The Psych Sheet

Starting Blocks

They Might Be Giants

If you thought those swimmers on the podium at the World Trials in Indy earlier this month looked bigger than ever, you were right. A new study out of Duke University shows that sprint swimmers and runners are getting bigger and thus faster over the past 100 years. Additionally, they’ve grown at a much faster rate than the general population – since 1900, the fastest swimmers have grown 4.5 inches in height compared to the general population’s gain of 1.9 inches.

Interestingly enough, the study was conducted by a former breaststroker for Duke.

Countdown to Rome

The FINA World Championships in Rome begin on Sunday, and of course much of the conversation leading up to the meet has centered on who is wearing what. Hopefully that will die down once the swimming gets under way. For a look at the U.S. team, click here .

In the meantime, the World Championships Open Water Competition begins tomorrow after a delay because of stormy weather in the area. The 5K women’s and men’s events are scheduled for tomorrow and the 10K events are on Wednesday.

Swimming Stalwart Passes

U.S. Paraolympic swim coach Jimi Flowers was laid to rest last Thursday in Colorado Springs after he died on July 10 in a climbing accident on Capitol Peak near Aspen. Flowers had been involved with swimming all his life first as a swimmer and then coach. He was USA Swimming’s national team director from 1989-93. He also worked at Auburn and for the United States Olympic Committee.

He was well known throughout the swimming community and his lost undoubtedly was particularly difficult for the swim family here in Colorado, where he spent much of his more recent career. For more on Flowers, click here. 

Swimming Returns to Omaha

It’s official. The U.S. Olympic Team Trials for swimming are headed back to Omaha in 2012. Mark your calendars for June 25-July 2. This really is a great event, and given it’s just a road trip away, I encourage as many Colorado swimmers as possible to at least attend some of it. From firsthand experience, I can tell you it is mega exciting and way cool.

Swimming Potpourri

Meet information has been posted for the upcoming state championships that take place later this month and early March -- Colorado Short Course 14 & under Silver State, Colorado Senior State and Colorado State Age Group Championships (known as JOs). Here you’ll find qualification times, the schedule of events, number of events swimmers are eligible to swim, awards information and other details.

I’d recommend downloading them, especially if you are new or relatively new to the sport. Silver State and Senior State take place Feb. 27-March 1 and are swum at the University of Denver pool. The 14 & under Age Group Championships will be held the following weekend beginning on Friday at Edora Pool Ice Center (EPIC) in Fort Collins.

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In national swim news, don’t book your trip to Omaha for the 2012 Olympic Trials just yet. The Omaha World-Herald reported on Saturday that the USA Swimming CEO says it may take a couple of more months before a final agreement is reached to bring the swim trials back to Omaha. At issue are financial details, although CEO Chuck Wielgus said the swim organization is in exclusive negotiations with the Nebraska town despite being contacted by other cities who are interested in playing host.

Speaking of the Olympics, you’ve undoubtedly read the disappointing reports about Michael Phelps being photographed allegedly smoking pot at a party in November. Although my daughter was shocked, I’m sorry to say I wasn’t completely surprised given Phelps’ transgression after the Athens Olympics when he was charged with driving under influence at age 19. Granted, he’s four years older and I’d hoped wiser, but given his tendency to let loose post Olympics and the extreme scrutiny he’s under, it was just a matter of time before he’d be caught doing something less-than-role-model like.

Not to condone his actions, but I can understand his need to decompress or be undisciplined after such an intense mental and physical undertaking. What’s tough to figure out is if he had no idea to what extend his every move would be monitored, or if he simply was having too much fun to care about the impact of his actions.

As he was quoted as saying in a statement released Sunday by his marketing agency: "I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I'm 23 years old, and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."

I hope he remains true to his word because like it or not with those eight gold medals and thousands of dollars in endorsements comes some pretty high expectations. USA Swimming obviously wasn't pleased.

