Speaking of false starts, does anyone know what was going on on the third morning of women's NCAA's? 4 declared false starts in the 200 back prelim, 11 more in the 100 free, 1 in the 200 ***, 3 in the 200 fly, 2 in the 400 free relay (and 1 DQ), and in the 1650, 3 women were disqualified for "delay of meet." Four false starts in a backstroke event? Eleven in a single event? Crazy. http://www.ncaaswim.com/
Hoff 4:34.49 400 IM
They announced this time as a new US Open record. I was timing in lane three, Hoff was in lane 5. Pretty impressive swim. She is a beast. Cielo got beat by Bousquet in the 50 and seemed to be downright upset about it. He didn't even show up for the award. Who knows, he might have been warming down. Vanderkaay's 400 free was impressive also. Piersol's start in the 100 back might have been his worst ever, and he still won the event in impressive fashion. Reese was letting him have it in a funny way. It was fun to see how smooth these people are in the water, especially Phelps.
I haven't been close to Olympians since college. Man, I forgot how superhuman these people seem to be.
My son was fortunate enough to carry the sign for the Men's 400IM before the final heat in the evening session on Saturday. During the evening he got Phelps' signature, along with Vanderkaay and Hall. It was a good evening for him. It is pretty cool for an 11 year old to get close to some of his heroes.
Phelps, after he slept through his 400 Free in prelims, went up into the lobby and signed autographs until it seemed his hand would fall off. Nobody, who wanted a signature, left without one. I have never been close to Hall before. Standing near him, while he talked to Mike Bottom, I could not believe how big he is. If you have not seen him lately, he is sporting some pretty heavy Elvis chops. The kids in attendance were flocking to him like he was a rock star. (which he seems to be) When my son went towards him to cop a signature, Hall talked to him like he was his best friend. He might be a character, with all of his ranting, raving and showmanship, but I have a new respect for him.
Some of my high school swimmers got to time in Phelps' lane. He truly is a rock star.
Will be interesting to see what Natalie swims at Oly Trials......
53.94 100 Free
2:10.88 200 IM
Tied her 100 Back WR of 59.44
Impressive swims with a couple more months to go before trials:banana:
