What male swimmers would you want to be the wife of and why?

Hmmm ... somebody who makes me laugh, enjoys keeping the house reasonably tidy but doesn't mind if I park my bicycles in the dining room or have my swim bag in the living room; can keep junk food out of the house and not drink all my diet cokes; understands when I "need" new computer equipment or swim stuff. Holy crap, you're me! Except for the junk food part. My wife hates it when I leave my bike in the living room. I don't get it!:-) But I definitely understand "need"ing new computer stuff and bike stuff and swim stuff!

My great aunt Marie dated Johnny Weismuller, which I always thought was very cool. I tell people that it's possible we are distantly related, but I am not sure this is entirely true. My great aunt had no children, so I am still working out my genetic link to Johnny. . Cool! I swim in the pool where Johnny Weismuller trained! 2 degrees of separation. I would NOT want to be in close quarters with any high-maintenance person -- swimmers, musicians, poets, etc.

Mel - that sounds great. Maybe when the kiddies are out the door I can live that life. Right now, completely impossible.

I have to offer the other point of view. My wife and I compete in nearly everything together (except running events, where I can't). That means we train together, share goals and ideas, and have common motivations. She beats the snot out of me in XC ski races and I can still hold her off in swimming. On the bike and in the weight room (if you go by percentage of body weight), we are about the same. There is never an issue that I have to go bowling or she has to go shopping and we don't have different ideas about vacations (they ALWAYS must revolve around our training goals) - we always do things together. As a result, we've developed the same deep love of food, beer and wine. We've been married since 1966. You guys are awesome. I aspire to be you when I grow up, as I've said before. My husband is only now going back to competition after taking quite a few years off with the exception of road races with my son. He is an OCD exerciser, however, and that is generally a good thing. It means he usually understands and accommodates my own OCD exercising. Although sometimes he rolls his eyes at my "silly internet forum" like Mrs. Geek. But he is very low maintenance and considers himself a "fitness" runner. I'm hoping the Garmin Forerunner I'm getting him for Xmas doesn't change this ... Not sure I'd like to be married to a fellow swimmer though. Think perhaps different sports are better. Wouldn't want to be hurling Velveeta cheese at my husband as Laura has to do to when the Clydesdale snickers at her suit misadventures.

I know this will shock all of you ... Aaron Peirsol. Uber hottie and laid back - seems to be nice and I hear he is at least somewhat intelligent. I have a thing for smart jocks and he appears to fit the bill.

If you were a female (or are one) and could be the perfect sporting wife or girlfriend of a current (or now retired) male swimmer you greatly admire or even dislike, who would you most want to (seriously or humorously) be with and please say why. Well I greatly admire and dislike myself--so I would say me. Unlimited travel/equipment budget, virtual unlimited training time, total understanding, 4 kids and little expectations...yes, I would marry me even if I wasn't a woman and even with my ugly misshapen face and body (because I'd be a woman and would be able to see inner beauty with much more clarity).:)

I have to say I agree with (S)he-Puff. I don't see how you can have two fanatic athletes in one family. If you add kids in there, it's even harder. Absolutely much harder to do. I was a "casually competitive" masters' swimmer until this fall, when I then tried to pick up the intensity. For last last ~8 years, my wife has been the intense athlete in our family, focusing primarily on half marathons. Scheduling our workouts (we have three kids) became a daily/weekly negotiation. I think we've reached a good balance now -- trying to time our "big events" differently so that the person focusing on a major event can take "priority" somewhat as that event approaches -- but it's still something we have to consciously think/discuss every weekend for the week ahead. I have to offer the other point of view. My wife and I compete in nearly everything together (except running events, where I can't). That means we train together, share goals and ideas, and have common motivations. ... There is never an issue that I have to go bowling or she has to go shopping and we don't have different ideas about vacations (they ALWAYS must revolve around our training goals) - we always do things together. As a result, we've developed the same deep love of food, beer and wine. We've been married since 1966. Way cool and Cheers! :chug: My wife and I don't compete in the same events, but we have started to build "event travel" into our family vacations. This year, for example, our major vacation was a safari in Kenya that ended with a half marathon in a game reserve. We then did a weekend trip to the La Jolla Rough Water swim where I and my two oldest daughters all swam. As for training, we never trained together until she convinced me to do some core classes this fall at our gym. Now, at least once a week, we have a "core date." Not sure I'd like to be married to a fellow swimmer though. Think perhaps different sports are better. Yeah, different sports are better ... plus, we swimmers are a weird kind of bunch. I need someone whose brain is not pickled by chlorine to balance me out.

I'll pass him your note next time I see him I know this will shock all of you ... Aaron Peirsol. Uber hottie and laid back - seems to be nice and I hear he is at least somewhat intelligent. I have a thing for smart jocks and he appears to fit the bill.

A little off-topic, but some interesting comments about marriages where one spouse is a "fanatical" athlete. I met my wife through masters swimming and have always been happy to be paired with someone who understands the lifestyle, although at this point I am the more fanatical one (largely b/c of the demands of her job). Adding a kid in the mix -- blessing that he is! -- has taken away time where we used to swim together (it still happens, just infrequently). I would think a marriage where one spouse is a complete non-athlete, and has never really experienced that life, would be difficult in many ways. Just like I don't really understand my wife's love of cats (we have three, all former strays)...though now I can appreciate them more than I did. (I can't resist a side joke on cats: -- "There is good news and bad news for cat owners." -- "What's the good news?" -- "Cat owners live longer and healthier lives than non-owners." -- "So what's the bad news?" -- "They have to live with cats.") Sorry for the hijack, return to your drooling... :)

I think we've reached a good balance now ... I agree, balance is important. In the case of our family, I get all the choice workout times and my wife has to settle for the other non-prime workout hours. In turn, she gets to use all the nasty looks, middle finger flipping and insults of me being a bad father and husband. So, it really all balances out.