Happy 30th Anniversary Mr. and Mrs. H!

Enjoy your week in Jamaica!

Some links to celebrate with:

Beijing Olympic Torch Relay Route Defined; Torch Design Released
Lenton denied World Record
Aaron's Race for the Ocean's blog
Ian's Swimroom Blog
Brendan's Blog - awww, shoot. He doesn't have one. Dangit Brendan! Get with the program! You neeeeeds a blog!

Longhorn Aquatics takes fourth straight Club Excellence title

As Jenny mentioned in the comments below, Longhorn Aquatics has won yet again. I've read comments at other sites about Texas swimmers not having such a great year, etc., but I think this speaks for itself. Even in what has been a bit of an off year them, the guys from Texas are still better than everyone else. Congrats to them all!

From USA Swimming:

For the fourth straight year, Longhorn Aquatics, based in Austin, Texas, has earned the top spot in USA Swimming's Club Excellence Program, scoring 47,293 points. Each year, the Club Excellence Program identifies and recognizes USA Swimming clubs for their commitment to excellence in operation, performance, and for their support of the sport and USA Swimming.

This year, USA Swimming had 166 clubs apply for Club Excellence recognition, the highest number of clubs to participate in the program's five year history. In addition to Longhorn, North Baltimore Aquatic Club (43,339 points) and Mecklenburg Aquatic Club (26,895) round out the top three. (The point total indicates the total points scored from the FINA Long Course Performance Ratings/IPS "International Point Score" rating system).

Two clubs achieved have achieved gold medal status for the first time this year, Bulldog Aquatic Club of Livonia, Mich.; and Long Island Aquatic Club, based in East Meadow, N.Y.

A total of $320,000 in grant dollars will be distributed to 100 Gold- and Silver-level clubs. Final grant awards will be announced by July 23.

Happy Birthday Dana Cara!

Drums fingers on desktop...

Soooooo...No Brendan news really. Duel in the Pool was fun to watch over the weekend and it was great to finally see the 200 Breaststroke and the lovely poolside interviews. Other than that I got nuthin' muffin.

In other swimmer news - the beautiful Margaret Hoelzer was in town for a clinic and fundraiser over the weekend and threw out the first pitch for our local baseball team the Huntsville Stars. It was great to see the hometown girl getting star treatment from the local press with video of her pitch (stick to swimming Margaret) and an interview feature showing her gold medal swim in the 200 back.

Michael plans to swim the Mare Nostrum series in Europe so that should be interesting. I missed Michael on the Tonight Show so you guys will have to tell me what happened.

And finally, those of you who'd like to see some great swimming and hang out with all us cool BHOer's in May (17th - 20th) should try to attend the Ann Arbor Grand Prix. I have no idea yet who will be swimming but last year we got all the Michigan swimmers with a few Auburn folks, some hot Canadians and an Ian Crocker thrown in for good measure. I believe this will be the first meet with morning finals so it will be interesting to see how that goes (and if I can be awake and on time). Myself, Blair, Lala, Peter and Tim will all be there and I hope anyone else going will get in touch so we can meet up.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONICA!

Beijing Anyone?

Ticket request phase is now underway! You just need a friend living in China to reserve them for you if I'm reading it correctly. I can't seem to find a date for when tickets will be made available for people overseas.

Swimming World has details.

Don't miss Michael Phelps on the Tonight Show tonight and Duel in the Pool is on this weekend! Wheeeee!

I've been busy with a research paper and final project and haven't had much time for posting this week but hopefully next week will see some relief!

Some REAL swimmin' going on at USC....

USC football coach Pete Carroll raced Will Ferrell yesterday at the 27th annual "Swim with Mike" which benefits the USC Scholarship fund for Physically Challenged Athletes.

Will looked like a sure thing for the win on the blocks with his tiny blue speedo and perfect physical form, however going with the butterfly stroke on the last lap probably wasn't the best choice and ultimately cost him the victory. Of his loss he said - "I'm extremely disappointed in my performance today. I've trained almost all my life for this moment - I just came up a little bit short."

There's no shame in Silver Will (unless it's a two man race), and despite the loss you're still a winner for rockin' that speedo.

