Open Water Swimming Connection

Aftermath

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 16:24:10 -0700

Day: Seventeen
Date: Monday, March 26, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach to Melbourne to Sydney to Home
Theme: Overall Impressions, Written by Steve Munatones

Some impressions that come quickly to mind:

1. The Russians are truly dominating and committed to continuing their domination through 2008 and beyond.

2. The Germans are not far behind the Russians (e.g., 2 German males in the top 5 in the 10K and 2 German females in the top 6 in the 10K).

3. Several other countries are hungry to replicate the Russian and German success.*

4. Newcomers like Spyridon Gianniotis of Greece (bronze in the 10K) and Cassandra Patten of Great Britain (silver in the 10K by 1 second) took the same strategy go out hard, lead the pack and hang on when more experienced elite swimmers make their final surges.

5. Strategic positioning remains critically important and requires elite racing experience to properly execute.
Mohamed Zanaty of Egypt swam extraordinarily well: 4th in the 10K and bronze in the 25K.

6. Swimming smart gives good results: Yury Kudinov swam much smarter in his victorious 25K in Melbourne compared with his taking a huge early lead at the 2005 Montreal World Championship 25Kand fading out of the money.

7. 37-year-old Marco Formetini of Italy, who earned a silver medal in the 25K, is the worlds fastest masters long-distance swimmer.

8. Britta Kamrau (4th in the 5K by 0.1 seconds, 6th in the 10K finishing 7 seconds from gold, and 1st in the 25K) continues to show her great versatility.

9. Competition in the 5K and 10K is much deeper, faster and more physical than the World Championship races in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

10. Different kinds of feeding sticks are being used than before: all sticks were much longer and more stable than before. Many countries had double holders at the end of their feeding sticks.

11. Most of the top countries had walkie-talkie systems with earphones so none of the other teams could listen in on their conversations during the races.

12. Feeding is critical to success: Vladimir Dyatchin of Russia, the 10K gold medalist, took a gel pack about the 8.2K mark without worrying that he was giving up the lead.

13. The open water coaches of the European teams rarely change. These coaches also appear do very little coaching while on the pool deck the swimmers just get in and do their workouts with very little interaction by their coaches.

14. The Europeans and Australians do not train much in open water, especially before the competition, primarily because they are constantly doing open water races.

15. Thomas Lurz (5K gold medalist and 10K silver medalist) and Larisa Ilchenko (double gold medalist in the 5K and 10K) used nearly the exact same strategies (i.e., settle in 2nd or 3rd for 80-90% of the race and make their move before the last turn buoy).

16. Europeans do not get flustered with the physical contact inherent in pack swimming.

Interesting note of the day: Russia won the overall open water title with 156 points. Germany was second with 108 points. Australia was third with 54 points. Italy was fourth with 43 points. USA was fifth with 33 points. Czech Republic was sixth with 27 points. Egypt was seventh with 26 points. Great Britain was eighth with 23 points. Netherlands was ninth with 22 points. Spain was tenth with 19 points.

25 K

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 10:50:11 -0700

Day: Sixteen
Date: Sunday, March 25, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Hearts of Heroes, Written by Steve Munatones

Everyone who finished the mens and womens 25K race today should be considered a hero: 15-20 knot winds, 64ºF water, surface chop and wind caps throughout the race. First place, last place and everyone in-between.

Britta Kamrau-Corestein, with a 4-minute lead on the staggered womens start, took it out hard on the first 2.5K loop and extended her lead throughout the race, finishing with a final time of 5 hours, 37 minute, 11.66 seconds. However, the more compelling race was for the silver and bronze. Kalyn Keller, starting 30 seconds behind the second pack of Angela Maurer and a pair of Russian swimmers, Natalya Pankina and Ksenia Popova, quickly caught up with the group.

The four swimmers battled the entire race back and forth, exchanging leads, doing backstroke and stopping to allow their competitors to take the lead. Yellow cards and whistles during being called throughout the race when the referee judged the combatants were nudging or hitting each other outside the legal bounds. Pankina received a yellow card, as did Kalyn. However, many times, the bumping seemed inadvertent as the winds and waves simply pushed the swimmers into one another.