Phelps Possibly Set For Return Engagement to Omaha

Looks like Olympic fever will be returning to Omaha. After a wildly successful Olympic Trials there this past summer, USA Swimming is working on a deal to bring the swim trials back to Nebraska.

Swim officials had initially run into a roadblock because Omaha was slated to host the College World Series during the selected dates for the 2012 Trials. The College World Series is a huge event that last year drew double what the Trials did, and the city couldn’t handle the two mega events at once.

But both USA Swimming and the NCAA have decided to massage their schedules a bit. Instead of the preferred third week of June, swim officials have agreed to postpone the Trials about 1 1/2 weeks. The tentative dates would be June 27 through July 4, leaving just three weeks before the start of the 2012 Olympics, which are set to kick off in London on July 27. (The 2008 Trials wrapped up July 6 with the Beijing games beginning Aug. 8).

The NCAA also agreed to start its event one day earlier and conclude either June 25 or 26.

According to an article in the Omaha World-Herald, swim officials were willing to compromise because the coaches really liked the venue and were comfortable with it.

As a fan, I loved it, and couldn't be happier if they return to Omaha.

Contract details are expected to be finalized in the next two weeks.

The Olympic Trials Revisited

Midway point between the end of the memorable U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha, Neb., and the start of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, I thought I’d share a few images from the Trials.

Hailed a “spectacle unmatched by any other swimming competition held on U.S. soil,” by USA Swimming, the Trials offered many unforgettable moments. Here are just a few captured by Heide Crino, a Colorado masters swimmer and swim parent.

Click here to view the photo album.

Have any photos from the Trials you'd like to share? Email them to me olivia@thepsychsheet.com and I'll add them to the photo album.

Pressure Cooker

Based on the headlines, you’d think the Olympic Trials was an incredibly fast meet where personal best times were the norm. After all, there were nine world records set or equaled during the eight-day competition along with 21 American records and 45 meet records.

Granted it was a fast pool, and it seemed like nearly everyone was outfitted in a high-tech LZR Racer, but clocking your best time at the Trials is in no way a given.

Of the 14 registered Colorado swimmers who competed, just four posted best times in all their events: Missy Franklin, 13, of Colorado Stars, Bonnie Brandon, 14, of Mission Aurora Colorado Swimming, Kristen Lahey, 20, of RallySport Aquatic Club and Ellie Freeman, 19, of University of Denver Hilltoppers.

Should you think that’s some kind of Colorado oddity, bear in mind that even though the majority of our swimmers didn’t have their best times, they nearly all moved up in their event ranking. That includes Justin Day, 21, of the Air Force Academy who went in seeded 38th with a time of 1:03.79 in the men’s 100M breaststroke and finished in 25th place even though he swam more than 2.5 seconds slower! That’s right. His time in prelims was a 1:06.04.

On the flip side, those swimmers who did get a personal best or were pretty darn close fared incredibly well, moving up some 20 to 30 spots, and in the case of Bonnie Brandon, who managed an astounding 3.5 second drop, catapulting herself into the semi-finals.

Admittedly, I have no idea when most folks made their Trials cut. The qualification period stretched more than three years with swimmers having to make the cut in a long-course pool sometime between April 1, 2005, and about a week before the meet. That’s likely a factor is some cases. Throw in the possibility of injury or illness, a prelim, semi-final, final structure, the jitters or just a bad taper, and anything can happen.

For more perspective, let’s look at day 4 of the prelims and finals when Missy Franklin swam her 100 free and set a 13-14 national age group record. According to a posting from Colorado Stars Coach Nick Frasersmith, USA Swimming provided the following:

Improved times data from day 4 Prelims -- Women 26% Men 57% Total 46%
Improved times data from day 4 Finals -- Women 69% Men 81% Total 76%

Which just makes some of these Colorado swims even more impressive.

