Construction Update from our favorite Pool Manager: Laura Voet !
It is another great day at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex.
The sun is shining. Walls are going UP! Foundation piles are being cut DOWN. More digging in the DIRT!
We have a great team of dedicated workers led by Hensel Phelps Construction Company working hard for our City. The concrete fountain slab for the grandstand and pool filtration room was poured last week and this week a team of skilled masons have started on the concrete block work for the pool filtration building walls. There are 35 piles that will support the new dive tower over and the last several weeks the foundation team has been laboriously excavating and cutting them down to the correct height. The entrance building piles are be excavated and the elevator foundation is being formed.
The competition pool and dive well concrete shells are complete. All deep foundation work is complete. Project staff, including City staff Laura Voet and Tom Green, are traveling to Orlando Friday, October 16 to visit the Gate Precast Co. batch plant to approve the concrete mockup samples for the 27-Meter Dive Tower. Fabrication of the precast sections is expected to begin late October and completed by late December. Dive Tower pieces will start arriving mid-January and construction of the dive tower will begin February 2021. The pool deck is expected to be poured once the dive tower erection is completed – mid March 2021.
There are two executed agreements, each has a separate timeline.
Contract 1 – Pools, Bleachers, Dive Tower Entry Building, Dive Tower with Amenity Deck
Estimated Completion Date is August 2021.
The first contract contains the base scope items: new competition pool, new diving well, new teaching pool, refurbished training pool, new grandstand and bleachers, new entrance building (guest restrooms/concession/admissions), expanded pool deck, resurfacing the training pool, and parking lot improvements. Change orders that have been added into the contract include a 27-meter dive tower and a rooftop amenity space on top of the spectator bathroom/concession/ticketing building. We expect to cut a ribbon and open the pools August 2021. TOTAL Budget for First Contract (including change orders) is $38.75 Million
Contract 2 – South Building (Athlete Locker Rooms, Timing Rooms, Aquatic Staff Offices, Meetings Rooms, Lifeguards and First Aid)
Estimated Completion Date is first quarter of 2022.
HP has an interim agreement to begin design and cost estimating for the South Building. The total budget for the project is $7M. Since August, we have been working diligently with the HP and their team on the design of the South Building. The goal is to present this design to the Commission this December with a final defined price and scope to award a construction agreement. Assuming a December award, HP could begin demolition in January 2021 and have the building constructed the first quarter of 2022. If there are delays in the approval process, permitting, supply chain or weather the completion date will change.
Total Estimated Project Cost: $46 million.
City Staff
Tom Green, PE, Senior Project Manager, Beach Community Redevelopment Agency | Parks & Recreation Department
Laura Voet, Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex Manager | Parks & Recreation Department
Hensel Phelps Construction Company – Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center
Owner/Operator City of Fort Lauderdale
Lead Design-Builder Hensel Phelps
Architect Cartaya & Associates
Aquatic Designer Counsilman Hunsaker
Aquatic Sub-Contractor Weller Pools
Geotechnical Engineer Langan
Civil & Landscape Designer Keith & Associates, Inc.
Structural Engineer Louis Berger
Foundation / Piles HJ Keller Foundations
Electrical Hypower
Plumbing Rightway Plumbing
Demolition Pece of Mind
Site Work Redland Company
Structure The Structure Group
Skin Multiple
Finishes Multiple
Just keep swimming!
Laura
Happy Birthday Summer Sanders !!!
SUMMER SANDERS (USA) 2002 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (200m butterfly), gold (4x100m medley relay – preliminary heat), silver (200m IM), bronze (400m IM), 6th (100m butterfly). 1991 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m butterfly), silver (200m IM), bronze (400m IM); 8 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 2-100y butterfly, 2-200y butterfly, 1-200y IM, 2-400y IM, 1-200m IM; 9 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 2-200y butterfly, 2-200y IM, 2-400y IM, 1-4x50y medley relay, 1-4x100y medley relay, 1-4x100y freestyle relay; 1989 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: silver (200m IM); 1991 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m IM, 400m IM, 200m butterfly).
Summer Sanders, a name synonymous with success in swimming. Born October 13, 1972, by age three Sanders could swim a lap of the pool. She wanted to be just like her older brother Trevor. So in 1976 she joined the Sugar Bears, an age group swimming program in RoSAVILLE, California, coached by Mike Barsotti, Scott Winter and Scott O’Conner. From there she jumped to the Sierra Aquatic Club with coach Ralph Thomas and finally to COA where coach Mike Hastings became her greatest influence as a coach. “She knew how to find the holes in the water,” Hastings recalled. “You know how Summer psyches herself up?” brother Trevor had said, “She does it by smiling.” But who could have predicted that she would make swimming history years later at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, winning two gold, one silver and one bronze medal.