During the last 5K, everyone tried to throw in a surge to break free. However, Kalyn threw in the last surge that broke the group. Kalyn received a silver medal for her 5 hour 39 minutes 39.62 second effort with Popova 12 seconds behind her and Maurer 9 seconds behind Popova. Coach Rose was on the team walkie-talkie throughout the race to the staff and called an emotional play-by-play over the last 400 meters. Kalyn is just giddy with joy, commented Coach Rose as Kalyn crossed the finish and swam easy to shore. Her smiles, as wide and happy as can be, were shared with all her teammates.

Meanwhile, Mark Warkentin and Scott Kaufmann were trying to replicate Kalyns success among a tough mens field. Mark battled into the lead on several occasions, but also fell back as far as 7th and 8th during other stretches. 5K down and Mark and Scott were still in the hunt. 10K down and Mark was right there. 15K down no changes. 20K and the real race began. First came the surge by the Australian Josh Santacaterina. Then, with 2K to go, Yury Kudinov took charge and stormed to a minute 51-second victory, winning in 5 hours 16 minutes 45.55 over the 25.5K course.

Mark was battling with Marco Formetini of Italy, Mohamed Zanaty of Egypt and Santacaterina of Australia. Over the last 1.5K, Formetini and Zanaty pulled ahead of Santacaterina and Mark to capture silver and bronze respectively. Mark finished fourth in 5 hours 20 minutes 42 seconds, ahead of such renown pro swimmers such as Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria, Stephane Gomez, Brendan Capell of Australia and Maaten van der Weijden of the Netherlands.

Scott, battling hypothermia ever since the early stages of the race, heroically fought his own way through the waves, and finished in 6 hours 5 minutes to the delight and respect of the crowds.

Interesting note of the day: Midway through the race and on, the coaches on the feeding pontoons were cheering everyone on, no matter what the country of the athlete. The camaraderie of the support staff and the mutual admiration for all the athletes were never so apparent under such conditions. Everyone was a champion today.

Day: Fifteen
Date: Sunday morning, March 25, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Re-play

The starting positions for the second half of the womens 25K, which will start 5 minutes after the 21 male entrants, are as follows:

Germany Britta Kamrau-Corestein Start at 10:05
Germany Angela Maurer Start at 10:09 (4 minutes behind leader)
Russia Natalya Pankina Start at 10:09 (4 minutes behind leader)
Russia Ksenia Popova Start at 10:09 (4 minutes behind leader)
USA Kalyn Keller Start at 10:09:30 (4:30 behind leader)
Czech Jana Pechanova Start at 10:14 (9 minutes behind leader)
Australia Shelley Clark Start at 10:14 (9 minutes behind leader)
Italy Laura La Piana Start at 10:24 (19 minutes behind leader)
Poland Malwina Bukszowana Start at 10:24 (19 minutes behind leader)
Netherlands Evelien Sohl Start at 10:34 (30 minutes behind leader)

This re-start is an obvious disadvantage to the leader who must swim solo as the rest of the field can draft, pace and navigate off one another to play catch-up. The weather is expected to be sunny with the wind expected to be between 10-20 knots, as reported by the local weather bureau. The last three women will also probably be quickly lapped by the fresh group of 25K male swimmers. Note that the lead group of women swam averaged a little over 32 minutes for each of the first two loops yesterday.

An article in the local Melbourne newspaper summarizes the events of yesterday well: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/03/24/1174597937379.html?from=top5.

Interesting photo of the day: As posted by www.fina.org, Vladimir Dyatchin of Russia, the 2003 world 10K champion, out-touches Thomas Lurz of Germany, the 2004 and 2006 world 10K champion, who were both given the same time of 1 hour 55 minutes 32 seconds. For those new to the sport, please note how both athletes extended themselves towards the finish pad and optimally timed their final stroke. This may appear easy, but requires much practice. Video images of the finish, taken by two cameras posted on the floating timing system, were necessary to decide the winner. This kind of race where the finish positions are determined by a formal review by FINA officials of the video-taped finish is not only expected in Beijing, but also in Seville at the first pre-Olympic qualifying swim where at least 100 swimmers will be vying for one of the 10 slots available slots reserved for the Olympic 10K final.

Interesting note of the day: Yesterday, Russian athletes not entered in the 25K were tasked with doing the feeding of their female teammates in the 25K instead of entirely depending on the Russian coaching staff. That is one way to build teamwork!