Here’s a closer look at the Colorado contingent and how they fared:

Bryan Avery, 21, Air Force Academy
100m butterfly --  Seeded: 55.58, ranked 108; Finished: 58.29, ranked 105

Justin Day, 21, Air Force Academy
100m breaststroke -- Seeded: 1:03.79, ranked 37; Finished: 1:06.04, ranked 25

Benn Gunn, 19, Air Force Academy
100m butterfly -- Seeded: 55.53, ranked 102; Finished: 55.63, ranked 83

Rob Yeager, 25, Colorado Athletic Club
200m breaststroke -- Seeded: 2:20.30, ranked 57; Finished: 2:22.13, ranked 54

Missy Franklin, 13, Colorado Stars
200m IM – Seeded: 2:19.12, ranked 64; Finished 2:18.77, ranked 40
100m freestyle – Seeded: 56.84, ranked 70; Finished: 56.14, ranked 37
50m freestyle – Seeded: 26.21, ranked 61; Finished: 26.13, ranked 39

Susan von der Lippe, 42, Loveland Swim Club
100m butterfly – Seeded: 1:02.37, ranked 139; Finished: 1:02.41, ranked 105
100m breaststroke – Seeded: 1:11.83, ranked 65; Finished: 1:12.12, ranked 60

Marty Wahle, 21, Loveland Swim Club
200m backstroke – Seeded: 2:04.31, ranked 42; Finished: 2:04.71, ranked 36

Bonnie Brandon, 14, Mission Aurora Colorado
200m backstroke – Seeded: 2:16.64, ranked 46: Semi-final: 2:13.12, ranked 13: Finished: 2:13.41, ranked 14

Katie Johnson, 17, North Jeffco Swim Team
200m breaststroke – Seeded: 2:35.48, ranked 75; Finished: 2:36.08, ranked 55

Kristen Lahey, 20, RallySport Aquatic Club
100m backstroke – Seeded: 1:02.97, ranked 24; Finished: 1:02.77, ranked 27

Madeline Rovira, 21, RallySport Aquatic Club
100m freestyle – Seeded: 56.73, ranked 61; Finished: 57.19, ranked 72

Ellie Freeman, 19, University of Denver Hilltoppers
200m breaststroke  -- Seeded: 2:33.20, ranked 38; Finished: 2:32.60, ranked 25
100m breaststroke – Seeded: 1:12.07, ranked 78; Finished: 1:11.85, ranked 52

Kelsey Totura, 21, University of Denver Hilltoppers
200m backstroke – Seeded: 2:17.64, ranked 76; Finished: 2:18.60, ranked 72

Nerves of Steel

With American records falling left and right, and new world records being posted, there were many memorable swims at the Trials. But of all the great swims I saw, none was personally more exciting than 14-year-old Bonnie Brandon’s remarkable 200M backstroke performance on Friday.

The MACS (Mission Aurora Colorado Swimming) swimmer came into the meet ranked 47th with a time of 2:16.64. By the time she exited the water after winning heat 7 from the 7th lane, she had dropped 3.52 seconds and earned herself a berth in the semi-finals that night. Needless to say, I hooped and hollered to the point the lady sitting two rows in front of me asked if I was her Mom. I explained she swam for a neighboring team, and I was just excited for her.

Friday night in celebration of the  4th of July, each attendee was given a special T-shirt to wear so that the entire arena was a sea of red, white and blue sections for that evening’s live broadcast on NBC. The atmosphere was electric. Before the first heat of the men’s 50M freestyle semi-final had even begun, the crowd had already started “The Wave.” The place was rocking. As if we needed to be enticed, the announcer asked that we turn it up a notch for when the broadcast went live.

Next up was the women’s 200M breaststroke final where Amanda Beard took second behind Rebecca Soni to qualify for the Games. Then came the men’s 200M backstroke final with Aaron Peirsol out touching Ryan Lochte and tying Ryan’s World Record in the event.