In 1989 at age 17, she made her way to a silver medal in the 200m I.M. behind Lin Li of China at the Pan Pacific Championships, her first international meet. Two years later, she came back to win the event, as well as the 400m I.M. (beating Lin Li) and the 200m butterfly.
In 1991, her first year swimming for Hall of Fame coach Richard Quick at Stanford University, Sanders won the 200y butterfly, 200y I.M. and 400y I.M and the 4x100y medley relay. And she repeated her championship swims in 1992, the only other year she swam at Stanford and helped her team win the NCAA National Championships. All totaled, she won eight NCAA National Championship titles during her two years of competition.
At Perth, Australia for the 1991 World Championships, Summer won a silver medal in the 200m I.M. and a bronze medal in the 400m I.M. behind Lin Li of China. It was her prelude to winning the gold medal in the 200m butterfly in the Olympic record time of 2:08.67 the next year at the Barcelona Olympics.
Sanders also won silver and bronze medals in the 200m and 400m individual medleys and a second gold medal on the 4x100m medley relay – preliminary heat. In qualifying for the Olympic Games, Summer was the first U.S. woman since Hall of Famer Shirley Babashoff in 1976 to qualify for four individual events at one Olympiad.
Summer swam for another year, then officially retired in 1994, but came back a year later to try unsuccessfully for the 1996 Olympic Team. During her career she won eight U.S. National Championships.
Sanders turned her enthusiasm, focus, and glowing smile to television reporting and event hosting. She has been co-host of NBA Inside Stuff, contributor for the Today Show, host of “U.S. Olympic Gold,” co-host on Nickelodeon, contributing editor of Self Magazine, and special feature correspondent for NBC Sports at the 2002 Olympics. She has been a reporter for the NBA, USA tennis and various other events and a special representative of Sport for the U.S. Committee for UNICEF.
Happy Birthday Ian Thorpe !!!
Ian Thorpe (AUS) 2011 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (400m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle), silver (200m freestyle, 4×100 m medley); 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (200m freestyle, 400m freestyle), silver (4x200m freestyle), bronze (100m freestyle): 1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (400m freestyle, 4X200 m freestyle); 2001 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle, 4x100m medley); 2003 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle), silver (200m Individual Medley) bronze (100m freestyle); 17 WORLD RECORDS: 6 (200m freestyle), 5 (400m freestyle), 2 (800 m freestyle), 1 (4x100m freestyle), 3 (4x200m freestyle); 6 WORLD RECORDS (25m): 3 (200m freestyle), 1 (400m freestyle), 2 (4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle); 1999 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CHAMPIONSHIPS (25m): gold (200m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle), silver (400m freestyle); 1998 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold (200m freestyle, 400m freestyle; 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle); 2002 COMMONWEALTH GAMES: gold (100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle, 4x100m medley), silver (100m backstroke); 1999 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle); 2002 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle), silver (4x100m medley); WORLD SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: 1998-1999, 2001-2002: WORLD PACIFIC RIM SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004.
As a child, Ian Thorpe grew tired of seeing his older sister swim in competitions, so he also took up swimming. He was a natural swimmer with a natural stroke, who after outgrowing a chlorine allergy, swam his way into the history books to become Australia’s most decorated swimmer ever. Nicknamed “Torpedo”, Thorpe became a celebrated hero throughout the world. At age 14 he became the youngest-ever male World Champion when he won the 400m freestyle at the 1998 Perth World Championship, dominating this event for the next six years.
A giant in swimming, he stood 6 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 230 pounds with a shoe size 17 and an arm span of 6 feet 5 inches. He was built for speed and most everything he swam resulted in winning gold medals. He won four gold medals at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games; four gold medals at the 1999 Pan Pacific Games; six gold medals at the 2001 Fukuoka World Championships; five gold medals at the 2002 Yokohama Pan Pacific Games; three gold medals at the 2003 Barcelona World Championships, and six gold medals at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Thorpe won the 400 meter freestyle in world record time and another two gold medals on the freestyle relay teams. He also won silver medals in the 200m freestyle and 4×100 meter medley relay team. At the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, he became the only Olympian in history to win medals in the 100 meter, 200 meter and 400 meter freestyle at the same Olympic Games by winning gold medals in the 200 meter and 400 meter freestyle and a bronze medal in the 100 meter freestyle. All totaled, Thorpe used his powerful trademark six-beat kick to set 18 world records.
Today, Ian has his own jewelry and underwear line, is an ambassador for Armani clothes and has a swimming pool named in his honor. He co-founded the Ian Thorpe Foundation for Youth Trust, a charity that benefits the treatment of children with life threatening diseases.
