Kosuke Kitajima

Originally posted by aquageek I don't buy this, gotta be an urban legend. You mean to tell me at the Olympics in the 70s and 80s the East German women were hooked up to air compressors in the locker rooms? I would suspect that might have been noticed. Maybe this is why dives are so much deeper now than before - less gas. I, for one, have not noticed increased performance following an extra helping of beans at my favorite Mexican restaurant. You gotta wonder if maybe this might give vegetarians an advantage. Gee... did I say it was the East German Women who did this. It could have been an urban legend but this was mentioned at the time, I had contacted www.rediff.com/sports/2000/sep/15germ.htm to verify but have never had the information returned. George

Now this has real potential. A swimmer could study to find the foods that produce the most noxious gas - jerusalem artichokes and chilli beans washed down with WARM real ale would make a good combo. Then a well timed FART just before the start could cause other competitors to fall of the blocks, just like Ian Thorpe ! Thus giving one a huge advantage. To dispose of the rest, you would have to go out really fast to gain a lead and then FART into the water to snuff out the few swimmers that are left.:D I think i must try this at my next meet. I looked in my Fina rule book and there is no rule against this.;)

i get enough hot air blown up my *** at work, really don't need it at the pool also (and mechanially no less)

Actually, the injection of air into the lower colon is NOT an urban legend. The East Germans tried it in the 70's but found that it caused extreme discomfort and cramping. They also found that it didn't really seem to help, regardless of cramping. In order for it to help, it would have to lower the overall density of the swimmer. Since the mass of the swimmer doesn't change, the volume would have to become greater, but this would also increase the drag of the swimmer because of the greater volume. (Think of what happens when you inflate your lungs fully vs exhale fully.) Also, since air is compressible, if you put reasonable volumes into the lower colon, the body's mass has some resistance to deformation. You may feel bloated and, in fact, may have some overall volume change but in this case you get less out than you put in. (No snide comments.) Source: When I was with the USOC, we had a *very* high ranking East German sport scientist/administrator visit in the mid-80's. In the interest of "openess" (what B.S.) we had a question & answer session with him regarding their sport science methods. One of our physiologists asked him about the air-in-the-lower-colon experiment and, despite the fact that he was a lying weasel S.O.B., he seemed truthful on the above answer. Some of his other answers were so patently nonsensical or evasive that we basically called the session early. -LBJ

The East Germans also experimented with sodium bicarbonate, a legal substance that acts as a blood buffer. It has been proven to work by just about every study. The unfortunate by-products of injestion of large amounts of sodium bicarbonate are huge burps and farts. Needless to say they did not use it! Yes they did experiment with air. Again I do not believe they actually used it in competition. Some ideas are just BAD:D I agree with Tom, Shirley Babashaw should be awarded her Gold medals stolen by drug cheats. This was proven in courts of law in Germany. These same coaches then wen to work for the chinese! Also proven drug cheats. The great breaststroker John Moffat was going to do a television documentary about 5 years ago, talking with many of the east German women who won but their lives were ruined by cancers and other health problems. At that time Shirley would not let herself be interviewed. Since then she was honored at the USAS Convention as the rightful winner of those Gold medals. The room gave her a standing ovation. She was the little girl ( youngest on the team ) who upon going into the womens locker room, came out screaming there are men in there. Of course it was just the East German women with their bass male voices! She was also humiliated when coming home to the USA by our wonderful media, who complained that she did not beat the East German girls and was a failure! Shirley has gone with her life and has become a great college swim coach. She is a true American Hero! God bless her.

On the lighter side, Gareth, pickeled eggs and beer also work well. Absolutely deadly :D Leonard, great post!

Anyone notice how many Japanese swimmers are doing well in this Olympics? They are well trained and ready for this meet. The mens team has excellent swimmers in the ***, fly, AND back ... look for them to be a surprise in the Medley relay. They won't beat the US team but might sneak in a silver or bronze.

Gastroenterologists repeat this "experiment" on a daily basis. The results are always the same--which is why they sedate their patients. The last thing you feel like doing after a sigmoidoscopy is going for a swim. I have had races where I really sucked wind, but I don't think that's what George is referring to by "air gulping".

Originally posted by dreamer Why is a dolphin kick off the breastroke turn prohibited? In the other strokes I noticed a dolphin kick used after turning off the wall, or even at the start. Just curious.. It is prohibited because it is not a legal kick for breaststroke. The reason you can dolphin kick after a turn in freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly is because you can dolphin kick when stroking freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly. You're never allowed to do a kick after a turn that you aren't allowed to do the rest of the time.

Originally posted by Bob McAdams It is prohibited because it is not a legal kick for breaststroke. The reason you can dolphin kick after a turn in freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly is because you can dolphin kick when stroking freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly. You're never allowed to do a kick after a turn that you aren't allowed to do the rest of the time. You can legally do a dolphin kick on the backstroke (other than underwater off the wall)?:confused: