China’s Sun Yang launches Asian Games charm offensive

China’s Olympic champion Sun Yang showed a softer side to his gnarly public image on Sunday by lavishing compliments on rival Japanese swimmer Kosuke Hagino at the Asian Games.

The towering Chinese topped the time sheets in the morning’s 200 metres freestyle heats in Jakarta in a leisurely one minute, 47.58 seconds before being reminded about an unseemly diplomatic row he sparked at the last Asian Games in 2014.

Furious after being ambushed by Hagino in the 200m free in Incheon, Sun branded Japan’s national anthem “ugly” — not the first time the three-time Olympic gold medallist has become involved in a war of words.

“Look, I think Hagino is a good guy,” Sun told reporters. “The way he swims the individual medley is an inspiration to me. We should be working together to raise the level of Asian swimming.

“Today was a good first swim, very satisfied. The Asian Games isn’t the biggest competition perhaps but it’s an important stepping stone towards the world championships and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.”

His part-time coach Denis Cotterell said the giant Chinese was pacing himself with further individual races to come in the 400m, 800m and 1,500m free.

“That was just a very safe swim,” the Australian told AFP. “He was slow off the blocks and just did what he had to do.

“He’s got a long programme so it’s early days,” added Cotterell. “We’ll know more about where he’s at at the end of the meet.”

Hagino, who won Olympic gold in the 400m individual medley in Rio two years ago, failed to qualify for the 200m freestyle at this year’s Asian Games.

Jordan’s Khader Baqlah, who has trained alongside American stars Caeleb Dressel and Ryan Lochte at the University of Florida, posted the second quickest time behind Sun in 1:47.60.

Defending champion Daiya Seto qualified fastest for the men’s 200m butterfly final in 1:57.23 from fellow Japanese Nao Horomura, who also won his his heat in 1:58.06, edging out India’s Sajan Prakash.

“I can definitely go quicker,” said Seto, who also won Pan Pacific gold in Tokyo earlier this month.

“It was about conserving energy. The key tonight will be to be brave and go for it.”

China’s Xu Jiayu went quickest in the men’s 100m backstroke heats, clocking 53.60 seconds with title-holder Ryosuke Irie of Japan winning his heat in 53.85.

China claimed the top two spots in qualifying for the women’s 200m backstroke final, with Liu Yaxin storming through to win her heat in 2:09.52, almost two seconds faster than Peng Xuwei.


Japan went one-two in the women’s 100m breaststroke heats with Satomi Suzuki quickest in 1:06.92 from Reona Aoki (1:07.24).

China dominated the swimming competition at the 2014 Asian Games, winning 22 gold medals to 12 for closest rivals Japan.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Ryan Lochte’s future? Even he isn’t sure what’s next

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida — Ryan Lochte doesn’t know when he’ll be in another race.

And that worries him.

What’s next for Lochte is a mystery, even to himself. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s decision to suspend the 12-time Olympic swimming medalist because he broke a rule by getting an intravenous infusion of vitamins will keep him from competing in any major meet through July 2019.


So essentially, the only opponent he’ll be facing other than training partners as he preps for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is rust.

“I’m worried about that 100 percent,” Lochte said Monday, shortly after USADA announced his ban. “I know I’ll be able to swim in 2020, but in swimming, you have to compete. You have to race. It doesn’t matter how well you train. That doesn’t matter. It’s how you compete when you get on those starting blocks. And the less chance I have of getting on those blocks, the worse it’s going to be for me.”

The suspension was handed down by anti-doping officials, who made clear that Lochte was not taking any banned substance. His mistake was getting an IV that exceeded the legal level of 100 milliliters — something he and his wife did together at a Gainesville, Florida, clinic on May 24 in an effort to bolster their immune systems after their infant son got sick.

Lochte posted a photo of the scene on his Instagram account, and USADA opened an investigation after seeing that image.

Lochte cooperated with the USADA probe, but apparently was shown no leniency. His penalty: A 14-month sanction, going back to the date of the photo. It will cost him the chance to swim at this week’s U.S. national championships, the Pan Pacific Championships later this year, and next year’s world championships.

Hence, his concern about rust.

“It’s something I’ll have to deal with,” Lochte said.


He said he will continue his daily training regimen. It’s possible Lochte could race in some unsanctioned events during the suspension — he said he would review options. He hasn’t raced often since the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where he left in shame after his story about how he and three teammates were victims of an armed robbery unraveled and ultimately led to him being suspended for 10 months by U.S. officials.

“As soon as you get to a certain point or level, in any kind of sport career, you’re always going to have an eye on you,” Lochte said. “I think I’ve learned it the hard way, definitely — especially since Rio. And now this.”

And now, he’s on the deck again, over what he insists was an honest mistake. He simply didn’t know the rule about IVs. Under most circumstances, athletes cannot receive IVs unless related to a hospitalization or when allowed under the terms of a USADA-approved exemption, and Lochte fell into neither of those categories.

So instead of heading to California to compete at nationals, Lochte was holding a news conference inside a hotel conference room in South Florida — vowing that this experience will only stoke his fire to be at those 2020 Tokyo Games.

“I definitely made myself a better person after Rio,” Lochte said. “I was back in training. I was feeling good. I was swimming fast. My son being born, everything was happening, everything was perfect. And then this happened. And it’s devastating. But we’re a family, we’re going to stick together and we’re going to get through this.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Katie Ledecky moving on after a bit of a letdown at worlds

BUDAPEST, Hungary — OK, it wasn’t like Katie Ledecky was a flop at the world championships.

Far from it.

She won five gold medals. She took silver in her other event.

“If that was my bad year for the next four years, then the next couple years are going to be pretty exciting,” Ledecky declared.

But her performance in Budapest did prove one thing.

She’s human.

Ledecky failed to set a personal best in any of her races — the ultimate goal for every swimmer, even more than the medals. A runner-up finish in the 200-meter freestyle was the 20-year-old’s first individual defeat in a major international race.

“I always wish there was more,” Ledecky said. “I’ve never walked away from a season completely satisfied, even last year (after winning four golds at the Rio Olympics). You always are looking and moving forward.”

She was certainly due for a letdown.

Ever since a stunning breakthrough at the 2012 London Olympics, when she won the 800 free as a little-known 15-year-old, Ledecky’s trajectory has been nothing but up, up, up.

In 2013, she won four golds at the worlds in Barcelona, setting a pair of world records. Two years later in Kazan, she swept every freestyle from 200 to 1,500 meters, setting two more world records. And, yes, two more world records fell last summer in Brazil, transforming her into a full-fledged star.

But that wasn’t the only striking change in Ledecky’s life.

After putting off college for a year to focus on the Olympics, the Washington, D.C.-area swimmer moved across the country for her freshman year at Stanford. It has been an enriching experience that she’s fully embraced, meeting new people and taking all sorts of challenging classes, but perhaps it had an impact on her swimming.

Ledecky acknowledged that she “didn’t really set as high of goals or have that same motivation, just always being on and on and on.”

“Going through a lot of transitions and changes this year, knowing that I’ve gone through that now, I can really take what I’ve learned and use it moving forward,” Ledecky said.

She was certainly overshadowed along the banks of the Danube.

Caeleb Dressel emerged as America’s newest sensation with a record-tying seven gold medals — three of them on the same night, the first swimmer ever to accomplish that feat at worlds.

“He’s incredible,” Ledecky said, maybe even a bit relieved to have the spotlight shining elsewhere. “Just so impressive how he goes race to race to medal ceremony to medal ceremony, has another race in about two minutes. He’s just such a great athlete and such a great swimmer. So young, too, that he has so many great years ahead of him.”

Dressel is the same age as Ledecky.

Chances are, they both have plenty of great years ahead of them.

But now, for perhaps the first time in her swimming career, Ledecky is facing a bit of a setback.

It will be interesting to see how she bounces back.

In all likelihood, she’ll come back better than ever.

“This year I didn’t really set very specific time goals or goals in general,” she said “I just kind of wanted to repeat in all by different events from the past two worlds and just play a part on some good Team USA relays. I didn’t really have too big of expectations for myself, especially compared to the last couple of years. I knew there were expectations externally, but I was really just trying to focus on my own races, putting those together, and using this year as a big learning year.”

Ledecky took on her most demanding program at these championships, competing in four individual events and two relays, a total of 6,300 meters in all counting preliminaries, semifinals and finals.

“It was pretty tiring,” she conceded. “I’m pretty wiped out right now. But I’m happy with how it all went. I was happy with how I was able to bounce back after each race, move forward to the next race and get through to the next round as well as I did.”

