GOLD MEDAL MEL

MY FAVORITE BLOG POST: "Reasons why YOU should fall in love with Swimming!"

Whenever I'm feeling down or doubt why I should work that extra hour, I read this blog post from Terri Melvin. 

Terri explains who she is and why she loves the sport of swimming better than anyone I know. I might be a little biased as I'm from the South too, but she explains why--no matter where you're from--if you're a swimmer, you simply understand what's good and true about the sport.

Below is an excerpt with a link to Terri's post:

"I am from the south, the DEEP south, where accents are deep and tea is sugary sweet!  THE question is not what team do you cheer on, but rather "Alabama or Auburn".  THIS decides your status in the state.  A deep rich, FUN rivalry.  Football is EVERYTHING!  While I do enjoy Auburn football (WAR EAGLE!), I am a sweet southern Belle, after all.  Alabamian through and through!  There is another sport that holds my heart's strings and brings joy and excitement to my life.  If you know me at all, you know what this is!"

READ TERRI'S ENTIRE BLOG HERE:  imasoldiertoo.blogspot.com

Teri was sweet to use a few of the videos my wife (Tiffany) and I produced with SwimOutlet for her post. Tiffany and I always want to create and work on projects that not only support our family but also inspire swimmers to have fun. 

THE VIDEOS: 

Lance Armstrong, aka Juan Pelota or "one ball" is a 7-time Tour de France winner & swimmer

Lance Armstrong, famous for winning the Tour de France seven times, is respected in swimming circles for his fantastic stroke. 

Lance, a proud Austin, Texas resident, often trains with his manager/lawyer, Bill Stapleton, a 1988 Olympic swimmer, and other Austin Olympians like Aaron Peirsol and Brendan Hansen. 

Recently a video posted to youtube under Juan Pelota, Lance's personal Twitter handle. Juan Pelota means "one ball."  Juan Pelota's bio on Twitter:  Grew up idolizing The Big 4. They used to call me Junior. Retired. Raisin' 5 kids. I swim, I bike, I run. I travel. I fight cancer. And I like cold beer.

Here is Lance's, I mean Juan's, swimming video: 

And here is open water sources' analysis of Lance's stroke: 

And here's Lance/Juan's recent Twitter posts about swim workouts: 

Juan Pelota @juanpelota6 Dec

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Was thinking about inviting @MaccaNow 2 swim this week but he flaked last year. Guess he doesn't want 2 spend an hour looking at my feet.

 

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Juan Pelota @juanpelota6 Dec

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And yes, that last one was supposed to say 50 and not 500

 

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Juan Pelota @juanpelota6 Dec

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Killer swim w/o today. A Jim Montgomery classic. Went 100 and a 50 eight times through. Both the 100 and 500 were on 60 seconds.

 

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Juan Pelota @juanpelota8 Nov

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Hard swim wo today. 6x100 on 1:10, 6x75kick on 1:20, 4x100 on 1:10, 4x75kick on 1:20, minute rest, 2x100 on 1:05, 2x75kick on 1:20.

Olympic Champion, Ous Mellouli, continues collecting gold at the Arab Games in Doha, Qatar

2008 Olympic gold medalist and world champion in the 1500 meter freestyle, Ous Mellouli, continues his winning run at the 2011 Arab Games.

50 meter butterfly, gold, 25.04:

100 meter butterfuly, gold, 53.73, and also in the video below is Mellouli's 200 meter freestyle win in 1:48.85.

For those who don't know Mellouli, he is the African dream, Olympic-wise, the first African man to ever win an individual Olympic gold medal in swimming.  He's smart, a USC graduate, with charm to spare.

Traveling with Mellouli on Olympic junkets, he's great company. There are no bad days in his world, and most are entertaining...gut-busting, laugh your butt off fun! 

I'm biased. I clearly like the Mellouli and won't him to win in London. Gold won't come easily for Mellouli, however. Despite his '08 Olympic gold and his 2009 World Championship win in the 1500 meters, he lost in his marquee event at the 2011 World Championhips to China's Sun Yang. 

TO STAY UP-CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH MELLOULI, FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER HERE!

HERE' S OUS IN A GOLD MEDAL MINUTE (when he was scouting Dubai for short world championships with his agent, David Arluck):  

Garrett Weber-Gale & celebrity chefs Boulud, Bellanger, Colicchio & Humm support Make a Splash

EXCLUSIVE VIP NIGHT OF ENTERTAINMENT AND GREAT FOOD!

How would you like to have an intimate dining experience featuring four of the world’s most renowned chefs? You can by joining the "Athletic Foodie," swimming's favorite chef, Garrett Weber-Gale, along with his celebrity chefs friends:

Florian Bellanger "Cupcake Wars"

Daniel Boulud "Chef/Owner of 1 of the “10 best restaurants in the world”

Tom Colicchio "Top Chef"

Daniel Humm “Best Chef: NYC”

Enjoy a wine reception, hosted by the man, Garrett Weber-Gale, then move into the dining room where you will watch Garrett assist the world's greatest chefs--Bellanger, Boulud, Colicchio and Humm--create your meal. 

