Salon.com > Swimming

Lance Armstrong returns to competitive sports as swimmer

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, who in 2012 was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after it was discovered he was using performance enhancing drugs, is returning to competitive sports--as a swimmer. Armstrong, 41, is set to compete in three races this weekend at the Masters South Central Zone Swimming Championships at the University of Texas.

From the Independent:

Report reveals “culturally toxic incidents” contributed to Australian swim team’s underperformance

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:36:00 +0000

The Australian swim team attracted a lot of attention during the 2012 London Olympic Games, not for its medals, but instead for its antics: Two swimmers were banned from social media for posing with guns; several team members ingested a banned sleeping pill, Stillnox; swimmers were forced to address rumors of bullying and pranks within the team. To top it off, the Australians, usually a powerhouse in the pool, had their worst performance in 20 years. The underperformance, along with the negative attention, prompted two reports to assess what went wrong and how to fix it--one by the swim team's governing body, Swimming Australia Limited [SAL] with the Australian Sports Commission, and another by independent consulting firm Bluestone Edge.

Cobain is rolling in his grave

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:03:00 +0000

O, the sacrilege!

It's hard to say who is the bigger culprit in this crime against rock humanity: ESPN magazine or the Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte. The publication released this video of its just-completed, inexplicably timed photo shoot with the megalomaniacal swimmer, whom they cast as the floating baby to re-create the iconic cover of Nirvana's best-selling 1991 album, "Nevermind." Or as Lochte puts it, "the iconic Nirvana blah-blah."

As if the concept alone isn't enough to make all of Seattle sink into the Earth with a collective, massive cringe, just wait until they hear Lochte explain why the album's imagery resonates with him. "When you look at the baby, he's definitely happy in the water. And that's what I am. Whenever I step foot in that water, I'm happy." Lochte crinkles his nose, the soundtrack in the background blaring ESPN's idea of Kurt Cobain's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"-esque guitar riffs (how many ways can they kill a dead man?). "And he's chasing after a dollar bill," Lochte continues, "so he's always on the grind."

Though the photo shoot was easy, according to the Olympian, in order to be true to his subject, he had to forgo the goggles. He hopes that, "when everyone sees it, they'll be like, 'Dang, look at that guy!' I honestly think I nailed the shot." Smells like ... oh, never mind.

Ryan Lochte is getting a reality TV show

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:14:00 +0000

It was only a matter of time before budding television star and grill-sporting Olympic gold medal-winner Ryan Lochte got his own reality TV show. Called “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?,” the six-episode E! series will follow the swimmer around as he prepares for the 2016 Olympics, starts his own fashion line and searches for a girlfriend.

The Week in Pictures

Sat, 06 Oct 2012 13:00:00 +0000

From a Chinese earthquake to the arrest of a leading lady, here's a look at what dominated the headlines this week

Endurance swimmer Nyad approaches Fla. from Cuba

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 11:57:00 +0000

HAVANA (AP) — Open-water swimmer Diana Nyad pushed through dark waters early Monday as she tried to complete a record 103-mile (166-kilometer), unassisted swim without the aid of a shark cage.

Her team had been trying to find a path through a storm that was nearly stationary over the 62-year-old Los Angeles woman. But they said Nyad was safe and feeling strong as she swims.

Her team was hoping she could capitalize on a great day of swimming Sunday.

"Today was an awesome day," Mark Sollinger, her operations chief, said in blog posting Sunday night.

Sollinger said the crew accompanying her in watercraft played her music by the Black Eyed Peas.

Nyad has already edured jellyfish stings on the current attempt. Stings forced her to cut short her second of two attempts last year as toxins built up in her system.

Nyad, who turns 63 Wednesday, is making her third attempt since last summer at a cage-less crossing of the Straits of Florida. She also made a failed try with a cage in 1978.

Australian Susie Maroney successfully swam the Straits in 1997, but she used a used a cage. This June another Australian, Penny Palfrey, made it 79 miles toward Florida without a cage before strong currents forced her to abandon the attempt.

Stop hating on the Olympics’ oddball sports

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 16:50:00 +0000

You won't see American gymnast Julie Zetlin on cereal boxes or shampoo ads or Maxim lists of hottest hotties. And likewise, swimmers Mary Killman and Mariya Koroleva will never be household names like Lolo Jones or Kerri Walsh or Gabby Douglas. It's hard out there for a rhythmic gymnast and a synchronized swim team.

On Friday, both of these lesser-known and even lesser-loved Olympic events take place in London. American women will not be dominating there as they have in beach volleyball and soccer and traditional gymnastics and swimming. The synchronized swimming duets finals, in which Killman and Koroleva placed 11th, ended on Tuesday, and the U.S. is not in the team free-routine final. Instead, the Russians, who have already won in the duets, are expected to take home their fourth consecutive gold in the team event as well. Russia is also expected to sweep in rhythmic gymnastics, with Daria Dmitrieva currently edging out former Olympic champion Evgenia Kanaeva for the top spot. Julie Zetlin, meanwhile, is considered "well out of contention" for a medal. America will likely respond to both the swimming and gymnastics competitions by not giving a flying crap.

Lochte falters again, but Franklin, Grevers shine

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 19:45:00 +0000

LONDON (AP) — Yannick Agnel dealt another crushing blow to Ryan Lochte and everyone else in the supposed Race of the Century at the London Olympics on Monday.

Missy Franklin restored American swim hopes with a gutty performance in the backstroke, and Matt Grevers kept the gold medals coming for the red, white and blue.

Franklin, a 17-year-old from Colorado and best hope for the U.S. program in the post-Michael Phelps era, bounced back from a semifinal race with just a 13-minute break, rallying to win the 100-meter back for the first gold medal of what figures to be a dazzling career.

Australia's Emily Seebohm, the top qualifier, led at the turn and was under world-record pace, but Franklin showed a remarkable finishing kick — especially since she had just raced in the semis of the 200 free. With her arms twirling, the 6-foot-1 swimmer passed the Aussie in the final 25 meters and lunged toward the wall for a winning time of 58.33 seconds.

She broke into a big smile but was clearly exhausted, her head dropping back against the wall. Seebohm settled for silver in 58.68 and Japan's Aya Terakawa took bronze in 58.83.

I didn’t make the Olympics. Now what?

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 00:01:00 +0000

In 1984, when my brother Derek and I first joined a summer swimming program, we became obsessed with goggles. My hero was the Canadian champion Anne Ottenbrite — a blonde breaststroker who wore a pair of wide, round Speedos. I wanted a pair of those goggles. When I finally got them I thought I looked faster.

At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, Ottenbrite won gold in the 200m breaststroke and silver in the 100m wearing the Speedo goggles. But Victor Davis won gold in the 200m breaststroke and silver in the 100m in a pair of squarish Arenas, with black lenses and opaque white sides. Alex Baumann won the 200m and 400m IM in Arenas. By the end of the summer, I switched to a pair of squarish black Arenas that I regularly rinsed out with tap water as the instructions advised.

By 1988, when I was swimming seriously, minimal Swedish goggles had arrived in southern Ontario. These were molded plastic eyepieces that fit securely into the eye socket, without any rubber or foam lining the rims. At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Janet Evans won her 400m and 800m freestyle and 400m IM gold medals in a green pair. There was a coach who sold Swedish goggles poolside at Ontario meets for $12. I bought two, a red pair and a brown pair that came, unassembled, in narrow ziplock bags. Brown for training, red for racing. These goggles marked a step up in my swimming career, from okay to good. It was the beginning of my loyalty to equipment, to rituals and patterns. These goggles are a Masonic handshake. Even now, if I see other swimmers using them, I know they know.