She’s not totally pleased with the results, even though she’s now the winningest female swimmer in world championship history with 14 gold medals — more than anyone except Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.

Ledecky feels like she’s capable of more.

“I’m happy with five golds and a silver,” she said. “But there’s a lot of room for improvement for me, as crazy as that sounds. Moving forward, I’m going to be really motivated. I’m really looking forward to working toward 2020 now.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Ink or swim? Tattoos on show at worlds

World records have tumbled and gold medals won but the colourful array of tattoos on show at the world swimming championships have proved just as eye-catching, be they designs of sharks, dolphins or even the lion adorning the arm of Adam Peaty’s grandmother.

A vast array of images, script, and secretive symbols adorned the bodies of competitors, from flowing and harmonious waves to powerful and speedy creatures of the deep.

The Olympic rings — a proud stamp on the skin of the swimmers who competed at a Games — are also common place, but some of the world’s fastest have explained the thinking behind the art work on their bodies.

Britain’s Peaty has been one of the stand-out performers at the Duna Arena with two world records and golds in the men’s 50m and 100m breaststroke.

Peaty had a large tattoo of a lion inked onto his left shoulder after winning the Olympic 100m breaststroke title last year in Rio de Janeiro.

“The tattoo is more about training for me,” said the 22-year-old in Budapest.

“When you wake up, you look in the mirror and you go to the pool. It reminds me of the hard work I put in to win in Rio, while I am swimming.

“It also keeps me grounded and passionate about what I do, it reminds me of how I got there.

“It is great to have a reminder, it’s getting extended in a few days,” he added without wanting to give away the future design.

Peaty’s wheelchair-bound grandmother, Mavis Williams, 74, got a temporary tattoo, a copy of his lion tattoo, which delighted the British swimmer.

“That was crazy, I actually thought she had had a proper tattoo done, I thought ‘oh my god, what has she done, but she loves it,” said Peaty with a grin.

Bruno Fratus, who took silver in the men’s 50m freestyle on Saturday behind Caeleb Dressel of the USA, explained how his winged tattoo was done on a whim.

“I trust the guy who does my tattoos so badly that I just give him my arms and say ‘do whatever you feel like as long as it’s not too crazy’ as I still got to wear short sleeves,” the 28-year-old told AFP.

‘It’s who I am’

“As long as I have space and money I’ll keep doing it, and time off because every time you tattoo something you need 10 days off water.

“That’s a graffiti I saw in Miami in Wynwood, I just took a picture and give it to him as a reference. That one’s just a wing.

“I woke up one morning and thought ‘I think I would look good with a wing on my arm’.”

His compatriot, Etiene Medeiros won the women’s 50m backstroke gold on Thursday and explained the differing motivations for her tattoos.

“I have an ocean mermaid on my forearm to bring its energy into my life, beneath it a lotus flower, which is rising from the ashes like a phoenix,” said the 26-year-old Brazilian.

“Beneath that, an ‘ohana’ tattoo to remind me how blessed I am to have my family and friends.

“On my ankles, I have the name of my father and mother, I also have other ones which are hidden.”

South African-born Dutch swimmer Kyle Stolk boasts a springbok and an Irish shamrock displayed on a resplendent Dutch flag.

“I wanted to incorporate the three places that have made me where I am today,” said the swimmer, who learned his trade in Dublin, before moving to the Netherlands who he represented at the Rio Olympics.

“It might be a too flamboyant for some people but it means a lot to me, it’s who I am,” he said

source: sports.inquirer.net

Olympic 100-meter swim champion to have heart surgery

SYDNEY — Rio Olympics 100-meter freestyle gold medalist Kyle Chalmers has withdrawn from July’s world swimming championships to undergo surgery for a worsening heart condition.

Chalmers has supraventricular tachycardia, or recurrent rapid heartbeat, that is normally not life-threatening but can impact on his quality of life.

“I have increasingly begun to suffer from an abnormally fast heart rhythm during training and competitions, which now requires surgery,” he said in a statement Wednesday. “I have had surgery in the past and, unfortunately, it did not work.”

The 18-year-old Chalmers said it was a difficult decision to miss the world championships in Budapest, but he did so with a longer-term view, setting his sights on the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018.

In April, he finished second to Cameron McEvoy at the Australian championships.

Swimming Australia head coach Jacco Verhaeren said athletes’ health and well-being were the priority.