Some amateur video of the event posted on You Tube. Looks like Will could teach Brendan and Ian a few things about Breaststroke and Fly.

Texas exes eye rebound

Swimmers now shooting for big things in Beijing

By John Maher
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, April 12, 2007

The Road to Beijing got off to a rough start for four former University of Texas swimmers and Olympic gold medalists. Although Ian Crocker, Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen and Neil Walker all picked up gold and/or silver medals at the recent swimming world championships in Australia, they also suffered a bizarre series of mishaps that had them upset, dissed, disqualified and even quarantined.

"They say good luck travels in groups and sometimes bad luck does, too," Walker said. "It was hard for our group to have it now."

Hansen warned, "I think as a Texas team on the international stage, we were all kind of upset and we don't handle disappointment well. We come back pushing harder."

The FINA world championships, held in Melbourne, were the biggest international meet before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and a chance for swimmers from all over the world to see where they stood heading into the Olympic stretch run. The championships turned out to be a show of force for most U.S. swimmers, including Michael Phelps, who won seven gold medals and could easily have won eight had he not been sideswiped by the Texas troubles.

Walker and Hansen were named captains for the U.S. team, and the meet got off to a promising start for the Austin contingent. On March 25, Walker picked up a gold medal as the United States' 400-meter freestyle relay team set a world championship meet record. The next day, Hansen picked up a gold in the 100 breaststroke, beating Olympic gold medalist and rival Kosuke Kitajima of Japan.

"I was money going in," Hansen said. "I told (assistant U.S. men's coach) Ed (Reese) this is the best I've ever felt going into a meet."

Crocker then won a silver medal in the 50 butterfly, neither his specialty nor an Olympic event, beaten only by South Africa's Roland Schoeman, one of the best sprinters in the world.

On March 27, Peirsol beat a strong field in the 100 backstroke, setting a world record of 52.98 seconds.

"That was wonderful," he said. "That night I was the third person on the U.S. team to break the world record. I knew it was a pretty good pool. I knew I was feeling good and I knew it would take something good to win.

"That was an extremely fast heat. The fifth-place swimmer would have won the Olympics in 2004."

On March 28, Hansen, known more for his strength than his speed, picked up a silver in the 50 breaststroke after being touched out by Oleg Lisogor of the Ukraine.

Problems, however, surfaced right after that race.

"I started cramping up in the drug-testing room," Hansen said. "I started getting really cold, but I was hot and shivering . . . the doctor took my temperature and it was 102."

Hansen had been rooming with Walker, but he soon had his own room in the Park Hyatt — on a different floor than the other U.S. swimmers, none of whom were allowed to visit him. The team doctor, fearing Hansen had something contagious, quarantined him.

The next day, things continued to head south Down Under.

In his individual event, the 100 freestyle, Walker swam a sluggish 49.83 seconds and finished 22nd in the preliminaries.

Then came Black Friday. Hansen, feeling somewhat better, got back in the water on March 30, but was still weak and wasn't cleared to swim by Reese. Kitajima won the 200 breaststroke in a so-so time while the competitive Hansen was forced to watch the race on television by himself in his room.

From there, he also saw Peirsol's race. While Peirsol has been the world's best in the 100 backstroke, his forte is more endurance than speed. He calls the 200 his baby and hadn't been beaten internationally at that distance in more than six years.

"Aaron turned first at the 150 (mark) and when he does that he does not lose a race," Hansen said. "But (American Ryan) Lochte kicked out and beat him on the last 50."

Peirsol said, "It was a shock. It's one of those things. I've been at the top for so long."

Lochte, a Florida alum, not only took the gold, he broke Peirsol's world record.

It was a stunner and a bigger one was yet to come. Crocker, who had the fastest times in the prelims and semifinals of the 100 butterfly, was nudged for the gold by Phelps, who finished in 50.77, .05 seconds ahead of Crocker. The two have hooked up in some of the most exciting swimming battles in recent years, and the 100 butterfly is one of the few events where Phelps has serious competition.

With his seventh gold medal in hand, Phelps seemed to be a lock for the record eighth, swimming the butterfly leg for the U.S. medley relay team that had its sights on a world record, as both Hansen and Peirsol looked for a measure of redemption.