Happy Birthday Laure Manaudou
Laure Manaudou (FRA) 2017 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: WORLD RECORD HOLDER 200 and 400m freestyle; 2004 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (400m freestyle silver (800m freestyle), bronze (100m backstroke); 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES: participant; 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES: participant; 2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (400m freestyle); 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (200m & 400m freestyle), silver (800m freestyle, 100m backstroke), bronze (4×200m freestyle); 2004 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (400m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 4×100m medley); 2006 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (400m freestyle, 800 m freestyle, 100m backstroke, 200m medley), bronze (200m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle, 4x100m medley); 2008 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (LC): gold (200m backstroke, 4×200 m freestyle), silver (100m backstroke); 2005 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): gold (400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 100m backstroke); 2006 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): gold (400 m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 100m backstroke); 2007 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): gold (400m freestyle, 100m backstroke), silver (200m freestyle), bronze (4×50m medley); 2008 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): Rijeka: bronze (100m backstroke); 2012 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (SC): gold (50m backstroke), silver (100m backstroke), bronze (4×50m medley); 2005 MEDITERRANEAN GAMES: gold (400m freestyle, 50m backstroke)
Laure Manaudou was born on October 9, 1986 in Villeurbanne, France. She swam for the club of Ambérieu-en-Bugey, in Ain, from the age of 6 to 14 years old. In 2000, coach Philippe Lucas spotted her and convinced her parents that he would make her a champion. She then left the family nest to join her new coach in Melun, and a year later she won two silver medals at the European Junior Championships in Malta. Everyone started talking about her enormous potential.
In 2003, at the age of 16, Manaudou won her first French national title in the 50m backstroke. The following year she took gold in the five individual events (400m, 800m, 1500m freestyle, 50m and 100m backstroke) at the French Nationals and qualified for her first Olympic team. In Athens, a few months later, she won the gold medal in the 400m freestyle. It was France’s first gold medal ever in women’s swimming and the first swimming gold medal won by a French athlete since Jean Boiteux’s victory in the 400m men’s freestyle event at Helsinki in 1952. Manaudou also won the silver medal in the women’s 800m freestyle and the bronze medal in the women’s 100m backstroke, thus becoming only the second French woman to win three medals in a single Olympic Games, Summer or Winter.
In 2005, she defended her world title in the 400m freestyle at the FINA World Championships. At the French Championships in 2006, she did what many thought was impossible. For eighteen years, women swimmers had been chasing the seemingly untouchable record set by America’s Janet Evans in the 400m freestyle at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. There was reason to believe it would last for eternity, but Laure Manaudou finally broke it and she lowered Evans’ standard again at the European Championship three months later.
She confirmed her status as a favorite to repeat as Olympic champion in Beijing, by winning five medals including two gold, two silver and one bronze at the 2007 World Swimming Championships in Melbourne, Australia. Shortly thereafter, she signed a sponsorship contract for five years for a sum of money that would be close to one million euros a year. The same year, on May 6, 2007, she decided to part with coach Philippe Lucas to train in Italy.
Manaudou was the star of French swimming and a real hope of multiple medals at Beijing 2008, but by her own admission 2007 was a crazy year as personal issues interfered with her training. After a season where she had four coaches and a loss of motivation, Laure finished a disappointing eighth in the 400m freestyle final and seventh in the 100m backstroke.
She announced her retirement in early 2009, but living in the United States two years later, started training again. Although she qualified for the London Olympic Games in the 100m and 200m backstroke, she failed to advance beyond the preliminaries. She once again announced her retirement and left the international aquatic stage as she started it, after winning the 50m backstroke at the European (SC) Championships in November of 2013.
In 2014, Laure released her autobiography, Entre Les Lignes (Between The Lines). It is a candid, honest account of her life in competitive swimming, with its sacrifices, its ups and downs, her relationships with her brothers, coaches, love life and the challenges she faced dealing with fame at an early age.
Triple Olympic medalist, three-time world champion, 18-time European champion and 58 time champion of France, Laure Manaudou enters the ISHOF as the best female swimmer in French history.
Happy Birthday Terry Schroeder !!!
TERRY SCHROEDER (USA) 2002 Honor Water Polo Player
FOR THE RECORD: 1979-1992 UNITED STATES NATIONAL WATER POLO TEAM: member; 1980 OLYMPIC GAMES: boycott; 1984 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver; 1988 OLYMPIC GAMES: silver; 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: 4th; PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (1979, 1983, 1987), silver (1991); 1978, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1991 FINA WORLD CUP: gold (1991), silver (1985); WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR:1981, 1985.
