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Posts from ‘National’
Hoff, Ziegler take the plunge, again
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010After time off following Olympic failure and burnout, Katie Hoff and Kate Ziegler are back in the pool
Even without supersuits, world records may fall
Saturday, August 14th, 2010American athletes and coaches cite recent strong performances at nationals as evidence that the best swimmers can close the gap more quickly than expected since high-tech bodysuits were banned.
Pawlowicz posts two top-10s at Jr. Nationals
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010All-Met Girls’ Swimmer of the Year Kaitlin Pawlowicz, a rising senior at Oakton High, continued her fast-paced week on Tuesday night, finishing ninth in the 400 IM at the USA Swimming Junior National Championships in Irvine, Calif. On Monday night, Pawlowicz finished second in the 200 butterfly.
This Week In U.S. Swimming
Thursday, March 25th, 2010This week: Speedo’s latest agreement with a star swimmer, the results from the NCAA Women’s Swimming Championships and the reason why the Men’s Swimming Championships have to take a day off.
This Week In U.S. Swimming
Thursday, March 18th, 2010This Week In U.S. Swimming covers the latest junior national results, examines the results from the Synchronized Swimming championships at Stanford University and provides an quick recap and link to a story on McDonalds and swimming.
This Week In U.S. Swimming
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010Reach For The Wall brings you the week in U.S. swimming one day earlier this week, with highlights from Michael Phelps’ swim in Maryland, the Austin Grand Prix and a feature story on a coach you have to read about.
This Week In U.S. Swimming
Thursday, March 4th, 2010This Week in U.S. Swimming returns this week with big news on the Austin Grand Prix and an update on the college front.
This Week In U.S. Swimming – February 18, 2010
Thursday, February 18th, 2010This week in U.S. Swimming…Chloe Sutton dominated, U.S. masters records fall, the Auburn Tigers continue their SEC run and college conference championship season begins.
Chloe Sutton dominates at Missouri Grand Prix
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010The Missouri Grand Prix was held this past weekend at the Mizzou Aquatic Center in Columbia, Mo., and there were plenty of notable swims. Here is a rundown of the biggest swims from the event.
Chloe Sutton continued her dominance in the Grand Prix series with another first place meet finish. Her best races included wins [...]
This Week In U.S. Swimming
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010This week in U.S. Swimming…Cullen Jones visits his home state of New Jersey, an 11-year old makes a splash, diver Ryan Hawkins wins his second consecutive NC4A state championship and Matthew Lamping breaks an S-10 classification Paralympic American record.
This week in U.S. swimming
Thursday, January 28th, 2010Reachforthewall.com debuts a new weekly feature in which we scour the nation for the week’s most interesting swimming-related stories. Did we miss something? Send your suggestions to info@reachforthewall.com.
Phelps, Pelton claim victories at Long Beach
Sunday, January 17th, 2010Michael Phelps dominated the 500-yard freestyle at a grand prix meet in Long Beach, Calif., Saturday, winning the event in 4 minutes, 18.70 seconds, more than five seconds ahead of second-place Dominic Meichtry (4:24.22).
USA Swimming’s Wielgus bypassed for USOC CEO
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010The U.S. Olympic Committee has picked one of its former acting chief executive officers to be the organization’s next CEO, bypassing USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus, a source with direct knowledge of the selection said.
Phelps begins 400-yard chase
Saturday, December 12th, 2009Michael Phelps didn’t have a fantastic time, either in the water or on the scoreboard, but he convinced himself he can try to regain his American record in the 400-yard individual medley — a mark he lost in the technical suit onslaught last spring — with a strong performance Saturday on the second day of a three-day holiday meet at the U.S. Naval Academy.
At club meet, Phelps shines, crowd swoons
Friday, December 11th, 2009There were some 1,500 people jammed into every corner of LeJeune Hall at the U.S. Naval Academy at just past 6:30 p.m. Friday, most standing, and many pointing cameras or video recorders toward the very center of a pool deck crowded with a bunch of girls no older than 10, and tall guy in a white swim cap, gray sweat jacket and dark head phones. That guy was Michael Phelps.
Close to home, Phelps goes to work in yards
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009It’s unclear what will be the strangest thing: Olympic star Michael Phelps standing on a pool deck in Annapolis this weekend with children as young as 9, preparing to compete at an annual local club event called the “Christmas Meet.” Or the fact that Phelps will be taking each of his six races in the “boys open” division very seriously.
