On the way home from training camp...

On the way home from our training camp and tournaments in Puerto Rico this past June; I attended a sport performance summit in NYC.  The summit was a gathering of many of the highest achieving sport performance professionals in the world.  I believe there were roughly 300 in attendance.  The summit centered on interviewing some of the outliers, the people that have consistently built organizations and produce athletes that exceed and set the standard for their particular sport organization or team.

I took pages of notes and recorded a few of the better presentations.  One I looked forward to was the interview of Bob Bowman Michael Phelps coach; and Firas Zahabi, who is currently coaching the UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St Pierre.  It was as if someone catered this interview for me.  First there’s Bob, who I’ve known for years and been on an Olympic staff with; then there’s Firas, one of the most intense humans I have ever been in contact with, who also happens to be dominating the leadership of a combat sport.  They did not disappoint.

As at any conference, I always seek not only new information, but hope to get reinforcement in what I do and believe to be the best way to support performance.  Again, this was the talk to hear!

The main subject for the interview was the make-up of a champion; really delving into the ingredients of what makes athletes like Phelps and St. Pierre so much better than their competitors.  I will refer to it as the Checklist for High Performance Delivery.

Checklist for High Performance Delivery:

·         Biomechanics: 

o   Something they have in their genetic make-up that provides an advantage.  In swimming you see it all the time: butterfliers have great combination of strength and flexibility throughout all joints; breaststrokers have a natural wide open angle at their hips, knees and ankles; backstrokers have hyper-extended elbows and knees; distance swimmers have off-the-charts VO2 max levels (ability to use oxygen efficiently) and large lung capacities to support it.  Each one of those genetic attributes gives them advantage.  When you get to the world stage though, most of the athletes seem to share these characteristics.  Then, how does one win consistently?  This is only 1/6^th of the equation.

·         Skills:

o   The best athletes work on their skills obsessively and demand skill work from their coaching at all times.  These athletes also have coaches that take no short path to skill acquisition.  They spend the time it takes to truly master a skill, then keep it sharp through repetition.  Now we are 1/2  of the way to winning!

·         Athletics:

o   There are great swimmers and boxers out there that everyone wonders why they never made it to the top.  Maybe they only trained for swimming or boxing.  The best in the world see themselves and treat themselves as athletes, not swimmers, not boxers.  How fast is your 40 meter sprint on the track? How many 20 mile rides did you do last week on the bike?  How are your reps and max weights in strength and conditioning?  What is your golf score? How many times can you kick a hacky sack without dropping it? How long can you do and unassisted handstand?  These people can answer those questions. They not only are better at training for swimming or boxing, they do more than anyone else and they work on mastering all of the other sports they are involved in.  Now they have 3/5ths of what it takes.

·         Technique:

o   Anybody can learn the skill of shooting a hockey puck into an unguarded net.  But only Wayne Gretsky could do it the way he did it.  He took a skill, like passing the puck to a team mate, and built a technique for using that skill that to this day is still unmatched.  He decided to not only know where the team-mate or defenseman is so he could pass the puck, he figured out where they were going to be when they got the puck.  This way, he knew how much spin to put on the puck, how fast to pass the puck, and he rarely let down a team-mate in this situation.  This is a technique.  It requires more than skill. 2/3rds of the way to greatness!

·         Tactics:

o   This one is among the real signs of greatness in sport.  It goes beyond having a plan for a race or a bout.  It gets into the logic; all of the if/then scenarios.   If a jab gets through; then I will counter a specific way.  That is a specific tactic.  A larger tactic is something more along the lines of planning how to rest throughout a tournament to be at your best for each bout.  Planning nutrition throughout a tournament in order to maintain weight and keep optimal hydration and energy.  It’s knowing everything there is to know about your opponent and how they attack and defend an attack so they become under your control in a bout.  It’s how you control your emotions so you never give away your strengths or weaknesses to your opponents.  We are now 5/6^ths of the way to having a Michael Phelps!  Hardly!

·         Mentality:

o   The final piece to mention is that the greatest athletes possess is a mentality that permits the achievement of full potential.  The coaches talked about the athlete’s mentality like it was the glue that held together the other 4 attributes on the checklist.  They keep an even temper about how difficult things get.  They keep an even temper on how good things get.  They keep a focus on both the details and the big picture all the time.  They hate losing more than they like winning and that it their motivator.

