosszu destroy that record makes me feel like I might owe her a written apology. That was seriously amazing

[galaxygirl76]

The lady on the Dutch radio(yep, I'm watching NBC while listening to Dutch commentary because there is only so much NBC I can take) said that the Chinese swimmer's final 50m was faster than Lochte's in the men's final so I'm still firmly in camp doping, but this was an amazing swim by Hosszu.

Edited August 7, 2016 by galaxygirl76

[selkie]

There have been suspicions about Hosszu in recent years. Go to the swim sites and you will find a lot of people who say they wish they could feel better about cheering Katinka on.

I don't know if Ye Shiwen was doping or not in London but the past few years have made me feel a little sorry for her. Enhanced or not, she seems to be one of those girls who, like many a female gymnast or figure skater, gets one golden year at the top between the end of their last growth spurt and hitting puberty and Getting Hips which screwed up her technique (it happens sometimes in swimming- usually with breaststrokers like Amanda Beard but sometimes with freestylers like Janet Evans) and she's had an awful time since London battling injuries and getting criticized in the Chinese sporting press for 'getting fat'.

[Daisy]

Canada won a medal! CANADA CAN SWIM!

[Sew Sumi]

Congrats! The Aussies decimated the field. 

[selkie]

Actually not as dominating as the Aussies should have been on paper. Bronte's injuries in the past year seem to have cost her a few tenths and McKeon was also slower than she has been. Still that squad at about 97% is still good enough to hold off the overperforming from the heat sheets Americans and Canadians.

Noteworthy 100 splits for the 200 big names:

Sjostrom- 52.47

Ledecky- 52.7

Pellegrini- 53.89

McKeon- 53.4 (flat start)

 

That should be a fun one for fans of the sport in a few days.

Normally I don't cheer for the Aussies- friendly pool rival and all. But I've got to say I was screaming for Horton to beat that punk Sun, who I'd actually like to see vanish down a favela alley.

[Daisy]

my happy moment, was knowing that 16 year olds were swimming the last two legs of that final. I really hope this is a good sign for Canadian swimming. (I just did a look at the history. Canada's only won 43 medals period in the pool - compared to America's 548). holy smokies. 

[selkie]

From her swims this year, Penny Oleksiak is looking like she might be the real deal and the one who can put up a serious challenge to Sarah Sjostrom.

[KenyaJ]

You'll probably enjoy this tidbit from The Guardian, selkie.

Now this is an interesting wrinkle. Australia’s Mack Horton beat Sun Yang to win the 400m freestyle, and, as AP reports, what happened after the race was even more dramatic.

Horton grabbed the lead for good on the next-to-last lap and held off the hard-charging Sun, the defending Olympic champion. But the bad blood between the two was on display for all to see as Horton celebrated after the race without even acknowledging the runner-up.

In fact, they climbed out of the pool side by side without so much as a passing glance.

After the prelims of the men’s 400 freestyle, Horton was asked about a reported incident between the two at the practice pool earlier in the week. The Aussie said Sun “splashed me to say hello, and I didn’t respond because I don’t have time for drug cheats.”

Sun served a three-month suspension for using a banned stimulant in 2014.

 

 

[selkie]

I noticed the lack of congratulations between Sun & Horton and it was no accidental oversight. Sun does not have many friends outside China and he's only tolerated within China as long he produces results. (The Chinese federation has suspended him for bad behavior a few times, and he spent a week in jail in 2013 for unlicensed driving without the federation asking for a lighter sentence for him.)

Given that most swimmers are actually quite good at hiding cut throat competitiveness behind politeness, it's actually kind of fun to have a proper villain in the sport right now.

[Daisy]

Swimming Events Tomorrow: (bold = medal event)
Heats start at 12:00pm for: M+W 100 backstoke, M 200 Free, W 400 Free, M 4x100 Free

9:00pm 
W 100m butterfly final
M 200m freestyle semi
W 100m backstroke semi
M 100m breaststroke final
W 400m freestyle final
M 100m backstroke semi 
M 4x100m freestyle relay final

Hope that helps! :) 
 

[kittykat]

Good to see the Aussies back in top form after a lackluster '12.  Those ladies kicked ass.

[katisha]

Very proud Aussie here who enjoyed today's finals session immensely! Particularly impressed by Mac Horton who seems a nice, non-arrogant young guy with a great attitude. Everyone saw where arrogance got our men's 100 metre freestyle swimmers in 2012. Watch and learn, James Magnusson.

[NUguy514]

6 hours ago, selkie said:

Normally I don't cheer for the Aussies- friendly pool rival and all. But I've got to say I was screaming for Horton to beat that punk Sun, who I'd actually like to see vanish down a favela alley.

