Thanks for Stopping by in 2007!

I really want to thank everyone who visits this site. I know I am really far behind in post pictures and even worse with the labeling. I promise to catch up pretty quickly and keep 2008 on track. I have a good excuse.. really I do, but things are better now and I resolve to do better!

I also want to thank everyone who wrote in support of what I am trying to do here. It means a lot to get this type of support.

2007 had to be the greatest record breaking year in swimming in a very long time,if ever. I can't imagine a year as fast at 2007, but then I think I said the same thing about 2006. I also got the opportunity to meet a lot of really good people. I include the guys from Timed Prelims, Matt from USA Swimming, Jason from Swimming World Magazine and numerous fantastic athletes and parents and fans. Thank you all for the positive feedback. One of the goals of this site was to keep the sport in he public eye and to educate people that swimming is a year round sport And not just an Olympic event. Keep and eye on my Calendar of Events if you live in the USA, or are planning a vacation here and are looking for a meet to watch some elite swimming. I will try to keep that updated too!

Here is a list of our visitors by country:
UNITED STATES 159,648
UNITED KINGDOM 3,093
CANADA 2,758
SWEDEN 2,744
GERMANY 2,648
AUSTRALIA 1,889
JAPAN 1,621
ITALY 1,516
FRANCE 1,424
NETHERLANDS 1,038
HUNGARY 694
CHINA 642
PORTUGAL 449
ISRAEL 373
HONG KONG 364
IRELAND 355
SPAIN 347
SWITZERLAND 344
AUSTRIA 311
BELGIUM 311
FINLAND 287
BRAZIL 259
SOUTH AFRICA 250
MEXICO 246
SLOVAKIA 217
MALAYSIA 210
SINGAPORE 177
CZECH REPUBLIC 176
POLAND 170
TURKEY 135
ROMANIA 125
NEW ZEALAND 114
TAIWAN 112
UNKNOWN 105
ESTONIA 103
RUSSIAN FEDERATION 88
SLOVENIA 84
GREECE 82
CROATIA 82
CHILE 80
SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO 79
DENMARK 76
PHILIPPINES 74
NORWAY 73
EGYPT 60
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 59
ARGENTINA 47
ALGERIA 45
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 40
SAUDI ARABIA 39
BULGARIA 36
VENEZUELA 36
PERU 35
KUWAIT 35
SERBIA 32
INDIA 32
THAILAND 30
INDONESIA 23
MOROCCO 22
COLOMBIA 21
LEBANON 15
JORDAN 14
IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF 13
ECUADOR 12
LITHUANIA 12
LUXEMBOURG 10
SRI LANKA 10
VIET NAM 10
MALTA 9
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC 9
PUERTO RICO 9
UKRAINE 8
QATAR 8
TUNISIA 8
URUGUAY 7
LATVIA 7
ICELAND 7
NEW CALEDONIA 6
KAZAKHSTAN 6
PAKISTAN 6
COSTA RICA 5
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 5
PANAMA 5
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 4
GUATEMALA 4
PARAGUAY 4
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 4
GUAM 4
CYPRUS 4
MACEDONIA, THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF 3
LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA 3
MONACO 3
GEORGIA 3
OMAN 3
BAHAMAS 3
EL SALVADOR 3
BAHRAIN 3
MADAGASCAR 2
BOLIVIA 2
MAURITIUS 2
COTE D'IVOIRE 2
ALBANIA 2
LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 2
BARBADOS 2
SENEGAL 2
FIJI 2
BERMUDA 2
MONTENEGRO 1
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA 1
GUYANA 1
MOLDOVA, REPUBLIC OF 1
AFGHANISTAN 1
FRENCH POLYNESIA 1
ZIMBABWE 1
KENYA 1
ANGOLA 1
YEMEN 1
JAMAICA 1
VIRGIN ISLANDS, U.S. 1
MALI 1
GIBRALTAR 1
SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS 1
NICARAGUA 1
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES 1
KYRGYZSTAN 1

And here is a list of the regions:

CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES 118,634
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES 11,527
UNKNOWN 8,087
VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES 3,609
TEXAS, UNITED STATES 3,228
ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM 2,529
FLORIDA, UNITED STATES 1,940
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 1,723
ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES 1,338
PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES 1,285
ARIZONA, UNITED STATES 1,281
GEORGIA, UNITED STATES 1,219
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES 1,198
ONTARIO, CANADA 1,078
NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES 981
BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA 967
UTAH, UNITED STATES 966
ILE-DE-FRANCE, FRANCE 846
QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA 763
NOORD-HOLLAND, NETHERLANDS 745
SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN, GERMANY 715
WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES 679
CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATES 673
MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES 673
MASSACHUSETTS, UNITED STATES 658
NORTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES 646
MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES 642
MARYLAND, UNITED STATES 572
NORDRHEIN-WESTFALEN, GERMANY 507
OHIO, UNITED STATES 502
KANSAS, UNITED STATES 473
BEIJING, CHINA 463
TENNESSEE, UNITED STATES 456
QUEBEC, CANADA 433
OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES 408
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY 401
MISSOURI, UNITED STATES 393
WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES 389
LAZIO, ITALY 379
BERLIN, GERMANY 369
OREGON, UNITED STATES 369
HONG KONG (SAR), HONG KONG 348
TOKYO, JAPAN 343
LISBOA, PORTUGAL 326
VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA 322
NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA 321
INDIANA, UNITED STATES 295
SOUTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES 289
COLORADO, UNITED STATES 276
DUBLIN, IRELAND 275
WIEN, AUSTRIA 240
ZUID-HOLLAND, NETHERLANDS 225
HESSEN, GERMANY 224
PROVENCE-ALPES-COTE D'AZUR, FRANCE 222
IOWA, UNITED STATES 14
VERMONT, UNITED STATES 214
ALABAMA, UNITED STATES 211
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY, AUSTRALIA 208
HAWAII, UNITED STATES 207
LOMBARDIA, ITALY 192
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL 190
DELAWARE, UNITED STATES 182
NEW HAMPSHIRE, UNITED STATES 176
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE 175
NEW MEXICO, UNITED STATES 169
ALBERTA, CANADA 168
SELANGOR, MALAYSIA 168
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM 168
LANSI-SUOMEN LAANI, FINLAND 149
BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY 147
KENTUCKY, UNITED STATES 134
HALLAND, SWEDEN 131
BORSOD-ABAUJ-ZEMPLEN, HUNGARY 125
ETELA-SUOMEN LAANI, FINLAND 112
WESTERN AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA 111
HARJUMAA, ESTONIA 102
BUCURESTI, ROMANIA 100
NEUCHATEL, SWITZERLAND 98
JIHOMORAVSKY KRAJ, CZECH REPUBLIC 98
ISTANBUL, TURKEY 97
SACHSEN, GERMANY 95
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND 91
EMILIA-ROMAGNA, ITALY 88
DISTRITO FEDERAL, MEXICO 87
RHODE ISLAND, UNITED STATES 80
YERUSHALAYIM (JERUSALEM), ISRAEL 78
BAYERN, GERMANY 76
LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA 76
T'AI-PEI, TAIWAN 75
REGION METROPOLITANA, CHILE 73
LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES 71
GRAD ZAGREB, CROATIA 70
MISSISSIPPI, UNITED STATES 65
TOSCANA, ITALY 64
CATALUñA, SPAIN 61
NEVADA, UNITED STATES 61
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 59
VASTRA GOTALAND, SWEDEN 56
SARDEGNA, ITALY 55
PUGLIA, ITALY 55
NIEDERSACHSEN, GERMANY 55
NEBRASKA, UNITED STATES 54
UMBRIA, ITALY 52
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK 52
MOSKVA, RUSSIAN FEDERATION 52
HAMBURG, GERMANY 47
MAINE, UNITED STATES 46
MANILA, PHILIPPINES 43
SLASKIE, POLAND 43
ATTIKI, GREECE 39
SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM 38
NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS, FRANCE 38\
AICHI, JAPAN 38
AL QAHIRAH, EGYPT 37
ARKANSAS, UNITED STATES 37
KAO-HSIUNG, TAIWAN 36
MADRID, SPAIN 36
STEIERMARK, AUSTRIA 36
CHAMPAGNE-ARDENNE, FRANCE 35
WYOMING, UNITED STATES 34
LIMA, PERU 34
AL KUWAYT, KUWAIT 34
ANTWERPEN, BELGIUM 32
BRATISLAVSKY, SLOVAKIA 32
HíEFA (HAIFA), ISRAEL 32
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA 32
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND 31
LIMBURG, BELGIUM 30
NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA 29
KYONGGI-DO, KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 29