WHEN: Saturday, February 11, 2012

WHERE: The Bouley Test Kitchen, 88 W Broadway, New York City

 WHY: To support the USA Swimming Foundation's "Make a Splash" 

Individual tickets are $1,500, and sponsorships are available beginning at $5,000.  All guests will receive an exclusive gift, courtesy of All-Clad.  

Only 50 seats are available for this once-in-a-lifetime experience! 

To reserve your space today, please contact Mariah Pearl Cunnick, USA Swimming Foundation's Director of Development, at 719.866.3614 or mcunnick@usaswimming.org.  

Many thanks to "www.Athleticfoodie.com" for co-sponsoring this event with All-Clad. 

GMM: Garrett Weber-Gale, if you don't know, is a 2-time Olympic gold medalist from the Olympic Games in Beijing. Garrett, who suffers from high blood pressure, loves food and has worked tirelessly to spread the good news: "Food doesn't have to be oversaturated with fat or ladened with salt and sugar to taste great!" I've spent time in Garrett's home and enjoyed watching him cook...and enjoyed even more eating his deliciously creations!

HERE'S A LOOK AT GARRETT IN THE KITCHEN: 

DUEL IN THE POOL: Olympians Ryan Lochte, Natalie Coughlin and Missy Franklin Among Team USA Competitors in Swimming’s International All-Star Competition

Los Angeles and New York - December 13, 2011– Universal Sports Network and NBC announced today that it will broadcast the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool, a competition pitting the best swimmers from the U.S. against Europe ’s best. Duel in the Pool will air on Universal Sports Network this Friday at 7 p.m. ET and will conclude on NBC this Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, with a re-air on Universal Sports Network at 7 p.m. ET. The event is part ofUniversal Sports Network’s “Swim Week” which will include the debut of its newest five-night original series “Against the Tide,” a chronicle of the comeback effort of Olympic medalist Ed Moses as he attempts to quality for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool features a short-course meters format and pits Team U.S.A. against European All-Stars from Great Britain , the Netherlands , Poland , Belarus , Denmark , Austria and Lithuania . Points are awarded for first, second and third places in individual and relay events. The event will star U.S. Olympic gold medalists Ryan Lochte, Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni, Brendan Hansen, Dana Vollmer and Amanda Beard. The meet will also feature 2011 World Championship gold medalists Missy Franklin and Elizabeth Beisel as well as Olympians Peter Vanderkaay and Eric Shanteau, among many other swimmers.

Universal Sports Network and NBC broadcasters include Dan Hicks, three-time Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines and Andrea Kremer.

Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, LP, is the premier multi-platform media destination for Olympic-related sports programming in the United States .  Universal Sports is currently available over the air in 52 markets nationwide, including all of the nation’s top 10 media markets and 20 of the top 25, and on DIRECTV.  Major world championship sports events aired on Universal Sports include track and field, skiing, swimming, gymnastics, marathons, figure skating, cycling and rugby.  The network’s website, UniversalSports.com, delivers an immersive user experience via live and on-demand competition coverage, interaction with top athletes through interviews and blogs and in-depth access to Olympic sports news and information year-round.  For more information, please visit UniversalSports.com.

This is a Universal Sport press release.

Media Contact:  Megan Bondi, 404-933-1610

mbondi@universalsports.com / mcwbondi@gmail.com

GMM ANNOUNCEMENT: USA SWIMMING NATIONAL TEAM ALUMNI can get tickets to the event  ($25/session) and special seating. Also, a USA Swimming National Team Social will take place before the Saturday session, a luncheon hosted by Mary T Meagher (now Mary Plant). To attend contact mel@goldmedalmel.com. 

Aussie coach says, "Magnussen faster than Thorpe in 200 meters free"

via www.theaustralian.com.au: "Magnussen will make his open debut over the longer distance at the Queensland championships on Sunday night, where he is likely to face Bohl's world 400m freestyle champion Park Tae-Hwan and find out immediately whether he is already world-class over the distance."

GMM: James "Maggie" Magnussen, Australia's superstar sprinter, is eyeing the 200 meters freestyle. 

Maggie will face-off with 2008 Olympic silver medalist in the 200m free, Park Tae-Hwan, at the Queensland championships. This would be a nice 200m test for Maggie, a chance to feel his speed over four lengths of the pool rather than his signature two.  

Analysts believe Maggie has a 1:42 to 1:43 in him, an impressive swim, which would certainly put him in the hunt for gold at the London Olympics next summer. Any armchair coach can see this as well, considering Maggie's exceptionally strong finish in the 100 meters at World Championships in Shanghai. 

Park's personal best in the 200m: 1:44.80 (2010) Asian Record 2010 Asian Games Final; won the gold medal, via Wikipedia. 

Alas, Maggie will not swim the 200m free in London. It's before the 100m free, too close to his pride and joy, a race he cannot take for granted in his Olympic debut. However, Maggie will be gunning for the 200m free in the future. That you can count on! 

WATCH MAGGIE'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WIN. WATCH HIM CLOSE IN THE FINAL METERS AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELF IF YOU THINK HE CAN BE A THREAT IN THE 200M: