Another World Record fell as Katie Hoff earned back the World Record in the 400 IM with a tremendous 4:31.12 swim. Elizabeth Beisel finished a close second (4:32.87) that was under Hoff’s old American Record as well. Stanford’s Julia Smit wrapped up 3rd place with a 4:35.73 effort.
Katie Hoff at the Press Conference
Paul Yetter at the Press Conference
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Hello from the Japan International Meet!
This meet is proving to be a fast and fun. Our USA team is competing well and dropping lots of time. Last night Randal Bal won a silver medal in the 100 Back and Nick Brunelli won the bronze medal in the 100 free — both hard-fought races that came down to the touch. These guys are our veterans, and it makes sense for them to lead the team and bring home some hardware.
We’re in a bit of a different situation that many of the other competing federations. Most of our Team USA athletes qualified for this meet two weeks ago at Nationals, and for most Nationals was the “end of the season” shave meet. This meet is the bonus — the “experience trip.” To maintain high levels of energy through a shave, into another shave is a tall order, but one that we’re standing up to every session.
Here are a few swims that come to mind when I think about the best of the best that has happened so far:
A- The first swim of the meet was Ashley Jones from Indiana swimming the 400 IM. Ashley is a backstroker, and didn’t swim the 400 IM at Nationals…so we didn’t know what to expect. Ashley started the meet off for Team USA by dropping from 4:58 to 4:49 in her IM (then backed it up with another 4:49 in the “B” final). We continued to rattle off best times during morning #1, thanks in part to Ashley getting us going.
B- Our Men’s backstroke field is loaded going into 2008. David Russell didn’t even earn a second swim with his 54.68 prelim swim. Ben Hesen won the “B” final with a PR of 54.27. David Cromwell went 54.20 in the “A” final (off a 53.8 studswim at Nationals), and then we had Bal’s 53.91 medal swim. These guys are awesome.
C- Chistine Magnuson swam a 54.2 on the 3rd leg of the Women’s bronze medal 400 free relay. She had the coaching staff google-eyed after that one.
D- Jon Roberts going 1:00.8 in the 100 breast was a great swim, and this guy looks like he’s just going to get faster.
E- John Criste going 2:14.3 in the 200 breast was a great prelim swim and drop from a 2:16 (the finals as of this blog haven’t happened). He joins Jon Roberts tonight in the final. Not bad for a guy that just graduated from High School. Hello, Stanford!
F- Alyssa Anderson has had some outstanding performances, the best being her 2:10.9 200 Fly from last night. She is the Top Ranked 15-16 200 Flyer in the USA right now.
G- Gil Stoval swam a 1:56.5 200 Fly to finish 5th. Gil dropped another .5 off his stellar performance from Nationals, and he did it passing 3 guys on the final 50.
We’re really excited to see what we can do over the next 3 sessions of this meet. The atmosphere couldn’t be better (you should see the fire coming out of the scoreboard), while the pool is quick and well-lit all around the venue.
The 400 Medley relay, on the final day of the meet, will be our best relay by far on both the men’s and women’s side, so get ready for that. Wish the US more fast swimming, and stay tuned for further reports!
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August 20, 2007
It’s a sticky, sunny day here in Chiba, Japan. Team USA begins its quest for swimming excellence tomorrow at the Japan Open. The pool is beautiful, the people are friendly, and our athletes are ready to race.
This National Team is a very exciting team to be a part of because most who are here representing the USA are up-and-comers on the swimming scene. We’ve got some veterans who have competed in the Olympics, and we’ve got a TON of rookies…it should be a lot of fun once we begin.
There is a huge mall very close to the hotel so the coaches and athletes have been spending some time shopping and cruising around. On my way to Starbucks the other day (imagine that) I noticed some things that were done a bit differently than they are done in the US. Here is a short list:
1. People are driving on the wrong side of the road. We all kind of know this fact, but it still hasn’t prevented me from almost getting smashed like frogger everytime I go outside. I’m starting to look both ways twice.
2. There are lots of head-nods going around. All Kenechewa’s (good afternoon) are accompanied by a bow. All Domo Arigato’s (thank you) are accompanied by a bow. This person to person exchange is done as a reflex if you live here, and seems like a very nice way to behave. For me, I’m not sure if should go with just the head, or keep the head steady and bow with the whole torso. It’s very confusing. As long as I don’t head-butt anybody I think I’ll be alright.
3. Bikes are everywhere, and nobody seems to care about locking them. People roll up to the local McDonalds, kick down their kick-stand, and head inside. Try that in Baltimore! Those bikes wouldn’t last 90 seconds.
I’ve included a photo I took while out and about yesterday. More photos will follow so I can show you what the pool looks like. Until next time….
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Tonight I won my first World University Games gold medal in the 200 IM. And it’s a sweet medal too. Really big and heavy. It was a best time and a new Games record. I wanted to go under 2:12 but I was close (2:12.1). So that kicks off my meet well. I will be racing in the finals of the 800 free relay tomorrow night (for us, 14 hour time difference to west coast). Then the following day is the 400 IM, then a day off, and 200 fly last night.
Chad Latourette won our other individual gold in the 800 free and killed his best time. So far we are 2 for 2 golds in our mens and womens 400 free relay. Our team spirit is high and everyone has great attitudes.
Sorry it’s so short and boring, I just wanted to touch base before I head to bed, it’s way past my bed time!!
~KSS~
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So I mentioned earlier that being here makes you appreciate little things from home. Well my list keeps getting longer. I am thankful that we live in a country that doesn’t have the constant smell of (for the lack of a better word) throw up. It’s so stinky here. I appreciate that I can use the water from the sink to brush my teeth and not have to use bottled water (it’s pretty annoying). That we have sheets on our bed (there’s only a blanket on our beds). That I don’t have to share my room with lizards and ants. And that I don’t get eaten alive by mosquitos. And lastly, so far, what I am most grateful for is that we don’t have to use “squatters” for our toilets. These are literally on the floor. Ya, no thanks.