Day 14

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 08:03:59 -0700

Day: Fourteen
Date: Saturday evening, March 24, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Womens 25K Race Day: to be continued
Written by Steve Munatones

The following press release was issued by FINA regarding the suspended womens 25K race this morning and slipped under the door of Kalyn Keller where she found it after returning from dinner:

Following the stoppage of the womens 25km open water swimming race of the 12th FINA World Championships due to extreme weather conditions on March 24, 2007, the FINA Bureau decided to re-schedule the race from the stage it was interrupted, after the 5 laps-mark (12.5 km). The swimmers will commence in a staggered start for the remaining 12.5 km in accordance with the times they had after the initial 5 laps. The competition will take place on Sunday, March 25, 2007 at 10h05, after the departure of the mens race at 10h00 in St-Kilda Beach. According to the latest weather forecast, the conditions for Sunday March 25, 2007 are expected to be fine (sunny), with the winds intensity and speed decreasing over the day.

Winds are expected to be 20 knots. According to information on Saturday evening, Germanys German Britta Kamrau-Corestein will lead off with a 2-minute start, followed by Russias Natalya Pankina and Germanys Angela Maurer and Russias Ksenia Popova. Kalyn is scheduled to start 10 seconds after the second group. This decision followed a lengthy discussion between FINA officials. Traditionally, in other open water swims, both of the pro marathon swimming circuit and other FINA races, if the first-place swimmer has finished at least half of the race and the event is called off for safety reasons, then the final results reflect the positions of the swimmers at the point when the race is called.

In a particularly unusual situation, Britta had to chase down a turn buoy that was being moved by the winds and waves. Towards the end before the race was called, swimmers were told to skip going around the turn buoys that had moved too close to a rock jetty.

After the race was called, the coaches on the far feeding station had to be returned to the beach, which was far easier said than done. Paul Asmuth and his coaching colleagues were finally rescued by a flotilla of police cruisers and Australian lifeguard rescue boats. If someone would just take my bag, it would have just been easier for me to swim to shore, said Paul, among the most experienced open water swimmers in the world. When the Omega timing officials left the feeding station (which also served as the finish line officials station) and headed to shore, it felt like people were abandoning ship, said Steven Munatones, on the other feeding pontoon. Towards the end, chairs, ice chests and everything else not battened down was going overboard. But we were not going to leave Kalyn out there. I was going down with the ship / feeding pontoon.

With the waves and rough conditions, orientation in the open water became very difficult. Russias Pankina reportedly said, The waves were unreal. I couldn't understand anything. I was being tossed back and forth, in every direction, couldn't tell which way - from the back, from the side. It was the first time for me to experience such a swim."

Around the 11K mark, Kalyn stopped 3 times. I didnt know which way to go, said Kalyn. I couldnt tell where anyone was. Over his radio about 700 meters away, Paul encouraged the rest of the team to keep her going. The race might be called soon. Just make sure she stays in until they call the race. And, sure enough, Kalyn did. When the lifeguard grabbed me [after the race was cancelled to pull her inside a lifeguard boat], I didnt know what he was doing. There was no way I wanted to watch the race from the shore while everyone else was swimming.

I saw the start of the race, then I went back to the hotel, Mark Warkentin said. When I returned later to watch Kalyn, I thought they were tearing down the place because all the banners and tents were down. But, it was just the weather.

Mother Nature. Lets see how kind she is to Kalyn, Mark and Scott tomorrow.

Day 14

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 20:20:27 -0700

Day: Fourteen
Date: Saturday, March 24, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Womens 25K Race Day: cancelled mid-race
Written by Steve Munatones

What started out as a light breeze turned into 40-knot winds and a world championships race cancelled after the lead swimmers passed the half-way point.

40 knots on the Beaufort Wind Scale are defined as somewhere between a fresh gale that generally impeded progress and breaks twigs off trees and a strong gale where slight structural damage occurs.

Additionally, two different squalls occurred during the first few loops. Turn buoys were being torn off from their anchors and waves were crashing over the feeding pontoons. The swimmers were faced with constant 3-4 foot waves coming from all directions. Towards the end, the race turned into a matter of survival versus racing.

But, Kalyn hung in tough and lasted until the race was called, finishing in 5th position approximately 13 kilometers from the start.

More details after the official results are in.