All this time, Bonnie is “back stage” getting ready. My heart was thumping for her as I thought about her marching out before the record crowd of 14,000, but she not only took her spot in lane 1 to be introduced as representing MACS, she remained incredibly poised as she raced a litany of backstroke greats including Margaret Hoelzer (who ended up setting a new World Record the next night). Bonnie nearly repeated her swim from prelims, this time finishing in 2:13.41 to prove her morning performance was no fluke.

Way to go Bonnie!

Live Long and Prosper

I’ve never been to a Trekkie convention, but I have to think it’s a bit like being at the Olympic Trials. While we don’t speak Klingon, we do talk splits, seed times, breakout swims and dqs. More than likely if you are here, you’re a swimmer, swim parent, coach or former swimmer. (I’ve actually seen alumni badges, which I’m guessing are donned by former Olympic Trials swimmers).

In between swim sessions, hundreds of folks flock to the gianormous Speedo shop to check out the latest in swim apparel and gadgets. You can even caress a mannequin clothed in the much-hyped and talked about LZR Racer suit.

There are plenty of swim bodies to admire and autographs to collect whether it be jostling to get famed 50-freestyler Cullen Jones’ John Hancock or just some guy that finished 54th in the 100M breaststroke.

I pity the poor spouse or sibling that has just a passing interest in the sport although I did meet a woman today who had no apparent swim connection. We were both standing in line for an autograph from Mary T. Meagher, who still holds the U.S. Open record for the 200M butterfly from 1981. The woman in front of me appeared to have no clue who she was. As an Omaha resident, she said she felt compelled to come down to the Trials and check it out. She and her kids had attended several morning prelim sessions and had also been hanging out in the Aqua Zone meeting swim veterans and soaking up the sights and sounds of what’s best described as an expo for swimming.

Which just goes to show you that you don’t have to have watched and memorized each episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation to appreciate a good Enterprise adventure, or in this case, know every factoid about swimming to marvel at a good race.

Still My Beating Heart

Road tripped from Denver to Omaha this morning to catch this evening’s competition as well as most of the sessions on tap for the rest of the week. When I took a seat just as the second heat of the men’s 200M freestyle semifinals was walking to the block, I thought my heart was going to beat right out of my chest.

Talk about exciting. Michael Phelps and company was just being introduced, and once they hit the water, it was nothing but thrilling to watch them up close and personal.  Phelps’ amazing turns were even more so when you see them live.

All and all, another day of stellar competition. The women’s 100M backstroke world record fell twice today, and both times during the preliminaries session in the morning! Unfortunately I did not get to witness it as I was still making my way across scenic Nebraska.

I did, however, see former MACS swimmer Jessica Rodriquez in the finals of the 400M freestyle as she moved up from her 8th place qualifying spot to a 6th-place finish overall.

Also this morning, RallySport team member Kristen Lahey, finished 27th in the 100M backstroke with a time of 1:02.77. Loveland’s Susan von der Lippe took to the water again today for the 100M breaststroke where she finished 60th with a time of 1:12.12 while DU Hilltopper Ellie Freeman took 52nd in the same event with a time of 1:11.85.

Tomorrow morning Colorado Stars’ Missy Franklin, 13, the second youngest competitor at this year’s Trials, competes in her first of three events as she swims the 200M IM. And you can bet I’ll be watching Mark Dylla as he attempts to qualify in the 200M fly.

The Trials is truly a swim junkie’s nirvana.

The Waiting Is Finally Over

The Olympic Trials began with a bang today as Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff each set new world records in the finals of the men's and women's 400 IM. Meanwhile, swimmers with a Colorado connection also had something to brag about as Day 1 wrapped up.

Former Greenwood Tiger Shark Agustin Magruder found himself in the 100M breaststroke semifinals where he wound up in 14th place. Pretty good showing when you consider he came into the event ranked 27th.

Peyton, Colo., native Justin Day, a rising senior at the Air Force Academy, also competed in the 100M breaststroke preliminaries where he posted a 1:04.17 to finish 50th overall. His teammate, Chris Knaute, finished 34th overall in the 400 IM with a time of 4:27.68, which was nearly a second faster than his qualifying time.

