The bleachers at this meet are setup about 18 inches from the edge of the pool. If you are sitting on the bottom row you will get splashed as the swimmer in lane one goes by. So, 1st heat of boys open 400 IM. The young man in lane one is an older boy--maybe 17 or 18 and very well built... He is a big boy who was struggling a bit with the fly. He swims past as his mother and other swim moms from his team cheer him on. He turns, and as he is backstroking past the bleachers and his cheering fans he says, "THIS SUCKS!" The bleachers erupt into laughter. His poor mother was mortified! All she could say was, "Only my son, only my son!"
What other funny things have you heard at swim meets?
When I was coaching in Oklahoma about 20 years ago there was a notorious parent from another team who would loudly repeat, "Go Robert, go Robert, kick Robert, kick Robert" while cheering for her son at various meets. We were at a small pool in Tulsa (I think) where there was hardly any deck space on one side of the pool for the coaches. The 13-14 boys' 100 backstroke started and Robert was in lane 8 (right next to us coaches). Robert's mom commenced her usual screaming from the upper level seating across the pool. At about the 60 yard point of the race, as Robert's mom screamed her usual "Go Robert, kick Robert," Robert stopped, stood up in his lane and shouted, "I AM!!!" He then finished his swim. I can't remember now if Robert's mom got the hint or not... :)
When I was coaching in Oklahoma about 20 years ago there was a notorious parent from another team who would loudly repeat, "Go Robert, go Robert, kick Robert, kick Robert" while cheering for her son at various meets. We were at a small pool in Tulsa (I think) where there was hardly any deck space on one side of the pool for the coaches. The 13-14 boys' 100 backstroke started and Robert was in lane 8 (right next to us coaches). Robert's mom commenced her usual screaming from the upper level seating across the pool. At about the 60 yard point of the race, as Robert's mom screamed her usual "Go Robert, kick Robert," Robert stopped, stood up in his lane and shouted, "I AM!!!" He then finished his swim. I can't remember now if Robert's mom got the hint or not... :)