Day 14

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 20:19:02 -0700

Day: Fourteen

Date: Saturday, March 24, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Womens 25K Race Day
Pre-race beach report, 2 hours before race start:
Written by Steve Munatones

Winds: 5 knots (Beaufort Wind Scale definition: light breeze wind felt on face; leaves rustle; ordinary wind vane moved by wind)
Water Temperature: approximately 67º
Water Conditions: slight surface chop on inside legs, less than 1-foot swells on outer legs, current running against swimmers on 2 legs of rectangular course
Weather Conditions: overcast skies with light rain

Day 13

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:05:43 -0700

Day: Thirteen
Date: Friday, March 23, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: 25K Technical Meeting
Written by Steve Munatones

The technical meeting was held in the Melbourne Town Hall where the FINA Open Water Technical Committee explained the revised course and expected weather conditions for the 25K races this weekend. There will be three major changes:

Because of the expected 10-25 knot winds and rain, there will be no dive start off of a floating pontoon. The start will be a traditional in-the-water start.

One of the feeding pontoons will not be used because of the expected waves caused by the winds. An alternative feeding pontoon will be used that will cause the course to be extended about 50-70 meters per loop. This will lead to an approximate distance of 25.5 kilometers.

Each swimmer will be allowed two coaches in order so the swimmers may have a coach on each of the two feeding stations. Paul Asmuth and Steven Munatones will handle the feedings for Kalyn Keller in the womens race. Paul and Jim Miller will be on one pontoon and Steven and Jeremy Vail will be on the other pontoon during the mens race where Mark Warkentin and Scott Kaufmann are entered.

There are 13 entrants in the womens race with Kalyn Kellers top competition expected to be the Russians (Natalya Pankina and Ksenia Popova), the German duo (Britta Kamrau, Angela Maurer), an Italian pair (Laura La Piana and Alessandra Romiti), the Dutch swimmer (Evelien Sohl) and the Czech swimmer (Jana Pechanova).

Kalyn will be doing her first 25K swim tomorrow. Her sense of adventure is admirable; her courage and determination are befitting the Olympian she is.

Interesting note of the day: According to the Beaufort Wind Scale, 25 knots equals 28.8 miles per hour winds. This is described as strong breeze with large tree branches in motion, telephone wires whistle and umbrellas are used with difficulty. Needless to say, the surface chop is expected to be significant and the footing by the coaches on the feeding pontoons will be precarious as the waves may cause significant movement.

Day 12

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 14:20:01 -0700

Day: Twelve
Date: Thursday, March 22, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Warm-down
Written by Steve Munatones

Today, nearly everyone went to the 50-meter pool to do a long warm-down after the competitive 10K. All the athletes, sunburned and sore, did long easy swimming in the 8-lane pool. It was a day of recovery. Tomorrow, the technical meeting for the womens 25K race on Saturday and the mens 25K race on Sunday will be held.

One remarkable and unfortunate sight was the mens 10K winner from Russia, Vladimir Dyatchin. Vladimir had wide 10-inch-long lacerations on both his left and right sides running across his rib cages. Just the sight of those cuts made one want to cringe, especially since he apparently received those cuts during the races in cold, salty ocean water where everyone was stung with jellyfish. Dr. Miller stated that the lacerations were so bad that they should have required sutures. To incur and bear such wounds during a race, and have the presence of mind to win the most competitive mens 10K race in recent memory, is truly a feat to behold.

Interesting note 1 of the day: Due to the great number of swimmers who are expected at the first Olympic 10K qualifier in Seville, Spain, there is talk among the coaches and administrators that some kind of qualifying times or preliminary swims are needed. It is impractical to expect over 100 swimmers to do a 10K race in such close quarters.

Interesting note 2 of the day: The Australian press published reports again that Grant Hackett intends to swim in the 10K race in Beijing.

Interesting note 3 of the day: The open water team went to go see the US mens water polo game versus South Africa this afternoon. The US mens team won their second game of the tournament in a lead-up to a tough first-round game against Croatia. After the game, the water polo coaches gave their best wishes to their open water colleagues because weve seen your open water races on TV, weve all done pier swims and other open water races in California, and we know how tough it is, especially around those buoys

Men's 10K

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 13:55:08 -0700

Day: Ten
Date: Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Pack Swimming at the Highest Levels
Written by Steve Munatones

The very close and exciting mens 10K was a very interesting race. For the following reasons, the strategies of the 10K are evolving leading up to the Olympic year:

The lead group included at least 35 swimmers in a tight pack swimming stroke-for-stroke over the first 7.5K. The quality and quantity of men capable of hanging with the worlds best open water swimmers is increasing.
The pace of the first half of the race was fast. Although the conditions were not exactly the same, the American men had a faster time on the first half of their 10K than they did for their 5K race earlier in the week. Given all the physical contact throughout the race, the American swimmers were ideally positioned, sitting somewhere between 2nd and 6th place throughout the first 8K.

