Why is that Swimmer magazine never mentions 1988 Olympian Kirk Stackle in its coverage of Nationals? His name was again conspicuously absent from the list of Olympians who competed in Mesa. He won both the 100 *** and the 100 IM, by the way. Congratulations, Kirk.
Kirk (Stackle) trains hard and competes hard. He and Roque Santos had some close races in Clovis. My point was that his status as an Olympian should have been acknowledged. I appreciate Laura's response.
My memory may be playing tricks on me, but even if it wasn't acknowledged in SWIMMER, I think the announcer definitely mentioned it during at least some of Stackle's races in Mesa. If anything, I think that is probably more important than post-meet mentions in SWIMMER.
I am of two minds about the issue. On the one hand, I think USMS has to fight a little bit against the notion that it is only for elite swimmers, especially at a venue like nationals. I don't want members who started swimming as adults to think they aren't welcome, or fast enough. Also (as this thread shows) the logistics can be daunting: if you acknowledge one, you feel like you have to catch them all, or risk offending someone.
On the other hand, it can certainly create some buzz, particularly (not meaning to be "ageist") with younger studs like Ed Moses. It was a lot of fun to watch him swim in Mesa.
Kirk (Stackle) trains hard and competes hard. He and Roque Santos had some close races in Clovis. My point was that his status as an Olympian should have been acknowledged. I appreciate Laura's response.
My memory may be playing tricks on me, but even if it wasn't acknowledged in SWIMMER, I think the announcer definitely mentioned it during at least some of Stackle's races in Mesa. If anything, I think that is probably more important than post-meet mentions in SWIMMER.
I am of two minds about the issue. On the one hand, I think USMS has to fight a little bit against the notion that it is only for elite swimmers, especially at a venue like nationals. I don't want members who started swimming as adults to think they aren't welcome, or fast enough. Also (as this thread shows) the logistics can be daunting: if you acknowledge one, you feel like you have to catch them all, or risk offending someone.
On the other hand, it can certainly create some buzz, particularly (not meaning to be "ageist") with younger studs like Ed Moses. It was a lot of fun to watch him swim in Mesa.