Same here.  That was the best result of the day, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm suspicious about Hosszu.  I'll just leave it at that.

[selkie]

Many have questions about Katinka. If you look at other women in the sport who make big improvements in their mid-late 20s while being coached by their rather muscular husbands, there's a red flag pattern that invites certain comparisons. (**cough** Michelle Smith **cough**)

[Rinaldo]

Who are the commentators for the streaming of this afternoon's heats? (I wish the site would just provide the info beside the link, and why can't they just announce on the air "I'm X" when they start? Oh well.) He addressed her as "Nicole" at one point, but I haven't heard a name for him. He doesn't sound like my old pal Steve Robilliard from 2012.

Edited August 7, 2016 by Rinaldo

[TobinAlbers]

Horton is not getting love on Twitter for his snub.

http://mashable.com/2016/08/07/mack-horton-twitter-trolls/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-main-link#8DMUMhYvD9qk

[Rinaldo]

Man, Katey Ledecky. 4 seconds ahead of the next closest, and oh by the way an Olympic Record, just in the preliminary heat.

Edited August 7, 2016 by Rinaldo

[Rinaldo]

Did I understand the announcers right -- that rules have changed for relays, specifically deciding at the last minute who will swim? Teams now have to declare in advance what their final lineup will be (though it can be a switch from the prelims, as before), and not deviate from it? They said that Nathan Adrian would be swimming the final 4x100 freestyle, and this had to be committed to in advance.

[selkie]

The rule change is that if you send a swimmer to the Olympics that is only there to swim relays and is not entered in any individual events, you must swim that athlete in either prelims or finals (if they make the finals). This was to prevent swimmers who ended up not swimming from taking up  very dear quota spots. There is a medical exception that you can drive a truck through and all if you have a friendly doctor and a willingness to claim food poisoning or something.

The announcer was incorrect- Adrian does not have to swim the relay because he's got individual entries in the 100 and 50 free and is therefore not a 'relay-only' guy. But since he's fastest guy they've got, he will be there.

As for line-ups for relays, there has always been a set time before the start of each session by which you had to submit a 'relay card'  with your swimmers in order so the meet management could get everything properly into the system.

Edited August 7, 2016 by selkie

[Rick Kitchen]

One NBC announcer just said, "Katey Ledecky is considered the most dominant female swimmer in the world today.  Michael Phelps held that position for the past four Olympics."  No, I don't think he has ever been the dominant female swimmer in the world.

[AimingforYoko]

There's a joke there, but that path lay fraught with peril.

[galaxygirl76]

I refuse to take anything Efimova does seriously. If she wins gold tomorrow, that's going to be fun.

[KenyaJ]

Just now, galaxygirl76 said:

I refuse to take anything Efimova does seriously. If she wins gold tomorrow, that's going to be fun.

Seriously. It's gross watching her and Sun Yang "outswim" their competitors, knowing they've failed drug tests in the past. Their victories will always feel illegitimate to me.  

[LexieLily]

4 minutes ago, galaxygirl76 said:

I refuse to take anything Efimova does seriously. If she wins gold tomorrow, that's going to be fun.

Her fellow competitors don't seem to be fans of her being there, either.

[Growsonwalls]

Whoever thought there'd be so much drama on the swim deck. Usually swimmers are the blandest of athletes.

[Daisy]

Two Things. 

Canada has a silver medal by a 16 year old. and she was awesome. I <3 this girl. Just "No one is seeing us coming." 

second of all

NBC you are a lying liar who lies. this is not live. I saw this earlier today.

[KenyaJ]

12 minutes ago, Daisy said:

NBC you are a lying liar who lies. this is not live. I saw this earlier today.

All the swimming tonight actually is live. I watched prelims this afternoon, and they haven't shown any repeats from earlier.

[Daisy]

Just now, KenyaJ said:

All the swimming tonight actually is live. I watched prelims this afternoon, and they haven't shown any repeats from earlier.

then i stand corrected. (like i know the finals are live) but I swear I saw the Lily King semi thing earlier. but it must have been a prelim. 
Sorry NBC. 

[galaxygirl76]

I'm going to go all pervy here because he's almost half my age, but Adam Peaty is a cutie pie.

[KenyaJ]

2 minutes ago, Daisy said:

then i stand corrected. (like i know the finals are live) but I swear I saw the Lily King semi thing earlier. but it must have been a prelim. 
Sorry NBC. 

It's easy to get confused, LOL. Lily did swim in the heats this morning and had a similar performance.

[Crs97]

I was walking a fine line responding to hubby's comment about Adam Peaty's broad shoulders.  Cutie pie indeed.