53 men started the race by diving from a floating pontoon without problems and on time. Americas Sid Cassidy, as the starter and head of the FINA Open Water Technical Committee, has been doing an excellent job as the starter under the new starting system.

While the American men got a great start and moved to the front of the pack in order to minimize physical contact, breaststroke was the favored stroke of 3 swimmers. These breaststrokers were among the 10 swimmers who did not finish.

The Port Philip Blue Blubbers were in full force, waiting and lurking just under the waters surface, for the men. The menacing Blue Blubbers (photo to follow) generally float 1-2 feet under the surface of the water, with their harmless heads sticking up towards the surface. However, like the womens race the day before, when the pack swam over a pod of jellyfish, the Blue Blubbers flip over due to the turbulence. This causes their white thick tentacles to face upwards towards the swimmers. Needless to say, like their female counterparts, the men were stung mercilessly on all parts of their body.

Relatively few men were able to feed off of one of the feeding pontoons due to the great number of swimmers were came in together. Most feeds were missed due to the swimmers distance from the pontoon or flailing arms of other competitors inadvertently hitting feeding sticks. The American men missed all of their feedings that were planned on the 2nd and 3rd loops, where a large majority of other swimmers also tried to feed. Observers on the feeding pontoons called the scene something similar to throwing a bloody steak into a pool of hungry sharks. One of the Dutch swimmers, 6-8 Martin Van Der Weijden, swam at the very back of the lead pack of 35 swimmers and took a relatively leisurely feeding on every loop. He had sufficient fuel in his tank to storm past his competition on the last loop to take 6th overall.

The eventual winner, Russian Vladimir Dyatchin, sprinted out between the 7.5K and 8K mark to temporarily lead the group. He flipped over on his back and completely downed a gel pack. After finishing the gel pack, he settled in third behind Thomas Lurz, the defending champion, race favorite and 5K gold medalist. This move turned out to be one of the key factors to his victory.

When Vladimir surrendered the lead at the 8K mark, Germanys Lurz unexpectedly found himself in first. Like a cyclist who wants someone else to pull the pack, Lurz started to swim in wide S lines in order to encourage others to take the lead. The entire train refused to do so and everyone in the top group started to navigate in wide S paths. As Lurz was closing in on the last feeding pontoon, he headed straight for the middle of the pontoon. Only several meters before the pontoon, he swerved and just barely grazed the feeding pontoon. This move helped him shaved off several valuable seconds and put some distance between him and others.

The pace on the last 2K was tremendous, but unfortunately, our American men were not able to hold on. Mark took 20th and Scott took 33rd. They both have one more race the 25K on Sunday to complete the hardest and longest schedule of all the American swimmers in Melbourne an incredible total of 40 kilometers.

Mohammed Zanaty, the top Egyptian swimmers who is trained by a Russian coach, finished fourth. His federation required a top 8 finish in order to continue funding his coaching.
The finish was another classic open water finish in which Russian Dyatchin out-touched Lurz 1:55:32.52 to 1:55:32.58. Like many races, the crowd was yelling and cheering the leaders to the end. But, even after the finish, no one knew exactly what the final placing was. It took a long time to confirm the final results.
Another Russian finished third. The Russian are planning to do another 3 FINA Open Water Grand Prix races before the first Olympic qualifying race in Seville in April 2008.

Interesting note of the day: Word in the open water community has it that nearly 170 swimmers will be entered in the Seville qualifying race. If true, with this number of swimmers, safety must be on the forefront of the race organizers. Some discussions are floating around about some kind of qualifying swims but these details are to be worked out.

Steve

Womens' 10K

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 13:59:11 -0700

Day: Ten
Date: Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: A Classic
Written by Steve Munatones

Sporting events frequently provide memorable moments and clashes that are re-lived over and over again by the athletes, their coaches, parents, families, friends and media. In classic match-ups, athletes go toe-to-toe with one another in stadiums, pools, tracks, gyms, rinks, roads and diamonds.