Possessing any one or a combination of these attributes will probably take someone pretty far in their sport, but every once in a while, we are treated to that rare athlete that comes along and finds themselves in the right gym or the right pool at the right time, with the right coach; where it can all come together.  They work together like painter and brush, switching roles back and forth with egos in check; trusting that the other is filling any gaps left on the canvas.  They avoid all short paths to the goal as this leads to medals made of silver or bronze.  They are not in it for anyone or anyTHINGS; they are in it to be better than anyone else.  They are in it to get there first. They are in it to get their best.  They are in it to get that Gold.

The PowerChute

THE POWERCHUTE: 

What to Do?  Well, There are just a few more of these left prior to making a big decision about them.  

The options:

1) Sell the entire concept, design, and stock to a swimming manufacturer (there are 3 interested).
2) Go full force into the line and set up a new order to get to market.
3) Let it go.

PowerChute beginning to open post breakout.

Feedback on them by those who have purchased them AND have them in use has been outstanding.  There are quite a few of them in the hands of Coach Dave Dennison with his Team in Colorado Springs as well as scattered around various Southern California Club Teams.  I have heard they get some use by teams sharing his pool on training trips.  I had the pleasure of seeing how he uses them during a training trip to his pool last summer.  They are used as a part of the power circuit.  The swimmers work in pairs with one of them attached and one managing the chute.  The Powerchute athlete exits the wall with a full speed breakout and then as the Chute begins to open to its full 48 inch diameter the athlete is forced into a position of complete spinal alignment as they nearly come to a full stop.  Their goal is to increase tempo as the shoot opens while maintaining full stroke length for the amount of stroke cycles they would typically take in a 50 meter free.  It is a challenge and most athletes get about 1/3 of the way down the pool when they hit their target cycle count.

Probably the greatest feature outside of the work level required to use them successfully is that I have solved THE major problem in using resistive devices in the water: you can kick at full speed without getting tangled up in the chords you are attached to!!

When the athletes see them come out on deck (they store in small 10x10 inch mesh bags rather than take up deck space) they react by either being excited to use them or dread the work ahead.  That, to me is an endorsement!!

PowerChute in its storage Mesh bag.

If you are interested in one of these PowerChutes, I have 10 of them left.  I will reserve 3 for the manufacturers that are interested so that leaves me with 7 to sell.  I have been retailing them for $500 each, but will go as low as $400 on these last 7.  If you want more than one (some have one, some have as many as eight!) I can discount them a little further.


 
The bottom line is that there is not only nothing out there like them, they serve as a mobile, easy to store device that does even more than that huge iron or aluminum monstrosity you store on your pool deck that costs 4 times as much.

I can be reached via email at jdswim67@gmail.com or feel free to call me at 949 Six3Six 3337

Trends, Rollercoasters, and figuring out whether to ride them or design them.

Writing something that lives up to that title is truly going to be a challenge I can only hope to accomplish in this blog.
I have been in every part of the transition of Open Water Swimming from its eccentric pre-Olympic days to its now very serious and sobering adolescent stage.
What is it that made it become Olympic?  Or maybe a better question is: "Who made it Olympic?"
What are the things that were done in order to have gotten us to this point?
Assuming the 10k will remain in the Olympic Games, where will American medalists come from?
Are we riding the trends or designing them? Are we being pulled slowly behind their wake?  Are we a travel agency for our qualifiers?

With these questions in mind; where are we as a nation?

I thank the good 'ole boys of open water for granting me my guest pass to their club in the Beijing quadrenium, but if they don't actively open the doors to the clubhouse, we are going to continue on a riders path instead of that of the designer. My guest pass was only granted to me once my swimmer made a national team. So, in a sense, I had to be a designer to get to that point. Once there, I really did not have the desire to listen to very many of them as I perceived them as riders. Riders with a higher level of experience, but riders no less.  This may be more detrimental to our progress than inexperienced designers!

So, I'm going to do something I dislike as a reader: the dreaded abbreviation!
PR=Project Riders
PD=Project Designers
PH=Project Hybrids
PA=Project Authorities

The PR's are the ones that got in the door, but are only taking advantage of the progress of others or letting the masses assume that their previous involvement grants them a life pass.
The PD's are the ones that just keep pressing issues to be solved, hurdles to be overcome, identifying holes in the project and working to fill them with progress.
The PH's are the ones that got their ticket into the "circle" and did something with it and became designers.
The PA's are the "home office" personnel that give the masses their policies and rules.

