The latest edition of SwimNews Magazine is out. Time to reflect.
China is showing signs of swimming resurgence. At the Worlds last summer, China finished third with 10 (4-2-4) medals, winning two of the three women's relays. During October, Zige Liu pulverized the long-course 200 fly record with her 2:01.81, a huge two-second drop from the previous best. At the National Games (held every four years), the depth among Chinese women was well beyond what hosting the Olympics a year ago would suggest.
Craig Lord has followed the Chinese story for two decades. Read his latest report. The appearance at these Games of Zhou Ming, a coach with doping dripping from his hands who supposedly had a lifetime ban from coaching, was startling. During the 1990s, he worked closely with more than 20 swimmers who tested positive for doping. And no scandal was bigger than swimmer Yuan Yuan, whose luggage was seized at Sydney airport as she and the China team headed to the 1998 world championships in Perth. Yuan's bag contained enough Human Growth Hormone to feed the entire national team. Yuan received a four-year ban.
November 9 was the 20-year anniversary of the opening of the Berlin wall. With that, the East German (GDR) sport system collapsed. Karin Helmstaedt was a student in Montreal at the time, but her father and his family have East German roots. Karin now lives in Berlin and works in television. Take a look at her own story and that of the fall of the regime. Canadian swimmers, especially during the 1976 Montreal Olympics, were victims of the powerful GDR women's team that won 19 (11-6-2) to Canada's 8 (0-6-2) medals. During the 1990s, when the archives where accessible, the entire GDR sport system was exposed as state-sponsored drug use.
“What have we learned from the high-tech swimsuits that wrought such havoc on the sport with over 200 world records in one year set by artificial means?” The question is answered by Cecil Colwin.
“The answer is that two main factors enabled swimmers to swim easier and faster than ever before, namely increased buoyancy, and panels of polyurethane material imbedded into what virtually became an implement swimsuit devised to reduce the effects of skin-friction drag to almost zero.”
Colwin adds: “We are not out of the woods yet; while FINA's new rules, due to come into effect on January 1, 2010, will permit only textile fabrics to be used in the manufacture of swimsuits, it should be noted that, by still permitting knee-length suits for both men and women, FINA has only gone half way in limiting the amount of fabric covering the body.”
For more on this topic, see Judy Goss’s recommendation on how to cope with the rapidly changing swimsuit environment.
In a commentary, Nikki Dryden exposes the IOC and its lofty ideals with the reality during its 121st Olympic Session.
Adam Sioui writes a preview of 2010 from the Canadian perspective, with both the Pan Pacifics and Commonwealth Games taking place next summer and fall.
Joanne Malar spoke with Marianne Limpert, an Olympic medalist and teammate of Joanne. In fact, they swam in the same event in 1996 and 2000. Limpert, now retired after a very long career that stretched into her 30s, talks about her experience and the lessons learned.
TAG times are up to 15 Nov, and all performances in Canada are restricted to textile suits as per the FINA rule to take effect in 2010.
The content of the Magazine is not available online.