“We are at the beginning of a new Olympic cycle and, for some of our athletes, we need to look at longevity to allow them to stay at the highest level for longer,” he said. “Kyle has our full support and we know he will use this time away from competition positively and to his advantage to return for a home Commonwealth Games in 2018 and beyond.”

Chalmers will have the heart operation within several weeks.

“There is never a good time for this type of procedure, but given I’ve suffered from these symptoms during two of the past three major meets and, following my doctor’s advice, I have made the tough decision to withdraw,” he said.

source: sports.inquirer.net

PSA: Female Olympians Wear Makeup for Self-Expression

Two commentators Mark Simone and Bo Dietl debated about the looks of female Olympians like Simone Biles and Simone Manuel instead of talking about their success and achievements. You totally missed the mark, Fox News.

Every second of that video made me cringe as I watched two men talk about women’s physical appearance and they even asked the male Olympians like Michael Phelps to do the same—look good when you accept that medal.

“The whole point of the Olympics, the whole reason for this training, for this work to get there, is product endorsements,” said Mark. It did not stop there, Bo added fuel to the flame by talking about zits on their faces and saying, “I like to see a person who wins that gold medal go up there and look beautiful.” As if their medals and record-breaking performance are not enough.

To clarify, female athletes who choose to wear makeup do it because they want to, because they are empowered and they feel much more confident—and there is nothing wrong with that. But if one chooses not to do it, do not give them flak.

The Fox News segment was based on the piece published on USA Today and I suggest you read that instead of listening to those two men.

[Nylon]

 Photo by Ben Stansall for AFP

source: preen.inquirer.net

Olympics: Record-smashing start for Aussie women

Australia’s women lowered the 4x100m freestyle world record to capture their country’s second gold on the opening night of swimming competition at the Rio Olympics.

Emma McKeon, Brittany Elmslie, Bronte Campbell and individual world record-holder Cate Campbell clocked 3min 30.65sec to hold off the United States, who claimed silver in 3:31.89 with Canada third in 3:32.89.

Australia improved on the world record of 3:30.98 set by an Australian quartet at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on July 24, 2014.

“Definitely my favorite race ever, in an Olympic final with my sister and two girls I have known since I was 12, 13 years old and a gold and a world record. You can’t ask for more,” said Bronte Campbell. “Every kid dreams of it, it’s what we always hoped for.”

Elder sister Cate, who set the individual 100m free world record in July, said the Aussies’ status as favorites hadn’t led to over-confidence.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Ledecky adds third freestyle gold to tally

KAZAN, Russia  - Katie Ledecky's bid to become the first swimmer to win four individual freestyle titles at a world championships remained on track as the American claimed a stunning gold in the women's 200 meters on Wednesday.

After qualifying for the final in seventh during a punishing schedule which meant Ledecky raced her semi-final 30 minutes after winning the 1,500m freestyle gold with a world record, the 18-year-old American touched first in one minute 55.16 seconds.

Ledecky's win, achieved from lane seven, added to her golds in the 400m freestyle on the opening night and the 1,500.

With all eight swimmers in with a chance of a medal at the final turn, Federica Pellegrini of Italy denied a United States one-two by claiming silver in 1:55.32 seconds. World champion Missy Franklin took bronze in 1:55.49.

Sun Yang of China dug deep, also from lane seven, to win his second gold, the men's 800m freestyle, after a thrilling battle with Italy's Gregorio Paltrinieri.

Briton Adam Peaty continued his fine form by adding the men's 50m breaststroke gold to his 100m breaststroke title, becoming the first swimmer to achieve the feat at a world championships.

Peaty won his third gold when he contributed to Britain's world-record time of 3:41.71 seconds in the mixed 4x100m medley relay, a new event.

Chad Le Clos of South Africa lost his men's 200m backstroke title to Hungary's Laszlo Cseh in a pulsating final.

Le Clos led for the first 100 metres but the Hungarian regained the advantage by the final turn. Although Le Clos made one final surge, Cseh did enough to post the year's world-leading time of 1:53.48 and hold off the Olympic champion by 0.20 seconds.

Cameron McEvoy of Australia clocked the fastest time in the world this year, 47.94 seconds, as he topped qualification for Thursday's men's 100m freestyle final.