Every one of these "P's" has a responsibility to the athletes and each other.  To the athletes: to keep pressing the sport to become more competitive through growth in numbers and quality of competitions offered.  More than anything, they must work the 3 parts of the USAS business plans' core objectives at the same time, not one at a time.
Build the base, Promote the sport, Achieve competitive success.

We are presently doing nothing in the United States to build the base within the scope of Open Water Swimming.  As far as promoting the sport, we have done a few things such as an interview or two with various players in the 10k.  In achieving competitive success; we are succeeding beyond our investment in a few areas, none of which are the Olympic distance in true world class events. 
This raises a challenge to all involved in two of the three areas of our business plans' core objectives.
Over the next two weeks, I will be examining the various challenges in front of us.

A life lesson from the Potato Patch

The start of a new swim year.  No countdowns, no corks flying at midnight.  Just another day in the life of a swimmer.  After a couple of weeks off where family members wonder why you didn't want to go near the hotel pool you finally get to come back to the people that understand you.  Many come to the pool wondering what new ideas their coach had time to learn about at Nationals or to come up with on vacation.  As for the things my athletes can expect: just one thing: Leadership.  It is what I have been looking for out of them for the past 6 years since arriving in Santa Barbara.  I think times have taken another shift back to an historical time where people wanted to be lead somewhere.  Some to greatness, some to new experiences, and some just away from where they are.  I have been lucky enough to have been lead by two of the greatest parents anyone could ask for, a coach that pushed when it was time to push me, and pulled when it was time to pull me.  Then I tripped upon a guy by the name of Gordon Collet.  He is one of those people you don't have to try to remember if you met him.  If you met him, you know.  He is a guy that will schedule a bike ride with you on a Saturday and put in a good 15 mile run before meeting up with you for the ride.  You will find out about the "warm-up" run when you are on the hardest part of the ride, can't catch your breath, and he is talking to you about the run he went on, slowly describing the places he ran past and you are figuring out that these places are 10 miles away from each other, then he accelerates ahead out of sight only to come back about 20 minutes later to "check on you" and tell you we are almost there, just a few more turns.  He taught me never to trust that statement: "we are almost there".  He also taught me about loyalty.  Loyalty to the right people: "your family and your athletes".  I regularly use one of his lines when yet another swimmer is telling where they will be instead of practice.  He lets them talk, then, very politely, but clearly says:  "OK, we'll be here" (at the pool).  Gordon is someone in life that can be counted on more than anyone I had ever met.  He will be at the pool.  He will be there before you get there and after you leave.  He will say very little to you, but you better listen, this man has seen it all and only shares with you what you need to know at the time.  He tried to teach me how to sail, or maybe he wanted to dump me in the bay and couldn't close the deal, either way, those Saturdays on that Cal 20 were absolutely priceless.  A Cal 20 a sailboat that actually is so heavy it shouldn't float, but it does.  The mast is not very high so it shouldn't catch enough wind, but it does.  It beats the odds.  It is the perfect boat for Gordon.  I got to experience it's retirement trip around the bay and even was  given the helm at one point.  It was a day that was very typical of the SF Bay.  It was hot, cold, dry, wet, calm, windy all in about three hours time out on the water.
We went outside the Gate (under the bridge), through the center of the potato patch pictured here.
The potato patch is a shoal under the Golden Gate bridge where there is about a 5-10 foot drop off, then rapids, then a 5-10 foot climb back to the surface).  There is not a roller coaster in the world that can prepare you for your first ride through the potato patch in a Cal 20.  He did not tell me it was coming or even that it existed.  He did enjoy the look of impending death on my face as we went through the 10 seconds of rapids that seemed like a lifetime.  I was scared to death but I was safe and would succeed because I was with Gordon Collet.  A feeling that his platoon probably felt in Vietnam on a regular basis.  A feeling that his athletes feel as he is giving them their next set at practice every day.  This could kill me, but I'm with Gordon so I'm safe.  He retired the boat after that perfect day on the bay.  After we tied it up over in Berkeley Harbor at the end of the day as we enjoyed a quick sandwich at the Marina Deli he said:"well the boat is now for sale, there will not be a better day than today.  Time to move on".  There was a hell of a lesson in that day and in that statement and I didn't understand it until I started sending swimmers off to college.  I needed to let them go, we had our time, we made our success.  We can try to match it during the summer as we continue to chase down that perfect swim, but they need to go and experience a new skipper and who knows, maybe they will have an event better day ahead.  Maybe they will come back and make me better.  The key though: let them go. Let them take your lessons and apply them in their new environment.  As for the swimmers I will see tomorrow at the pool: prepare to head for something harder and more fun than today, take it on head first and we will see where it takes us. 
See you at the pool.............