No supersuits, no American records
Sunday, December 6th, 2009No American records were set at the first U.S. championships of the post-technical suit era this past weekend in Federal Way, Wash., but the clock still told a few interesting tales.
Phelps surprises swim team as guest coach
Friday, December 4th, 2009Michael Phelps shocked the Swim Pasadena team of Pasadena, Ca. by appearing as a guest coach during one of the team’s Saturday morning practices.
Knutson beats Hoff, but can’t catch Hoff’s record
Friday, December 4th, 2009In a race that pitted a burgeoning star against an Olympic veteran on the rebound, Dagny Knutson, 17, easily distanced herself from three-time Olympic medal winner Katie Hoff — but she couldn’t get Hoff’s American record at the U.S. short-course championships.
Ziegler gets gold and silver at Minnesota Grand Prix
Saturday, November 14th, 2009UPDATED: Olympian Kate Ziegler, who took a long break after the 2008 Summer Games and missed the U.S. championships this past summer because of the flu, is back in the water and getting her old speed back.
Bowman Guides Pelton, A Prodigy And Project
Friday, November 6th, 2009Though Towson’s Elizabeth Pelton, 15, performed like a veteran this summer, she is still a mere high school sophomore, and her new coach Bob Bowman won’t let himself forget that. The biggest challenge now that she has arrived on the world stage might have more to do with managing her psyche than her strokes.
Swim Parents: A Sleep-Deprived Species
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009For every child shuttled to a 4:30 a.m. practice, and perhaps back for an afternoon one, there is a parent at the wheel, probably guzzling a 16-ounce coffee. For every athlete that qualifies for the finals of a local weekend meet, there is a parent, or perhaps two, planted on a plastic bleacher seat from morning until night. Is it worth it?
High School Freshman Steps Into Big Time
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009Melissa Franklin, who will compete at a pair of World Cups in Europe next week and the “Duel in the Pool” in December, holds 10 national age-group records, the third-fastest times in two events among U.S. women this year, and unbelievable promise. And she is only 14.
Treats, Scares … And Heavy Competition
Sunday, November 1st, 2009Designed to provide a crash course in senior elite swimming to young athletes on the cusp of making their first junior or senior national teams, USA Swimming’s 2009 National Select Camp in Colorado Springs provided a mix of fun, fright and pure pain this past weekend.
Phelps Puts Reputation On Line For Supplement
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009Though the World Anti-Doping Agency calls the use of dietary supplements by athletes “a concern” and advises “extreme caution” regarding their use, Olympic star Michael Phelps touts PureSport’s dietary supplement products and says he does not fear a positive drug test.
Bal Will Offer Lessons On Swimming, Life
Friday, October 2nd, 2009Randal Bal can teach plenty about the sport of swimming, and even more about handling tough times. He will be trying to impart his experience on both fronts to the young swimmers he will meet Saturday at the Potomac Valley Swimming Swimposium.
USA Swimming Publishes List Of Allowable Suits
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009USA Swimming got the message from athletes, coaches and officials confused by the new swimsuit guidelines. In an effort to provide more guidance, the sport’s national governing body on Tuesday released a reference list of allowable suits.
No Answers Yet From Masters, But An Update
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009U.S. Masters Swimming is digesting the the most recent development on the swimsuit front and …. still doesn’t know whether or not it will ban long-length, high-tech swimsuits in masters competition for October meets. But the USMS rules committee chaired by Kathy Casey is determined to reach a decision, or at least a partial one, in the next 10 days or so, Casey said Monday night.
Hawaii Men’s Team To Dance Before It Swims
Monday, September 28th, 2009Before they taught their teammates one word, facial expression or body movement associated with the tribal dance known as the Haka, Ilia Reyes and Davis Kane looked each man in the eye and demanded an answer: Would you stand on the pool deck before an NCAA swim meet and put your whole heart and soul into this?
Masters Moves Closer To Same Suit Ban As Elites
Saturday, September 26th, 2009Masters swimming took the first step Saturday toward implementing the same ban on full-length, high-tech suits as at virtually every other level of the sport, but the issue remained far from resolved.
Bernardino Tackles Issues Beyond Charlottesville
Friday, September 25th, 2009A season after winning Coach of the Year honors twice — for his men’s and women’s teams — Virginia’s Mark Bernardino seeks continued success in the pool as he takes on a new, national challenge.
