Happy Birthday Peter Bick!!

We want to wish a very Happy Birthday to the man who has been so generous with the photos he has taken of Brendan. Peter Bick!



The above photo is my favorite picture ever.

And this one..


There are so many! Thank you, Peter. Not only do you share your photos, you are also a valued friend!

Everyone go the the gallery and search the words "Peter Bick", Maybe you will find a favorite too!

Happy Birthday Peter!

Q and A with Scott Dickens

Olympian Scott Dickens is one of Canada's top Breaststrokers who will almost certainly make their Olympic team again and compete with Brendan in Beijing. Lala tells me he's also hella smokin' hot but I hadn't really noticed. Really. ;)


Photo compliments of lala.

1. Congrats on a personal best in the 100 at Pan Ams this season. How does it feel to be so close to the one minute barrier and do you feel it's more of a mental barrier now than a physical one? Has the addition of the butterfly kick on the pull-out made a significant difference in your times or would you attribute your faster times to your overall fitness?

I feel that the one minute barrier is both mental and physical. It will not be easy to get to, I will have to work on the little things in my race, like turns and starts. As well it is only 0.2 away so mentally I know I can do it, but it still seems pretty far away. The butterfly kick in the pull out took some getting use to because it was so unnatural for me to get use to. I still have work to do with the timing of the kick. In regards to whether it has had a significant impact on my times, I would say my times have dropped more to other things, like being in better shape, eating better, focusing on my technique and being more in control rather then just trying to swim as fast as I can.

2. Obviously, with a personal best in your back pocket you've got to feel confident going into your third Olympic season but are you still tweaking your training program at this point or do you know what needs to be done and now its just a matter of execution?

At this point in my training I am trying to stick with what I did this summer...it was then when I had made some different changes to my training, and they seem to have worked. With only four months in the summer training this way I am looking forward to this year.

3. How do you juggle your school and training schedule, especially during a critical Olympic year? Do you find that classes are a healthy distraction from the monotony of training or do they just infringe upon training time and dilute your focus? And just curious, what is your major, and what do you hope to do after swimming?

Personally I think having something on the side is good whether it be school or another hobby will take your mind off swimming. I am taking a lighter course load this year because it is normal to amp up the training Olympic year so it is a lot more demanding physically and mentally. I am currently majoring in Geography and minoring in Economics, and for after swimming I am not sure yet because I am still young and swimming is the main focus right now.

4. What's the best movie you saw over the summer?

The best movie this summer would have to be Knocked Up. It made me cry I was laughing so hard.

Wheeeee! I'd have to put Knocked Up second on my list behind SuperBad but I agree it was very, very funny. Many thanks to Scott for taking the time to do this.

Q and A with Mark Gangloff

Here's the first of what I hope will be a series of short Q and A's with some of our favorite swimmers. I decided to start with Breaststrokers and work my way through the disciplines (we'll see how it actually unfolds ;).


Photo compliments of the amazing Peter Bick

Mark Gangloff is one of our top American breaststrokers and is certainly a favorite for one of our Olympic slots in the 100 Breaststroke. He's the 2007 National Silver medalist and is inching ever so close to that one minute barrier. After a 4th place finish in Athens you've got to consider him a medal favorite for China so I thought it would be interesting to hear how his training is going and how he feels about his summer results...

1. Congrats on a great Nationals performance this year and a PB in the 100. You seem to be at a great place with your training. Do you attribute it to your move to Mecklenburg? What have been the biggest differences for you between training at Auburn, Michigan and now Mecklenburg?

Let me start by saying thanks for this opportunity to speak with you. I am very happy with my results from this summer. My PB is actually from the semi finals from the Pan American Games in July (1:00.24). But I was also very excited to have gone 1:00.43 at Nationals swimming next to Brendan. I think my move to Charlotte has made a big difference in my attitude and in my training. The families involved with Mecklenburg are very supportive and fun to be around. It is a little different to be around younger swimmers than the college age students at Auburn. (I never trained at Michigan) The young kids are very fun to be around and I am actually helping coach some of the age groupers here at MAC. It has been exciting working with the age groupers because I always see so much potential for each of the kids. I think that each of them can become great people and much faster swimmers. Also working with my college coach David Marsh is different. He seems much more relaxed and focused when he is on deck. I have a much greater respect for how hard he works and how good he is at his job now that I have started coaching.

2. You've had a lot of changes since the last Olympic year. Not only are you a college graduate, and a movie star, but now a married man as well. How have these changes affected your training? Is it more or less challenging now than it was 4 years ago? (and not just because of those two changes, but also with regard to being older? more experienced?)

You are right there has been so many changes in my life since the last Olympics but the last year has been the busiest that I have ever been. Even though I am busier now than I was before I think that I have gotten much better at allocating my time. I cannot waste as much time watching TV and playing around online as I used to. I consider swimming my job and take it very seriously. But to answer your question I do not think my training has been affected too much even though my life outside the pool has changed. Being an Olympic year I think that training is easier that in previous year. I do not mean that the training itself is easier but rather because the Olympics is so close I do not mind going into the pool because there is a clear goal in mind and that makes going to workout fun

3. What were your feelings regarding the addition of the dolphin kick before it was legalized and what are they now? Do you feel it's something that works well with your technique or has it made little difference for you?