After being beaten in the butterfly by Phelps, Crocker was placed in the preliminaries for the medley relay as opposed to his customary spot in the final. Others on the morning team were Walker in the freestyle and anchor leg, Lochte and breaststroker Scott Usher.

While Walker was used to swimming behind Crocker, Crocker typically swims behind Hansen, who makes a point of powering all the way to the wall. As Usher was fading, Crocker wound up and took off one one-hundredth of a second too early.

Peirsol, who watched on TV, said, "There's nothing you can do. It looked pretty close. I held my mouth open that this was not really going to happen. The rest of the world was pretty happy, I guess."

With the world championship struggles as motivation, the four Texas exes are already back at the pool - and the stadium.

"Eddie's going old school; he had us running the stadium steps," Hansen said. "When we walked away from the worlds, we said that is not what we we wanted to do. This is motivation. We're going to light up the (U.S.) trials, go to the Olympics and absolutely blow it away."

jmaher@statesman.com; 445-3956

Setting the bar higher

Stung by their recent setbacks at the world swimming championships, Brendan Hansen envisions these goals for the Texas trio of Ian Crocker, Aaron Peirsol and himself. The three are now pointing toward the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

EVENT WORLD RECORD HOLDER

100-meter butterfly 50.40 seconds Ian Crocker

Hansen: 'Ian will be the first butterflier to break 50 (seconds).'

200 backstroke 1:54.32 Ryan Lochte (U.S.)

Hansen: 'I think Aaron can go 1:52.'

200 breaststroke 2:08.50 Brendan Hansen

Hansen: 'I talked to former Michigan coach Jon Urbanchek. He said there's no reason I can't go 2:06.'

Thanks for the link Jessie!

More from Duel in the Pool!

The Men's 100 Breaststroke...



And the Mixed Relay with Libby Lenton's WR...



From BeeSwim at You Tube

OMG RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

THE EASTER BUNNY IS GOING TO EAT US ALL!



He's obviously already eaten this guys family. Imagine what kind of luck one of those feet could bring you...

• Easter Games
• Peep Show
• More Peep Dioramas
  
• Peep Research - Don't miss the Medical Miracle link on this page.
• Lord of the Peeps
• Peep Library Behavior
• Peeps: A lot tougher than you think
• Peep Haikus - I may have to try my hand at this
• Where Do Peeps Come From
• PeepHenge
• The Bunnies Strike Back
• Peep Prank

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Men's 4x100 Medley Relay from Duel in the Pool

Thanks lala!

A few (hot) random Bren pics...

From the most recent edition of V-Man Magazine. Check their website for availability (nothing near me).



From Glenn Mills over at GoSwim.tv, along with a nice article about his experiences working on all the Ultimate Technique camps.



Nike team posters now available! Buy one here.

Prediction Contest Results

GOLD: Andrea 721

SILVER: Amy 703 AND Blair 703

BRONZE: Tink 701

AQGallstars (aka Stewie, the Falcon and the Chin, woot woot!) 693
Michelle 693
Sarah 690
Jessie 686
NZSwimmer 681
Tim the Swimmer 671
Devan 663
Kristine Penfold 661
Jenny 654
Palmiro 649
Andrew 625
Lotus Sport 611
Terrie 602
Stone Cold Button 594

CONGRATULATIONS ANDREA! You win the donuts and the BHO t-shirt. Just email me with your desired shirt size and preference for Krispy Kreme or Dunkin' Donuts and let me know if your address has changed since June 06.

And Congratulations also to Stone Cold Button who has won the super-duper loser prize - one of my son's band t-shirts signed by the band. Email me a shipping address and desired shirt size.

Thanks to everyone who participated this year. Come back in May - I think we may do the next one for the Namesnik Memorial Grand Prix in Ann Arbor.

Duel in the Pool Results

USA WINS! 181.5 to 129.5 . And no thanks to USA Swimming I can now post full results.