When the arena is a green, churning, murky, wavy, cold body of water, filled with huge stinging jellyfish, and athletes vying for every advantage over a 2-hour period, it is truly something to behold. Everything that open water swimming has to offer both good and bad was thrown at the 43 swimmers in the womens 10K race today: Intense battles around every one of the 20 tight buoy turns. Tight pack swimming down the backstretch. Struggles to get over to the feeding pontoons in cross-currents. Nothing came easy and there was no let-up throughout the race.

Experienced observers thought every competitor looked like they had just swum a long 25K race instead of only a 10K. Jellyfish stings ran up and down the swimmers faces, arms and legs. Scratches, cuts and bruises were apparent on the backs of their fingers and knuckles. Gashes on the backs of legs and hips were the norm, all caused by swimming together in extremely close proximity to others over a 2-hour period.

Everyone was just beating each other up. I have never experienced such a race before. It was horrible," said Germanys Angela Maurer, one of the most accomplished, toughest and most experienced open water swimmers today.

Toughness and courage defined the efforts of Kalyn Keller and Chloe Sutton. Kalyn placed 9th in 2:04:10, twelve seconds behind the Russian gold medalist, while being in the hunt throughout the long race, going stroke-for-stroke against the finest womens field ever put together for a FINA open water event to date. If not for only few instances along the course where she lost precious seconds, Kalyn would have been vying for a medal. But, this experience, however trying, will certainly bode well for her in the future.

The entire coaching community who saw the race had nothing but the highest respect for young Chloe whose goggles were knocked off less than 1K into the race. As her goggles sank to the ocean floor, Chloe knew her chances for medaling immediately vanished. Searching frantically for her goggles and crying out for help to the race officials, there was nothing much anyone could do. Fortunately, the incident occurred only 150 meters from the far feeding pontoon where the American coaches had an extra pair. One of the surf rescue lifeguards on a jet ski came to retrieve Chloes new pair of goggles, but by the time Chloe started again, the lead pack had a 3-minute advantage. Chloe put her head down and swam all by herself, chasing the entire field, intent on getting back into the race. By the finish, Chloe had passed 14 other swimmers to place 28th in 2:15:00.

With the womens 10K race done, the American men still have their 10K race tomorrow and their 25K race on Sunday. Both Mark and Scott now know well what is in store for them against this intense level of competition with everyone striving for the first Olympic medals in the sport up for grabs next year.

Interesting note 1 of the day: Some foreign swimmers used Vaseline and lanolin on their ankles and lower legs to help prevent their competitors from grabbing and pulling on their legs during the competition.

Interesting note 2 of the day: The American coaching staff used an 18-foot golf ball retrieval pole to provide Gatorade to the swimmers from the very high feeding pontoons.

Steve

Day 9

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 18:25:01 -0700

Day: Nine
Date: Monday, March 19, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Feeding on Race Day
Written by Steve Munatones

After the 10K on Sunday, all of the swimmers went to the nearby 50-meter pool to loosen down. Most of the rest of the teams were there also, all nursing their wounds.

Today, all the 10Kers went a loop around the 2.5K loop of the 10K course in the 65.6ºF ocean water and practiced feeding off one of the feeding pontoons. There are two feeding stations on the course no escort boats will be allowed on the course for the 10K and 25K with the exception of the coaches on the feeding stations. There is a limit of 1 coach per swimmer per event. With Kalyn Keller and Chloe Sutton entered in the 10K tomorrow, Paul Asmuth and Steven Munatones will handle the feeding.

The first feeding pontoon is about 1.2K from the start and about 500 meters straight out from shore. The feeding pontoon sits at least 6-8 feet from the surface of the water, depending on the ocean swells, so this presents some technical issues in trying to reach down to the swimmers for a feeding. The height and movement of the pontoon may become problematic if 20-30 swimmers are barreling together towards the feeding station in a large pack in rough seas.

The organizing committee is requiring each of the coaches on the feeding stations to wear life jackets all bright yellow, which makes it difficult for the swimmers to distinguish their own coach from the dozens of other coaches on the pontoons. But, Jeremy Vail, Lindsay Mintenko, Dr. Miller and Paul devised a new feeding system and schedule that should be convenient and beneficial for Kalyn and Chloe.