CHONGQING, CHINA 27
GUANGDONG, CHINA 26
SOUTH DAKOTA, UNITED STATES 26
OSLO, NORWAY 26
MANITOBA, CANADA 25
MAZOWIECKIE, POLAND 25
WEST VIRGINIA, UNITED STATES 25
HLAVNI MESTO PRAHA, CZECH REPUBLIC 24
SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA 24
NAVARRA, SPAIN 24
SOUTH AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA 24
SKANE, SWEDEN 24
VAUD, SWITZERLAND 24
KRUNG THEP MAHANAKHON, THAILAND 23
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND 23
RHEINLAND-PFALZ, GERMANY 22
WILAYAH PERSEKUTUAN, MALAYSIA 22
MONTANA, UNITED STATES 21
SOFIYA, BULGARIA 20
SICHUAN, CHINA 20
SHANGHAI, CHINA 20
ALSACE, FRANCE 20
CSONGRAD, HUNGARY 20
QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO 20
AR RIYAD, SAUDI ARABIA 19
VALENCIA, SPAIN 18
IDAHO, UNITED STATES 17
SOR-TRONDELAG, NORWAY 16
KHANIA, GREECE 15
OSAKA, JAPAN 15
TICINO, SWITZERLAND 14
MAHARASHTRA, INDIA 14
WEST-VLAANDEREN, BELGIUM 14
NORTH DAKOTA, UNITED STATES 14
ITA-SUOMEN LAANI, FINLAND 14
BREMEN, GERMANY 13
WIELKOPOLSKIE, POLAND 13
'AMMAN, JORDAN 13
FARO, PORTUGAL 13
NOORD-BRABANT, NETHERLANDS 12
THURINGEN, GERMANY 12
SãO PAULO, BRAZIL 12
IZMIR, TURKEY 12
FRIULI-VENEZIA GIULIA, ITALY 11
OOST-VLAANDEREN, BELGIUM 11
VENETO, ITALY 11
DISTRITO CAPITAL, COLOMBIA 11
ANDALUCIA, SPAIN 11
PULAU PINANG, MALAYSIA 11
PIEMONTE, ITALY 10
GAUTENG, SOUTH AFRICA 10
SHIZUOKA, JAPAN 10
CAMPANIA, ITALY 9
DOLNOSLASKIE, POLAND 9
ANKARA, TURKEY 9
RABAT-SALE, MOROCCO 9
CANARY ISLANDS, SPAIN 9
BASEL-STADT, SWITZERLAND 9
LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG 9
BEYROUTH, LEBANON 9
MALTA, MALTA 9
RHONE-ALPES, FRANCE 9
ALASKA, UNITED STATES 9
CASTILLA Y LEON, SPAIN 8
LUBELSKIE, POLAND 8
PORTO, PORTUGAL 8
BOURGOGNE, FRANCE 8
JALISCO, MEXICO 8
AD DAWHAH, QATAR 8
HIROSHIMA, JAPAN 8
SAARLAND, GERMANY 8
CENTRAL, FIJI 7
MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY 7
PUERTO RICO, PUERTO RICO 7
HAMERKAZ (CENTRAL), ISRAEL 7
NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA 7
GRONINGEN, NETHERLANDS 7
LODZKIE, POLAND 7
DELHI, INDIA 7
JAKARTA RAYA (DJAKARTA RAYA), INDONESIA 6
MIDI-PYRENEES, FRANCE 6
FLEVOLAND, NETHERLANDS 6
REYKJAVIK, ICELAND 6
NEW CALEDONIA, NEW CALEDONIA 6
SPLITSKO-DALMATINSKA, CROATIA 6
OVERIJSSEL, NETHERLANDS 6
SOUTHLAND, NEW ZEALAND 6
ABRUZZI, ITALY 6
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND 6
WALES, UNITED KINGDOM 6
PICHINCHA, ECUADOR 6
NANTERRE, FRANCE 6
THESSALONIKI, GREECE 5
KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE, POLAND 5
RIGA, LATVIA 5
VARNA, BULGARIA 5
BALEARES, SPAIN 5
NAMUR, BELGIUM 5
PUEBLA, MEXICO 5
MEXICO, MEXICO 5
TEHRAN, IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF 5
LIEGE, BELGIUM 5
BRABANT WALLON, BELGIUM 5
VESTSJALLAND, DENMARK 5
ASTURIAS, SPAIN 5
VESTFOLD, NORWAY 5
SINALOA, MEXICO 5
OULUN LAANI, FINLAND 5
UTRECHT, NETHERLANDS 4
GUAYAS, ECUADOR 4
NUEVO LEON, MEXICO 4
MARCHE, ITALY 4
KARNATAKA, INDIA 4
MISTO KYYIV, UKRAINE 4
ZACHODNIOPOMORSKIE, POLAND 4
AL JIZAH, EGYPT 4
GELDERLAND, NETHERLANDS 4
GUATEMALA, GUATEMALA 4
LIGURIA, ITALY 4
CANTERBURY, NEW ZEALAND 4
RIZAL, PHILIPPINES 4
BERN, SWITZERLAND 4
DUNAUJVAROS, HUNGARY 4
VILNIAUS APSKRITIS, LITHUANIA 4
SICILIA, ITALY 4
PRIMORSKO-GORANSKA, CROATIA 4
HO CHI MINH, VIET NAM 4
FREDERIKSBORG, DENMARK 4
ASUNCION, PARAGUAY 4
OBEROSTERREICH, AUSTRIA 4
AL BAHR AL AHMAR, EGYPT 4
CASTILLA-LA MANCHA, SPAIN 4
JAWA TIMUR (DJAWA TIMUR), INDONESIA 4
ARHUS, DENMARK 4
MAKKAH, SAUDI ARABIA 4
KOPER, SLOVENIA 4
SANKT-PETERBURG, RUSSIAN FEDERATION 4
NORTHERN IRELAND, UNITED KINGDOM 3
NIEDEROSTERREICH, AUSTRIA 3
MORELOS, MEXICO 3
ZHEJIANG, CHINA 3
ASH SHARQIYAH, SAUDI ARABIA 3
LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON, FRANCE 3
TUNIS, TUNISIA 3
BURSA, TURKEY 3
CHELYABINSKAYA OBLAST', RUSSIAN FEDERATION 3
DISTRITO NACIONAL, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 3
DHODHEKANISOS, GREECE 3
PAIS VASCO, SPAIN 3
TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA 3
ZILINSKY, SLOVAKIA 3
SANTAREM, PORTUGAL 3
AVEIRO, PORTUGAL 3
GALICIA, SPAIN 3
MASQAT, OMAN 3
GUJARAT, INDIA 3
FUKUOKA, JAPAN 3
LIMASSOL, CYPRUS 3
AL MANAMAH, BAHRAIN 3
SAITAMA, JAPAN 3
MALOPOLSKIE, POLAND 3
HORDALAND, NORWAY 3
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL 3
POMORSKIE, POLAND 3
ADANA, TURKEY 3
SVERDLOVSKAYA OBLAST', RUSSIAN FEDERATION 3
HAUTE-NORMANDIE, FRANCE 3
STARA ZAGORA, BULGARIA 3
ARACINOVO, MACEDONIA, THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF 3
DIMASHQ, SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC 3
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR, CANADA 3
SETUBAL, PORTUGAL 3
BRETAGNE, FRANCE 3
JöNKöPING, SWEDEN 3
UPPSALA, SWEDEN 3
LORRAINE, FRANCE 3
JAWA BARAT (DJAWA BARAT), INDONESIA 2