Heritage High School graduate Mark Dylla took 21st place in the 400 IM with a time of 4:24.51, well above his ranking of 36th place going into the event.

Former MACS swimmer Jessica Rodriquez wound up 13th in the 400 IM after slipping a couple of spots from her ranking going into the meet.

Susan von der Lippe, a silver medalist in the 200M breaststroke in the 1984 Olympic Games, finished 105th in the 100 fly with a 1:02.47, just slightly off her qualifying time of 1:02.37. Von der Lippe, who will celebrate her 43rd birthday on Saturday, has the proud distinction of being the oldest competitor at this year’s trials.

Tomorrow, Jessica Rodriquez hopes to qualify for the finals of the 400 free and DU Hilltopper Ellie Freeman makes her Trial's debut in the 100M breaststroke where she'll be competing against fellow Coloradoan von der Lippe. Also in the water tomorrow is RallySport Aquatic Club's Kristen Lahey swimming the 100M backstroke.

What's Up and When

Here’s a listing of the preliminaries and finals schedule throughout the eight days of the Trials.

Preliminaries   
Sunday, June 29:
400 IM – men
100 Fly – women
400 Free – men
400 IM – women
100 Breast -- men   

Finals
Sunday, June 29:
400 IM – men – FINAL
100 Fly – women – semifinal
400 Free – men – FINAL
400 IM – women – FINAL
100 breast – men -- semifinal

Preliminaries
Monday, June 30:
100 Back – women
200 Free – men
100 Breast – women
100 Back – men
400 Free -- women   

Finals
Monday, June 30:
100 Back – women – semifinal
200 Free – men – semifinal
100 Fly – women – FINAL
100 Breast – men – FINAL
100 Breast – women – semifinal
100 Back – men – semifinal
400 Free – women – FINAL

Preliminaries
Tuesday, July 1:
200 Free – women
200 Fly – men
200 IM -- women   

Finals
Tuesday, July 1:
200 Free – women – semifinal
200 Free – men – FINAL
100 Back – women – FINAL
100 Back – men – FINAL
100 Breast – women – FINAL
200 Fly – men – semifinal
200 IM – women --semifinal

Preliminaries
Wednesday, July 2:
100 Free – men
200 Fly – women
200 Breast -- men

Finals
Wednesday, July 2:
100 Free –men – semifinal
200 Free – women – FINAL
200 Fly – men – FINAL
200 Fly – women – semifinal
200 Breast – men – semifinal
200 IM – women -- FINAL

Preliminaries
Thursday, July 3:
100 Free – women
200 Back – men
200 Breast – women
200 IM – men

Finals
Thursday, July 3:
200 Breast – men – FINAL
100 Free – women – semifinal
200 Back – men – semifinal
200 Fly – women – FINAL
100 Free – men – FINAL
200 Breast – women – semifinal
200 IM – men -- semifinal

Preliminaries
Friday, July 4:
50 Free – men
800 Free – women
100 Fly – men
200 Back -- women

Finals
Friday, July 4:
50 Free – men – semifinal
200 Breast – women – FINAL
200 Back – men – FINAL
200 Back –women – semifinal
200 IM – men – FINAL
100 Free – women – FINAL
100 Fly – men -- semifinal

Preliminaries
Saturday, July 5:
50 Free – women
1500 Free – men 

Finals
Saturday, July 5:
200 Back – women – FINAL
100 Fly – men – FINAL
800 Free – women – FINAL
50 Free – men – FINAL
50 Free – women – semifinal

Finals
Sunday, July 6:
50 Free—women – FINAL
1500 Free – men -- FINAL

Real-time results are also available by going to Omega Live Timing.

For additional coverage, be sure to check at USA Swimming, which includes a link to swimnetwork.com for behind-the-scenes coverage of the big meet.