Can Phelps Break Mark Spitz’s Olympic Medal Record?

After a great Olympic Trials, Michael Phelps is poised to break Mark Spitz’s Olympic Record of Seven Gold Medals in one Olympics.  See linked story.

http://baltimore.about.com/od/sportsrecreation/a/Phelpsrecords.htm

Olympic Swimmers Head to Training Camp at Stanford

Special to Aquatic Times, from Kim Foster – It’s not your typical summer camp, but there are some aspects to the Olympic swimmer’s training at Stanford …

What did you Think of the Olympic Swimming Trials?

So after watching the great coverage on TV, what did you think of the Olympic Swimming Trials?

News and Comments on the Olympic Trials (All Days)

Contra Costa County has quite a few athletes participating in the Olympic Trials.  This post is for anyone who would like to post comments from or about the Olympic Trials. (Latest update as of Wednesday, 10:22 PST: The Terrapin’s Matt Martinez, ATOM intern, checks in with his final day journal entry from the Olympic Trials!)

US veteran Hall says swimming still awash in doping (Breitbart.com)

“Outspoken US veteran Gary Hall jnr said Sunday that he believes swimming is still awash in doping, despite a dearth of evidence in the build-up to the Beijing Games” (More…)

Jump on in – the Water’s Great!

Thanks for visiting our new Blog!  In the short time we have been up, we have been averaging over 90 visits per day, but very few are leaving comments - and, people willing to join the discussion is what blogging is all about.  It’s easy - just click on comments and type your comment in. You don’t even have to leave your real name (you can use a screen name) AND you DON’T have to leave your email address. 

Want to write about another subject? Then, leave a comment letting us know what subject interests you.  It’s LOTS OF FUN so… Jump on in – the water’s GREAT!

Should Swimmers Race in Bad Air?

Because of the many fires in California, we have had quite a bit of smoke in Contra Costa County.  Wednesday we had a health advisory from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District  (http://www.sparetheair.org/about/five_day.htm). Walnut Creek’s reading was a very high 149, and it’s predicted to go even higher on Thursday – 153 - with the following warning:

Unhealthy – Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should avoid prolonged outdoor exertion; everyone else, especially children, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.

ATOM’s question to you is: Should swimmers compete and train when the air is considered this unhealthy?  If so, should any percautions be taken, such as shorter races (no 100 yard events) OR technique instruction instead of yardage during workouts?