AKERSHUS, NORWAY 2
GUAM, GUAM 2
SIBIU, ROMANIA 2
MELAKA, MALAYSIA 2
CHIBA, JAPAN 2
KAUNO APSKRITIS, LITHUANIA 2
SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR 2
KANAGAWA, JAPAN 2
BASEL-LANDSCHAFT, SWITZERLAND 2
CRNA GORA (MONTENEGRO), SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO 2
SARAWAK, MALAYSIA 2
HOKKAIDO, JAPAN 2
SONORA, MEXICO 2
VEST-AGDER, NORWAY 2
HADAROM (SOUTHERN), ISRAEL 2
ANTIOQUIA, COLOMBIA 2
TAMAULIPAS, MEXICO 2
MARAMURES, ROMANIA 2
RIVNENS'KA OBLAST', UKRAINE 2
SALZBURG, AUSTRIA 2
CARTAGO, COSTA RICA 2
PAYS DE LA LOIRE, FRANCE 2
VALAIS, SWITZERLAND 2
PERAK, MALAYSIA 2
ST. MICHAEL, BARBADOS 2
PUNJAB, PAKISTAN 2
PODKARPACKIE, POLAND 2
PANAMA, PANAMA 2
BIHOR, ROMANIA 2
HEBEI, CHINA 2
PRAHOVA, ROMANIA 2
FUJIAN, CHINA 2
SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA 2
ROGALAND, NORWAY 2
MICHOACAN, MEXICO 2
SINDH, PAKISTAN 2
TIRANE, ALBANIA 2
HAJDU-BIHAR, HUNGARY 2
LA RIOJA, SPAIN 2
SHANDONG, CHINA 2
GRAUBUNDEN, SWITZERLAND 2
CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO 2
STORSTROM, DENMARK 2
CHIAPAS, MEXICO 2
MADEIRA, PORTUGAL 2
MUGLA, TURKEY 1
PUSAN-GWANGYOKSI, KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 1
IASI, ROMANIA 1
EXTREMADURA, SPAIN 1
KRONOBERG, SWEDEN 1
MAYO, IRELAND 1
FRIESLAND, NETHERLANDS 1
BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, MEXICO 1
DEMERARA-MAHAICA, GUYANA 1
MURCIA, SPAIN 1
ST. GEORGE BASSETERRE, SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS 1
ARAGON, SPAIN 1
DAVAO CITY, PHILIPPINES 1
TIANJIN, CHINA 1
VERACRUZ, MEXICO 1
WATERFORD, IRELAND 1
ZEELAND, NETHERLANDS 1
LARA, VENEZUELA 1
SURAT THANI, THAILAND 1
VIANA DO CASTELO, PORTUGAL 1
KARELIYA, RUSSIAN FEDERATION 1
BARANYA, HUNGARY 1
LEIRIA, PORTUGAL 1
TOLNA, HUNGARY 1
CANTABRIA, SPAIN 1
PHUKET, THAILAND 1
ZUG, SWITZERLAND 1
CONSTANTA, ROMANIA 1
VASTERNORRLAND, SWEDEN 1
ORAN, ALGERIA 1
JILIN, CHINA 1
COIMBRA, PORTUGAL 1
TIMIS, ROMANIA 1
SACHSEN-ANHALT, GERMANY 1
FRENCH POLYNESIA, FRENCH POLYNESIA 1
GIBRALTAR, GIBRALTAR 1
SUHAJ, EGYPT 1
NORTH-WEST FRONTIER, PAKISTAN 1
MANAGUA, NICARAGUA 1
COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA 1
ROSKILDE, DENMARK 1
ARIMA, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO 1
ESKISEHIR, TURKEY 1
BALI, INDONESIA 1
MIYAGI, JAPAN 1
CALABRIA, ITALY 1
BAMAKO, MALI 1
WESTERN, SRI LANKA 1
VEJLE, DENMARK 1
GOIáS, BRAZIL 1
PRESOVSKY, SLOVAKIA 1
BURGAS, BULGARIA 1
ICEL, TURKEY 1
AHUACHAPAN, EL SALVADOR 1
KWAZULU-NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA 1
SOMOGY, HUNGARY 1
SZABOLCS-SZATMAR-BEREG, HUNGARY 1
NAYARIT, MEXICO 1
CARABOBO, VENEZUELA 1
GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA 1
QUERETARO, MEXICO 1
ANTALYA, TURKEY 1
ATLANTICO, COLOMBIA 1
VALLE DEL CAUCA, COLOMBIA 1
HYOGO, JAPAN 1
KRASNODARSKIY KRAY, RUSSIAN FEDERATION 1
HAINAUT, BELGIUM 1
OREBRO, SWEDEN 1
HAMILTON MUNICIPALITY, BERMUDA 1
TOKUSHIMA, JAPAN 1
NEW PROVIDENCE, BAHAMAS 1
OAXACA, MEXICO 1
KAOLACK, SENEGAL 1
NAIROBI AREA, KENYA 1
BANSKOBYSTRICKY, SLOVAKIA 1
JASZ-NAGYKUN-SZOLNOK, HUNGARY 1
META, COLOMBIA 1
SUMATERA SELATAN, INDONESIA 1
SANTA FE, ARGENTINA 1
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, CANADA 1
BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO 1
OSJECKO-BARANJSKA, CROATIA 1
PODLASKIE, POLAND 1
STREDOCESKY KRAJ, CZECH REPUBLIC 1
PEST, HUNGARY 1
NORDJYLLAND, DENMARK 1
FEDERATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 1
PLZENSKY KRAJ, CZECH REPUBLIC 1
TARABULUS, LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA 1
GUANAJUATO, MEXICO 1
AUST-AGDER, NORWAY 1
KINGSTON, JAMAICA 1
MISAMIS ORIENTAL, PHILIPPINES 1
SLIGO, IRELAND 1
MORAVSKOSLEZSKY KRAJ, CZECH REPUBLIC 1
LASITHI, GREECE 1
LOS LAGOS, CHILE 1
KHORASAN, IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF 1
DALARNAS, SWEDEN 1
VISEU, PORTUGAL 1
NORDLAND, NORWAY 1
HEVES, HUNGARY 1
SOLOTHURN, SWITZERLAND 1
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, CANADA 1
AZORES, PORTUGAL 1
CASABLANCA, MOROCCO 1
GUNMA, JAPAN 1
KAVALA, GREECE 1
KABOL, AFGHANISTAN 1
PUERTO PLATA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 1
SHANXI, CHINA 1
TRECIANSKY, SLOVAKIA 1
PICARDIE, FRANCE 1
HUNAN, CHINA 1
RIO GRANDE DO SUL, BRAZIL 1
OSTERGOTLAND, SWEDEN 1
BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN 1
USTECKY KRAJ, CZECH REPUBLIC 1
KOCAELI, TURKEY 1
MARIBOR, SLOVENIA 1
BASILICATA, ITALY 1
CLUJ, ROMANIA 1
MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL 1
ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN 1
IBARAKI, JAPAN 1
EVVOIA, GREECE 1
WARMINSKO-MAZURSKIE, POLAND 1
LA PAZ, BOLIVIA 1
FYN, DENMARK 1
TAMIL NADU, INDIA 1
JOHOR, MALAYSIA 1
NICOSIA, CYPRUS 1
HA NOI, VIET NAM 1
ZACATECAS, MEXICO 1