Masters Swimmers Hope Suit Issue Settled Soon
Thursday, September 24th, 2009The rest of the swimming world — high schoolers, collegians, elites — already has adopted new rules restricting suits. Masters swimmers continue to debate, but U.S. Masters Swimming officials expect to receive some guidance from the world swimming governing body (FINA) by the end of the weekend.
What To Wear? If It Looks Legal, It Is
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009The message to swimmers and parents trying to figure out the new USA Swimming standards as the fall club season approaches: If a suit looks legal, it probably is. Suits will be only visually inspected at Potomac Valley Swimming meets. There will be no touching of suits, or close scrutiny of materials.
USA Swimming Enacts Technical Suit Ban Oct. 1
Saturday, September 19th, 2009USA Swimming’s House of Delegates voted overwhelmingly in favor of banning full-body, non-textile body suits Oct. 1, three months before the world swimming governing body (FINA) plans to enact its ban.
Aquaman 2, Superman 1
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009Michael Phelps’s 2-1 victory over Shaquille O’Neal in a trio of handicapped races that aired Tuesday on the ABC show “Shaq Vs.” brought an animated and gleeful celebration from Phelps. The 14-time Olympic gold-medal winner participated in the prime-time pseudo-competition to promote the sport; for sure, Tuesday’s show was far more about entertainment than competition.
Kukors Plans To Change With The (Slower) Times
Friday, September 11th, 2009Given that Ariana Kukors won her first world title and set a pair of world records this past summer, one might think her long-time coach Sean Hutchison would simply marvel at her technique and not touch a thing. One would be completely wrong.
Hansen Eyes Olympics, But Won’t Swim In ‘10
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009Two-time Olympian Brendan Hansen, 28, decided to extend his swimming sabbatical indefinitely after a brief return to his longtime training home at the University of Texas Saturday. He said he would continue to ponder a run for the 2012 Summer Games, but would not swim competitively next summer.
Hardy Is Vindicated, But Fight Continues
Monday, September 7th, 2009Last month at the U.S. Open, Jessica Hardy burst into tears soon after learning she had set a world record in the 100-meter breaststroke. In her first significant meet since being barred from the 2008 Summer Games because of a positive drug test, Hardy seemed to sense that she had just stated to the world, more eloquently and effectively than she had in the previous 13 months, that she was not a cheater.
Youth Team To World Cups; Phelps To Mentor
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009It’s a very, very good time to be a talented high school swimmer in the United States. Not only will 46 of the nation’s best teenage swimmers get flown to a pair of elite-level European world cup meets this fall, but fourteen-time Olympic gold medal winner Michael Phelps will be the team’s mentor and his coach, Bob Bowman, will lead the coaching staff.
Phelps’s Golden Summer Brings Boys Into The Pool
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009Michael Phelps’s dramatic performance at the Beijing Summer Games, where he won a record eight gold medals, surely drove USA Swimming’s record 11.2 percent increase in membership in 2009. The most encouraging news, the organization reported Wednesday, was that male membership was up 14.4 percent, helping shrink what had been a troubling gap between the sexes in the sport.
Moses Goes From Laps To Links … And Back?
Sunday, August 30th, 2009When Lake Braddock High graduate Ed Moses retired from swimming in the summer of 2005, he began chasing a brand-new goal: becoming a professional golfer. He’d already reached his dream of winning an Olympic gold medal despite not swimming seriously until his junior year in high school. Why, he figured, shouldn’t he be able to make the PGA Tour, too?
High School Officials Don’t Have Suit List
Friday, August 28th, 2009With the swimming season already underway in 18 states and the National Federation of State High School Associations’s decision to ban high-tech, long-length suits just over two weeks old, the organization is trying to help its member states navigate the new dress code without providing a formal list.
Despite Suit Ban, NCAA Keeps Fast Standards
Thursday, August 27th, 2009Athletes who want to qualify automatically for this season’s Division I NCAA swimming championships will face a steep challenge: They will have to meet the record-low time standards created for the 2009 championships, which took place before full-body technical suits were banned. Sound impossible? It might be.
