Beijing Olympics 2008

Australia’s recent record-breaking performances will count for nothing if their swimmers cannot reproduce that form at the Beijing Olympics, according to triple gold medallist Grant Hackett.
Hackett, who is aiming to become the first male swimmer to win gold in the same event at three successive Olympics, said eight world records at Australia’s Olympic trials last month had given the team a major boost, but the United States would still be the favourites in Beijing.
“We feel confident but we feel that’s only the start of what needs to be done,” he told a news conference at the world short-course championships in Manchester on Saturday.
“Those trials surprised a lot of people in Australia. We didn’t expect to break eight world records and have so much depth in many races.
“The team is confident but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves,” added the 27-year-old, who will be aiming for a third straight 1,500m title in China.
“The Olympic Games is where the real results will be posted and remembered.
“No one remembers the Olympic trials. We’re confident, proud of the way we performed, but the job’s not done yet.”
Australia’s best result at an Olympics was as hosts at the 2000 Games, when they took 18 medals in the pool. However, Australian swimming chiefs expect their team of 22 women and 20 men to better that mark in Beijing.
Unlike most of the world’s top swimming nations, who hold trials earlier in the year, the U.S. will have their qualifying event just five weeks out from the Aug 8-24 Games.
Hackett predicted U.S. swimmers will raise the bar at their trials by adding to the rising tally of world records set so far this year.
“They’re going to have an unbelievable performance,” he said. “They’ll be the number one team going into the Olympics, no doubt about that.
“Their performances lately have been great and their swimmers have not even been rested.”
Hackett will enter unknown territory in Beijing when he competes in the 10-kilometre open water event, which he said would be the “ultimate test” after a career spent only in the calmer waters of swimming pools.
“I’m not experienced in this field. The best thing is the element of surprise,” he said. “People don’t know what I’m capable of. I’ve worked on my preparation, I’m as fit as I’ve ever been.”

from: chinadaily.com.cn

Alain Bernard snatched the 100 metres freestyle world record from Olympic champion Pieter van den Hoogenband at the ailing Dutchman’s home pool in the European swimming championships on Friday.
The 24-year old Frenchman clocked 47.60 seconds in the 100 semi-finals to beat the 47.84 mark Van den Hoogenband set in the semi-finals of the Sydney Olympics in September, 2000, on the way to the first of his two Olympic 100 freestyle titles.

It was one more blow for Van den Hoogenband, who has had the toughest of times since he turned 30 last week.

He pulled out of the morning’s 100 freestyle heats, having been ill during the week and failing to make the semi-finals of the 200 freestyle, an event he had won four times.

Bernard hit the 50-metre mark in 22.88, well inside Van den Hoogenband’s world record split of 23.16, and hurtled down the return length to carve 0.24 seconds from the world mark. His previous best was 48.12.

France experienced an extraordinary day of elation and disappointment, with the second high point coming in the evening’s last race when their women’s 4×200 freestyle relay squad held off the British quartet to win by 0.27 seconds in 7:52.09.

But Russians Anastasia Zueva and Grigory Falko denied France two expected gold medals when they upstaged favourites Laure Manaudou and Hugues Duboscq in two earlier finals.

Manaudou, who won four European titles in 2006, had posted a European 100 backstroke record of 59.50 in Thursday’s semi-finals.

RUSSIAN REVENGE

But Zueva led all the way against the world silver medallist to reclaim the European record and strike gold in 59.41, with defending champion Manaudou having to settle for silver in 1:00.05 after winning in 2004 and 2006.

Manaudou, in the lane next to Zueva, turned away and hung on the further lane rope, refusing to acknowledge her conqueror. Her mood brightened later when she led off the relay victory for her second Eindhoven gold after winning Wednesday’s 200 backstroke from Zueva.

Duboscq, who had broken the men’s 200 breaststroke championship record twice on Thursday, led for the first 150 metres but Falko overhauled him on the last length to grab the gold and the championship record in 2:09.64.

Norway’s Alexander Dale Oen, who had beaten Duboscq for the 100 breaststroke title when both dipped below the one-minute mark for the first time, swept through for silver in 2:09.74 and Duboscq was left with bronze.

Greece celebrated two titles. Ioannis Drymonakos came through in the last couple of strokes of the 200 butterfly in 1:54.16 ahead of 2005 world champion Pawel Korzeniowski of Poland (1:54.38), with both inside the old European record, and Aristeidis Grigoriadis won the 50 backstroke to follow his silver in the 100 back.

