PoolTalk

Callus on Thorpe

Ashley Callus on Ian Thorpe (from The Herald Sun): "No one can fill Ian's shoes. He's probably the best athlete in swimming that we've ever seen," the Sydney Olympic 4 x 100m freestyle gold medallist said.

"But the relay is not just one good swimmer, it's four strong swims. There's definitely guys coming through that can step up and be very competitive.

"We'll definitely use it for motivation to get out there and show that Ian was great, but we can still do it without him.

"All is not lost with Ian retiring."

Toyota in backyard pool

The Houston Chronicle has this report (with photo):

The west Houston woman arrived home to find a 1995 Toyota Avalon on the bottom of the deep end of her swimming pool. It had sped in so fast that the yard was mostly unscathed save for some patio furniture underneath the vehicle.

The neighbor's son was outside in the yard next door when "the water kind of projectiled over the fence," she said, after a tow truck removed the car from the pool Sunday afternoon.

"The force of it made a wave," she said.

Swimming in Uganda

Charities are working to help the poor of Uganda by teaching them to swim. The project is financed in part by tourist dollars and officials are pleased that so many people who live near a lake can now use it safely. From the AP interview with Patrick Tumwijukye, manager of a local charity that is coordinating swimming lessons on Lake Bunyonyi:

Tumwijukye says the programme, run by the nonprofit Lake Bunyonyi Development Company, has taught 2,200 Ugandans to swim since it was first launched in 2003.

"At first the ladies were resistant to lessons because they didn't want to expose themselves and get wet, but they are changing their minds and now they enjoy swimming." he says.

"We don't have anyone ready to compete in the Olympics yet, but we hope to do that in the future."

The swimmer who didn't get away

It sounds almost like a joke -- the man being chased by police who swims halfway across the river, but decides to turn around and come back. It really happened in Oregon, according to this report from Fox 12: "Authorities arrested a man on the banks of the Willamette River after he tried to escape police by swimming across it Wednesday. Police said Martin Knoll, 42, changed his mind halfway across the river and came back to shore."

Dutch swimmer tries surfing

From The Advertiser: "Triple Olympic champion Pieter van den Hoogenband may have only just arrived in Geelong, but he was already plotting how he could get in as much surfing practice as possible during his month in the city.

Van den Hoogenband had his first taste of surfing on a training camp in Newcastle, NSW and was instantly hooked.

``I could only stand for five or six seconds but it was fantastic,'' the grinning van den Hoogenband said."

Learn to swim with Geoff Huegill

Geoff Huegill is following Ian Thorpe away from competetive swimming, says The Telegraph: "Huegill is set to launch into several business ventures, including starting up a learn-to-swim school in Brisbane."

5 miles a day

Shane Gould has a great site where she tells her life story, sells photos and posts some comments about her training when she went to the Olympics: "In peak training I swam 10 to 11 sessions per week doing about 4 to 5 miles each time (write to me and tell me how many kilometres that is. Rachel Harris Australia’s current champion 800m freestyler swims 7km per session). I did all four strokes in training and at least one lot of races each week. I also did cross country running and sports at school. In the summer I went to the beach and body surfed on weekends. All the exercise I did added to training my muscles and general fitness."

Happy Arizona Day

The name "Arizona" is derived from the Latin word "Arizonius," meaning, "Place where everyone has a backyard pool." -- from The Plural Possesseive.

Eamon Sullivan

Eamon Sulivan update. He's the country's greatest hope now that Ian Thorpe has retired. The Age reports: "After six years of shoulder problems and three hip operations in two years, Sullivan is due his share of luck. But just when he thought he would have a perfect preparation, his wisdom teeth came through last Sunday."

Ian Thorpe's memories

"Now when I think about competitive swimming, it's a memory, rather than a thought of what I might be able to do at the next competition."  Ian Thorpe, quoted by IOL.com in New Zealand