Very rarely will you find an Olympic athlete in one of the roughest Olympic sports who has the easy demeanor and control of emotions as does this captain of three Olympic water polo teams. At 6 feet 3 inches, 210 pounds, he became one of the best players in Olympic history to play the two-meter position, the quarterback of the offense. For over 15 years and 4 Olympic Games, Terry Schroeder was the USA team leader and one of the most revered players in international competition during his career.
He never lost his temper in play. There was not time for that. As the “hole man,” he had to wrestle the heavyweights, take blows and keep focused on the game. That was his strength – to take a beating and hold his own. He was fouled up to 75 times in a game. He had a total of 100 stitches in his face. But he never relented, leading his team to great international achievements.
He started swimming at the Santa Barbara YMCA for coach Ian McPherson. As an age grouper, Terry was nationally ranked in the backstroke, but he liked the dynamics of a team. Swimming didn’t have that. Water polo did. He played water polo in high school at San Marcos High, Santa Barbara, California, where he was a high school All-American. He chose water polo over football, and it seemed to combine skills from all the sports he had played (swimming, passing, throwing, catching, eye-hand coordination), and it was a great team sport. His high school coach Mike Irwin was an inspiration in shaping Terry’s athleticism. At Pepperdine University in California he graduated Magna Cum Laude, Sports Medicine in 1981. He played for veteran coach Rick Rowland and became a three-time All-American. During his sophomore year of 1978, he was asked to join the National Team. National Team coaches Ken Lindgren and Hall of Famer Monte Nitzkowski were inspirational to Terry. He became Team USA’s only four-time Olympian. His 1980 team was dismissed due to the Olympic boycott. He refocused and became the captain of the 1984 team and 1988 team where Team USA won silver medals at both Los Angeles and Seoul. He retired in 1988 but made a comeback in 1990 where he was elected team captain for a third time placing fourth in Barcelona, 1992.
During his career, Schroeder led the National Team to five FINA World Cups winning gold and silver medals, and four Pan American Games winning three golds and a silver medal. On the club level, he played for Industry Hills, Malibu, New York Athletic Club and Harvard, competing seven times on National Championship teams. He was voted National MVP six times and was an All-American fourteen times. He was twice named International Player of the Year and carried the U.S. flag at the 1988 Olympic Closing Ceremony. In 1984, he modeled for sculptor, Robert Graham as the bronze male torso sculpted for the Olympic Gateway at the entrance to the Los Angeles Coliseum at the Olympic Games. This headless figure represents all Olympic athletes.
In 1992 he took second place at the Superstars competition in Cancun, Mexico. In 1986, he graduated Cum Laude from Palmer University as a Doctor of Chiropractic, a third generation family tradition. Terry’s grandfather, father, seven cousins, brother, sister, brother-in-law, wife and other relatives totaling 59 family members are all chiropractors. Since 1986, he has been Pepperdine’s head water polo coach, winning the school’s first NCAA National Championship in 1997.
Terry is a guest lecturer and instructor at chiropractic seminars. He has written chapters in The Spine in Sports by Robert Watkins and Awaken the Olympian Within by John Naber. He has been a television color analyst for water polo on TBS Sports, Prime Network, USA Cable and Bud Sports.
Terry Schroeder, an honor student, honor coach and honor athlete.
Renowned Coach Jozsef Nagy: What’s Next in Breaststroke – Reloaded?
by JOHN LOHN – ASSOCIATE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
07 September 2020, 09:04am
Renowned Coach Jozsef Nagy: What’s Next in Breaststroke – Reloaded?
An argument can be made that Jozsef Nagy possesses more knowledge about the breaststroke than any other individual. After an international career as a breaststroker, the Hungarian-born Nagy shifted into a coaching career that brought great success and 2014 induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He introduced the wave-action breaststroke and guided Mike Barrowman to epic success, including the 1992 Olympic title in the 200 breaststroke. The following article was written by Nagy in regard to the stroke he has influenced greatly.
By Jozsef Nagy, Hall of Fame Coach
In 2007, I wrote an article with the title, “What’s next in Breaststroke?” As the title implies, I wrote about the possible progress and my vision of what may change in breaststroke.
I will go into details later, but in short, the point of the concept is that I saw a much larger role for the pull in the future of breaststroke than it had in 2007. I believed that the breaststroke kick was going to change in a way such that it would resemble a dolphin kick, both in size and speed, with the difference that the legs would turn out for a short time, as breaststroke rules still require this action. Optimistically (or naively), I expected that colleagues would have challenged my ideas and it would have been very beneficial to shine a light on any weaknesses of my future breaststroke vision. That would have given me a chance for a more detailed analysis, and the fuel to move this vision forward. Even more naively (or more optimistically), the idea arose in my mind that some might even try and test this concept.