Thanks again, and here's to a fast and exciting 2008!

TYR Swim Meet of Champions 2007

There are people who think the distance races are boring. I am not one of those people. The TYR meet was covered by a local cable company. One handheld camera, one on a track moving up and down the pool, and one aerial view. For two days one would have thought that this was a really high profile meet. Excellent athletes from all over the world. Past and Current World record holders. The New Zealand National team were there, many of the German National team including Britta Stephan and Antje Buschschulte, star Athletes from ASU, U of A, and USC to name a few. South Africans Roland Schoeman and Lyndon Ferns,USA National Team members Rachel Komisarz, Whitney Myers, Lacey Nymeyer, Nick Brunelli, Peter Marshall, Jessica Hardy, Jason Lezak, Rebecca Soni, Robert Margalis and Adam Ritter among others. People capable of swims worthy for television.

The stand out of the meet though, was Kate Ziegler. She had an amazing meet.
On Thursday she set a new pool record by 5 seconds (8:24.40) in the 800 freestyle. The old record set by Tiffany Cohen in 1984 was 8:29.48.

Friday night while being recorded for history, She took 5th in the 100 freestyle and surpassed Janet Evans' 400 freestyle pool record, set in 1988 of 4:08.46, by going 4:05.44.

Saturday night, still being filmed properly, she set a new pool record in the 200 freestyle going 1:58.80, surpassing Maki Mika of Japan's 2000 mark of 2:00.25. She also swam the consolation final of the 50 freestyle.

Sunday night, the cameras were gone.
It was Father's Day. The first event of the night was the Women's 1500 meter freestyle. No wonder the cameras were gone.

Kate had nearly a full 2 seconds on her competition when she touched the first wall. By the time she went about 200 meters, it was obvious she was feeling pretty good. By 400 people were starting to put down their mobile phones and pay attentions. Her pace was incredible, people were leaving their seats lining the deck. 800 meters everyone was screaming for Kate to keep it up, expecting her to "die" in the back half. She was smoking the world record! 5, 6 seconds under! The announcer did an amazing job of making it clear to us what was about to happen. All I could think of at that point was the fact that the cameras were gone and everyone was going to miss this. That Kate's parents live on the other side of the country and even if all I got was the last 300, at least they would see how much support there was for their girl. So I switched my junky little camera from photo to video mode. Thank God for youtube.com!



18 year old Kate Ziegler had broken Janet Evans' 1988, 19 year old World record of 15:52.10, by nearly 10 seconds. 15:42.54. Amazing. Janet's record was also a National Age Group Record. Every time Kate had swum this race since she was an age group swimmer, Janet's name and time were there at the top of the page. Now it will be Kate's world record (also a national age group record) that will be the benchmark for young girls all over the world.

I feel the reason this race was so special for me was the fact that so many people don't watch this event. They show up a little later. They don't pay as much attention. Kate demanded attention that day. Actually she does every time she touches the water. Just like World Championships in Montreal and Melbourne. She makes these distance races special. She's making some strong progress in the middle distance races too. She is also a really sweet and humble woman. I look forward to the probability of her swimming in relays on the National Team.

It is redundant to say she was the high point female swimmer of the meet. I didn't even get into Robert Margalis, the high point winner for the men. He went straight from a win in the 200 IM with about a 2 lap swim down to the 1500 freestyle final.

I always enjoy myself at the TYR meet (even when there are no world records). The Mission Viejo Nadadores are great hosts. And there are usually many international swimmers as well as USA National Team members and Olympians.

