Ah, les Jeux à Rio en 2016 !

Quand même, Copacabana c’est plus sexy que le fog londonien, les fraises à la crème  pourries de Wimbledon ou les coups de soleil sur la tronche des rosbeefs qui nous attendent en 2012 !

Du coup, tout ça nous remet l’eau à la bouche pour une candidature de Paris. Soit, le dernier coup, on a loupé notre affaire… Delanoë en tête de gondole, tu parles d’un teasing !

Mais aujourd’hui, je prétends que les choses ont changé. Et si on remettait le couvert pour 2020 ou 2028, il me semble que la Ville lumière aurait ses chances. Voilà pourquoi:

D’abord, on retirerait le beau Bertrand du casting mais on garderait ses idées. Eh oui, on a désormais le Vélib. Donc, toutes les compèt’ cyclistes des Jeux se feraient avec des vélos de la mairie… Pas besoin de vélodrome à construire, les parcours se feraient dans les rues de Paris, 100 millions d’euros d’économies. Et d’une.

Et de deux, pas de piscine non plus à creuser. On a déjà Paris Plage. On fait toutes les épreuves dans la Seine. Le 100 m nage libre sous le Pont Neuf, ça aurait de la gueule ! J’appelle tout de suite Alain Bernard pour avoir son avis. Tiens, encore 50 millions de moins.

Pour le rugby, qui sera olympique d’ici-là, pas de problème, le nouveau Jean-Bouin de Max Guazzini sera sorti de terre ! Et, d’une pierre deux coups, les maillots roses des Dieux du Stade pourront servir aux pépés de la gymnastique rythmique. Encore un paquet de pognon bien dépensé.

Enfin, je pensais que comme la plupart des compétitions étaient prévues dans le Bois de Boulogne (c’est absolument vrai) dans le dernier projet pour les Jeux à Paris, on  ouvrirait cette fois les compétitions à tous les genres sexuels. Finis les controverses ou les contrôles à n’en plus finir, comme aux derniers championnats du monde d’athlétisme, pour savoir si untel est un homme ou une femme.

Voilà, entre autres perspectives favorables, ce qui me fait dire que Paris a une très bonne carte à (re)jouer… Si vous avez d’autres idées, contactez-moi. Paris vaut bien une fesse.

Watch the difference in stroke technique between Jason Lezak and Alain Bernard in the last leg of the greatest relay in history. Lezak shows long, strong freestyle strokes provide plenty of power and speed throughout an entire race.  While Bernard’s fast, but less efficient strokes make him tired and slow towards the end of the race.

Alain Bernard no Campeonato Franc&es

A Federeçao Francesa de Natação (FFN) decidiu não homologar o recorde de Alain Bernard nos 100m livres de 46.94, feitos no campeonato francês em Montpellier em abril deste ano.

O tempo, o primeiro sub 47 segundos da prova, não será homologado pois Bernard estava usando o X-Glide da Arena, traje que naquela ocasião estava banido pela FINA.

Alain Bernard é um patrono dos 100m livre na França. Mesmo sendo derrotado em Roma pelo brasileiro César Cielo com o tempo de 46s91.

O sprinter, formado por Denis Auguin, continua a ser o líder incontestável do grupo francês de 35 nadadores que fizeram a viagem em Itália. “Alain Bernard é o peixe-piloto da natação francesa”, explica Francisco Luyce, presidente da Federação Francesa de Natação (FFN). “Ele é o líder de hoje e amanhã será ainda, mesmo que outros rapazes superem ele”

O nadador de 1,96 m, 88 kg e 2,05 m de envergadura tem um currículo que nenhum dos seus colegas tem até agora. “Depois do ouro olímpico, a Federação viu o crescimento do número de licenciados, de 2% ao ano para 5%.

O efeito Alain Bernard.

Hello, internet! I’m sorry for bringing this to you much later than expected, but sometimes offline life gets in the way, you know? As of this writing, I haven’t even finished watching NBC’s broadcast of the final day of the FINA World Championships, so this will be kind of a half liveblog, yeah? hahah.

In any case, like I said, this is the final day of the Worlds and I am sad, sad, sad to see them go. Killer Kim is into all kinds of sports, but I pretty much just follow Swimming, which can be difficult when it’s not widely covered outside of a giant event like the Worlds or Olympics. So, after today, I’m really gonna have to think up new content to bring you until the next big meet that I’ll get to cover. Alas! Anyway, onto the good stuff.

Today, there were seven finals:

• Men’s 50m Backstroke
• Women’s 50m Breaststroke
• Men’s 400m Individual Medley
• Women’s 50m Freestyle
• Men’s 1500m Freestyle
• Women’s 400m Individual Medley
• Men’s 4×100m Medley Relay

Since I don’t really like to liveblog 50m races (what’s the point? They’re so short that they’re over by the time I’ve typed only the header), I’ll just go ahead and give you the results right now.

Men’s 50m Backstroke: No Americans made it to the finals of this event. The big players for this one were Liam Tancock of Great Britain (Lane 4), and Junya Koga of Japan (Lane 5). Spanish hottie Aschwin Wildeboer was also in this race, but he missed the podium by .53. Sad! Tancock came in first and broke the world record with a time of 24.04. Koga came in second, and South Africa’s Gerhard Zandberg came in third.

Zandberg, Tancock, and Koga.