Photo Courtesy:
Years passed and none of my expectations came to fruition. It is like the 2007 article was never published. Well, at the end of the day we all do what we want. However, nobody can seriously believe that breaststroke will be swum the same way in 30, 40, or 50 years from now as it is today.
Long years passed, and finally in 2015 at the Kazan World Championships, the winner Adam Peaty showed my vision become reality in both the 50m and 100m breaststroke. Then, in 2017 at the Budapest World Championships – while swimming a new world record in the 50m breaststroke with a 25.95 – his breaststroke kick, without doubt, showed the “future” to every breaststroker.
I have no idea what role my 2007 concept/vision had in all this, or if it was simply his coach’s idea, but based on the outstanding result, it does not matter. If we look at the progress of breaststroke in the past couple decades, it is obvious that the pull plays a bigger and bigger role in every breaststroker’s swimming.
If we look at the results of breaststroke kick sets or race analysis swum a long time ago, we see that they are not far behind of today’s bests. The pull results however are a lot better now than they were before in every distance.
Before, the critical detail to become a breaststroker was the kick. Special knee and ankle flexibility, and a special water feel was required. For the future breaststroker, the special leg flexibility will not be a requirement. The swimmer’s feel for the water will also require something completely different than before. In general, more swimmers will have the chance to become a breaststroker than before.
Photo Courtesy:I SHOF
Arms, shoulders, and in general, the upper body, will have to be a lot stronger than it is now for a breaststroker. Also with all these physical characteristics/advantages, they should aim to have a better feel for the water within the various aspects of their pulls. In order to progress, they will have to do a stronger, faster, and more efficient pull. The original, good-old breaststroke kick does not offer much room for progress. Whereas the breaststroke pull still has a huge potential! Especially if the swimmers will now be able increase the frequency of their stroke rate. However, this increased frequency cannot be supported with the present kind of breaststroke kick. As I mentioned before, a smaller, faster kick will be necessary to support the more powerful and increased pull frequency.
The official rules of breaststroke do not allow much room for dreaming. Thus the faster and more powerful pull cannot be paired with a completely different kick. Instead – relative to what breaststrokers have done so far – with a shorter kick where the heels will be pulled up less, with a narrow and quick kick that will roughly do half the distance in the passive phase, and as a result, in the active phase as well.
But that does not mean that the efficiency of the kick will decrease by the same proportion. Even so, this kind of breaststroke kick has disadvantages as well. The most visible of these is that the forward pushing phase is shorter. A lot shorter! Due to the increased frequency of this breaststroke and the shorter push phase of the kick there is a minimal phase left over to maintain speed in the streamline position. As a result, the stroke count will increase. For the same distances (100m and 200m breaststroke) a different type of strength and endurance will be needed. The advantage is that the breaststroker will be able to minimalisz the frontal resistance that comes as a result of pulling up the knees using the old-style kick. The thighs will remain almost in line with the torso, which is already out of alignment (not parallel) with the surface of the water. Using this new method of kicking, the swimmer only pulls up the legs half way compared to the old kick due to all the above, negative resistance decreases, and the swimmer has increased chance to perfectly turn the feet out (90 degrees). An additional efficiency gained is that the backward kick will be less “V” shaped and less downward directed.
Mike Barrowman – Image Courtesy: SwimSketch
As we can begin to understand, this new breaststroke technique will be only beneficial… and potentially only doable on the shorter distances. If we think about it, many, many years ago actual butterfly was only swum in over a 50m distance during a 200m butterfly event. It was only years later when swimmers were able (strong enough) to swim butterfly all the way for 200m. During these times, only the 200m was an Olympic event for butterfly, and there were no World Championships. Today, even young children can easily swim long distances in butterfly. The same thing happened with the Wave Breaststroke. Historically, swimmers only used the wave technique getting to the wall and during the final strokes in the race. Today almost every breaststroker takes advantage of the efficiencies of the Wave Breaststroke, thrusting upper body forward after the pull and maintaining the back high on the surface of the water.
However, regardless of what technical changes we will see in the future – within the given rules – the goal remains the same: to swim faster while the centre of gravity of the swimmer’s body does not deviate from an imaginary straight line, and that the centre of gravity within the stroke moves forward in the most continuous and even speed.
Even considering the 13 years of hindsight from 2007 until now, my opinion has not changed regarding the future of breaststroke. Everyone can witness the current breaststroke technique innovations today. I can’t wait to see if I am right or not regarding the future!
Brooke Bennett Collaborates with Stingray to Develop the Brooke Bennett Collection
by BRANDI WEST
07 October 2020
Following months of design and testing by both novice and professional swimmers, Stingray produced its first product, the Stinger 2.0 wetsuit for both men and women. The wetsuit, which features a unique Stingray chest panel, also features Yamamoto neoprene, titanium glide skin coating and Air Tech air pocket technology. Next came the inflatable paddle boards with exceptional double layer fusion technology.