His bid to succeed compatriot James Magnussen, the double champion who was forced to pull out of the championships with a shoulder injury, was given a major boost when Russia's Vladimir Morozov was disqualified in the following heat.

Morozov led throughout to record 48.12 seconds but was adjudged to have left the blocks too soon, a decision which silenced the near-capacity Kazan Arena.  — Reuters

Phelps, Lochte score wins at Mesa

Michael Phelps closed out the Arena Pro Swim Series meet with a win in the 100 meter freestyle on Saturday (Sunday, PHL time), and also finished third in the 200-meter individual medley behind fellow Olympic champion Ryan Lochte.

Phelps, competing for the first time this week following a six-month ban for a drunk driving conviction, finished strong over the final 50 meters of the 100 to finish in 49.72 seconds at the Mesa, Arizona meet.

Lochte, who won the 200 individual medley in 1:58.70, finished five-hundredths of a second behind Phelps in the 100 free.

"Tonight was the best night of racing I think I've had since I was here (a year ago)," said Phelps.

Phelps is competing for the first time since last August with an eye toward returning to glory at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

In the 200 individual medley, he finished third, behind Lochte and Conor Dwyer.

Phelps is the most decorated Olympian of all time, with 18 golds and 22 total medals, while Lochte has eleven medals, five of which are gold. - Reuters

Phelps facing toughest challenge yet

Michael Phelps has been swimming against the tide all his life. Time and time again he has proved the doubters wrong, setting the standard for Olympic achievement with his 18 gold medals.

But now, almost two years after retiring from swimming and two months shy of his 29th birthday, the American is plunging into uncharted waters by attempting a comeback where the risk-reward ratio is heavily stacked against him.

If all goes well, Phelps could be back on the winner's podium at Rio, although he insists he is still undecided about whether he wants to go to the 2016 Olympics.

If it goes wrong, he will join a long list of great athletes who were lured back to competition but failed to reproduce the form that took them to the top of their chosen sports.

His legacy is already assured. Nothing he does in the future will take away from what he did in the past but as Muhammad Ali, Mark Spitz, Michael Jordan, Bjorn Borg and Michael Schumacher all discovered, it can still become a permanent footnote.

Phelps has not yet given a full explanation for his decision to come back or his plans for the future. That will come on Wednesday when he and longtime coach Bob Bowman face the media before the April 24-26 Grand Prix meet in Mesa, Arizona, where he will make his return.

A global sporting icon, Phelps has already amassed a fortune through his endorsements so money is unlikely to be the driving motivation to get him back in the pool for the gruelling training required to be an Olympic swimmer.

Nor is he likely to top his past achievements so anything he does is likely to be less than before. He won six gold medals at Athens in 2004 and an unprecedented eight at Beijing in 2008 when he was at his absolute peak.

At the 2012 London Games he won four gold and by the law of diminishing returns would be hard-pressed to match that in Rio, when he will be 31, past the age when most elite swimmers have hung up their goggles but not too old to be totally discounted.

At the Athens Olympics, Inge de Bruijn of the Netherlands won the women's 50 metres freestyle gold medal days before her 31st birthday.

Four years later in Beijing, Jason Lezak teamed up with Phelps to win gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay at 32 while Dara Torres won three silvers in the Chinese capital at age 41.

For Phelps, his biggest asset is his physique and perfect technique. He stands 1.93m (6ft 4in) tall but has a wingspan of 2.01m (6ft 7in) giving him greater pulling power in the water.

But the natural evolution of swimming looms as his biggest obstacle. Even if he can match his best times, his younger opponents are getting faster all the time.

This week's meet will offer few real clues to what Phelps might do in Rio, if he were to go that far. He has deliberately picked a relatively light programme of three races - 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly and 50m freestyle.

"It's just a start," Bowman told Reuters last week.

The first big test for Phelps will come in August when the U.S. national championships, which will double as the trials for next year's world championships in Russia, are held in California.

Then in mid 2016, the U.S. Olympic trials will take place in Omaha, Nebraska.

Phelps only needs to finish in the top six in either the 100m or 200m freestyle at the 2016 U.S. Olympic trials to make the relay team and if he did, he would have a realistic chance of adding to his collection of Olympic medals.

For mere mortals, that would be a lifelong achievement but for Phelps, he is likely to want to swim at least one individual event, possibly the 100m butterfly which would also secure him a place on the medley relay and a chance at four golds in Rio.  — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com