Italy’s Alessia Filippi inherited Manaudou’s 800 freestyle title for her second Eindhoven gold after winning the 400 individual medley on Tuesday. Manaudou pulled out of the 800 to concentrate on the 100 backstroke.

Romania’s Camelia Potec, Olympic 200 freestyle champion, set the pace for the first 700 metres, with Spain’s 2004 European champion Erika Villaecija in close attendance, before Filippi charged through to win in 8:23.50, with Villaecija taking silver and Potec fading to bronze.

Mireia Belmonte put Spain on the top step of the podiuum with an impressive win in the women’s 200 individual medley in a championship record 2:11.16 from Hungary’s Evelyn Verraszto. Olympic champion Yana Klochkova was last.

from: chinadaily

Australia’s triple Olympic gold medallist Jodie Henry announced on Friday that injury will prevent her from competing at the 2008 Beijing Games but it won’t end her swimming career.
The former 100m freestyle world record holder officially withdrew from next month’s Olympic selection trial in Sydney, after succumbing to a pelvic complaint that has hampered her preparations.
“It has been a very hard decision to make as the Olympics is every swimmer’s goal and I would have loved to be able to go to Beijing and try and defend my (100m freestyle) title and to help the girls win another relay,” the Australian Associated Press quoted Henry as saying in Brisbane in east Australia.
“I have been struggling with an injury which has meant that I haven’t been able to train as much as I would have liked, and as much as I have needed to, to be ready for the Olympic trials.
“Whilst missing the Olympic team is a huge disappointment for me, I am pleased because now that my injury has been finally diagnosed I can start the road to recovery,” she said.
Swimmers must compete at the cut-throat selection meet in order to qualify for the Australian Olympic swim team and Henry said her injury meant she would not be sufficiently prepared.
Henry made clear her intentions to return to the pool as soon as possible.
“I am happy to say that I am definitely not retiring as there is no way that I want my swimming career to end like this,” Henry said.
Henry’s absence will be a major blow to Australia’s defense of the women’s 4×100m relay title in China.

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

The “Good Luck Beijing” 2008 16th FINA Diving World Cup will kick off on Tuesday in the National Aquatic Center, also known as “Water Cube”, with its first event men’s 3-meter springboard diving.
The 16th edition of FINA Diving World Cup, which runs from February 19 to 25, serves as an Olympic qualifier and attracts 296 players from 56 countries and regions.
Lots of world famous divers, such as Chinese diving queen Guo Jingjing and Russian diving czar Dmitry Sautin, will compete in the World Cup.
Chinese He Chong, winner of the men’s 3-meter springboard diving in 2007 national championships, and Qin Kai, winner of the event in 2007 Melbourne World Championships and 2006 diving World Cup, will compete in Tuesday’s competition.
The National Aquatic Center, nicknamed by the Chinese as “water cube”, is one of the flagship Olympic facilities, neighboring the Birds Nest, the main stadium.
The facility, which will host swimming, diving, synchronized swimming competitions during this summer’s Olympics, offers a huge slice of gold, silver and bronze medals in the Olympics.
The divers showed their satisfaction of the “water cube” after training here on Monday.
“I like the diving pool here,” said Loudy Wiggins of Australia, two-time Olympic 10-meter platform diving bronze medalist in 2000 and 2004.
“I feel comfortable because it’s similar to Athens and Sydney,” She added.

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

Australian Eamon Sullivan broke the world record in the men’s 50m freestyle at the New South Wales swimming championships in Sydney on Sunday.
Sullivan clocked 21.56 seconds to chop 0.08 seconds off Russian Alexander Popov’s mark of 21.64 seconds set up in 2000.
His winning mark also bettered half a second off his personal best fro Sullivan, who finished third in the 100m and fifth in the 50m freestyle at last year’s world championships in Melbourne.
“I just surprised myself,” he said. “I felt really, really good in the warm-up and working towards getting under 22 for the first time.”
The 22-year-old shook off a series of injuries before his breakthrough meet at the national championships 14 months ago where he captured the 50m national record in Brisbane.
It was the first swimming world record by an Australian men swimmer in an Olympic event since Ian Thorpe in the 400m freestyle at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games.
The 50m event was introduced into the Olympic program in Seoul in 1988.

from: chinadaily.com.cn