Masters Athletes Split Over High-Tech Suits
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009Many of the nearly 50,000 masters swimmers — non-elite adult swimmers — in the United States have no grudge with the high-tech, full-body speedsuits that have been banned at virtually every level of international swimming competition. The result: A U.S. masters governing body uncertain whether to fall in line with the rest of the swimming world in regulating the controversial suits.
Coach With Local Ties To Manage Talent And Egos
Friday, August 21st, 2009Centennial High graduate Sean Hutchison figures he will be walking into an exciting, worthwhile and, perhaps above all, complicated challenge. Hutchison won’t merely be kicking off a new U.S. Olympic Committee training center for swimmers in September, he will also be entrusted with managing the egos and psyches of a small group of the sport’s biggest stars.
Phelps Limps Into Pool; Mulls Suit For World Cups
Thursday, August 20th, 2009A sore right foot from last week’s minor car accident forced Michael Phelps to delay his return to training by a day. But after X-rays showed no break, Phelps limped to the pool Tuesday and got back in the water, beginning what his coach Bob Bowman said would be his most important year of training leading up to the 2012 Summer Games in London. It also signaled his return to an old, textile jammer for competition — at least if Bowman has his way.
Hoff Leaving NBAC
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009Katie Hoff, 20, feels comfortable with her decision to leave the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, her training home for the past six years, to join a start-up, post-graduate swimming group in Fullerton, Calif., for this reason: She’s excited about swimming for the first time in a long, long time.
Home-Grown Coach To Lead New Training Center
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009UPDATED: Years ago, few swimmers continued their elite careers beyond college, but now the bulk of Team USA’s top swimmers are either post-graduates or professionals, creating a growing training issue: Where do these athletes go? USA Swimming can now make three specific suggestions: the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, the Fullerton (Calif.) Aquatics Sports Team — led by Centennial High graduate Sean Hutchison — and SwimMAC in Charlotte, N.C. One of the first swimmers to join Hutchison is Katie Hoff, who has been at North Baltimore for more than six years.
Yetter Goes From NBAC To Auburn … Quietly
Saturday, August 15th, 2009When former North Baltimore Aquatic Club Coach Paul Yetter accepted an assistant coaching position at Auburn University in May, he knew he would be leaving behind the youngsters he had brought from incredible potential to incredible results. But Yetter, who had guided Katie Hoff to her first Olympics at 15, had no idea just how abrupt his departure would have to be.
Phelps In Minor Car Accident; Not Injured
Friday, August 14th, 2009Less than two weeks after winning five gold medals at the world championships in Rome, Michael Phelps was involved in a fender bender in downtown Baltimore but was not injured. There was no evidence of the use of drugs or alcohol.
High Schools Ban All Long-Length Swimsuits
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009The National Federation of State High School Associations decided Tuesday afternoon to ban all non-textile, long-length swimsuits immediately, saying it was acting to preserve the “integrity, tradition and heritage of the sport.”
Open-Water Phenom Sutton Now A Pool Star
Monday, August 10th, 2009UPDATED Chloe Sutton was once a member of the local swim club Fish, maturing in Kate Ziegler’s shadow. Now California-based, the open-water specialist has branched out to pool swimming, making her a potential threat to Ziegler’s distance-swimming records.
Eight Men Don Briefs, Make Statement
Sunday, August 9th, 2009The entire field in the men’s 200-meter medley final got a standing ovation at the U.S. Open in Federal Way, Wash., Saturday night when the eight finalists paraded out wearing briefs rather than high-tech suits. The finalists made a pact before the race to compete in the traditional suits — knowing full well the gesture would hurt their times and bodies.
High School Officials Uncertain About Ban
Friday, August 7th, 2009UPDATED: A rules committee for the National Federation of State High School Associations decided Friday to recommend that non-textile suits be banned for the 2009-10 school year, but it gave the organization’s board of directors the option of outlawing long-length suits this year or next. The board will consider the issue and announce a decision by Tuesday.
High Schools Officials Might Allow Long Suits
Thursday, August 6th, 2009Area athletes might find themselves donning long swim suits for high school competitions and short suits for club events in the coming months if the National Federation of State High School Associations bans non-textile suits as expected but does not prohibit long-length models. The organization’s rules committee meets Friday to consider what action to take.
The Swimming Legend And The High School Kid
Saturday, July 25th, 2009Two stress fractures in his back laid up high-school swimmer Brennan Morris for three months last summer, but when Michael Phelps returned to the pool after his eight-gold-medal performance at the Beijing Summer Games, Morris became his youngest training partner. Less than a year later, Morris, 18, enters the swimming world championships that begin in Rome Sunday as the youngest male member of the U.S. team. He will compete in the 1,500-meter freestyle on Aug. 1.
20 Questions: Natalie Coughlin
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009Two-time Olympian Natalie Coughlin has won 11 Olympic medals and held four world records in her 20-year competitive swimming career. She’s won three Olympic golds, in the 100-meter backstroke and 4×200-meter freestyle relay in 2004 in Athens, and the 100-meter backstroke at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. After Beijing, Coughlin took some time away from the pool, to travel, relax, and get married. She plans to return to her training regimen by the end of the year.
Will Phelps’s Golden Quest Start With A Silver?
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009Michael Phelps’s hopes for six gold medals at the world championships, which begin Sunday in Rome, could be hijacked by four Frenchmen in very fast suits — unless coach Bob Bowman’s “surprise” plan works.
Cullen Jones Condemns Alleged Racism
Sunday, July 5th, 2009In response to allegations of racism against 65 African-American and Hispanic summer campers at a private swim club outside of Philadelphia, U.S. swimmer Cullen Jones, who will compete in the 50-meter freestyle final Thursday night, and USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus spoke out Thursday afternoon.
“The acts of blatant racism shown towards the young kids with Creative [...]
Adidas Skips USAs; No WR Suit In Indy
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009As if they weren’t confused enough, U.S. swimmers can forget about trying out the coveted new adidas Hydrofoil suit — which has been responsible for a host of recent records — at the U.S. championships in Indianapolis next week.
The German-based adidas did not submit an application by Wednesday’s deadline to have its suits available at the event, which serves as the trials for the world championships at the end of this month, a USA Swimming spokesperson confirmed Thursday.
U.S. Swimmers Agonize Over Tech Suits
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009U.S. swimmers are frantically preparing for the world championship trials that begin next Tuesday in Indianapolis. For many, however, the focus of that preparation has nothing to do with actual swimming. It is on determining which of the now-legal — but still controversial — high-tech swimsuits will provide the most performance-enhancement.
Dara Torres’s Coach Ill Again
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009Dara Torres’s coach Michael Lohberg, 59, has been hospitalized again with complications relating to his year-long battle with aplastic anemia, but the 42-year-old five-time Olympian hopes Lohberg will be out of the hospital in time to attend the U.S. championships next week in Indianapolis.
20 Questions: Chris Stevenson
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009Swimming isn’t just a kids’ game. Chris Stevenson, 44, proves that. The University of Richmond environmental studies professor holds U.S. Masters Swimming records in the 40-44 age group 50-, 100- and 200-meter backstroke. His swimming itinerary goes back to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, where he swam for Greece, and to the University of North Carolina, where he went to school with the most famous Tar Heel.
Swimming Through Troubled Waters
Thursday, June 25th, 2009Olympian Eric Shanteau, 26, is certain he is bigger, stronger and faster than he’s ever been. And, most important, this summer, unlike last, he is cancer-free.
USA Swimming Disappointed in FINA
Monday, June 15th, 2009USA Swimming President Jim Wood expressed disappointment in FINA’s decision to approve an additional 198 swimsuits Monday, bringing the total of allowable suits for the summer world championships in Rome to 400. USA Swimming, however, adopted FINA’s list. Wood’s statement is attached.
USA Swimming stands firm in its desire to preserve the integrity of the
sport, and [...]
The Dakota Pool Shark
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009A teenager who trains by herself with a personal coach and trainer in the Canadian border town of Minot, N.D., is considered the fastest-rising star in U.S. swimming. Used to driving around snowbanks to get to solo practice sessions, Dagney Knutson, 17, swam a time in the 200-meter individual medley last January in a junior swimming event that would have won her fifth place at the Beijing Olympics. She is seeking a spot on the U.S. team that will compete at this summer’s world championships in Rome. “I don’t have any limits,” Knutson says.
Bowman And Phelps Make Beautiful Music Together
Friday, January 23rd, 2009Bob Bowman occasionally muses about the unlikelihood of it all: that he and Michael Phelps have fused into a historically successful and cohesive team, despite — or perhaps because of — daily drama, occasional full-bore clashes and Bowman’s original lack of interest in taking on a temperamental star.
