GOLD MEDAL MEL

Pellegrini Breaks 400m Free World Record

4:00.41.... She's dipping under the 4 minute limit at Worlds.

Ous Mellouli, Olympic 1500m Free gold medalist, went a 3:42.71 in the men's 400s Free at the same meet. 

For more details go see SWM.

FINA: Suit Wars

FINA, swimming's international governing body, is waffling, drifting along, making one mistake after the next. The swimming world's terribly upset, but, in truth, we've never had so much rich entertainment.

'09 World Championships in Rome will be one week-long drama. The old guard traditionalist will moan each technology-aided world record, while the swimwear companies rush to further brand themselves. 

Seen Britta Steffen's new World Record in the women's 100 meter free? She popped a 52.85 in an Adidas Hydro-foil. Check her out. At the end she barely looked out of breath. 

  

Network Slick? I Don't Buy It!

Do I need to say it? Is it necessary? This guy's a star! USA Swimming has real Hollywood stock in Ryan Lochte. 

Michael was the magnet. He pulled in the audience. Ryan Lochte is the glue. Legions of women, non-swimmers, are sticking around to see whatever he will do.

Fortunately, this opportunity to bring in more fans has an extended shelf-life. Phelps and Lochte are swimming through 2012, perhaps even 2016. They intend to stick around. I just wish network TV would help us introduce our other fantastic athletes.

I love it when Olympic sports gets the network treatment!  It's an honor to be covered by the TV pros in the network business.... 

However, I've grown a little bored by their vanilla presentation. I don't blame them. I understand. Olympic sports must be G-rated, a production middle-American moms can watch with their kids.

Does it really have to be that way, though? I've been thinking long and hard about it, and I've been thinking: NO!

I feel a change coming on.  I can't say when it'll happen--I don't know the date--but the day of the old network coverage is about to die. And I can't wait. 

The web's leveled the playing field. It's shown Olympic fans there's a whole lot more to see. I think the networks have caught on, but have they enough? Not really. 

Networks go for the money. They shoot the stars. I know they must. They need as many eyeballs as possible to offset their production costs. 

In Olympic sports, the community as a whole, we should have a different goals. We should be figuring out how to promote our other great personalities, the ones who aren't the stars right now--those who don't always win gold.  

We need entertaining vehicles, weekly or even monthly content that'll showcase all the interesting stories... I have ideas, but I don't have the power to execute this grand dream. The time it takes is a killer. No matter how hard I work, unfortunately I'm only scratching the surface. 

Checkout these interviews.  Some athletes are coming on fast. Others are struggling. Anyway you look at though, they're people you'll want to know. 

Checkout Nathan Adrian, a relatively private guy who should see 2 or even 3 more Olympic Games.

Checkout Margaret Hoelzer, one of  my favorite female Olympic medalist on the USA Team.

Checkout Matt Grevers, aka Matty-G. 

And Checkout Ariana Kukors, who is coming on hard right now after barely missing the 2008 Olympic Team.  

 

Phelps & Lochte Draw Huge Crowd!!!

Before Phelps and Lochte, I had only witnessed the bedlam of swimming one time in my life. At the '88 Olympics Matt Biondi had to flee from the media in Seoul, Korea.  Thousands chased him from the plane carrying the 88 Team, and didn't stopping chasing him until he left the country.

Times sure have changed. Take a peek at what I witnessed yesterday at the Santa Clara Grand Prix.

I also caught up with Mary DeScenza, one of the most versatile swimmers on the USA National Team. Mary proved her star-power this past season, snatching the overall Grand Prix Prize, the $20,000 purse!

Check my interview with Mary out here!

Mike Unger, USA Swimming's Assistant Executive Director, steps up and gives some perspective on the talent swimming and the talent behind the camera.

  

GMM: Santa Clara Grand Prix Coverage

First off, I am not in charge of UNIVERSAL SPORTS.  I am not working for UNIVERSAL SPORTS. I have no control over their production.  I am only doing "behind the scenes" videos of the athletes, the inside stuff.  Here are my videos so far:

GMM: Michael Phelps wins in NorCal cold

GMM: Ryan Lochte & his Stylist

GMM: Ausstralia's Leisel Jones after winning the 200 breast

GMM: Ricky Berens from Santa Clara. (Ricky's a 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the 4x200 free relay.)