The second feeding pontoon is near the start and is 2-4 feet off the surface of the water. Paul and Steve may be together on one feeding station or they may be positioned on different feeding stations depending on the conditions on race day and the requests of the swimmers. Because most of the teams are in the same hotel, it is interesting to hear the feeding strategies of the different teams. But, the feeding strategies of the other competitors will become apparent 30 minutes before the start of the race when the coaches have to make a choice and board one of the two different boats that will take them out to feeding stations. The two different boats will be boarded in the same area. So, like managers on baseball teams signaling to pitchers, it will be interesting to see the body language and movement of the coaches just prior to boarding.

The womens 10K race begins at 12 noon tomorrow which allows the swimmers to get a nice breakfast and warm-up in.

Needless to say, our young ladies are very ready to go. It will be exciting.

Day 8

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 17:59:08 -0700

Day: Eight
Date: Sunday, March 18, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Lets Get Ready to Rumble
Written by Steve Munatones

Victoria (Canada) is no Victoria (Melbourne). The difference between the 10K race at the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships and the 5K race at the 2007 World Swimming Championships became readily apparent to the American swimmers by the first turn buoy. The pace was faster, the field was deeper and the physical contact was greater.

I got hit in the lip, said Leah who finished 17th in 1:00.58.5, 17 seconds behind the Russian gold medalist. Someone pulled me down and others grabbed my shoulder, said Chloe who finished 12th in 1:00.51.9, 10 seconds behind first.

The pack just kept running into each other around the buoys, said Scott who finished 15th in 57:36.9. I couldnt believe how rough it was, said Mark who finished 17th in 57:39.5. I thought the pace in the Tiburon Mile with a $10,000 first prize was fast, but this pace was even faster, for a longer time.

The Americans were not the only ones who faced flying elbows, buoy bumps and constant physical contact during the race. The referee frequently blew his whistle at the swimmers in the lead pack, but no yellow or red cards were issued. In terms of strategy, experienced observers were not surprised to note that all the medalists in both the womens and mens races were among the top 5-6 swimmers throughout the race, from start to finish. Their lead positioning enabled them to minimize the amount of physical abuse they absorbed or had to dish out. With the inaugural Olympic 10K race coming up in 2008, this aggressive style of racing is apparently here to stay.

After a day off in the schedule, the womens 10K will be held on Tuesday, March 20th and the mens 10K will be held on Wednesday, March 21st.

Interesting note of the day: The dive start off of the floating pontoon went off safely without a hitch. Photo courtesy of Dr. Jim Miller will follow in a subsequent email.

A more descriptive recap of the events can be seen at www.melbourne2007.com.au or www.theage.com.au (under Sport which is one of the Australian newspapers). Quotes in The Ages Sports page include the following:

· Kate Brookes-Peterson, the Australian bronze medalist: "My tactic really is to get out from the front. I was back in the pack for the first lap (1.25 kilometres) and I was just getting smashed around. Going around the turns I was just getting knocked further and further back so I just went up the side and got up the front and decided just to swim at my own pace. The plan was just to hang on there until the end, and I tried so hard but those Russian girls just came up the side".

Australian reporters accounts include the following:
· Allegations of tog-tugging from fourth-placed German Britta Kamrau-Corestein (who finished 0.1 of a second behind) were quickly dismissed. "I've never been known for pulling," she said. No protest was lodged.

· Australian reporters account: Spectacular it's not, but willing, bordering on violent, it is. In the brutal washing machine that is the start and on the turns, arms and legs fly with abandon.

The start of the men's race had the best right hook in this city since Azumah Nelson fought at Princes Park, landing fair on the jaw of an American.
· The battle for bronze was controversial, with Brookes-Peterson edging out German Britta Kamrau-Corestein by 0.1 seconds. The German then leveled allegations of foul play, saying the Australian had pulled her swimsuit in the scramble for the finish line.

Brookes-Peterson denied the accusation: "I don't play dirty in the water, I just do the best I can, but when people are swimming over the top of you and pushing you under the water, if you let them do it then of course they're just going to swim over the top of you so you have to fight for your ground a little bit.".

Early Day 8

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 18:27:12 -0700

Day: Eight
Date: Sunday, March 18, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Calm before the Storm
Written by Steve Munatones

At 5:20 am with sunrise still 2 hours to away, Mark Warkentin and the coaching staff took an early-morning stroll on the pier near the race finish to check out the conditions. The verdict: calm with a very, very slight offshore breeze and no surface chop. Water temperature is listed as 66.2ºF (19ºC). The women will be heading to the ocean to check-in and pick up their transponders at 8 am, while the men will be heading over later.

