Although I was very impressed with Sabir the swimmer, I was not impressed with Sabir the person. What was up with him flexing his muscles before the 50 FLY? Is this the NFL/ NBA or is this master's swimming? I didn't appreciate the "hey everyone, look at me" attitude. Swim the race, shake hands with your competitors, and be thankful for the gift God has given you. Don't show up your competitor like a Pro Wrestler. I wonder how much muscle flexing Sabir will do before events at the olympic trials! I have much respect for him for his talent and swimming accomplishments. But after his display before the 50 Fly, I have little respect for him as the person.
Some of te best swimmers in the world show up for a meet in one of the fastest pools in the world as a tune up for Olympic Trials that is open to them and you feel something was taken away for you?
I assume by your argument you also felt the same way (in regards to making money) about the meet hosts wanting to make money, the vendors selling t-shirts, the massage therapists, the concession workers, the parking lot attendents....................
ANY money coming into ANY area of swimming is a good thing, our sport needs pools, coaches, etc. etc. More power to those guys and hopefully they fill their camps up with USMS swimmers!
Just as Masters does not exclude the slowest out there, neither does it exclude the fastest. The fact is, as fast as the members of the Race Club, swam others have swum faster or nearly as fast. In the 50 free Sabir Muhammad was the only one to break the national record; Aaron Ciarla, Gary Hall and Nadine Rolland did not. In the 100 free both Sabir Muhammad and Gary Hall broke the record, but Aaron Ciarla (took 4th) and Nadine Rolland did not. In the 50 fly Nadine Rolland and Sabir Muhammad each broke the record (Sabir by .01), Aaron Ciarla did not. The 100 fly no record, the 100 IM no record (and a DQ). 74 individual national records were broken at Nationals and I only count 5 of them from the Race Club.
Originally posted by JRidge
Just as Masters does not exclude the slowest out there, neither does it exclude the fastest. The fact is, as fast as the members of the Race Club, swam others have swum faster or nearly as fast. In the 50 free Sabir Muhammad was the only one to break the national record; Aaron Ciarla, Gary Hall and Nadine Rolland did not. In the 100 free both Sabir Muhammad and Gary Hall broke the record, but Aaron Ciarla (took 4th) and Nadine Rolland did not. In the 50 fly Nadine Rolland and Sabir Muhammad each broke the record (Sabir by .01), Aaron Ciarla did not. The 100 fly no record, the 100 IM no record (and a DQ). 74 individual national records were broken at Nationals and I only count 5 of them from the Race Club.
Why are making such a big deal of the The Race Club then if they aren't even as fast as other masters swimmers?
I've been to many National meets in my swimming years and the Race Club is another exciting piece of the big picture. How can we NOT be thrilled, inspired, proud and impressed by people in our sport who have great swims. A big reason for going to Nationals for me is to watch great swims and to see the people who inspire me. My #1 hero is Edith Glusac from Michigan. She's 85 and she won 5 events including the 100 fly. Good luck Race Club members and same to you, Edith. Watching anyone who puts their heart into a race is an inspiration to me.
Why didn't Sabir flex his muscles and strike a pose at the trials? Sorry, but after his little demonstration at our Nationals in Indy, it was hard for me to root for him. On the other hand, congrats to Gary Hall. 3 Olympics in a row, and he was nothing but class at Nationals.