Photo Courtesy: Stringray
For many entrepreneurs, a new business idea usually comes from sensing a need and finding a way to meet it. For retired professional triathlete and Olympian Rich Allen, it was something in the water — literally.
“Although I’m not originally from Florida, I have been coming here three or four times a year for 25 years,” Allen said. “Florida means everything to me. St. Anthony’s Triathlon was my first professional race. I met my wife Tonya here, we got married here and many of my closest friends live in St. Pete— we love the outdoor Florida lifestyle. It’s a very unique and diverse place.”
It was that very outdoor Florida lifestyle that inspired Allen to launch his own open-water swimming and inflatable paddle board brand, Stingray. The brand is named after the majestic sea creature that has become synonymous with Allen’s adopted hometown of Tampa Bay.
An avid paddle boarder and open water swimmer, Allen noticed something unique about the hundreds of stingrays that migrate across Tampa Bay that set his mind ablaze. Could this beautiful creature’s effortless balance and glide be translated to the human form through a wetsuit?
While Stingray produces professional grade products for both the open-water swimmer and paddle board enthusiast, the brand prides itself on its affordability. The Stinger 2.0 wetsuit is priced at $399 and their Fusion-Tech iSUPS just $649, a fraction of the price of other high-quality brands.
“Looking at the market as a consumer and distributor, I really wanted to disrupt the market and offer the best products and a more affordable price for the consumer,” Allen said. “The timing was right with my experience as a professional athlete and experience in warehouse distribution and marketing all coming together at once.”
Photo Courtesy: Swimming World Magazine
Allen wasn’t the only athlete involved in testing and developing products for Stingray. The brand has partnered with three-time Olympic gold medalist and Swimming World Magazine 2000 American Swimmer of the Year – Brooke Bennett to launch her own signature brand of goggles and other gear.
“We are extremely excited to partner with Brooke,” Allen said of the Olympian. “She brings exceptional experience to the table and has a passion and positive attitude that encompasses the Stingray mission.”
Bennett, a native of Florida, now a world class open water swimmer and mother of two, won the gold during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta in the 800-meter freestyle race. Bennett added to her gold tally during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, taking home the top prize in the 400 and 800-meter freestyle races, with the latter coming in Olympic record time.
“With the Brooke Bennett goggles, we wanted to combine a fast pool racing goggle with the comfortable features and UV protection perfect for long open water swims,” Allen explained. “The Brooke Bennett Collection goggles deliver this.”
Stingray isn’t just about enjoying the water, but also about giving back. In addition to staff efforts each year cleaning Tampa Bay beaches and waterways, it also gives back through an initiative called “The Ocean’s Heartbeat,” Stingray donates 10 percent of its profits to help support marine life conservation. To learn more about the initiative please visit https://www.project-stingray.com/pages/the-oceans-heartbeat.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT BIONDI !!!
MATT BIONDI (USA) 1997 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 1984 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay); 1988 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay), silver (100m butterfly), bronze (200 freestyle); 1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay), silver (50m freestyle), 5th (100m freestyle); 1986, 1988 WORLD SWIMMER OF THE YEAR; WORLD RECORDS (12): 6 (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle), 6 (4x100m freestyle and medley relay, 4x200m freestyle relay); 1986 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x100m medley relay), silver (100m butterfly), bronze (50m freestyle, 200m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle relay); 1991 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (100m freestyle, 4×100 freestyle relay, 4x100m medley relay), silver (50m freestyle); US NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (17): 10 short course (50yd, 100yd, 200yd freestyle, 100yd butterfly, relays), 7 long course (50m, 100m 200m freestyle, 100m butterfly); NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS (13): freestyle, relays; NCAA WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIPS (3).
His dad was a former water polo and swim coach and thought his son should learn how to swim. So, this young boy began swimming at age five in a recreational program in his hometown of Moraga, California. His first race was a 25 yard swim. He false started twice and lost his swim suit on the dive.
But he didn’t just swim when he was young. He played basketball, football and soccer. At age ten, he played water polo, but only in the summer. Little did he know at this young age that he would become the greatest swimmer of his time and one of the all-time greats to stand along side of Duke Kahanamoku, Johnny Weissmuller and mark Spitz. Matt Biondi was to mark his place in history.
As a high school sophomore, Matt was playing heads-up water polo. By his junior year, he had become a pretty good sprinter, ranking fourth in the country amongst “prep” sprinters. His high school coach, Stu Kahn, encouraged both sports. The combination over the years kept him mentally sharp for both competitions, and he calls his relatively late start in year-round competitive swimming and his great love for water polo, the combination that kept him from burning out.
Between his sophomore and senior years in high school, Matt grew three inches, put on 35 pounds and became the best high school sprinter in America. He matriculated to the University of California-Berkeley to play water polo with Coach Pete Cutino and swim with Hall of Famer, Coach North Thornton. His first college season, the team won the NCAA National Water Polo Championship, and he placed in the consolation finals at the NCAA Swimming Championships. With this stat, he and Nort mapped out a plan for the summer of ’84 and the US Olympic Trials, a plan that was to lead him to swimming immortality.
Biondi qualified in the last position for the 4x100m freestyle relay going to the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. World record holder and relay team member rowdy Gaines asked, “Matt who?”, when told of the team makeup. To everyone’s delight, the team won the gold medal and set the world record, 3:19.03.
Matt Biondi swam in Olympic competition again in 1988 and 1992 – three Olympic Games. In Seoul, he won seven medals: gold – 50m freestyle and a world record (22.14), gold – 100m freestyle and an Olympic record (48.63), gold – 800, freestyle relay and a world record (7:12.51) with Matt’s swim the fastest leg ever (1:46.44), gold – 400m freestyle relay and a world record (3:16.53), gold – 400m medley relay and a world record (3:36.93), silver – 100m butterfly, bronze – 200m freestyle. In Olympic history, he is only the second person to win seven Olympic medals at one Games and was the most decorated athlete of the Seoul Games.
In Barcelona, Matt won an additional two medals: gold – 400m freestyle relay, and silver – 50m freestyle. He received a second gold medal for swimming in the preliminary heat of the 400m medley relay which came in first in the finals. All toll in Olympic competition, Matt won eleven Olympic medals, eight gold, two silver and one bronze, the most ever won by one athlete. The make-up of a great champion is revealed at the time when it is necessary to perform. Matt Biondi overcame the pressures of winning and performed to his maximum when his big chance came. And that’s why he is a Hall of Famer.
Matt competed in two World Championship competitions, 1986 Madrid and 1991 Perth. His seven medals, won in Madrid, were the most won in the history of the World Championships: three gold, one silver and three bronze. In Perth, he won three golds and another silver.
Biondi toured Japan for the 1985 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, winning five gold medals and helping set two world records and for the World University Games in Kobe, winning four gold medals. At home in the United States, he won 17 US National Championships, ten short course and 7 long course and 13 NCAA Championships, during a three year period. For 1986 and 1987 at Cal-Berkeley, he won the NCAA 50yd, 100yd and 200yd freestyle National Championships, the first swimmer to win all three events since Al Schwartz of Northwestern University in 1930. He was NCAA Swimmer of the Year for 1985, 1986 and 1987. While at Cal, Matt helped his team win three NCAA National Water Polo Championships.
But this 6 ft. 6-1/4 inch, 210 pound swimmer with a size 14 shoe and a “wing span” equal to more than his height, is a special person who, in his gregarious style, likes helping other. He has worked with Special Olympics as well as the Missing Children’s Foundation. He has been a spokesperson for Hardee Hamburgers in their support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a group that gives terminally ill children a final wish. He has promoted good nutrition through the National Dairy Council and has worked with Sports Illustrated for Kids to combat illiteracy.
Matt has grown attached to dolphins and has gotten involved in swimming underwater research in the Bahamas and Key West. He has compared the underwater movements of the dolphins with his own body and it has heightened his awareness of how the water moves across the skin. His interest in the conservation of natural resources has increased his awareness for the safety of the dolphin. He is a Humane Society spokesperson for the dolphin and marine life.
This fast swimmer with the fast-twitch muscle fiber has set a standard that will be difficult to match. All in all, he set twelve world records. He was the first man under 49 seconds for the 100m freestyle, and in 1988, he had all the top ten performance times for that event. He has been the UPI Sportsman of the Year, USOC Sportsman of the Year and Sullivan Award finalist. Coach Thornton says, “Matt has all the right tools. He has the same feel for the water that a pianist has for the keys or an artist’s brush has for canvas.” The same goes for his life.
Happy Birthday Klaus Dibiasi !!!
Klaus Dibiasi (ITA) 1981 Honor Diver
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1964 silver (platform); 1968 gold (platform), silver (springboard); 1972 gold (platform); 1976 gold (platform). First diver to win 5 Olympic medals; First and only diver to win the same Olympic title at 3 successive Olympic Games; WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1973 gold (platform), 1973 silver (springboard); 1975 gold (platform), silver (springboard); EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1966 gold (platform); 1970 silver (springboard, platform); 1974 gold (springboard, platform); EUROPEAN DIVING CUPS: 1967 gold (platform); 1968 gold (springboard); 1971 gold (springboard, platform); 1973 gold (springboard); 1975 gold (platform); Platform Diver of the Year 9 times.