FINA World Championships - Melbourne 2007

The torches were flaring more than the organizers ever imagined they would! Every time a new record would be set, these torches would go off. I am afraid that the people in the front rows must have been scorched.

Championship records
▪ Women's 100 m freestyle - Libby Lenton Australia (53.42)(4x100 m freestyle Relay lead off)
▪ Men's 4x100 m freestyle Relay - Michael Phelps, Neil Walker, Cullen Jones, Jason Lezak United States (3:12.72)
▪ Women's 100 m freestyle - Natalie Coughlin United States (53.40) (semi finals; equalled in finals)
▪ Women's 100 m freestyle - Libby Lenton Australia (53.40) (equalled)
▪ Women's 400 m freestyle - Laure Manaudou France (4:02.61)
▪ Women's 800 m freestyle - Kate Ziegler United States (8:18.52)
▪ Women's 1500 m freestyle - Kate Ziegler United States (15:53.05)
▪ Women's 200 m backstroke - Margaret Hoelzer United States (2:07.16)
▪ Women's 100 m breaststroke - Leisel Jones Australia (1:05.72)
▪ Women's 100 m butterfly - Libby Lenton Australia (57.15)
▪ Women's 200 m individual Medley - Kathryn Hoff United States (2:10.13)
▪ Women's 4x100 m freestyle relay - Libby Lenton, Melanie Schlanger, Shayne Reese, Jodie Henry Australia (3:35.48)

That is impressive enough, but now I have to talk about the World Records....

World Records
Also new championship records
▪ Men's 200m freestyle - Michael Phelps United States (1:43.86)
▪ Men's 100m backstroke - Aaron Peirsol United States (52.98)
▪ Men's 200m backstroke - Ryan Lochte United States (1:54.32)
▪ Men's 200m butterfly - Michael Phelps United States (1:52.09)
▪ Men's 200m individual medley - Michael Phelps United States (1:54.98)
▪ Men's 400m individual medley - Michael Phelps United States (4:06.22)
▪ Men's 4x200m freestyle relay - Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Klete Keller, Peter Vanderkaay United States (7:03.24)
▪ Women's 200m freestyle - Federica Pellegrini Italy (1:56.47) (semi finals; beaten in finals)
▪ Women's 200m freestyle - Laure Manaudou France (1:55.52)
▪ Women's 50m backstroke - Leila Vaziri United States (28.16) (semi finals; equalled in finals by herself)
▪ Women's 100m backstroke - Natalie Coughlin United States (59.44)
▪ Women's 400m individual medley - Kathryn Hoff United States (4:32.89)
▪ Women's 4x200m freestyle relay - Natalie Coughlin, Dana Vollmer, Lacey Nymeyer, Katie Hoff United States (7:50.09)
▪ Women's 4x100m medley relay - Emily Seebohm, Leisel Jones, Jessicah Schipper, Libby Lenton Australia (3:55.74)

There has never, to my knowledge, been a Championships that was this lopsided. If Michael Phelps were a country, he would have been in third place according to gold medals won. I went into this meet knowing he was a really talented swimmer, but I left in awe of his abilities, his stamina, and his hunger. He is a Beast. The really crazy swim for me was when he broke Ian Thorpe's World Record in the 200 Free. This was the the first world event since Thorpe retired, and Phleps unceremoniously wiped his name off the record book. Without any kind of warning! There really isn't much more to say. Except maybe if he weren't swimming in this day and age, Ryan Lochte would be the most titled swimmer around. Those guys are incredible. Let's not forget the ladies who made huge marks on the history books at this meet: Kate Ziegler, Laure Manaudou, Katie Hoff, Libby Lenton, Natalie Coughlin. This meet was out of control. It started off slowly, but once the first record was broken, the tempo of the meet got faster and faster.

It is always sad when the person the you expect to win a race gets ill and can't compete. The loss of Brendan Hansen in the 200 Breaststroke was devastating. It made it hard to watch the final of that race. As happy as I was for the winner, who is now called "World Champion", it seemed to me like an empty victory. Forever when the race is spoken of it will be told that Kosuke Kitajima is the champion only because Brendan was unable to compete.

On the other hand, I appreciate it when the officials have the courage to DSQ a swimmer or team who don't perform to the rules, especially at this level of competition. Quite a few top swimmers never made it to finals. I was really disappointed that the USA Men's Medley relay team was DQ'd in prelims, but I blame the coaches for that. I feel that the guys who are used to swimming off each other in a relay should do it in the final. Yes, Michael Phelps swam a faster time in the 100 Fly than Ian Crocker. But it was a negligible amount. He also swam a faster time than Jason Lezak in the 100 Free. Like I said, he is a beast. I just think it was a bad judgement call. If they knew they were going to put Michael in the final, they should have practiced the starts as soon as the decision was made. But swimmers and coaches are human and they make mistakes.
That being said, the Australian men put on a hell of a show and fought hard for that gold Medal.

The Rod Laver arena was a nice place to put the Suzie O'Neill pool. The volunteers were really sweet, friendly people. They were so welcoming and made me feel great every single day. I thank them. I also had a really great experience with USA Swimming and want to thank Matt Farrell for taking such good care of me and also Cathy and Don for welcoming me so openly. It was great to finally meet face to face with a few of my Australian friends who are in my heart forever. If I could, I would live in Melbourne. Australia is a beautiful country and the people truly appreciate the sport of swimming. We could all learn something from them.