Matt King/Getty Images

From Swimming Australia:

400 Metre Mixed Freestyle Relay
Australia 1) L Lenton 2) E Sullivan 4) K Monk 3:23.41
United States of America 1) M Phelps 2) K Joyce 3) L Nymeyer 4) J Lezak 3:25.80

WOMEN

400 Individual Medley

K Hoff (USA) 4:37.55
A Kukors (USA) 4:39.51
C Leverenz (USA) 4:40.89
J Reilly (Aust) 4:41.17
K Sandeno (USA) 4:41.89
S Williams (Aust) 5:36.00

100 Metre Butterfly

J Schipper (Aust) 57.77
R Komisarz (USA) 58.16
D Vollmer (USA) 58.35
F Galvez (Aust) 59.53
K Vandenberg (USA) 59.61
M De Scenza (USA) 59.87
L Davenport (Aust) 1:00.04
D Miatke (Aust) 1:00.35

100 Metre Backstroke

N Coughlin (USA) 59.83
M Hoelzer (USA) 1:00.66
L Vaziri (USA) 1:00.79
E Seebohm (Aust) 1:01.20
T Zimmer (Aust) 1:02.02
S Edington (Aust) 1:02.10
F Adcock (Aust) 1:02.32
E Beisel (USA) 1:02.99

100 Metre Breaststroke

T Kirk (USA) 1:06.72
L Jones (Aust) 1:06.80
R Soni (USA) 1:07.81
J Hardy (USA) 1:07.97
J Edmistone (Aust) 1:08.24
M Jendrick (USA) 1:08.41
T White (Aust) 1:08.52
S Foster (Aust) 1:08.78

100 Metre Freestyle

L Lenton (Aust) 54.08
J Henry (Aust) 54.18
A Weir (USA) 55.17
W Myers (USA) 55.58

400 Metre Freestyle

K Zeigler (USA) 4:06.70
L Mackenzie (Aust) 4:06.86
B Barratt (Aust) 4:07.69
K Palmer (Aust) 4:10.86
H Peirsol (USA) 4:11.58;

400 Metre Freestyle Relay

Australia: 1) M Schlanger 2) S Reese 3) J Henry 4) L Lenton 3:36.20
United States of America 1) N Coughlin 2) D Vollmer 3) L Nymeyer 4) K Joyce 3:38.25

200 Metre Individual Medley

K Hoff (USA) 2:12.12
S Rice (Aust) 2:14.01
W Myers (USA) 2:14.73
K Sandeno (USA) 2:15.54
A Kukors (USA) 2:15.84
S Reese (Aust) 2:17.16
J Reilly (Aust) 2:18.39

200 Metre Backstroke

M Hoelzer (USA) 2:10.25
F Adcock (Aust) 2:12.02
E Beisel (USA) 2:12.72
S Williams (Aust) 2:13.41
J Fargus (Aust) 2:13.51
M De Scenza (USA) 2:15.15
S Edington 2:16.70

200 Metre Breaststroke

L Jones (Aust) 2:23.60
R Soni (USA) 2:24.70
C Leverenz (USA) 2:25.63
S Foster (Aust) 2:28.55

50 Metre Freestyle

L Lenton (Aust) 24.93
K Joyce (USA) 24.96
C Campbell (Aust) 25.08
L Nymeyer (USA) 25.18
A Mills (Aust) 25.22
A Weir (USA) 25.94
J Hardy (USA) 26.07

200 Metre Freestyle

L Mackenzie (Aust) 1:58.61
K Hoff (USA) 1:58.63
K Zeigler (USA) 1:59.02
D Vollmer (USA) 1:59.02
B Barratt (Aust) 1:59.38
L Davenport (Aust) 2:00.56
S Rice (Aust) 2:08.01

200 Metre Butterfly

J Schipper (Aust) 2:06.58
K Vandenberg (USA) 2:07.42
M De Scenza (USA) 2:09.32
F Galvez (Aust) 2:10.32
K Sandeno (USA) 2:13.73
K Palmer (Aust) 2:14.80

400 Metre Medley Relay

Australia 1) E Seebohm 2) L Jones 3) J Schipper 4) J Henry 3:56.25
United States of America 1) L Vaziri 2) T Kirk 3) R Komisarz 4) N Coughlin 3:58.64


MEN

400 Metre Individual Medley

E Vendt (USA) 4:14.75
E Shanteau (USA) 4:16.65
T Nederpelt (Aust) 4:16.84
A Lucas (Aust) 4:29.25

