PoolTalk

Cleaner than clean

Paul Lewis of the New Zealand Herald says most people believe Ian Thorpe is "cleaner than clean" and adds:

"Whatever happens, Thorpe's reputation has been damaged and he is making noises about a legal suit against the leaker, should he or she be discovered.

And so we come to the inevitable conclusion: there are no winners from this, only losers.

I cannot watch a Tour de France without the belief that most of the field are on drugs. There is no doubt some swimmers are. But Thorpe? Surely not.

To his credit, Thorpe has said he doesn't believe FINA was out to get him."

A question of timing

Active.com points out that the unauthorized disclosure of the Ian Thorpe test results is under investigation and notes that many other questions remain: "What L’Equipe failed to acknowledge is that Thorpe did not compete in an international event following the 2004 Athens Olympics. His suspect test occurred last May (an athlete is still subject to testing until he formally announces retirement). Why would an athlete not planning on competing seek to boost his performance illegally? Additionally, ASADA threw the case out due to lack of scientific evidence. FINA then appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration. The name of the athlete, however, was supposed to be kept confidential unless a positive test result was determined."

From backyard pool to Olympics

The Age profiles the Dumais family of Ventura, southern California: Justin, Troy, Brice, Leanne and Dwight. Five children, all current or former divers in junior or senior US national teams. So far, two Olympians.

"The dynasty was created almost by accident. When Troy was about five, the three oldest boys were taken for swimming lessons in the backyard pool of a local doctor and family friend when fate intervened.

"There was one of those little, tiny diving boards that actually has a spring," Justin has recalled. "We got bored with swimming and started doing stuff off of that. Troy did a back flip and hit his head on the deck. Dad stuck us in some diving lessons because he wanted us to make it at least to 18." "

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."

Larsen Jensen to become a SEAL

A clearer future for Grant Hackett: Ian Thorpe retired weeks ago, now Jensen says he will become a Navy SEAL after the Olympics. Here's one report:

Excerpt: "American Larsen Jensen, the third-fastest man in the history of the 1500m behind only Hackett and Kieren Perkins, will, regardless of his results, retire from the sport after the Beijing Olympics, aged just 22."

2012 Olympics

The Telegraph reports: "The new swimming and diving complex at the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London, will be a third the size of the original, but architects have retained the wave-shaped roof." After the 2012 games, community residents will have use of the aquatic center, which is now expected to cost about 100 million pounds. The Sunday Times reports: "The 20,000-seat arena, which was meant to cost £75m, will house two 50m swimming pools and a diving pool. The exterior will probably retain its undulating roof, which has been described as being like a manta ray floating over the sea bed."