More to come! An Olympian just got engaged! Mary Descenza has a lock on the GRAND PRIX PURSE, $20,000. Look for her soon on my web talk-show, GOLD MEDAL MINUTE. Also, I'm interviewing Natalie Coughlin for the talk show. Her interview will post in the next 3 weeks. And I catch up 2008 Olympian, Scott Spann, who fills us in on his recovery from knee surgery. Lastly, I check in with Mike Unger, Assistant Executive Director of USA Swimming. Mike is the COO, the big cheese of operations at USA Swimming, a very hard-working solider! Look for that interview later today. He has a surprise!  

The Swimsuit Controversy Continues

Blueseventy did not make the infamous FINA competitive swimsuit list.  FINA's reason was subjective: 

"While these swimsuits comply with the buoyancy values when tested in accordance with defined procedure, we note that this kind of construction MAY cause significant air trapping effects when worn by the swimmers." 

"May?"  May sounds gray.  What scientific method did they use to arrive at "may"?  (Did Jaked and Arena get the "may" answer as well?) 

Whether FINA's method was scientific or not, National Governing Bodies around the globe are deciding whether or not to accept it.  USA Swimming's Rules & Regulations Committee is doing just that.  Based on the feedback I've gotten, USA Swimming is following FINA 100%.  Japan, Italy and France are not. British Swimming is allowing the suits previously approved by FINA through September of '09. (The Brits are doing so to give the companies and the swimmers who have invested in the now banned suits, time to make changes and adjustments.)

Can the Brits, Japanese, Italians, and/or the French, really compete in suits which are not on the list? If they break world records, will the records count? What world record swims count that have been swum in the past, the ones broken in suits that are now not on the list?  

I know, I know. It is very easy to get lost in this world with so much divided leadership. 

The competitive swimsuit biz, marshaled by FINA, has become the wild, wild west. While I confess that I love the media circus it has caused and is causing, unfortunately FINA's actions right now will disrupt market fairness. 

I know the introduction of new technology can get ugly, and I have compassion for the FINA folks at this time in history. HOWEVER, I always worry about market fairness, the ability of all players involved to make money.  We need a vibrant market. We need lots of players. 

Speaking from an Olympian's point of view, one who was once under contract at Speedo, I knew my value to them was based on my not endorsing some other swimsuit.  During my time, the era of papersuits, Speedo was an fantastic partner. I valued our relationship. The money I earned supported my training. Without them I couldn't have continued competing. 

I worry now about the world-class swimmers trying to make it, the ones on the edge, just out of the medal count. Often these swimmers become our new champions, and in 2009 they're more than likely post-graduates.  They need a vibrant market. They need swimsuit manufacturers who need them. They need endorsement dollars to sustain their careers on the way to the Olympics. 

The rub here is simple: FINA needs to be fair. They should've given swimsuit manufacturers, like Blueseventy, time to make changes before World Championship, the biggest meet of the year.  

Sadly, FINA has not. 

I could reference other swimsuit manufacturers, but I'm not. I'm referencing Blueseventy for one reason: I know Roque. 

Roque Santos is an old teammate, my fellow Olympic alum from the 1992 Games in Spain.  Roque is now (and has been) the man behind Blueseventy, the competitive swimsuit that nabbed a nice piece of the market share since last spring.  

Rogue is good guy. Everybody know and loves Roque! From our '92 Class, he was the most popular swimmer, the easiest guy to get alone with. 

I remember seeing Roque all last year. He had a grin on his face and car-trunk full of blue suits. "It's fast, Melvin. Just try it. You'll see."  I tried it and liked it, but it meant little to me. I was doing it purely out of curiosity, to get some overall sense about the new technology.  

What I saw Roque doing last year made me very proud. He was selling a great new product, and quickly Blueseventy became sort of an APPLE in a PC world.  While Speedo saturated the market with splashy ads and flashy Olympic athlete appearances, Roque sold Blueseventy on the road to our grassroot swimming geeks.  

"It's fast..." was his pitch alone, and it worked on the strength of his reputation and the product's results. 

Watching '08 Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games, I saw a lot of Speedos, a few TYR suits and a surprising number of Blueseventies.  Then US Masters Swimming partnered with Blueseventy, and soon a splashy sponsorship with an Olympic icon followed. Blueseventy had arrived. Roque had clearly done a great job!  

For me, Roque did more than grab market share. He created a brand that could and would go on to support Olympic swimmers' careers. 

I've saved this last part, though it's no big reveal. Blueseventy has been FINA approved for nearly two years.  Now absent from the FINA list, Blueseventy is stuck trying to modify their product. Can they do it by World Trials? Can they do it by World Champs?  It difficult to proceed with feedback from FINA like "may". Still I hope so, for Roque...and for every single world-class athlete.