Can I just interrupt myself to tell you guys that I just planned an entire hypothetical trip to Shanghai for the 14th World Championships in 2011? Wowww, Celisse. I’m totally insane, dudes. Turns out, if I have the estimations correct, the whole trip would come out to just under $2,300 including tickets, flight, and hotel for the entirety of the swimming portion.

If only I had.. you know.. a job? SIGH. Anyway.

Women’s 50m Breaststroke: The American swimmers in this event were Kasey Carlson (Lane 2), and Rebecca Soni (Lane 7). The number one qualifier was Sarah Katsoulis of Australia (Lane 4). Russia’s Yuliya Efimova came in first, Soni came in second, and Katsoulis came in third. I don’t think Soni had as good of a meet as she anticipated this week, but she adds this silver to the gold she already got, so I think she’s doing pretty well for herself. Yay!

Rebecca Soni, Yuliya Efimova, and Sarah Katsoulis.

Womens 50m Freestyle: In the last 50m race of the Worlds, there were a couple of big names, including the USA’s Dara Torres, Australia’s Libby Trickett, and Germany’s super adorable Britta Steffen, who already won the gold in the Women’s 100m Freestyle earlier this week. Steffen, true to form, came in first, Sweden’s Therese Alshammar came in second, while Australia’s Cate Campbell and The Netherlands’ Marleen Veldhuis tied for third.

Therese Alshammar, Britta Steffen, Marleen Veldhuis, and Cate Campbell

Unfortunately for the US, Dara Torres came in dead last, bringing her rather disappointing run in these championships to a close. She did an interview a few days ago that said if she had managed to get a gold at Beijing last year, she probably wouldn’t be swimming today. Does that mean we’ll be seeing her again at Nationals next year? Who knows.

I really don’t understand Dara Torres, to be honest. Her medal record is quite impressive, so what is this need to continue on in this sport, past her prime? This sport can be so hard on bodies and despite the fact that she’s still in incredible shape, she already has a terrible knee problem which I believe she’s having surgery on quite soon following the championships. More power to women of any age who want to follow their dreams and all, but I feel like she shoulda quit while she was ahead, you know? If she’s looking for that one last gold medal, I don’t know how much longer she’s gonna have to look for it.

Men’s 1500m Freestyle: I almost feel like it’s pointless to blog about this event, because it is super long, and two of the athletes who medalled in this event last year in Beijing managed to medal in it again this year, with the exception of Grant Hackett, who has retired. Ous Mellouli of Tunisia grabbed the gold in this event, unsurprisingly, while Canada’s Ryan Cochrane, who got the bronze in this event last year, came in second today. Sun Yang of China came in third in this event. Most surprising and yet somehow comforting is the fact that with all the 43 world records that fell this year, Grant Hackett’s record in this event — from 2001! — still stands. Whew.

Ous Mellouli and Ryan Cochrane

Sun Yang does not look excited :C

Men’s 400m IM

Hellooooo, Ryan Lochte. Today (August 3rd) is actually his 25th birthday. Happy Birthday, cutiepie! Now, go kick some ass in this event, k?

Italy’s Luca Marin is in this race, hilariously. It’s mostly hilarious cos I know pretty much nothing about him or his swimming record, but I do know that he’s the creep who leaked those REALLY AWFUL dirty photos of Laure Manaudou to the tabs.

Tyler Clary of the US is also in this race in lane 4. He’s gonna give Lochte a run for his money but I know Ryan won’t let me down, RIGHT? Right. Lochte’s Hungarian rival, Laszlo Cseh is also in this race. Exciting!

AHAHA The announcers introduce lochte in lane 6 and says that it’s his birthday tomorrow (today), maybe he’s gonna buy a new grille. SHUT UP, ANNOUNCERS. Don’t encourage the grillz. Brazil’s Thiago Pereira is also in this race. Buncha big names, let’s see what happens.

The menz hit the water and the announcers are talking about Lochte’s free spirit and laid-back attitude. Is Lochte the new Peirsol in terms of the announcers opining endlessly about his ~*~*free spirit~*~*~? As of the 100m, Cseh has the lead, with Clary in second and Lochte in third, but they’re going into the backstroke now, which Lochte has perfected. At the 150, Lochte starts pulling ahead of Cseh, who is now in third, but Clary is keeping up very close to him. 200m, they move into the breaststroke.

The announcers mention that while they were talking to Ryan’s dad, Steve Lochte, he mentioned that Ryan loves the breast stroke. Oh, I’ll bet he does. WINK WINK. I’m 12 years old.

Just before the 300m, Clary and Cseh both start fading really fast and really equally, which gives Pereira a chance to kinda squirm his way into 2nd place. He’s gaining on Lochte and as they begin the freestyle, he’s really close to Lochte, who isn’t letting up. It’s the last 50 and Pereira has totally faded and now its Cseh and Clary fighting for 2nd place! Lochte hits first but doesn’t break a record, Clary comes in second, and Cseh in third. YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYAYAYA.

Sorry. I get excited.

Oh, Ryan. You're the second best swimmer in the world, you're gorgeous, you have your pick of any lady on the planet, and you've got a beautiful smile to boot. Why do you ruin it with THAT THING IN YOUR MOUF? Stop that.

Thank you, love.

Tyler Clary, Ryan Lochte, and Laszlo Cseh.

Oh, you know, just because.

