Posted by: Alexandra Jefferson | July 19, 2009

Dubai Named Host of 2013 FINA World Championships

finaThe city of Dubai (UAE) will be the organiser of the 15th FINA World Championships, to be held in 2013. The announcement was made on July 18, 2009 after the FINA Bureau voted on the three Cities/National Federations that presented their candidature for this competition: Dubai (UAE), Hamburg (GER) and Moscow (RUS). Dubai will also organise in December 2010 the 10th edition of the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m). Before the 2013 FINA World Championships (including the five FINA aquatic disciplines), the 14th edition of this competition will take place in Shanghai (CHN) on July 16-31, 2011. At the Press Conference announcing the winner for 2013, the FINA President Mustapha Larfaoui also spoke about the 13th FINA World Championships Rome 2009, which will start officially today. “We are again in the Italian capital, organising city of the 1994 FINA World Championships and certainly ready to host with the same success the major competition of the FINA calendar here at the spectacular venue of the Foro Italico”, said Mr. Larfaoui. He then continued: “The first record of the competition was already established: 2600 athletes from 179 nations will be present in Rome, a new record in the history of this event.” The FINA President concluded by thanking the Organising Committee for its work and all those involved in the set-up of the competition, namely the Host Broadcaster RAI, responsible for transmitting the images of the championships in High Definition (a first in the history of the competition).

Posted by: Alexandra Jefferson | July 17, 2009

Ticket Reservations for World Championships available

fina world championshipRome is ready to welcome to all the fans who want to attend to the 13th FINA World Championships planned from July 18th to August 2nd 2009 in Italy.

Currently, you can make your pre-emption to purchase tickets by filling out the reservation form and sending it to the e-mail address: ticketingoffice@roma09.it.

Later, you will receive a confirmation about your request and the guidelines to make the payment (bank transfer, credit card, bank card, cash). The collection of the subscriptions and/or tickets will be done directly at the Foro Italico, in Piazza Lauro de Bosis, 3 – 00194 – Roma.

The Opening Ceremony of the 13th FINA World Championships will take place on July 18th 2009. The Opening Ceremony location will be communicated as soon as possible. Ticket purchase information for the opening ceremonies is pending. 

 

For information on competition schedules, tickets or seats, please click on one of the following links:
COMPETITION SCHEDULE

PRICES and SEATING REPARTITION IN THE STADIUMS

TICKETS RESERVATION and/or SUBSCRIPTIONS FORM

Posted by: Alexandra Jefferson | July 17, 2009

U.S Swimming Nationals Results

us nationalsAt Indiana University Natatorium, Indianapolis:

Men

50 Freestyle Swimoff

1. Cullen Jones, Irvington, N.J., 21.41 seconds (American record; old record 21.47 by Garrett Weber-Gale, USA, July 5, 2008). 2. Garrett Weber-Gale, Milwaukee, 21.70.

200 Backstroke

1. Aaron Peirsol, Irvine, Calif., 1 minute, 53.08 seconds (World record; old record 1:53.94 by Ryan Lochte, USA, Aug. 15, 2008). 2. Ryan Lochte, Daytona Beach, Fla., 1:54.21. 3. Tyler Clary, Riverside, Calif., 1:54.53. 4. Nick Thoman, Cincinnati, 1:54.83. 5. Rex Tullius, Port Orange, Fla., 1:57.97. 6. David Russell, Wellesley, Mass., 1:59.28. 7. Matt Thompson, Dallas, 1:59.57. 8. Hayes Johnson, Nashville, Tenn., 2:00.67.

200 Breaststroke

1. Eric Shanteau, Lilburn, Ga., 2:08.01 (American record; old record 2:08.43 by Shanteau, July 11, 2009, prelims). 2. Adam Klein, New Orleans, 2:10.39. 3. Curtis Lovelace, Old Hickory, Tenn., 2:10.96. 4. Scott Spann, Austin, Texas, 2:11.12. 5. Aaron Opell, Newburgh, Ind., 2:12.09. 6. Matthew Lowe, Minot, N.D., 2:12.58. 7. Bart Steninger, Elko, Nev., 2:13.14. 8. Jack Brown, Atlanta, 2:13.86.

