At the Trials!

If anyone should be getting out via the ladder it's Hoff! Conserve your energy a little, girl.

I also have some vague memories about new FINA rules for exiting the pool (from this Forum). Most swimmers are leaving from the side but Hoff, notably, is climbing out at the starting block. Is this going to be a problem? Maybe someone can remind me of this discussion. I found one of the officials at brunch this morning and got the answer to the question. The FINA rules do ask swimmers not to exit at the block but rather at the side. However, no swimmer will be DQ'd for not following that advice. The worst they can expect is to be yelled at and called a swim bumpkin (cousin to a country bumpkin).

Oh my goodness, what a night last night. Fabulous 200 back final by the women. Great to see Hoelzer's swim. I'm predicting that Beisel will go under the world record at Beijing. Possibly the most interesting unreported fact in the trials: at yesterdays final heat in the 1500 prelims, Vendt (at about the 800 m mark give or take) does a triathlon lookup to read the counter board! You remember that FINA won't allow the counters in the water. They are posted at the 50 end by the officials and are completely useless for anyone except someone like me who does open turns. Some officials even put them on the non-breathing side where a swimmer can't look back to find them. Vendt must have lost track and was setting a blistering pace. Also there was an interesting story in the local paper. At the end of the women's 100 free Torres was so surprised that she won the event that she said she wasn't sure she would swim it in Beijing. Apparently her goal was just to make the 4 X 100 relay and overdid it a bit. She said she wanted to see how she did in the 50 before deciding and that she felt pretty trashed. Well, it looks like it was no problem seeing her 50 free semi swim! Phelps continues to be disappointed in his fly swims. I think he really wanted the WR in the 100 last night but was just shaking his head at the end. This one is pretty critical for him in Beijing. It looks like he's relying too much on the strong second half swim and not going out hard enough. But he's not really tapered yet, so there may be a lot in there yet. We'll see. Speaking of not very well tapered, I'm now wondering if Reese didn't taper Hansen or Crocker enough for the Trials. Stovall really wasn't that far behind Crocker in the 100 and that would have shut Ian out of the team. Maybe that was Hansen's problem in the 200 ***. Nice men's 50 free final. Too bad we can't take more than 2! But the French are going to be tough to beat in the 50 and 100. I also have some vague memories about new FINA rules for exiting the pool (from this Forum). Most swimmers are leaving from the side but Hoff, notably, is climbing out at the starting block. Is this going to be a problem? Maybe someone can remind me of this discussion. Grace and I became Susan von der Lippe's Trial adopted parents yesterday. She was going out to party with Nadine Day last night & we reminded her that we didn't want her out too late. She promised to be a good girl.

Thanks Mel for these little reports, it is almost like being there.

Last session was another good one. Another AR for Dara and great swim for Jessica Hardy. I'm wondering if Hardy should just give up BR and concentrate on FR. She's going to be in 5 events in Beijing! There was a very thoughtful column in the local newspaper by a male writer about Dara and the possibility of doping. His point of view was that his ideal image of the clean athlete has been destroyed by what has taken place in the last few years. Now, an older swimmer and mother may be the one to restore his hope. Of course he, like all of us, says there is no way to prove anything about Dara one way or the other but at least he can now hope again. I don't think John Smith has yet reached that point. I think I have. In the 1500 final there were two interesting things that may not have been noted at home (at least one I'm certain of...). A bit after the mid-point of the race (2/3?), Vanderkaay did a look-up to find Jensen. It was obvious to us watching that he knew at that point that he could win the race. It was the fastest time in the world for 2008 to this point. The second thing came right after the race. I was sitting next to Nick Graves who finished 14th in the 1500 and he was sent a text message by one of the Wolverine coaches. They were apparently stunned by the result. This has been great. If the Trials are here again in 2012 I'm coming back (GLW&TCDR...apologies to Hank Williams...).

Grace and I became Susan von der Lippe's Trial adopted parents yesterday. She was going out to party with Nadine Day last night & we reminded her that we didn't want her out too late. She promised to be a good girl.I saw Susan and Nadine at the party and I’m happy to report that Susan was a good girl. Nadine, now that’s another story… Mel, Thanks for all your on-site posts. You captured a lot of what was the greatest swim meet on US soil (water?). A couple of other things; it was nice to see Rowdy Gaines signing autographs in the AquaZone, wearing a USMS polo shirt and a USMS banner prominently displayed. It was also nice to see a number of athletes tossing their stuffed bears/seals (given to members of the Olympic team) to the kids in the crowd. And for those who attended the ISHOF induction ceremonies: what a great show and a terrific goody bag (much better that what the swimmers got). Note: on the attached photo, I had to crop off the line of 200 hundred or so, lined up for Rowdy’s autograph

The second thing came right after the race. I was sitting next to Nick Graves who finished 14th in the 1500 and he was sent a text message by one of the Wolverine coaches. They were apparently stunned by the result. I'm sure they were. I bet Peter Vanderkaay was a little stunned himself. In an interview for floswimming only about a month or two ago he flat out said he wasn't even going to swim the 1500 at Trials! And based on how Vendt has been swimming who would have thought he'd finish fourth? That's as stunning to me as Hansen fading in the 200 ***.

I love this thread. Read it through twice! How about some non-swimming Trials experiences? Were concessions good? What was the crowd like? What color T-shirt did you get? How did you fill non-swimming time? Did you get any autographs? Who'd you see in person? What was for sale in the aqua-what's-it-called? Trading cards? Details, please! And.....next Trials, what would you have done differently/the same? My sister gave me all the details of her trip. Bottom line - she had such a great time she wants to go for the entire event next Trials!

I saw Susan and Nadine at the party and I’m happy to report that Susan was a good girl. Nadine, now that’s another story… Thanks for the feedback on Susan, Rob. Guess we'll continue her allowance a while longer. Sorry we didn't see you there but we did watch Noah's swims...

Oh that is so great! I bet it was fun to run into other master swimmers at such a large event! And I love love love Nadine Day!!! She is my hero. I totally missed out! My sister says the zoo is actually fantastic! It kills me to think I priced the 1 hr 40 min nonstop flight from Dallas, and it was only $141 a few months ago.... I am surprised at the souvenier shortage - this has happened before! You'd think they would have that part down by now! What an experience, and bonus workouts in, too! Thanks for posting!