Wow, check me out posting way more pics of Lochte than of anyone else. Creepy fangirl much? Get a grip, Celisse! ahahaha

Women’s 400m Individual Medley

Oh, I’m getting really sleepy. It’s almost 8am and now I’m getting sleepy? Wonderful. Anyway, let’s look at the field, shall we? Lanes:

1. Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwe
2. Julia Smit, USA
3. Katinka Hosszu, Hungary
4. Stephanie Rice, Australia
5. Elizabeth Beisel, USA
6. Tanya Hunks, Canada. Ahaaahahaha Hunks? That’s awesome.
7. Hannah Miley, GBR
8. Zsuzsanna Jakabos, Hungary

Oh, God, this is gonna be a tough one for me to pick a favorite. We all know I love Coventry, but I also really love Stephanie Rice. Hosszu has shown herself to be someone to watch at these championships as well, so I really have no idea how this is gonna go, but I’m really rooting for Rice.

The ladies hit the water and LOL the announcers are talking about Katie Hoff, and how she’s the 2-time defending world championship in this event, but she didn’t make the team at Nationals. Know why? Cos Katie Hoff, as we all know, is the official face of fail blog.

At least as far as I’m concerned.

At the first 50, Rice is in the lead, but not by much, and Hosszu has already pulled ahead of her. Coventry is in third, and everyone else is just kinda trying to keep up. Coventry has actually pulled ahead and is in the lead, with Hosszu just behind her, and Rice has fallen into 6th place. Coventry and Hosszu are neck and neck right now, on their way to the 300m and the Freestyle. Hannah Miley has moved into 3rd place. Uhoh! Hosszu has sped ahead of Coventry, and hits the wall first and breaks the championship record, followed by Coventry just before Rice.

Well, dang. If it wasnt going to be Rice, then I was hoping it would be Coventry, but alas. At least they both made it onto the podium. Katinka Hosszu really did well at these championships, dude! Good for her.

Kirsty Coventry, Katinka Hosszu, and Stephanie Rice.

Men’s 4×100m Medley Relay

Alright, this is the final race of the evening, and the final race of the championships, and it’s set to be a good one. I looove relays! The distinct way that each person swims makes such a difference and it’s just really exciting. I’m a nerd.

Here are the lanes:

1. Great Britain
2. Brazil
3. USA
4. Germany
5. Australia
6. France
7. Russia
8. Japan

Some of the big names in this race are Liam Tancock of Great Britain, who won gold in the 50m backstroke earlier tonight, Cesar Cielo of Brazil who has won 2 gold medals so far this week, Germany’s Paul Biedermann, who rather arrogantly and infamously beat Phelps in the 200m Free earlier this week, and of course, JERKFACED Alain Bernard, swimming anchor for France. Puhlease.

Swimming for the US team are Aaron Peirsol (yay!), Eric Shantaeu (yay for Kim!), Michael Phelps (yay for AMERICA!), and David Walters (…yay?).

I refuse to doubt the power of a US relay team to do anything but dominate against the French, so let’s do this.

The teams are getting prepared, and I’m giggling cos everyone is all set up and ready to go, except for Peirsol, who’s like, JUST putting on his goggles and cap while he walks out. He looks to be one of only a few wearing a half suit, as well, which is always enjoyable. Cos I’m a perv. Oh, Peirsol, we love you.

The 100m comes and goes and Peirsol hits the wall first, but doesn’t manage to get an individual world record, although he was above the overall world record for this event. Shanteau swims the breaststroke and hits the wall in first place, and off goes Milky to swim the butterfly. I pause my DVR, and Australia’s Andrew Lauterstein seems to be in first, followed by Phelps, and then by Benjamin Starke of Germany, but Phelps always holds off a bit at first, yeah? Going into the 300m, Phelps starts to pull way ahead, of course, and then it’s time for David Walters to bring it home. Walters is more than a body length ahead of everyone else, and he hits the wall YESSSSSSSS.S.S.S.S.S.SS.S.. Killed the world record too!

Germany hits second and Australia gets third YES YES YESSSSSS.

I swear the Men’s team makes me so happy. They never make me cry. Way more than I can say for the women’s team pshhh.

Aaron Peirsol, Eric Shanteau, and Michael Phelps, waiting for David Walters

Arms to the sky, boys.

Aaahahaha on the way to the medal ceremony, some freak rushed the field and tried to get her grubby little paws on Milky. That, clearly, did not work out as planned. Also, nice kicks, Milky.

Awww, Michael poses with Dara. Sweet.

Someone told me recently that I should start a tumblr called PhelpsFace, cos he makes the most amazing facial expressions, like, ALWAYS, and it's so true.

Alright, guys, that brings my coverage of the Worlds to a close. Now, I sleep for 5,000 hours. HAH Just kidding, but thanks for sticking with Kim and me, and apparently the 2009 Visa Gymnastics Championships start in about a week and a half, so we’ll try to bring you some more AWESOME then!

The world championships swimming surely are a feast for the eyes. First there is the mostly semi-nude audience of a lot of other swimmers that the camera’s show before the race and then the swimmers themselves. Best bodies from all sports in my opinion. Of course the sport on itself is great for TV and super exciting, but swimmers like Americans Ryan Lochte, Eric Shanteau(cancer survivor) and French sprinters Alain Bernard and Frederick Bousquet make it even better.

The US open series Tennis have started this week with one of my favorite tournaments in the world, the one in Stanford, Ca. I have been to that tournament a couple years in a row when I was still living in the Bay Area. It has a great atmosphere, you can be very close to the players and the vicinity is beautiful as well. But most importantly the player’s entry list is every year pretty spectacular. One of the Williams sisters generally cancels this tournament at the last minute but this year both are here and already in the quarter-finals. The other six are Elena Dementieva, Maria Sharapova, Marion Bartoli, Jelena Jankovic, Sam

Serena Williams

 Stosur and Daniela Hantuchova. That would be a great final eight for any slam let alone a smaller tournament like this.

Il brasiliano che vola stavolta è in piscina, come accadde a Pechino, solo che là, in oriente, erano i 50 stile, ed era una sorpresa. Qui, a Roma, era la gara principe, con accanto il favorito d’obbligo, il francese Bernard già sceso sotto i 47″ con costume poi non omologato.

Stavolta però sotto i 47″ ci va  lui, Cesar Cielo Filho, un atleta in grado di dare il meglio di sè proprio nelle gare importanti, un ragazzo che scende in piscina voglioso di gareggiare, e vincere, quando possibile.

Oggi era difficile, possibile solo con un’impresa, basti pensare che il gigante francese ha percorso i 100 metri mondiali con un tempo che è il suo migliore, a parte il record annullato ovviamente.

Terzo un grande Bousquet, uomo delle sorprese, qualificatosi in finale  per il rotto della cuffia come al solito e poi splendido terzo al traguardo.

E allora onore al vincente, veloce come non mai, con un 46,91 che stupisce, che impressiona, un tempo bello come le lacrime sul podio più alto.

Delusione invece per il campione uscente Filippo Magnini, arrivato a Roma con tanti buoni propositi, ma che se ne andrà dalla capitale con molti dubbi riguardo al proprio futuro, per lo meno di quello ad altissimi livelli.

No mês passado, a FINA liberou a lista de trajes aprovados para o mundial em Roma depois de meses de dicussões sobre os trajes, os quais contribuiram para mais de 100 recordes mundiais nos últimos 18 meses, se intensificaram em vez de diminuir desde a decisão da FINA.

“Os trajes dão destaque ao esporte, mas não são bons para o esporte. Viraram mais notícia que os próprios nadadores agora”, disse Mark Foster da Grã-Bretanha. “Esses trajes vão ajudar os nadadores medianos porque os ajudam a flutuar e assim tirar proveito”.

No centro da polêmica, estão os novos trajes feitos todo em poliuretano que ajudam muito na flutuabilidade. Os trajes antigos só tinham placas de poliuretano.

O Jaked 01, todo feito em poliuretano, usado por Frederick Bousquet, quando ele quebrou o recorde mundial 50m livre no Campeonato Francês, em Abril, foi deixado fora de uma lista de trajes aprovados pela FINA mas depois foi incluído na última atualização.

No entanto, o recorde de Alain Bernard nos 100m livre, onde ele se tornou o primeiro homem a quebrar a marca dos 47 segundos com 46,94, não foi ratificado, porque ele estava vestindo um traje da Arena, que não tinha sido aprovado.

O campeão mundial dos 100m livre Filippo Magnini disse: “Pensei até o último momento emusar apenas sunga nesta final. Eu não fiz isso por causa do respeito pelos espectadores. Com sunga eu não teria sido competitivo.”

Bernard que já se demonstrou favorável às sungas disse que agora era impossível para a FINA fazer uma meia-volta na regra e declarar que todos os bodysuits são ilegais. “Eu adoro sunga, se pudéssemos voltar atrás seria ótimo, mas isso nunca vai acontecer”, disse ele em um evento para crianças Lloyds TSB, em Londres.

Não é apenas os comentários gerais sobre os trajes que estão causando problemas. Desentendimentos entre patrocinadores e nadadores também surgiram.

No ano passado, Magnini rompeu com a Arena após duvidar que poderiam fornecerum traje competitivo para as Olimpíadas em Pequim, onde ele não conseguiu chegar a final usando um LZR da Speedo – um dos primeiros da nova geração de fantasias. A Federação Italiana de Natação também terminou o seu contrato com a Arena pouco antes Pequim e agora usa os Jaked.

A italiana Federica Pellegrini, que bateu o recorde dos 400m livre nos Jogos Mediterrânicos em Pescara esta semana, cobriu o logotipo do Jaked que usava, porque ela é patrocinado pela Mizuno. A marca Jaked disse que estava descontente com Pellegrini para esconder a marca, mas anunciou que ela podia vestir o traje que quiser.

AWESOME ‘Eurosport’ promo for the ROME FINA World Championships – Video:

With regard to the decisions taken by the FINA Executive on June 19, 2009 and made public yesterday concerning the racing swimsuits subject to re-examination under the transitory FINA regulations in force (the “Dubai Charter”), Arena is pleased to learn that the latest version of Powerskin X-Glide has been approved.

As a consequence, 4 styles of Arena Powerskin X-Glide racing suits (man full body long leg, woman full body long leg with zip and open back, man pant) will be made available on time for the forthcoming Swimming World Championships in Rome.

All tests run by some of the best swimmers in the Arena Elite Team (e.g. Alain Bernard and Milorad Cavic), clearly demonstrated that the approved version of Powerskin X-Glide totally maintains its level of performance, whilst being fully compliant with the FINA guidelines.

Although Arena is fully committed to continue its open and loyal cooperation with FINA, which is at present having to deal with the tough task of making sure that the world of swimming is able to overcome the recent turmoil of the last 18 months, we must underline that the decisions released yesterday do not seem to truly aid the cause of full clarity in relation to the racing swimsuit controversy.