I am very glad that the dolphin kick was legalized and I am still happy about the decision to make it legal. I felt that before the legalization of the kick that people did it any way. I can remember going to many competitions that the majority of people swimming breaststroke did the dolphin kick even though it was not legal. I have made a few changes to my pullout to make the dolphin kick more effective but it was not a difficult transition for me.

4. What is your junk food Achilles' heel? The one food that you know you should avoid but you just can't help yourself. (Not that we would ever pass that info on to Brendan so he could tempt you and gain an unfair advantage. ;)

I really cannot pass up an opportunity to go with my wife and friends for ice cream. I do really enjoy ice cream but the experience of going to an ice cream parlor (particularly Brusters) is a wonderful experience. There is something about being outside hanging out with your friends enjoying each others company with ice cream that is too enjoyable to pass up.

Great answers from Mark! He's set the bar pretty high...

BRENDOKU!

B Han Rocks! That's right. This is a sudoku style puzzle using letters instead of numbers. If there were something going on beside a whole bunch of training I would definately come here and share it with you. But instead I will share my love of the puzzle. This is an "easy" one. We shall see.

Brendoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the letters "B H A N R O C K S" appear once in each row, column and 3x3 box. Click on the puzzle to print it out.



If you want to tell us how long it took ya to get it, please do. I am really bad at this sort of puzzle, so I won't embarass myself by saying how long it took me. But if you play along or even if you don't, Check in! Say Hello!

If you wuss out, the answer is here.

USA Swimming 20 Question Tuesday with Garrett Weber-Gale

USA swimming put up a great interview with Longhorn sprinter Garret Weber-Gale on their weekly feature 20 Question Tuesday.

Garrett had a few things to say about Brendan and the other Texas superstars.

What's it like training with Hansen, Crocker and Peirsol at UT?
Garrett: It's amazing. It's fun to have that kind of history behind the program. It's fun to swim with these guys every day. There's never a practice where you aren't getting pushed or not trying to get faster. Definitely there's no place I'd rather be.

I wrote a Splash cover story about Brendan and Ian when they were freshmen at UT - can you believe how long those guys have been around and performed at such a high level?
Garrett: I remember that article - where they were standing back-to-back kind of, right? This has been a cool thing to watch as they continue to excel. I haven't been around as long to see the maturation process, but I can even tell from the time I came here when those guys were seniors that what they are doing now is what everyone would strive for; that often unspoken leadership by setting such a good example.

They are good leaders?
Garrett: Absolutely, and Aaron too. Honestly, that all started with Neil Walker. Neil is referred to as the Godfather. Everyone looks up to him – he's kind of the leader of the team, even though he's not on it anymore as student-athlete, of course. The way he represents himself is great. He's so classy. That's where it all started. We have great coaches and it all starts there, but in terms of the team, it all starts with Neil. But with Aaron, Ian and Brendan, that goes for them as well - they are great leaders. All of those guys are great leaders. I consider myself so lucky to have swum with those guys.

Read the whole interview. It's a good one. It seems to me that Texas really has something special (aside from their world class coaching staff) in Neil, the Trio and Garrett. Thanks to Christi for the heads up on the article.

People Had Better Recognize!

When there is no racing going on, some people (like me) scour the internet for photos that we haven't seen from previous meets. I have to thank Blair for the links to Fickr, which is a photo storage site. The trouble (and fun thing) about these sites is the way some photos get labeled.


This photo is marked "Canada's Brendan Hansen won the 200-meter breaststroke at the Santa Clara International grand prix. "

Well yes.. Brendan did win that race. He is not Canadian. And that is not Brendan. That is a photo of Canadian Brent Hayden. Brent is not a breaststroker at all, by the way.

The below photo is marked "Brendan Hansen".

Now we all know that Brendan has olympic rings on his back. But they are on the left shoulder and they certainly don't include a maple leaf, which is the symbol for Canada. The funniest bit about all that is Brendan wasn't even at the meet in Europe where this rings photo was taken. And it isn't even the same photographer as the first photo.

Below you will find a photo of an unidentified athlete swimming a stroke that is only labeled as "Fly".


Fly? Well, I guess I am just glad that people are taking pictures of Brendan. And when they aren't actually photographing him, they are thinking of him.

Sorry things have been so slow. I hope you all doing something fun.

First Tinglings of Olympic Fever...

You guys.... I am getting the fever.

NBC is starting the subtle poisoning of my nervous system...

Take your first dose. Watch the video!

I hope they do the swimming events justice.


There is an opposite idea brewing in this great country of ours. That idea is of an Olympic boycott. The Washington Post as well as other papers have reported that President Bush has been urged by some members of Congress to boycott the Olympics.

A resolution introduced by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican, calls for the U.S. government to take "immediate steps" to boycott the games unless the "Chinese regime stops engaging in serious human rights abuses against its citizens and stops supporting serious human rights abuses by the governments of Sudan, Burma and North Korea against their citizens."

Having spoken to athletes who were part of the USA team who did not participate in the 1980 games in Moscow, I feel that a decision to boycott would be an empty statement and only punish the athletes. All the athletes.