Today, with the Formula One Grand Prix, the International Airshow and the 5K race going on, there are going to be a lot of fast cars, planes and swimmers in Melbourne.

More after the race.

Steve

Day 7

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 18:25:54 -0700

Day: Seven
Date: Saturday, March 17, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Wind, Waves and Sunburn
Written by Steve Munatones

The swimmers enjoyed a final tune-up swim around the 5K course in 67ºF water before practicing their dives off the starting platform.

The outdoor stage for entertainment has been built and the entire beach decorated with FINA signage. On Sunday, Melbourne will be packed with sports fans of all ages and interests. In addition to the World Swimming Championships, there is an International Air Show and a Formula One Race being held. >From the ocean, the swimmers can see the dramatic flyovers of various aircraft and hear the Formula One cars screaming around the track only a few kilometers away.

The womens race starts at 10 am and the mens race starts at 12 noon tomorrow with a chance of rain and relatively strong winds forecasted. The US team is excited about their races after experiencing lots of wind, lots of waves, strong currents and aquatic wildlife during this past week.

Interesting Note 1 of the Day: Wind, Waves and Sunburn: A Brief History of Marathon Swimming is a book by Conrad Wennerberg about the history of marathon swimming which seems particularly appropriate reading for St. Kilda Beach in Melbourne.

Interesting Note 2 of the Day: Thomas Lurz, the defending 5K champion, is sponsored by BMW and is coached by his father.

Steve

Early Day 7

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 19:34:11 -0700

Day: Seven
Date: Saturday, March 17, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Scout Team
Written by Steve Munatones

The coaching team took an early-morning swim around the course and found no jellyfish at all. The Australian lifeguards and staff who were setting up the race course also confirmed that the jellyfish scare is over.

Day 6

dksreeder@msn.com (dksreeder) — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 16:59:06 -0700

Day: Six

Date: Friday, March 16, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Fear Factor
Written by Steve Munatones

The Australian organizers told the 110 open water swimmers from 30 countries to expect a multitude of elements, including cold water, currents, wind and "aquatic wildlife". Despite the local's advice, very little could have prepared the American team for their morning workout today.

The wildlife included the Port Philip Blue Blubber and the Lions Mane Jellyfish which were blown into the course area with a rare combination of wind and ocean currents. This "perfect storm" did not sit well with many competitors. Many teams did not even get in the water ... and some teams that did enter the warm just swam out to the starting dock ... screamed and quickly turned back around to shore.
But, the Americans faced their fears.

The two jellyfish types were big. Australian big. There were opaque white ones with big thick tenacles. There were brown ones with thinner tenacles. They were floating near the pier. There were washed up in the finish area. They were just sitting along the straightaway legs of the course. They were near shore. They were offshore. Some had washed up onshore.

But, fortunately, most of them were underneath the surface of the water, certainly out of reach ... but close enough and clearly visible to cause trepidation.

Similar to the more experienced and hardy teams like the Greeks, Russians and Italians,all the Americans got in the water and knew they had to get through the workout. Scott, Mark and Chloe did a practice swim around the entire 5K course with Coach Rose close alongside in an escort boat, while Kalyn and Leah preferred to be in shallower waters with Paul Asmuth swimming alongside. Scott, Mark and Chloe even swam through the thickest pod of jellyfish in the entire course. A few stings were experienced, but Dr. Jim Miller and trainer Jeremy Vail immediately treated the swimmers without problems. In addition to having a great source for conversation for years to come, the swimmers proven to themselves they are tough and are well-prepared for anything that may come their way on race day.

In the afternoon, the 5K and 10K technical meetings were also held. The swimmers learned that they will be diving off the feeding pontoon, selected in random order, at the start. In the mens 5K, defending world champion Thomas Lutz of Germany will be sandwiched between Americans Mark Warkentin and Scott Kaufmann, which should help all three get off to a good start and be competitive right around the first turn buoy.

Interesting note 1 of the day: Slight rain,winds up to 10 knots and cross currents (helping the swimmers on two legs and pushing against the swimmers on the other legs) are forecasted for race day on Sunday.

Interesting note 2 of the day: Paul purposefully brushed himself against the jellyfish, causing a sting, in advance of the swimmers getting in the water, just to make sure everything was fine.

Interesting note3 of the evening: A subsequent in-the-water scouting report of the course by Dr. Miller leads one to believe that the worse of the jellyfish onslaught is, fortunately, over.

Steve