1,500 Freestyle

1. Jackson Wilcox, Nashville, Tenn., 15:11.98. 2. Brennan Morris, Albany, N.Y., 15:13.47. 3. Andrew Gemmell, Wilmington, Del., 15:15.62. 4. Josef Kinderwater, Lancaster, Pa., 15:17.35. 5. Dane Vanderkaay, Rochester, Mich., 15:18.52. 6. Charlie Houchin, Raleigh, N.C., 15:21.20. 7. Michael McBroom, The Woodlands, Texas, 15:23.73. 8. Ian Rowe, Towson, Md., 15:30.02.

Women

100 Freestyle

1. Dana Vollmer, Granbury, Texas, 54.00. 2. Amanda Weir, Lawrenceville, Ga., 54.03. 3. Christine Magnuson, Tinley Park, Ill., 54.36. 4. Julia Smit, Mount Sinai, N.Y., 54.38. 5. Kate Dwelley, Brentwood, Calif., 54.72. 6. Caitlin Geary, Jacksonville, Fla., 54.73. 7. Kara Lynn Joyce, Athens, Ga., 54.79. 8. Lacey Nymeyer, Tucson, Ariz., 54.83.

200 Breaststroke

1. Rebecca Soni, Plainsboro, N.J., 2:20.38 (U.S. Open record; old record 2:22.44 by Amanda Beard, USA, July 12, 2004). 2. Keri Hehn, Fargo, N.D., 2:23.70. 3. Ashley Wanland, Long Grove, Ill., 2:25.90. 4. Elizabeth Smith, St. Louis, 2:26.84. 5. Elizabeth Tinnon, Bowling Green, Ky., 2:26.90. 6. Megan Jendrick, Tacoma, Wash., 2:27.12. 7. Sara Nicponski, Salt Lake City, 2:28.43. 8. Justine Mueller, Monroe, Mich., 2:29.12.

800 Freestyle

1. Chloe Sutton, Mission Viejo, Calif., 8:29.34. 2. Haley Anderson, Granite Bay, Calif., 8:31.66. 3. Ashley Steenvoorden, East Brunswick, N.J., 8:31.95. 4. Amber McDermott, Mill Creek, Wash., 8:38.83. 5. Emily Brunemann, Crescent Springs, Ky., 8:41.59. 6. Maggie Bird, Muncie, Ind., 8:42.96. 7. Kelsey Ditto, Austin, Texas, 8:44.31. 8. Caroline Burckle, Louisville, Ky., 8:44.86.

Posted by: Alexandra Jefferson | July 17, 2009

Under Armour’s New Recovery Suit

recovery suitForget the Jaked 01, LZR, The Nero and all those tech swim suits check out this post workout recovery suit from Under Armour. 

It’s a compression suit that the company has designed for athletes to wear for 24 hours after their big workouts. Under Armour says it helps reduce swelling and soreness time and re-energizes the body for the next workout.

Read the full article on CNBC.

michael_phelps_espy_awardsMichael Phelps has won a leading five ESPY Awards, including male athlete of the year, ending the five-year reign of Tiger Woods, who earned his record 22nd trophy.

Source: Fox6Now

Posted by: Alexandra Jefferson | July 16, 2009

Go Swim Freestyle with Jason Lezak

This is a short trailer for the DVD on Jason’s Freestyle: Gold Medalist and World Record holder Jason Lezak shares the key focus points that he uses to develop his awesome freestyle technique.

Here is a link to the Go Swim with Jason Lezak page:  http://www.goswim.tv/

Posted by: Alexandra Jefferson | July 13, 2009

Jaked 01 Test

By: Getty Images

By: Getty Images

Technical Manager Paolo Fratini of Italian company Jaked makes a mechanical air-permeability test with Jaked 01 swimsuit at a press conference on June 30, 2009 in Pescara on the sidelines of XVI Mediterranean Games. Jaked’s swuimsuit J01 that has been recently approved by World swimming body FINA after a controversy on apparent performance advantage in water, has been chosen by Italian Swimming Federation for the upcoming Swiming World Championships held in Rome. A decision, that might cause problems for swimmers who are on a contract with other sponsors.

Source: DayLife, image by: Getty Images.

Posted by: Alexandra Jefferson | July 13, 2009

U.S. swim team heads to Rome with a lot of expectations

michael_phelps3The U.S. team headed to the world swimming championships in Rome has a lot to live up to. The Americans won a leading 36 medals, including 20 golds at the 2007 worlds in Australia.

Michael Phelps, who earned seven golds as a prelude to his record-setting performance at the Beijing Olympics, is back to swim in three individual sprint events and likely all three relays in Rome.

Olympians Dara Torres, Aaron Peirsol and Ryan Lochte will be there too, but there’s plenty of inexperienced youngsters joining them.