I am thankful to live in the best country in the world that makes me feel spoiled whenever I travel abroad. Ok, that is all for now 
~KSS~
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Made it to Bangkok!! Well, its different… Being here really makes you appreciate some little things I take for granted at home; like air conditioning. Luckily we have air in our rooms (except I woke up to ours dripping water all over my stuff last night), but not in the halls, common rooms, or athlete lounges. There is like no breeze here. It’s just hot and humid. I keep waiting for some wind to blow and it just doesn’t. There’s been a constant mist of rain in the evenings and the sun doesn’t shine. It’s for sure not California!
Transportation is very tricky. No one speaks english too well to help us get around and there are so many different trollies and buses going in every direction that it makes it difficult to get to the pool. And when we do locate a bus to the pool, it’s just a free fall with no organized order to get on board. The elbows come out! There are roughly 1200 people in the village to get an idea with what we’re working with (and who knows how many languages). It’s trips like these that make me wonder why people say Americans are the rude ones. We are like the only ones who make and stand in lines. And don’t just walk in front of people and cut in line. I don’t know, maybe I’m missing something.
The food isn’t too bad. Luckily I’m a big fan of white sticky rice. I usually grab that with some meat and veggies. They have some great fruit and yummy chocolate milk.
The team is bonding really well and everyone is getting excited to swim. The pool is awesome. It’s outside, but covered. The water is a little on the warm side but hopefully they will cool it down to “race temperature”. But some say it’s just too hot out to cool it.
Each night, outside the dining hall, they have cultural dances and ceremonies taking place. Lots of music, dancing, bright colors, and exotic props. It’s pretty neat to check out. And within the village they set up a little Thai Market. I haven’t checked it out yet, but some of my teammates purchased some goods already for great prices.
I was elected captain and was part of the vote that picked our flag bearer at opening ceremonies. It’s a member of the men’s volleyball team who is deaf. He has to play with hearing aides which he can still only hear 70% and when he starts sweating he has to take them out and sometimes plays without them. Which would be very difficult in a sport that requires communication. The volleyball team is so tall and makes even Matt Grevers look small. It was crazy because I met a guy that went to a high school right down the street from mine. Ohh the OC bubble! It’s cool getting to meet other athletes from the US. We are staying in the dorms with the Men’s volleyball team, gymanastics, men’s and women’s basketball and taekwondo. And some of the Swiss team but not sure what sport.
So ya, the meet starts in 2 days and I start in 3. I will be racing a lot with the 200 IM first, then hopefully 800 free relay, 400 IM then the last day 200 fly (I got added in it because the girl in it dropped out). Almost time to get this party started!!
Oh, and how could I forget… Instead of monkeys here, they have huge frogs. I surprisingly think they are so cute. But not enough to try to catch one.
~KSS~
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I want to steal a baby spider monkey and bring it home with me. They are so cute. But I hear they are naughty little things. They were watching our practice today (and trying to break lights of the roof, aren’t they cute?!). In typical tourists fashion everyone whipped out their cameras for the photo opp. (Of course I didn’t have my camera!) So that was my entertainment for the morning. Speaking of animals, we went to the Singapore zoo the other night. We took a night tram ride and saw amazing animals. I have never been to a zoo and have never seen such huge animals so close. It was unreal. To see an elephant right next to us was crazy but my favorite was probably the hippo. It was a fun team activity except it was hot and humid. I was sweating and I wasn’t even doing anything. I don’t care for that too much.
We take off tomorrow for Bangkok. I think everyone is getting anxious to get this meet started. We have been here for awhile now, but it’s good we were because I feel like I am just now getting over the jet lag.
Before we take off we have the traditional rookie skits taking place tonight. Anyone who’s first national team meet is this one has to perform a rookie skit. There is about 23 rookies so we have 5 skits taking place. It should be very entertaining. It’s crazy to think I did my rookie skit in 1999. Ya, my teammates have pointed out how old I am getting. (Thanks guys).
Other than animals and skits, not too much is going on. Pretty low-key here, just preparing to race. My boyfriend Harry Potter and I have been spending a lot of time together. I don’t know what I would do without him.
Next stop, Bangkok!!
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So far, everything about Singapore is awesome for us. Our hotel is very posh and I scored with my own room! I can’t even describe how amazing the breakfast is here. Its unreal. They literally have everything. Its like really modern with some techno music playing then just food bars everywhere. Made to order omelettes, pancakes, waffles, sweet rolls, amazing fruits, yogurt of all flavors, juices, noodles, asian food that I have no idea what it is, cereals… Seriously its unreal!
Where we are training is a country club that feels like a tropical resort. Its surrounded by all these lush trees and golf courses. One of the coaches was like look for monkeys and I was like ya right, tease the blonde and sure enough I saw a whole gang of spider monkeys!!! How crazy is that?! Its like Animal Planet outside our bus. So needless to say, the accomadation are amazing.
The 2008 Olympic team is going to be coming here before heading to China, so we are doing a trial run for them. So we totally scored!!
Today we have tea with the Embassador of Singapore. They are very polite and kind to us here. I’m looking forward to doing a little shopping tomorrow during my afternoon off! They are suppose to have amazing shops and get this, its discounted shopping month. Another total score!!
We are to enjoy the luxury while we are here because we are going to be roughing it while in Bangkok. Very small rooms with 3 people in it and no room for luggage. And the food is questionable. Have to live it up here while we can!!
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