London Calling and yes I was there too.. and you know what they said?..and some of it was true!!

The London International 10k Marathon swim has now finished as most everyone I know is just getting home from Saturday morning practice.  The day began in London with some rain and then race organizers were quite happy when the clouds parted just prior to the race start and the course was in the sun for most of the day.

The women’s race provided a rather conservative if not textbook tactical race as the pack stayed together for well over 8000 meters before Grimaldi (Italy), Fabian (USA), and Okimoto (Brazil) took a clear lead away from the rest of the pack and finished in that order.  Though just under two seconds behind Grimaldi’s Gold, America’s Christine Jennings probably played the best tactical game on the day as she went out with the leaders through the first 3500 meters, then dropped back and let the others do the lead work.  Had she waited just a bit longer before making her  surge toward the lead, she likely would have made it on the podium.

6^th place finisher Melissa Gorman (AUS) seemed to take on the whole race as practice for the 2012 event in that she spent some time in the lead, some time in the pack, and took advantage of great feeds on each lap. 

As stated in the race preview; water temperatures were pretty ideal in the serpentine course, Poliana Okimoto from Brazil clearly stated otherwise in the post race press conference as she stated eloquently but rather emphatically: “the water was very cold and it was difficult in the start and the middle, but I felt good on the last lap.”  She went on to say that she will make adjustments by lowering the pool temperature where she trains.  Then when asked about the course layout Okimoto went on to say that the “the short course does not give space to swim and it is very bad for us.”  Fabian and Grimaldi were a bit more positive on both matters agreeing that the course will provide for a very fast race next year and having the spectators lined along the entire lake will be a plus as well.  When asked about being in close quarters on such a narrow course the three women all seemed to agree that this course setup encourages contact between the competitors as there is only so much space available when you are trying to change position.  America’s Eva Fabian made the trade off of leading the race rather than getting bumped around in the pack which was a decision that was certainly a wise one, though she did take a hit to the nose on the final sprint from the eventual winner Martina Grimaldi of Italy.  Watching their demeanor during the press conference, it was clearly incidental as they both found it somewhat amusing.  Missing from the race today was American Ashley Twitchel who spent the past 24 hours in bed sick with a stomach problem.  Though feeling a bit better today, not well enough for such a rigorous race. 

On the men’s race, the not-yet-qualified-for-London Canadian swimmer Richard Weinberger made an impressive move in the 5^th lap and was not caught by the veteran stars Thomas Lurz (2^nd) or Spiros Gianiotis (3^rd) on the final lap.  It seemed that they let him go with the hopes he would tire or they would naturally catch him.  Weinberger won the race going away without even the need for a final sprint.  Everyone in the race seemed to have left the race with something to adjust in their preparations for next years’ Olympic race.  Lurz plans to put on a bit more body fat in order to handle the water temp better.  He also commented that he believes this shorter course is great for the spectators and therefore great for the sport.  Gianiotis said the race was one of the hardest he has done, but he was very pleased with his 3^rd place finish.  His original goal was just to check out the venue to make plans for his training leading into the games.  American Olympian Alex Meyer came into the race admittedly out of top condition, though he held a solid top 6 position through the first 4 laps, then dropping to 9^th at one point in the 5^th lap, and eventually holding off Australian Ky Hurst for 7^th at the finish by 6 tenths of a second.  Hurst feels that this venue is the best thing for everyone involved stating: “With the beautiful park and all of the fans right up on the course, there may not be a better place in the world for a 10k Race”. 

In all, today gave clear notice that this is a great place to race.  The organizers have little to nothing to do in terms of making changes.  When asked about the venue; Gianiotis, Lurz, and Weinberger all raved about the fact that the set up in Hyde Park will help to catapult the profile of the sport. For the spectators, both the thousands in attendance and millions at home, the Games will provide a chance to see the whole race unfold before them as opposed to sending the athletes out to sea where no-one knows what’s happening until they come back.   The smaller course and public venue is a clear sign to future race organizers that this will help them market their races, and the athletes are much happier when they feel the crowd as a part of the race.  Maybe the best thing about the Hyde Park location for the Olympic Games 10k Marathon Swim is the simple fact that it will be the only event that is free, lasts 2 hours, and the entire family can have a picnic in the park before, during, and after the event.