The last thing I want to comment on is how much I hated the ads on the caps of the swimmers. I feel the fact that they have to wear the ads on the blocks is bad enough, althoug I can sort of understand it, but the caps really sucked. I found it very difficult to tell who was who. I personally look for flags on caps to establish who is swimming. These caps were lame. A huge ad on one side, and a small flag and a small name on the other. With the money I paid for my tickets, was that really necessary? I think not.

I don't want to end this post on a downer since this was such a fantastic moment in history. A parent of one of the Australian swimmers asked me to pass a message to a parent of a USA swimmer. He told me to tell her that he was so glad to be at this meet to see what was being accomplished there. As a life long fan of swimming, he said this was a meet he would never forget. I am with him on that. We saw water catch fire.

Speedo Grand Challenge 2007

Tyler Clary, Euan Dale, Tamas Kerekjarto and Vanni Mangoni

The Irvine Novaquatics hosted another fine meet with superstars in attendance. This
meet brought the return of Klete Keller to Southern California and the Trojan Swim
Club. For this SoCal girl, it was good to see Klete back in the Cardinal and Gold.

British Swimming showed off some of their best swimmers here as well, with a few of the finals being British only. This meet uses a format that has only the top four finishers from the prelims making it to the championship final. The Brits were in good form at this point in the season and swam some nice times.

We also got to see Amanda Beard's return to competitive swimming. She made finals for each event she swam, even if she didn't compete in the final. This shows me she is on track in her training as she made Olympic trials cut times in her breaststroke events. The field is pretty impacted so she is going to have to work very hard to win her berth on the Olympic Team, but the same can be said for all the other women vying for a spot.
I always love seeing the Pac-10 club teams going up against each other, and Stanford and Cal sure didn't disappoint.

There was one HUGE disappointment though. I complained about this same thing last year here on my blog, and I guess I will have to say something official next time. The spectator seating is overrun by 10X10 foot sunshades and folding chairs that have no one in them. After last year I decided that it was best not to go to prelims as all the seating space is used for the swimmers who are swimming all day. They do need the shade for prelims as the sun is very hot on that side of the pool in the morning, BUT. The sunshades on lower levels block the view for anyone behind them. So the swimmers who are sitting on higher levels have to squish down to watch the meet. You can kind of see it in this photo. I think that can't be very good for their backs.

All that is fine for prelims, but if this meet wants to ever have any spectators, they have to change the way things are done. A lot of the clubs leave all their chairs and sunshades up when they leave after morning sessions. Spectators come in and have no place to sit because they don't want to encroach on other peoples' space. The upside is, I ended up standing on the deck one day and I am happy with my action shots from that vantage point. But I really think that people need to carry it out if they carry it in, or better yet have their swimmers that don't make the finals stay and watch. They are given the opportunity to see some of the best swimmers in the world. Olympians. World record holders. Amazing coaches. They could learn so much.

I will continue to go to this meet whenever possible. The Nova families and the people who run this meet are very friendly and efficient. (Except for the seating area thing.) I enjoy the music and the sense of fun that this meet has. And the announcer does a great job. So, I'll see ya next year!

Namesnik Memorial Grand Prix 2007

Men's 400M Freestyle Relay - Matt Patton, Davis Tarwater, Peter Vanderkaay, Joe Redmon, Michael Phelps and Jon Larocque


Eric Namesnik was an American Olympian with two silver medals, the father of two and a Great Coach for the University of Michigan. He was only 35 years old when he died as a result of injuries from a car accident.
I remember being told on the morning he passed away by my friend Tim who lives in Michigan. The swimming community is smaller than one might think and great coaches are well respected by everyone. A couple of weeks later Kaitlin Sandeno and Kalyn Keller attended the Q meet in Long Beach with a jar for donations for "Snik's Kids", a memorial fund set up to help Eric's children, Austin and Madison. I was so impressed that these young swimmers and their families were putting all the change they could find as well as some checks to support this worthy cause.

As a show of respect the upcoming Grand Prix that Eric was going to be overseeing at the Canham Natatorium at U of M was renamed as the "Namesnik Memorial Grand Prix".

Right after my return from Australia and the World Champs, while I still had the travel bug, my friends Michelle from Alabama, Blair from Kentucky, Peter from Indiana, and Tim from Michigan, convinced me that it would be fun if I flew out to Michigan to attend the meet. I will admit that time spent with my friends all in one place really was fun. BUT......

Morning Finals!
Because of NBC requesting that the Swimming and Gymnastics competition for the Olympics be adjusted to accommodate the prime time schedule of North American (USA) viewing habits, the finals for swimming and gymnastics will be held in the morning. What?
So to prepare the athletes for this schedule, the Snik meet had this format.

I hated it. I thought it would be bad, but I had no idea. One downfall is the meet goes an extra day. There was a prelim on Thursday night for Friday morning finals. Friday night prelims for Saturday morning finals. And Saturday night prelims for Sunday Morning Finals. (We did get out fairly early on Sunday which was nice, and allowed for a fine home cooked meal given to us by Tim's family at their home, so that was a truly tasty upside.)

I am used to outdoor meets, which I think are louder and more exciting, but I feel the silent crowd was caused by the fact that people were still a little sleepy when finals started at 9am. And then after you already saw the fast stuff in the morning it was tough to go sit through heat after heat of prelims after running around and seeing the city or having lunch... or a nap.

I tried to pay attention to who bettered their times from prelims to finals. There were few like Michael Phelps, Katie Hoff, Davis Tarwater, Mary Descenza, Kaitlin Sandeno, Kim Vandenberg and Peter Vanderkaay, to name a few, who were able to drop times. (It was also great to see the return of Chris DeJong to competition.) In the big picture, I guess they are the people who actually need to if they intend to make the podium in Beijing.

