1. What's up with the "thumbs down"? According to TheSwimmersCircle Kenyan swimmer Jason Dunford gave Cielo a "thumbs-down" post-50m fly, presumably because he's upset with the decision to allow Cielo to compete after an alleged contaminated supplement. Though this could be for other reasons, I'm just not a fan of poor sportsmanship in general. That's all. Moving on.
2. Will Kukors be the hardest-finishing swimmer of all time next summer? Yes.
3. What's going on with Kitajima? The best story coming out of the Worlds thus far was Norway's Alexander Dale Oen winning the 100m breaststroke, an emotional and triumphant performance following the bloody and awful tragedy last weekend. He swam a 58.7, which is HUGE, and REALLY FAST, and DEFINITELY GOING TO WIN GOLD in 2012 -- unless Kitajima / Hansen (?) can step up to the plate next year. This means that two of the defending back-to-back Olympic stroke champions (Peirsol, and now Kitajima) may not three-peat in 2012. Phelps could be the only one.
4. Who else is tired today? Seriously, waking up early to watch this stuff is going to make swim fans across the country look like members of Fight Club -- bloodshot, baggy eyed, dark rings, staggering over to the water cooler. "Hey man, what happened to you this weekend?" "Swim meet. Big. Bahiehfowehfoazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz."
5. Great Column By John Lohn on Swimming World This isn't really a question, as it is just a good read. It's on the fantastic story of Dale Oen. Here' s a great quote from the article: "Life is more than swimming," Dale Oen said. "What's happening back home really puts things in perspective. It's been terrible. Everything has been very emotional."
the last time I was this tired was when the red sox were in the world series and that was towards the end of the series on the west coast. worlds JUST STARTED..
ReplyDeleteKitajima didn't have an amazing swim, but I don't think his performance is a red flag, by any means. He swam a respectable 59.7 in semis, he has broken 59 seconds before, and I think he's capable of doing it again next year. He also strikes me as a fighter; the kind of guy who gets rejuvenated from a loss. I think he is very, very much in the running for 2012. Dale Oen was spectacular last night, but Kitajima has been spectacular at 4 events in 2 Olympics, when it counts most.
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