The 2007 swimming national championships started this week. A big meet taking place at a big pool with a big name, the IUPUI Natatorium. Yesterday, Erik Vendt broke his own meet record at this natatorium, in the 1500m free. He won the race by more than 16 seconds. Katie Hoff and Katie Ziegler finished the 800m freestyle with a .47 second separation, adding to the history of this 25 year-old pool. "I love this pool," Vendt said. "I've only swum one meet here, but it has a lot of history, a lot of mystique."
Growing up an age group swimmer in the midwest, I was able to experience this 'pool' firsthand. This was the first time I ever swam in a pool with a bulkhead. And a scoreboard. And a completely different smell than the ultra-chlorinated middle school pool back home. There was even a place to warm-up before each event - the blue-tiled, so deep your ears popped, diving tank. At 8 years old, that was big time. I loved it too.