On June 18, besides modified prototypes, Arena presented to FINA Swimwear Commission a set of incontrovertible, scientific results (following a quantitative experiment run in cooperation with the University of Bologna – Italy) proving that the original Powerskin X-Glide suit is not generating any air trapping effect.

This is why Arena is surprised and truly disappointed to discover that its request to reconsider the approval of the original version of Powerskin X-Glide was not accepted, whereas – apparently – the same requests were considered differently by FINA when related to other racing suits based on similar technologies.

We also have to remark that requests for modifications made by FINA on May 18 turned into a one month of “freezing” of any manufacturing activities of Arena Powerskin X-Glide. FINA decision becomes even harder to accept while at the same time discovering that not all the concerned manufacturers had to undergo the same modification phase, and that some of them instead have been allowed to keep their suits unmodified, despite formerly deemed as inadmissible.

Based on the above considerations, and with the sole objective of ensuring that all swimwear manufacturers are given a fair chance to operate on an equal footing, Arena confirms that it will ask FINA to provide detailed clarifications on these points within the shortest possible time.

Source: Arena

Alain Bernard For Arena: Making of Campagne 2009:

Check out the video campagne at: The17thman

Alain Bernard’s world 100m freestyle record set in April will not be approved, swimming’s world governing body FINA said on Tuesday.

Bernard became the first man to crack the 47 seconds barrier with 46.94 at the French championships but the Olympic champion was wearing an Arena-made swimsuit which had not been approved by FINA.

The world record is still held by Australian Eamon Sullivan in 47.05.

“This decision will have serious consequences for swimming and us swimmers,” Bernard said in a statement. “FINA’s positions are contradictory and impossible to understand.”

The French Federation said it would appeal the decision.

“This is pitiful. This is not the end of the story. We must now defend our athletes’ best interests,” French Federation technical director Christian Donze said.

“These are inconsistent decisions once again,” Bernard’s coach Denis Auguin told Reuters. “Some times set with some swimsuits are approved while others set with equivalent suits are not.”

Frederick Bousquet’s world 50m freestyle record is still pending FINA approval but the governing body approved his controversial Jaked 01 suit on Tuesday.

FINA said they were now just waiting the results of Bousquet’s anti-doping tests before approving his 20.94 time as a world record.

Alarmed by more than 100 world records in the past 18 months, most from swimmers wearing new-technology suits, FINA decided to reassess the standards before next month’s world championships in Rome.

At the heart of the controversy are new suits totally covered with polyurethane to aid buoyancy. The old suits only had polyurethane plates.

While Arena added non-polyurethane components to their suits to gain approval from FINA, Jaked kept their suits unchanged but still got the green light from the world body on Tuesday.

Swimming’s governing body says it has approved over 100 more suits for the world championships next month.

The designs that were sanctioned on Monday included modified versions of those worn by Frenchmen Frederick Bousquet and Alain Bernard in unofficial record-breaking races.

FINA said the approved manufacturers have changed their swimsuits to ensure that they do not create “air trapping” effects to artificially enhance speed.

FINA hopes the definitive list will restore order to the sport before the worlds begin July 26. A technological arms race was unleashed in the pool when Speedo launched its NASA-designed LZR suit 16 months ago, and since then more than 120 world records have been broken.

“To secure a level-playing field, the swimsuits approved will be available to all swimmers at the World Championships in Rome,” the swimming body said in a statement. “The rules regarding shape, use of only one swimsuit and no taping will be strictly applied and controlled in the first call room.”

Among those approved were modified versions of the Jaked 01 polyurethane suit worn in April by Bousquet when he swam 20.94 in the 50-meter freestyle. Three days before, Bernard swam 46.94 in the 100 freestyle while wearing a now-acceptable Arena X-Glide.

FINA definitively approved six world records on Monday, including Dutch swimmer Marleen Veldhuis’ times in the 50 free and 50 butterfly. Bousquet’s time is still pending doping control results, while Bernard’s was not approved as a record because the suit was unacceptable at the time, FINA said.

It said the evidence of how air trapping helps performances was complex, and that it would take time to develop controlling and testing methods for each swimsuit. It will continue to assess swimsuits as they evolve and issue new rules regarding acceptable criteria for 2010, the statement said.

Before May, when FINA approved 202 suits but rejected 146, rival manufacturers had tested the limits of the rule book while the governing body was widely criticized for failing to give clear leadership.

Source: ESPN, The full approved swimsuit list can be seen here.

Fearing a short term lawsuit from the likes of Blueseventy. FINA has revised its approved suit list to include some polyurethane monsters like the blueseventy nero comp, Arena X-glide, Jaked 01, and Decente Aquaforce. This is quite possibly the worst day ever for modern swimming.

What really pisses me off is that now FINA is basically forced to ratify the ridiculous world records of Fred Bousquet (20.94 – 50 free),  Alain Bernard (46.9 – 100 free) and Ryosuke Irie (1:52.86 – 200 backstroke). We have reached the point of no return. All suits are go for Rome this summer. Be prepared for the record books to be rewritten.

What a fucking joke! It took them all of one month to revise their list of suits…. They had a great chance to make a stand against performance enhancing suits and they folded…Big Time! FINA has shown that it can be manipulted and no longer has credibility. I’m embarressed to be apart of the sport of swimming right now.

They are supposedly going to tighten suit rules January 1, 2010. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Well done FINA!

The ever exciting Monaco knockout rounds took place on the first night of the Mare Nostrum stop in Monte Carlo. Meanwhile, several other meet records fell.

Results: Mare Nostrum, Monte Carlo

Read the article at: Lane9, swimming news.

