Blog Posts From Active Endurance Sports Tagged With olympics

Oklahoma City Set for PATCO Triathlon Championships

Jesse@Active — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:08:47 GMT

Press Release

U.S. Elite Triathletes Welcome Competitors From the Americas, Caribbean

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (May 5, 2009) - Elite athletes from the Americas and Caribbean nations will gather in the heartland of the United States for the 2009 ITU Pan American Triathlon Confederation Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., on May 16.

The elite draft-legal Olympic distance championship races are part of the weekend of activities at the Boathouse International Triathlon. Sprint distance junior and age group races are also on the schedule. A total prize purse of $30,000 will be awarded in the elite division.

The race also kicks off the five-race USA Triathlon Twenty-12 Elite Series, the first year in a build up to the 2012 London Olympic Games.

"This is a great opportunity for athletes from all of the PATCO countries to come together and compete and form new friendships," said USA Triathlon Sport Performance Director Scott Schnitzspahn. "We look forward to hosting this event where PATCO athletes can earn valuable points for the ITU World Cup and World Championship Series entries down the line."

The participant list for U.S. athletes includes several from the USAT National Teams program, including Sara McLarty, Julie Ertel, Jasmine Oeinck, Becky Lavelle, Jillian Petersen, Hunter Kemper, Matt Reed, Brian Fleischmann, Ethan Brown, Matt Chrabot, and Tim O'Donnell. Petersen and Chrabot are the defending PATCO champions. The junior races will feature some of the top up-and-coming U.S. and international competitors.

The U.S. athletes will serve as proud hosts to athletes from Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and other Pan American countries.

The race begins off the docks of Chesapeake Boathouse with a one lap, 1.5k swim in the Oklahoma Rivers. Athletes will then bike 40k, four laps north and south up Lincoln Boulevard circling the Oklahoma State Capitol. The race ends with a 10k, four lap run along the River Trails west of the Boathouse.

The Oklahoma River

More than $56 million was spent to create what is now known as the Oklahoma River. Completed in 2004, the seven miles of river offers one of the best aquatic sports venues in the country. Since its conception, the Oklahoma River has hosted international Olympians in the USA Rowing World Challenge and the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Flatwater Sprint.

Find out more about the venue.

About the Twenty-12 Elite Series

The Series follows the highly successful four-year Haul to the Great Wall Series. Twenty-12 will give triathlon fans a chance to see athletes who are looking to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games. The series will include U.S. and international competitors, some who have competed in past Olympic Games and others who are beginning to make names for themselves on the international triathlon circuit.

2009 Twenty-12 Series Race Schedule

Boathouse International Triathlon

Location: Oklahoma City, Okla.

Date: May 16

Prize Purse: $30,000

Details: PATCO Championship

CapTexTri

Location: Austin, Texas

Date: May 25

Prize Purse: $10,000

Hy-Vee Triathlon

Date: June 27

Location: Des Moines, Iowa

Prize Purse: $1,000,000

San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island

Date: July 11

Location: San Francisco, Calif.

Prize Purse: $20,000

Elite and U23 National Championship

Date: August 22

Location: Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Prize Money: $30,000

About USA Triathlon

USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the national governing body for triathlon - the fastest growing sport in the U.S. - as well as duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. USAT sanctions 2,500 races and connects with more than 115,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches, and race directors on the grassroots level, USAT provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Championships, Pan American Games, and the Olympic Games.

Brendan Hansen and Rowdy Gaines to Host the Ft. Lauderdale Rough Water Swim

Jesse@Active — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 21:39:06 GMT

Press Release

Ft. Lauderdale, FL -- 4-Time Olympic medalist Brendan Hansen and 3-Time Olympic Gold medalist and Olympic commentator Rowdy Gaines have joined forces with the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) and PMG Aquatics for the 2009 Ft. Lauderdale Rough Water Swim on Saturday, January 3, 2009.

The open water swimming competition will help raise funds and awareness to promote water safety. Brendan and Rowdy will be present to serve as hosts of the event and to join in the festivities.

Started in 1969 by Buck Dawson, founding executive director of the ISHOF, the Rough Water Swim was first called the Galt Ocean Mile Swim. The one-mile race took place on the newly-developed condo strip of the Fort Lauderdale beach known as Galt Ocean Mile.

It was known for many years as the largest swim race in the U.S. with the largest spectator audience, over 50,000 people, who theoretically would be looking out of their condo/apartment windows. When started, no lifeguards or safety crew existed -- in fact, swimmers were asked to "BYOL" or " bring your own lifeguard" to walk the beach as they swam.

After a few years, the Fort Lauderdale Beach Patrol patrolled the course with their beach Jeeps, and in the early 1980's suggested that the swim move three miles south to the part of Fort Lauderdale Beach which maintained lifeguard stations. Eventually, it became known as the International Swimming Hall of Fame Ocean Mile Swim. It has been held here ever since and is now in its 39th year.

PMG Aquatics , a division of Premier Management Group, has partnered with the International Swimming Hall of Fame to increase the visibility of the race and help raise awareness for drowning prevention.

"We are very excited to be a part of this race, with its incredible history, and to partner with the International Swimming Hall of Fame in promoting a great open water event while simultaneously promoting a worthy cause in drowning prevention" said Bobby Brewer, Vice President of PMG Aquatics.

Originally, the race was set up as an event for the College Coaches Swim Forum -- which has been meeting at the old Casino Pool and now the Hall of Fame Pool since 1935 -- although everyone was invited to participate. Bruce Wigo, CEO of International Swimming Hall of Fame stated, "This has always been such a great event. To now have two leading entities in the swimming community, PMG and the Hall of Fame working together, should hold great things for the future for the competition and the cause to prevent drowning."

The Ft. Lauderdale Roughwater Swim will feature a one mile swim and a 5K challenge for both masters and youth swimmers, and ¼ and ½ mile swims for the younger kids. The Ft. Lauderdale Rough water Swim is a perfect excuse to escape to beautiful Ft. Lauderdale, and enjoy the warm weather and beaches of sunny south Florida.

Swimmers of all ages are encouraged to come out and support this great cause. Travel packages are available. For more information, please visit www.lauderdaleswim.com . You can register for the race here.

About Drowning Prevention

Drowning is one of the unequivocal dangers of recreational water use. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 400,000 people drown around the world every year. In children, drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental deaths.

About The International Swimming Hall of Fame

The International Swimming Hall of Fame is a not-for-profit educational organization located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Our mission is to promote the benefits and importance of swimming as a key to fitness, good health, quality of life, and the water safety of children. We will accomplish this through operation of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, a dynamic shrine dedicated to the history, memory, and recognition of the famous swimmers, divers, water polo players, synchronized swimmers, and persons involved in life-saving activities and education throughout the world, whose lives and accomplishments will serve to inspire, educate, and be role models for all those who participate in the Hall of Fame's experience and programs.

About Premier Management Group

PMG is one of the largest athlete representation agencies for Olympic athletes in the U.S. PMG represents Olympic athletes for endorsements, personal appearances, keynote speeches, motivational speeches, infomercials, trade show appearances, celebrity endorsements, pharmaceutical spokespeople, national spokespeople, clinics, sports events, events, corporate meetings, celebrity satellite media tours, video news releases, and much more. PMG Aquatics is an aquatic marketing and aquatic event management division of PMG. For more information, please visit www.pmgsports.com or www.pmgaquatics.com .

Kemper and Haskins Complete Olympic Tri Team

Jesse@Active — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:01:20 GMT

American triathlon's elder statesman Hunter Kemper qualified for his third straight Olympics this past weekend, fending off Andy Potts to place sixth and be the top American finisher at the Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon World Cup race in Des Moines, Iowa.

Kemper, who last year became the first triathlete to be featured on a Wheaties box , joins Jarrod Shoemaker and Matt Reed as the three Beijing-bound American male triathletes.

Sarah Haskins joins Laura Bennett and Julie Swail Ertel on the women's Olympic triathlon team. Haskins, who won the silver medal at the 2008 ITU World Championships in Vancouver in early June, finished sixth in Des Moines and punched her first Olympic ticket by beating Sarah Groff.

More race info can be found on the ITU website , including video wrap-ups of both men's and women's races (click here and then click on Hy-Vee in the list to the left of the video player).

Sheila Taormina Becomes an Olympic Jack-of-all-Trades

Jesse@Active — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:16:24 GMT

After representing the U.S. at the Olympics in swimming and triathlon, Sheila Taormina will once again proudly wear the stars and stripes -- this time in modern pentathlon. She was recently nominated (though not officially finalized) to her fourth Olympic team in her third sport by the USOC (full story, including an explanation on why it isn't yet "official," here.)

Modern pentathlon consists of shooting, swimming, running, equestrian and fencing. Taormina was a gold medalist in swimming at the 1996 Games in Atlanta in the 4x200 relay. After making the transition to triathlon for the 2000 Sydney Games, she placed sixth. In Greece four years later, Taormina again participated in triathlon, finishing 23rd.

Sheila Taoarima prepares for the swimming event of the modern pentathlon competition at the 2007 Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AP Photo/Armando Franca

Taormina's ability to adapt to new sports seems uncanny. The progression from swimming to tri may be natural, but to take up shooting, fencing and equestrian shows dedication and the willingness to learn and try new things. But she's also overcome more than having to reinvent herself as an athlete. As ESPN reports, Taormina's ordeal with a stalker has led her to become a stronger person.

Endurance Weekly: 5/5

Active Toby — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:46:25 GMT

The latest comic from Frazz creator and noted triathlete Jef Mallett:

Check out this roster of 15 green sports stars

Active Expert, Bruce Hildenbrand previews the Giro d'Italia that starts Saturday

Even with the torch atop Everest, Olympics are clouded

Climbing Everest because it's there is inspiring. Climbing Everest because it's in Tibet is not nearly so heartwarming, particularly to an international audience that is still trying to sort through the ethics of getting enthusiastic about August's Beijing Olympics. Read full story

Make doping a crime, says Lewis

Olympic legend Carl Lewis has called on governments around the world to make the use of banned substances in sport a criminal offense. Read full story

Shave valuable time in you bike-to-run triathlon transitions by installing a quick-lace system:

One Year Out

Jesse@Active — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 21:20:00 GMT

Today, August 8th, begins the one-year countdown to the 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing, China. Spending more money than any other host city ever, Beijing's venues are nearly ready for competition, with several staging test events in the next six months. To say that China is excited to show itself off to the world would be an understatement.

Fans of the Olympics should also be excited to learn that NBC will broadcast over 3,600 hours of coverage. The majority of it will be available via live streaming video online, a first for American viewers. This amount of coverage is more than the total of all previous Summer Games combined. Prime-time coverage will feature live swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball.

Check out www.amazingawaits.org for a pretty inspirational video of Olympic highlights.

Beijing's Water Cube impresses Phelps

Active Toby — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:50:00 GMT

During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, swimmers Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff caught an early glimpse of the National Aquatics Center. Also referred to as the Water Cube, the futuristic square building -- which will host swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized swimming -- looks like it's covered in bubble wrap.

"It's definitely pretty cool," Phelps told reporters. The structure is located in the Olympic Green, adjacent to the National Stadium, and is one of the centerpieces of Beijing's Olympic venues for the 2008 Games.

"I think it's going to paint a picture for Katie and me in our minds, to really help us prepare for next year and get us more and more excited," Phelps said.

Scheduled for completion in October of this year, the Water Cube's exterior is made up of membrane structures which comprise over 3,000 pneumatic cushions. Low-pressure air is inflated into the cushions to resist wind and provide insulation.

For the Olympics, temporary seating will allow a capacity of 11,000. Permanent seats number 6,000. In comparison, the largest indoor pool in the U.S., the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind., can hold 4,700 spectators. It will host this year's U.S.A. Swimming National Championships.

For more on Michael Phelps, visit here. And be sure to check out how Beijing is working toward staging an[ environmentally-friendly Olympics|http://active.typepad.com/teamsports/2007/04/olympics_go_gre.html].

A question of timing

Active Toby — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 09:30:00 GMT

By Jesse Hammond

On the heels of an incredible World Championships in Melbourne, the swimming world was suddenly rocked last week when the French newspaper L'Equipe reported that retired Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe showed high levels of two performance-enhancing substances in a drug test in May 2006.

Thorpe, who retired last November at the age of 24, denies ever cheating. He will not face losing his records (except, perhaps, to Michael Phelps) or medals, because he did not fail the test, according to swimming and doping officials. The substances, testosterone and luteinizing hormone, are both naturally occurring in a male's body, but high levels can have steroid-like effects.

In fact, the biggest controversy surrounding the report has been the actual leak itself. FINA, swimming's world governing body, plans to investigate how the confidential information reached a French newspaper. The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) performed the test and maintains they aren't the source of the leak.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has called the report a "serious breach of confidentiality." WADA is not yet involved in the case because it "has not led to an analytical positive result, but is rather an unusual situation which is subject to further inquiry," it said in a statement.

Blind Skier Looks Golden

Active Toby — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 04:01:00 GMT

By Trish Oberhaus

I just read an amazing and inspiring story. The New York Times ran an article about Brian McKeever, a cross country skier who has his sights set on Olympic gold and who is also legally blind.

McKeever has had his share of success in his career, winning four cross-country skiing gold medals at the Paralympics so far. He made his debut with the Canadian team at this year's world Nordic skiing championships in Sapporo, Japan. This was a first step toward a goal of racing in the Olympic and the Paralympic Games when they both come to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 2010.

Brian's life changed abruptly after he raced in the world junior championships in 1998. He was 19 and noticed that he could no longer make out street signs. He was found to have Stargardt disease, an inherited degenerative condition that causes the loss of central vision. "In one semester at university, I went from being able to read everything from the back of a lecture hall for 400 people to moving to the front row and not being able to read a thing," McKeever said.

Still, McKeever continued to ski, with his brother serving as his guide. However, McKeever's first move toward reaching the Olympics in 2010 was qualifying for Canada's national team at races earlier this season and to do so required skiing without his brother as a guide.

In Sapporo, McKeever's best result was also the Canadian team's best showing. "From a skiing perspective, his goal for 2010 is completely realistic," said Dave Wood, the coach of the Canadian national team and McKeever's coach as a junior.

The best of luck to him!