No other man or woman has won an Olympic diving title in 3 Olympic Games. Klaus Dibiasi very nearly won 4, missing the first of what would have been 4 consecutive 10-meter platform titles by 1.04 points to Bob Webster at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Tall, soft spoken and handsome this Austro-Italian from Bolzano, Italy was king of the tower from 1964 through retirement in 1976. Coached by his father, a former Italian Olympian and National Champion, Klaus succeeded him as National Coach after his third Olympic Gold medal at Montreal in 1976.
Happy Birthday Tom Jager !!!
TOM JAGER (USA) 2001 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: 1984 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay preliminary heat, 4x100m medley relay preliminary heat);1988 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay, 4x100m medley relay preliminary heat), silver (50m freestyle);1992 OLYMPIC GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay), bronze (50m freestyle); SEVEN WORLD RECORDS (L.C.): 6 (50m freestyle), 1 (4x100m freestyle relay); 1986 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (50m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay); 1991 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: gold (50m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay); 1995 PAN AMERICAN GAMES: gold (4x100m freestyle relay), bronze (50m freestyle); 11 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 5 (50y freestyle), 4 (50m freestyle), 1 (100y freestyle), 1 (4x100y freestyle relay); 5 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 2 (50y freestyle), 2 (100y freestyle), 1 (4x100y freestyle relay).
He was five-time Olympic gold medalist in the sprint freestyle events. He held the 50m freestyle World Record of 21.8 for over a decade. The first swimmer to break the five miles an hour barrier, they were calling Tom Jager the “fastest human in the water.”
Tom’s trademark racing starts, in which he was first off the blocks using clean powerful strokes, catapulted him into the international spotlight. At times sharing the spotlight with Hall of Famer Matt Biondi, Jager dominated the 50m freestyle sprint event in the 1980s and early 1990s, becoming a six-time World Record holder.
With freestyle relay gold medals in the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Olympics, Jager fulfilled a life-long dream of becoming one of the greatest sprint freestyle and relay swimmers of all time. He is one of four swimmers to win gold medals in three Olympic Games.
Jager began swimming competitively at age eight, training at the Gaslight Bath & Tennis Club and the local YMCA in Collinsville, Illinois. It wasn’t long before he was capturing attention and setting records, “He cuts through the water like a sharp razor wrote one hometown reporter, “swift, clean lines are his trademark.”
Tom’s UCLA coach Ron Ballatore knew this kid had talent. As a high schooler, he was undefeated in the 100y backstroke four years in a row, setting records in practically everything he swam at the state meets. He played a starring role in UCLA’s success as a five-time NCAA National Champion and 11-time U.S. National Champion. Even after college graduation, Tom was not about to hang up his suit or throw in the towel. He landed swimwear sponsorships that allowed him to keep training and doing what he loved most: swimming fast. He became the swimmer who keeps on ticking.
Tom’s first World Record came in 1985, swimming a 22.40 for 50 meters. Between 1987 and 1990, he lowered the record another five times to his best of 21.81, lasting an unprecedented ten years before Aleksandr Popov of Russia broke it in 2000 with a 21.64. His time dominance in the event lasted through two Olympic Games and three World Championships. He was the gold medal winner at both the 1986 Madrid and 1991 Perth World Championships.
A member of three Olympic teams (1984,1988,1992), Tom stood on the awards platform with two Olympic 4x100m freestyle relay gold medal teams, one each in 1988 and 1992, setting the relay world record in 1988 with a 3:16.74 with teammates Joe Hudepohl, Jon Olsen and Matt Biondi, a record which lasted for over three years. He was national team captain for ten years. Jager helped to draw crowds and media attention to the sport through exhibition swims with Biondi and Mark Spitz.
Jager served a four-year term on the National Steering Committee, which offered recommendations to the National Team Director prior to the 1992 Games in Barcelona. He was a member of the Olympic International Operations Committee, which votes on the Steering Committee proposals. He served on the athlete Committee, where he informed and explained new rule changes which affected the National Team Members. Through these efforts he has paved the financial way for athletes to pursue their Olympic dream. He has competed at every level. He ranked in the top tow in the world, for 10 consecutive years.
Jager translated his passion for swimming into a professional career. Today, he is a professional motivator and businessman, sharing his knowledge, enthusiasm, and experience with athletes of all ages through the Gold Medal Swim Camps and Swim for Your Life Clinics.
Records may fall, but Tom Jager’s accomplishments and records will never be forgotten. Jager’s induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame immortalizes him as one of our sport’s great heroes. His presence will be felt for a long time to come.