A video on a projection screen showed footage of a memorable swim race of the 2008 Olympics at the clubhouse of the Harbor View Swim Team Monday.

An announcer was heard, “And, Jason Lezak is going to have to make up some ground.”

Just then children’s heads swiveled toward the corner of the room where Lezak himself was there, unassuming in shorts and a T-shirt. The kids became excited as the drama unfolded in the 400-meter freestyle during the video.

The buzz around the room continued to build, even more than when Coach Ted Bandaruk first introduced the Olympian. Everyone in the place knew the outcome, but still they cheered as Lezak gained on Frenchman Alain Bernard, the world-record holder in the 100-meter freestyle.

Lezak had trailed by a full body length before his anchor leg. But he came back to win amid the cheers, even during a video.

After the video ended and the room quieted, Lezak asked, “Did you guys like that race?”

Everyone shouted, “Yes!” And, with that Lezak delivered his message of perseverance, accomplishing goals and reaching dreams against great odds. Lezak, who grew up in Irvine, shared that he struggled as a swimmer during his youth, and even again when he was part of the Americans’ first loss in the 400 relay at the 2000 Games in Sydney Australia, and then a bronze finish in the event at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

But he helped USA get back on top in 2008 and he won his first individual Olympic medal, a bronze in the 100 free.

In his quest to qualify for the 2012 London Games, Lezak, 33, trains daily. He also mixes in motivational speeches and visits to swim clubs at least twice a month, he said.

He also talks about his glory day in the 400 free relay.

“How does it feel to watch that video again,” a kid asked.

“I still get goose bumps,” Lezak said. “I can’t believe that’s me and I can’t believe that happened. Every time I watch it, it’s like the first time I’m watching it.”

He also explained that he thought he had started his leg too early and that he believed Team USA would be disqualified, but he kept on swimming. He even peeked once, a no-no in swimming, and saw that he was far behind with a little more than 50 meters remaining.

But he told the group he kept the negative thoughts out of his mind. He finished in a 46.07 split, faster than anyone had swam before, as the Americans finished in a world-record time of 3 minutes, 29.34 seconds for the gold medal.

That gold medal, Lezak said, was in his pocket, while he spoke to the children.

He spent nearly four hours with about 60 young swimmers, telling them of his stories. He then changed into his speedos and instructed the kids on various aspects.

Before an autograph and photograph session, Lezak had already captivated the group, especially 13-year-olds Charlie Rodosky and Charlie Coffman.

“Now I believe I can be a champion,” Rodosky said. “He was very interesting and inspirational.”

Coffman also came away motivated.

“That video was very inspiring,” Coffman said. “And to see him there made it better. Usually when I’m behind in a race, I don’t think I can come back, but Jason Lezak has inspired me that I can come back.”

The swimmers’ parents, especially the mothers, appeared starstruck to have an Olympic hero visit their neighborhood pool. Cameras flashed and home video recorders zoomed in as Lezak spoke, and again as he jumped in the pool to teach the swimmers.

“This is a phenomenal opportunity for them to have [Lezak] speak to them,” said Julie Browman, the mother of swimmers Ford Secrist, 11, and Siena Secrist, 9. “The things he said were just great and it’s stuff we tell our kids all the time. But to have him say it, makes all the difference.”

Via: Daily Pilot

According to French reports today, France is to hold talks this week with arena over a modified version of the X-Glide, the original finished version in which Alain Bernard became the first man to break 47sec in the 100m freestyle at French nationals in April.

Bernard, under the supervision of coach Denis Auguin, tried out the latest version of X-Glide during an eight-day high-altitude training camp in Italy, according to L’Equipe, though an arena spokesperson said that no such testing had taken place at this stage. The modified X-Glide must be submitted for retesting by a June 19 deadline after the suit in which Bernard clocked 46.94 was deemed to trap air to a level unacceptable to Prof Jan-Anders Manson and his team of independent testers in Lausanne.

French head coach Lionel Horter tells L’Equipe today: “We will make that point [dates and timing] to Arena this week. If the material is approved, we would only be able to test in in racing once before the world championships in Rome. We wouldn’t be able to try it until the Mediterranean Games (June 26-30).

During the Mare Nostrum Tour, during which Bernard will clash with Eamon Sullivan and the LZR suit he has been able to keep for this summer, all suits not yet approved by FINA will not be allowed in the race pool. “That’s a logical position,” said Horter. “But its a mad situation in which it is the organisers and protagonists who are sorting all of that out, while FINA has yet to clarify the situation.” Barcelona is the only leg of the Mare Nostrum yet to fall in line.

Coach to Fred Bousquet, Romain Barnier, told L’Equipe that if Barcelona allow the Jaked01 in which the sprinter clocked a yet-to-be ratified 20.94 50m freestyle world record back in April then Bousquet will wear it. Olympic 50m champion Cesar Cielo, in Bernard’s arena stable, accompanies Bousquet on tour. 

FINA indicated in Lausanne last week that the results of retested suits may be ready before the June 19 deadline for submission of modified apparel if suit makers had handed in their devices in time. The Paris Open unfolds June 19-21.

Via: Craig Lord, Swim News

La Fédération Internationale de Natation gèle les records des français Bernard et Bousquet. En cause la révolution technologique de combinaisons qui auraient ”créé” 126 records depuis mars 2008. Jaked 01 et X-Glide d’Arena particulièrement dans le collimateur. À la veille des championnats du monde, c’est le chaos…

Alain Bernard, sans sa combinaison

Messieurs, il faudra peut-être rendre vos médailles! Les combinaisons “Jaked 01″ et X-Glide d’Arena ne sont pas en conformité avec les règles imposées par la Fédération. C’est ce qu’a décidé hier la Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) à Lausanne.