“It’ll be a real challenge to be close to our medal count from 2007,” said Mark Schubert, head coach and general manager of the U.S. national team. “This is more of a building year for us.”

That’s especially apparent on the women’s side, where at 42, Torres is practically a senior citizen next to 15-year-old Elizabeth Pelton. The youngster from the same North Baltimore club as Phelps will swim the 50, 100 and 200-metre backstroke events in the biggest meet yet of her young career.

Other first-timers headed to Rome are 16-year-old Elizabeth Beisel, 17-year-old Dagny Knutson, 18-year-old Alyssa Anderson and 23-year-old Hayley McGregory.

“There’s a lot of people on their first world championship-level team and that’s always exciting,” said Bob Bowman, Phelps’ coach who will oversee the men’s team.

“We’re very excited that they’re going to get a chance to see this level, but it’s very hard to step up to that level from what they’ve been doing.”

Olympians Katie Hoff, Margaret Hoelzer, Megan Jendrick, Kara Lynn Joyce, Whitney Myers and Elaine Breeden failed to qualify at nationals, opening up spots on the women’s side.

Others like Natalie Coughlin, Amanda Beard, Brendan Hansen, Ian Crocker, Erik Vendt and Larsen Jensen are either taking the year off or have retired.

Among the new faces on the men’s team are Tyler Clary, Dan Madwed, Tyler McGill, Jackson Wilcox and Brennan Morris. They’ll be joined by Olympians Nathan Adrian, Eric Shanteau, Matt Grevers, Cullen Jones, Peter Vanderkaay and Garrett Weber-Gale.

“The 2007 world team was our best ever and I don’t think we’re there,” Bowman said. “We’ll have a lot to prove with this team.”

Torres qualified for her first world championships since 1986, and she’ll swim the 50 freestyle despite an ailing left knee that needs surgery later this summer.

Lochte qualified in three individual events, including the 200 backstroke, which figures to be one of the best races of the eight-day competition that begins July 26.

He, Peirsol, who broke the 100 and 200 backstroke world records at nationals, and Ryosuke Irie of Japan will duke it out in the July 31 race.

At the five-day U.S. nationals, the high-tech suits that have turned swimming and its world record book upside down over the last year were the hot topic. The debate will surely continue in Rome, where athletes will have to choose their suits from a list approved by the sport’s world governing body.

“It’s unfortunate if it makes a difference in who the world champion is,” Schubert said, referring to the suits. “We want athleticism to determine the true world champions.”

Some suits on the list were initially rejected for competition and then later approved after manufacturers modified them, which ticked off the world’s swimming superpowers of the United States and Australia.

Many athletes and coaches expect some suits currently on the list to be banned by next year as FINA continues laboratory tests for buoyancy, thickness and water resistance.

At nationals, swimmers experimented with various versions, sometimes changing what they wore from morning heats to evening finals. An inspector checked the suits to make sure they were FINA-approved and no-one was wearing two, which is now illegal.

“It is a huge distraction and it’s not good for our sport,” Schubert said. “There are some athletes that are very loyal to their (sponsor) company and may have not made changes because of that loyalty. It may have cost them a spot on the team.”

Schubert would like to see the suits go back to being made of material used in 2007 before companies came out with polyurethane versions.

“These present world records are artificially aided,” he said, including the ones set at the Beijing Games.

Posted by: Alexandra Jefferson | July 13, 2009

Razorback swimming coach to lead USA team in Maccabiah Games

Maccabiah 2009The American team at the Maccabiah Games beginning Today in Israel will be led by Arkansas swimming coach Jeff Poppell.

“I feel very excited and honored to have the opportunity,” Poppell said. “This will be an unbelievable experience for all involved. I appreciate the total support that the University of Arkansas is giving me to help realize this dream.”

Poppell represented the United States Open Swimming team in a previous staging of Maccabiah Games, bringing home a gold, silver and two bronze medals. This year’s edition will be held Monday through July 23.

In his third season at Arkansas, Poppell led the 2008-09 Razorbacks to a program-high 10 dual wins and a fifth-place finish at the Southeastern Conference Championships.

Posted by: Alexandra Jefferson | July 13, 2009

Japanese Federation Sticks to Ryosuke Irie Ratification Decision

Ryosuke_IrieThe Japanese Swimming Federation has decided to stick to its unilateral decision to ratify Ryosuke Irie’s men’s 200 back time of 1:52.86 as its national record. However, the federation is going …

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