FCST Site has more photos from Clinic

They only have five photos up as of now, but maybe they'll add more later. I like this one. It looks like it was really hot.


Photo credit: First Colony Swim Team, 2007

Happy 21st Birthday Megan!

Prelim Results, Gallery Update and News

Top Qualifiers for 100 Breast Prelim:

KITAJIMA Kosuke JPN 59.96
DALE OEN Alexander NOR 1:00.34
HANSEN Brendan USA 1:00.59
TITENIS Giedrius LTU 1:00.92
LISOGOR Oleg UKR 1:00.99
GIBSON James GBR 1:01.03
DYMO Valeriy UKR 1:01.06
RICKARD Brenton AUS 1:01.06
DUBOSCQ Hugues FRA 1:01.08
VAN DER BURGH Cameron RSA 1:01.12
ALEXANDROV Mihail BUL 1:01.15
USHER Scott USA 1:01.36
COOK Christopher GBR 1:01.49
TERRIN Alessandro ITA 1:01.61
KOMORNIKOV Dmitry RUS 1:01.66
VAN AGGELE Robin NED 1:01.69

Brendan swam a smart race - Just fast enough to get him in a good lane for the Semifinals beginning just 5 hours from now..it's going to be a long week.

Ian is the top seed going into the 50 Fly semi's later tonight.

Catch the finals for the 400 free and the 4x100 free relays tonight along with the semi-finals for the 50 fly, 100 breaststroke and all the other stuff on WCSN or Omega Timing starting at 4:50 am Eastern/3:50 am Central time.

I've added the latest photos to the Gallery and will continue to update it as I can. A sample below..


Antony Dickson, Getty Images/AFP

News Links:

Break a minute to join us: Hansen

"I've read the papers and I've heard Brenton say he's put in the hardest training that he's ever done and if what he's saying is actually true then I think he has the potential of breaking a minute and if he does that then he is a competitor," Hansen said. "I also know that to break a minute is extremely hard and it takes a lot of mental strength to do it. It's a barrier that a lot of breaststrokers have struggled with."

World Championships: Kitajima and Hansen Headline 100 Breast Semifinals

Athletes speak with the media in Melbourne

The Japanese journalists were particularly interested in Hansen's rivalry with Japanese breaststroker Kosuke Kitajima.

"We have a pretty healthy rivalry," Hansen said. "Other than the language barrier, there's not much I can say other than good luck. We make each other swim fast but we always shake hands at the end of the race. He brings out the best in me, and I appreciate that."

I want it! Give it to me!

Lala's been hanging with Holly and David and a variety of marsupials in Brisbane for the past few days and heads to Melbourne tomorrow. Such a cute little koala! She told me his name but I've totally forgotten.

Tara Kirk has a really sweet Blog post about Brendan up on WCSN...

This is somewhat ironic coming after the veteran blog a few days ago but whatever. Today I had a totally awesome workout. I did some great work on the watch and was really happy with my times. But the ultimate highlight came during my dive 25s. I finished one of them and surfaced to get my time, which was pretty decent. But just then, a few lanes over, Brendan pops his head up and says "Tara, your line looks really great." OK, so I held a world record for a few years, hold a handful of American records, and have won a few international gold medals so I know a few things about swimming breaststroke fast. But I was still definitely thrilled by the comment. I mean, he is the fastest breaststroker in the world - ever. And he was complimenting my stroke! Awesome. I should definitely be more cool about this but whatever. I guess it just shows how much a few kind words can brighten someone's day. Thanks Brendan!

More Links:

Hansen preparing for golden opportunity

"As a team, we don't think about other teams. We really take a lot of pride in being dominant. We don't care who is second.

"There's not another powerhouse out there to compete with us, but that's not stopping us."

Crocker driven by the shadow of Phelps

Have a Safe Trip Lala!

Photo: Lucas Dawson, Getty Images

A photo from opening ceremonies last night - the pool looks incredible! Our own lala leaves for Australia tonight and after a stop-over in Brisbane to visit Holly and see the zoo and the Gold Coast she'll be on her way to Melbourne I believe. I know if she gets an internet connection she'll be checking in with us but it may be a little while before we hear from her.

Have a great trip!

And Happy St. Patty's Day everyone. I don't guess Brendan will get to drink his green beer this year but ain't nothin' stopping me!

NCAA Results for Thursday

First, congrats to Megan. She swam a 24.43 split and her team finished 7th in the 200 Free Relay at Div. II's tonight. She worked so hard to earn that spot this year - spending the summer in Austin training at Texas and then pushing through a shoulder injury to make it through a long season.

Second, BOOOOOOO Northwestern for taking our boys NCAA Medley Relay record. From Jason at Swimming World...

The Wildcats closed out the race with an NCAA-record time of 3:04.40, which lowered the previous standard of 3:04.47 set by Texas in 2003.

That record was previously held by Aaron, Brendan and Ian along with Chris Kemp. :shakes fist at Northwestern!:

Auburn ends the first day with a pretty solid point lead of 187, followed by Arizona with 121 and Texas with 107. Pick it up Texas boys! You can do it!

Read the full results at Swimming World and Jason says if any of you have specific questions, he's there in Minnesota and will try to track down the answers for you. Email him with your question or just to thank him for the great coverage.

And in Worlds News...
They've ARRIVED!


Photo credit AP (as LINKED above)

You can also read blogs by Kara Lynn Joyce and Tara Kirk at WCSN.

Y'all don't forget that tomorrow is the last day to send your questions for Rowdy.