I don't know how many other meets will have this format as we lead into this final year before the big event, but I know the Australians ran a meet with this same format on the same weekend as the Snik meet. I would love someone to check to see if the people dropping times were their more elite swimmers as well. I would also like to know if there were less significant time drops than ususal. But then again maybe the prelim times were faster due to evening prelims. It all means nothing, but it is interesting to me.

Here is the one suggestion that I have though for future meets with this format. We know that these swimmers will walk in as prepared as they can possibly be to swim the best they can. The responsibility lies with the friends, family and teammates of these swimmers to really be supportive. You are there anyway. These people are pulling themselves up on the blocks to actually race that early. We need to cheer and clap and get these people up for these races. Ask anyone and they will say that the crowd helps them get to the wall faster. Ask the Canadian men's relay that took silver in Montreal. Ask the Australian men who won that medley relay in Melbourne if they could have done that without the support of the crowd. Maybe it will take remembering that when you go to the Olympics that you are not only there to see your swimmer. You are there to see all your Nation's swimmers. You need to get behind them as you would your own child, friend, or teammate. It is up to the crowd to make a venue electric. It is up to everyone in attendance to make sure that the athletes can't tell that is it too darned early for a final when they walk out behind the block.

The Namesnik Memorial Grand Prix had everything it needed for great swimming. It had a nice venue with water the correct temperature and fast swimmers. If there was anything wrong with the meet is was the fact that the crowd either wasn't there or they weren't in the mood to make a noise.


Read more about Eric Namsnik as well as quotes from a few of the people who loved and respected him here.

Toyota Long Beach Grand Prix 2007

USA National Team Members: Brendan Hansen, Klete Keller, Aaron Peirsol, Kaitlin Sandeno and Ryan Lochte


The Long Beach Grand Prix started the year off with a bang for National Team members. Many members of the team attened this first, hopefully annual, event. This meet is traditionally the Senior Q meet, with a lot of young swimmers who were thrilled to have these amazing athletes share the deck with them. It was a great opportunity for the team to bond a bit before World Championships. As the weekend went on you could see the National team start leaving their club groups and start hanging out as a team. The high point winners for the meet were Kaitlin Sandeno and Michael Phelps. Both of these swimmers swam crazy full programs and did not let the fans down with their times or the way they mingled with the local swimmers. It was fun seeing Michael take on "the specialsist" Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen and Ian Crocker. Everywhere you looked you could see the smiles from the younger swimmers. I am sure that some of the kids planted some dream seeds having these amazing athletes share the same water with them.

The really strange thing is it was so cold that weekend. I can't remember when Long Beach was this cold. I heard the men's showers had no hot water and that it was tough to get motivated to swim when there was no way to get warm. (Although you could not tell it from the performances.) Well I can't guarantee it, but I can say that I doubt it will be this cold if this event is held at this time again next year. This is Sunny California! I loved having athletes of this caliber at the pool just a few blocks from my home. Please come back next year! We will get the sun to shine for ya. ;)

ConocoPhillips Summer Nationals 2006

Texas Longhorn Aquatics and Club Wolverine

The pool at Irvine is a great place to house this event. Outdoors, beautiful facilities. More for the swimmers than the spectators but who cares! The swimming was very competitive and fast. I am so proud of the state of swimming in this country. There were a few givens and a lot of new faces on the podium. A few interesting things came to light.

First, there are two clubs that hold the lion's share of the talent in USA Swimming. Texas Longhorn Aquatics, is a club made mostly of swimmers who came from the UT stables and have continued with their coaches to post grad successes on the World Championships and Olympics stage. Then there is Club Wolverine, which has quite a nice handful of Michigan alumni and is fast becoming the favorite training place for a whole bunch of displaced USC swimmers (among others) who have also made some big marks on the World and Olympic Stage. There were also a few swimmers who trained at these clubs who weren't wearing their caps but the influence showed (ie Eric Shanteau). The coaches at both these schools, Eddie Reese, Kris Kubik, Bob Bowman and Jon Urbanchek, have garnered a ton of respect from their swimmers and everybody else's swimmers too. It will be exciting to see if the proposed Elite National club will cause either of these clubs to lose swimmers at all.

Next, Brendan Hansen. What an amazing Athlete. He set the world record in the 100 and 200 Breaststroke in 2004, and then came back and blasted them again at this meet, resetting the marks at 59.13 and 2:08.74 respectively. He was so hot that 2 weeks later at Pan Pacs, he lowered the 200 mark to 2:08.50. Some Nationals records were set here too. A few of us were noticing that Michael Phelps looked tired and unhappy when he finished his races at Nationals even while setting Championship records. Judging by the World records he set at Pan Pacs, I am guessing he missed his taper for Nationals but brought the heat to Victoria. The huge smiles were back. This summer was the first time either of these men had personal best swims in two years. Not an easy feat when you hold the fastest times in the world.
American Records were set by Amanda Weir, Katie Hoff (a few times)
Championship records were set by Michael Phelps (a few times), Aaron Peirsol, Kate Ziegler, Klete Keller, and the women of California Aquatic and Arizona Ford Dealers.
I had a great time with my friends who came from all over the country to see this meet so close to my home. I got to show off Southern California a little bit. Huge Congratulations to the athletes who made the national teams. And also to those swimmers fast enough to make the Olympic cut times who competed at this meet.