100 Metre Butterfly

I Crocker (USA) 51.53
D Tarwater (USA) 52.76
A Pine (Aust) 52.93
B Wildman-Tobriner (USA) 52.98
A Lauterstein (Aust) 52.98
L Brodie (Aust) 53.93
D Madwed (USA) 54.58

100 Metre Backstroke

R Lochte (USA) 54.03
A Peirsol (USA) 54.09
A Delaney (Aust) 54.98
M Welsh (Aust) 54.98
D Arnamnart (Aust) 55.55
P Marshall (USA) 55.56
H Stoeckel (Aust) 55.66

100 Metre Breaststroke

B Hansen (USA) 1:00.08
M Gangloff (USA) 1:00.63
S Usher (USA) 1:01.17
B Rickard (Aust) 1:01.93
J Piper (Aust) 1:03.04

100 Metre Freestyle

M Phelps (USA) 48.79
E Sullivan (Aust) 49.37
C Jones (USA) 49.76
J Cramer (USA) 49.76
A Callus (Aust) 49.92
G Weber-Gale (USA) 50.34
G Brits (Aust) 51.86

400 Metre Freestyle

L Jensen (USA) 3:45.04
P Vanderkaay (USA) 3:46.46
C Stevens (Aust) 3:46.85
G Hackett (Aust) 3:47.78
E Vendt (USA) 3:49.23
K Keller (USA) 3:49.87
N Donald (Aust) 3:54.77
N Ffrost (Aust) 4:19.58

400 Metre Freestyle Relay

United States of America 1) N Walker 2) B Wildman-Tobriner 3) I Crocker 4) J Lezak 3:18.05
Australia 1) A Mewing 2) A Lauterstein 3) P Murphy 4) G Brits 3:19.54;

200 Metre Individual Medley

R Lochte (USA) 1:58.78
E Shanteau (USA) 2:01.93
L Brodie (Aust) 2:02.39
A Lucas (Aust) 2:07.27;

200 Metres Backstroke

M Phelps (USA) 1:56.29
A Peirsol (USA) 1:57.10
E Hannant (Aust) 2:00.40
D Arnamnart (Aust) 2:02.56
H Stoeckel (Aust) 2:03.64
P Marshall (USA) 2:06.24
A Delaney (Aust) 2:06.52

200 Metre Breaststroke

B Hansen (USA) 2:10.67
E Shanteau (USA) 2:12.98
B Rickard (Aust) 2:13.11
S Usher (USA) 2:13.24
J Piper (Aust) 2:14.44
M Gangloff (USA) 2:19.75

50 Metre Freestyle

C Jones (USA) 21.96
E Sullivan (Aust) 22.32
B Wildman-Tobriner (USA) 22.32
J Lezak (USA) 22.37
A Callus (Aust) 22.83
N Walker (USA) 22.92

200 Metre Freestyle

P Vanderkaay (USA) 1:47.70
K Monk (Aust) 1:47.94
J Cramer (USA) 1:48.18
D Walters (USA) 1:48.43
P Murphy (Aust) 1:50.04
A Mewing (Aust) 1:50.36
G Brits (Aust) 1:53.34

200 Metre Butterfly

D Tarwater (USA) 1:57.12
T Nederpelt (Aust) 1:57.37
D Madwed (USA) 1:59.24
N Donald (Aust) 2:04.21
A Lucas (Aust) 2:50.09

400 Metre Medley Relay

United States of America 1) A Peirsol 2) B Hansen 3) I Crocker 4) J Lezak 3:34.83
Australia 1) M Welsh 2) B Rickard 3) A Pine 4) L Brodie 3:38.04

News Links:

Libby Lenton Smashes 100 Freestyle World Record at Duel in the Pool

I'm am SO over Worlds...

One last photo and then we're moving on.


WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images

Brendan made one last appearance at Worlds tonight along with his fellow team captains to accept the Team award. You can kinda see him there in the background behind Mike accepting the Swimmer of the Meet award.

Ok, one more picture...


AP Photo/Mark Baker

There are many more in the Gallery.

I'll get Prediction Contest Results posted ASAP. Stay tuned!