La décision est rétroactive, et ainsi, en l’état, les récents records du monde établis par Alain Bernard (100m) et Frederick Bousquet (50m) sont SUSPENDUS. Voici la liste des records concernés comme reporté par l’édition papier de La Gazzetta dello Sport:

• 200 sl / 1′54”57 : FEDERICA PELLEGRINI (It) Homologué
• 50 fa / 22′43” : RAFAEL MUNOZ (Esp) SUSPENDU
• 100 sl / 46′94” : ALAIN BERNARD (Fra) SUSPENDU
• 50 sl / 20′94” : FREDERICK BOUSQUET (Fra) SUSPENDU
• 50 ra / 30′05” : JULYA EFIMOVA (Rus) SUSPENDU
• 200 do / 1′52”86” : RYOSUKE IRIE (Jap) SUSPENDU

Le record du monde de Federica Pellegrini serait homologué UNIQUEMENT parce qu’il a été réalisé le 8 mars, peu de jours avant que soient définies les nouvelles normes par la Charte de Dubai. La FINA a annoncé qu’elle prendra une décision sur les records suspendus après avoir également analysé les tests antidopings réalisés lors de ces compétitions. Selon La Gazzetta dello Sport, la France aurait indiqué de “ne plus utiliser ces combinaisons jusqu’à nouvel ordre”.

En cause la révolution technologique des combinaisons qui auraient ”créé” 126 records depuis mars 2008. Pas une paille.

Les experts ont examinés (en conformité avec la charte établie à Dubai le 14 mars 2009) et testé 348 combinaisons réalisées par 21 fabricants. 202 ont été approuvées, 10 rejetées, et 136 (dont Jaked 01 et l’Arena X-Glide) ont été déclarées non-conformes et renvoyées à un examen futur, le 19 juin 2009 : 30 jours pour remédier, et ce à la veille des championnats du monde.

Principales ”victimes”: ARENA X GLIDE, JAKED 01, des nouvelles productions de MINZUNO, BLUESEVENTY et DIANA. La pricipale accusation envers le “Jaked” serait qu’il “retienne de l’air”.

Accusation: la composition complète des combinaisons en polyuréthane, favorisant la production de bulles d’air entre peau et combinaison,augmentant la capacité de ”flottement” des nageurs. Prochaine étape donc le 19 juin.

On est aussi, on le répète, à la veille des championnats du Monde de Natation.

a&c

Sources (papier, 20.05.2009): La Gazzetta dello Sport, La Repubblica

El nadador francés Alain Bernard batió la marca de los 100 metros libres en la semifinal del Campeonato de Natación de Francia que se lleva a cabo en Montpellier.

Con un tiempo de 46 segundos y 94 centésimas, Bernard se convierte en el primer nadador en bajar la barrera de los 47 segundos, y de paso, recupera el récord que le había arrebatado el australiano Eamon Sullivan durante los pasados juegos olímpicos.

“Lo único que puedo decir es que ha sido mítico. Sabía que podía hacer una marca importante, pero no esperaba bajar de 47 segundos”, señaló el nuevo poseedor del récord mundial.

(Alain Bernard. E’ suo il record mondiale nei 100 metri stile libero)
Sensazionale risultato ai campionati di Nuoto che si stanno svolgendo in Francia. L’atleta in questione, Alain Bernard ha stabilito il nuovo record mondiale dei 100 metri stile libero in 46′94. Aveva già due titoli europei (50 e 100 metri stile libero), ottenuti a Eindhoven nel 2008. Ma questo risultato supera oltremisura le sue già grandissime prestazioni, ottenute la scorsa stagione in Olanda. Il nuotatore transalpino ha ottenuto questo strepitoso risultato, infrangendo il precedente record che l’australiano Eamon Sullivan aveva stabilito ai Giochi di Pechino il 13 agosto in 47′05. E’ il primo “delfino”, dunque, a scendere sotto i 47′.

Ecco la cronologia degli ultimi record stabiliti sulla distanza dei 100 m:

48′18 Michael Klim (Aus) 16 settembre 2000 Sydney
47′84 Pieter van den Hoogenband (Ola) 19 settembre 2000 Sydney
47′60 Alain Bernard (Fra) 21 marzo 2008 Eindhoven
47′50 Alain Bernard (Fra) 22 marzo 2008 Eindhoven
47′24 Eamon Sullivan (Aus) 11 agosto 2008 Pechino
47′20 Alain Bernard (Fra) 13 agosto 2008 Pechino
47′05 Eamon Sullivan (Aus) 13 agosto 2008 Pechino
46′94 Alain Bernard (Fra) 23 aprile 2009 Montpellier

I know I haven’t blogged in about a million years, but I’ve been working two jobs and traveling and being sick and obsessively watching the West Wing, so I’m sorry. But moving on, I made this “Best of 2008″ playlist a bit ago, and no, it’s not definitive or anything, but it’s fun. And it’s also a good way to break down the year as it was anyways.

Kanye West – Love Lockdown: Leave it to Kanye to make a slow, kind of boring song that relies heavily on autotune to be one of my favorite songs of the year. But hell, that was rap music this year. Autotune. And R&B, as apparently Chris Brown, who can sing you know, was named Billboard’s artist of the year and got down with the Autotune on a bunch of his songs this year. CB & TP, oowee.

Little Joy – Brand New Start: Yes, they’re more commonly known as Fabrizio Moretti’s other group, but damnit, they’re catchy and good and fantastic and you should listen to them. While you have your own brand new start in 2009. With Barack Obama as President. We blogged the hell out of election night, and it ended beautifully. I’m aware this is a love song, just go with it, please?

Jenny Lewis – See Fernando: Just let it all go. And have the race of your life. Right, Jason Lezak?

Election aside, this is easily one of my favorite moments of the year. After Alain Bernard smack talked Team USA, he jumped in at prime physical condition ahead of the 32-year-old Jason Lezak. And what did Lezak do? Oh, he only swam the fastest 100 meter freestyle split in history. This year is about nothing if not for being about the little people. For every Michael Phelps, there was a Jason Lezak that got to shine this year. And it was great.

Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal: Fleet Foxes’ songs are literally more about melody and harmony than lyrically content, so I’m just going to take this time to talk about my favorite movies of the year. And really, I’m just going to list them. Since I just ran through a list of films that came out in 2008 in chronological order, that’s how these are listed.

In Bruges
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Iron Man
The Dark Knight
Man on Wire
Pineapple Express
Synecdoche
Milk
Doubt
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I have not seen Wall-E, Frost/Nixon, or Slumdog Millionaire yet, so the list may change in time. Who knows. Who cares.

Adele – Cold Shoulder: Man, what a good time for women this year. Seriously. Female Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Female Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Katie Hoff was kind of fail blog, though, but whatever, because there was also Adele, Duffy, Lykke Li, Santogold, Portishead, Zooey Deschanel, Suri Cruise, Celisse and me…

T.I. – Whatever You Like: Regardless of how you feel about rap music, this was a pretty great year for it. I personally cannot stand Lil Wayne, but hey, everybody else loved Tha Carter III. And T.I. is pretty much the T.I.P. (ha.) for me. Paper Trails is amazing. He managed to have a track with all of the heavyweights that sampled one of the great songs of 2007 (“Paper Planes”). And without this song, we would never have been able to post this in our blog or laugh hysterically at this website or even allow the children from the Ron Clark school to remind us that we can vote however we like.

And besides all of that, this is a fantastic song. The tag at the end? “Hey Jim, Hey Jim.” It’s perfect. It’s perfect. I’m not kidding.

Frightened Rabbit – The Modern Leper: Because we’re all masochists and sometimes we all need a little anthem of indie rock to remind us that. And/or to remind us of all of the fabulous screw-ups of the year. Hello, Bernie Madoff. Hello, BLAGOJEVICH! Hello, collapsing financial institutions and auto industries that we continue to bail out while WaMu screws me over. Wow, maybe I should never listen to this song again. I just got all worked up.

Vampire Weekend – Oxford Comma: I’ve already explained my love for Vampire Weekend. And Lil Jon always tells the truth. Because rap music had a great year. YEAH.

The Dodos – Red and Purple: The Dodos are the only band that I will allow to have a typo in their album name (Visiter). And that’s only because this album is so freaking good. Just as good as that time that Josh Hamilton hit like 9234 homeruns at Yankee Stadium.

The Walkmen – In the New Year: So pretty much the Walkmen are amazing, and this year they put out a record which is getting them a decent amout of deserved acclaim. Hamilton Leithauser has, in my opinion, one of the best voices in rock right now. He sounds Dylanesque, and then he jumps out at you and holds a note that has you holding your breath. They may not put on the most exciting live shows, but they’re always captivating and it is something to see.

Not Eli Manning.

He also kind of looks like Eli Manning, quarterback of your World Champion New York Giants. And what a game that was, huh?

She & Him – Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?: The year’s biggest WTF moment for me happened this week. Zooey Deschanel (of She & Him) and Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie) got engaged. Apparently they’ve been dating for over a year. Where were the hipster papparazzi on this one? Why did the world still think she was dating a dude from AFI and initally report that she was engaged to him? And more importantly, is she the one causing Ben Gibbard to lose weight like a mad man? Because dude weighs like 5 lbs now. It’s truly bizarre. I’m so confused. So out of left field. But good for them. It’s a match made in indie heaven.

I am super skinny and you can see my cheekbones now and I have thick mutton chops and it's freaky.

Deerhunter – Microcastle: I saw Deerhunter this summer. Sadly enough, this was pretty slim pickings concert wise for me. Kaiser Chiefs put on one of the best shows I saw, and that might have had a large part to do with Jay-Z standing right in front of me. Anyways, the Deerhunter show was at the McCarren Park Pool, a Brooklyn summer hotspot for the last few years which sadly put on its last show this summer. When it returns, it will be a real live pool! But there will be no more dodgeball or free shows or hanging out in the park drinking margaritas from the Turkey’s Nest instead of paying to see the non free ones. Dang.

Lykke Li – I’m Good, I’m Gone: We’ve already talked some about how this was a great year for the women, especially in music. And politics. But I’m kind of talked out now, so you should all just dance. Right now. Because we worked hard this year, and it’s time to celebrate that.

Girl Talk – Play Your Part, Pt. 2: Just keep dancing. 2008 was more like 200hate instead of 200great, with some good moments thrown in. I’m just ready for 200fine now.

Happy New Year! My gift to you?

Eamon Sullivan's torso. I know you missed it.

I know you’ve missed it. I have, too.