I have now seen the sport of Open Water Swimming from yet another perspective, that of a journalist, where access is the name of the game and I thank Swimming World Magazine for the opportunity.  It will certainly be a different situation next year when I attend as a fan.  After spending the week in London seeing the sights, catching up with great friends, and covering the race, I can say without hesitation that I look forward to coming back and hope that that as many as possible join me next year in Hyde Park for a spectacular Olympic Event.  “London Prepares” is the name of the series of test events that are taking place all over the city in preparation for the 2012 Games.  If today’s race is any indication of their preparation, we are in for a treat next year. As for souvenirs, I will be coming home on Monday with one that I did not expect to collect while in London: sunburn.

London 10k Test Event

LONDON, England, August 11. THE London 10K Marathon Swimming International Race will be the official test event of the Olympic 10K Marathon Swimming course, which consists of six laps of the Serpentine. 

This race is for the 60 invited athletes to familiarize themselves with the layout of the course, while the organizing committee works the logistics of running the race. At 10 a.m. London time (1 a.m. PT) on Saturday, the women will dive in, then the men begin their contest at 2 p.m. (5 a.m. PT). 

Friday morning will be the first chance to swim around the course and get a feel for the event. The Serpentine will feel pretty welcome to the swimmers, as the controversial subject of high water temperature will not be a factor. 

Unlike the 30+Celsius waters of Shanghai last month, the London Olympic Course has been hovering around 20 degrees Celsius. That is a comfortable and nearly ideal 68 Fahrenheit. 

The Serpentine course will consist of 6 laps that include 1 left and 5 right turns. All of the turns will have different angles, as the course is not the typical long rectangle that the athletes are used to in flat, inland lake courses. Most all of the major Open Water Swimming Nations will be represented, though many of the 2012 Open Water Olympians have yet to be selected. 

The top 10 (actually 15 as the continental champions also qualified) from each of the men and women's 10K races at last month's FINA World Championships in China earned automatic qualification for the London Games. The process involves a selection of athletes from two separate competitions. The first was Shanghai Worlds and the second and final qualifying race will take place in Setubal, Portugal next June. 

Team USA left Shanghai with Harvard's Alex Meyer as the sole U.S. Olympic Qualifier thus far in the process by finishing in the top 10 in China. Meyer will be the only American male in the London 10K Race. Since the U.S. women came home from the China race without a qualifier, they will have the opportunity to send two athletes to the second qualifying race, and based on the qualification process where the Worlds meet serves as the FINA A cut, and everything else serves as the FINA B cut, only one can potentially make the Games in London, and that spot will go to the best of those two that finishes in the top 9 in Portugal. 

So, as it stands right now, Team USA is in nearly the same situation they found themselves in after the Seville, Spain Worlds in May of 2008 when Santa Barbara Swim Club's Mark Warkentin was the sole U.S. qualifier for the Beijing Games of 2008. 

This time, however, the women that will be sent to Portugal will not be chosen in the same manner as in 2008. At that time the selection method called for the U.S. National Team Director to send the "athletes with the best recent international record and the highest Olympic medal potential," a controversial decision that sent Kirsten Groome and replaced World Championship Qualifier Micha Burden (Shaw) with Chloe Sutton, the eventual U.S. qualifier. 

Team USA will be represented in this test event by 10k World Championship Teammates Eva Fabian, Christine Jennings, and 5k Bronze medalist Ashley Twichell for the women's race. The U.S. Men will field 2012 Olympian Alex Meyer. 

Internationally, the only 10k Shanghai medalist missing from the start list is on the women's side with British 10k World Champion Keri-Anne Payne. The British team has instead chosen to give two young 15 year olds the chance to test the course in her place. Payne, the 2011 World Champion in the event has had ample opportunities to swim in the Serpentine and does so from time to time in her training plan. 

Tactically, I think we will see everything in both races, as the athletes will be primarily getting used to the turns and course layout. Next one would imagine there could be some world-class sportsmanship early on in the race to be safe from yellow cards approaching, performing, and exiting all those turns. Then as the race progresses into the last 2 laps we will see them press each other's limits with some world-class gamesmanship by trying to posture for the win. All in all, both races are packed with star power. 

A plan I would coach for the women: 
The race is basically 6x1600. I would have them approach it physiologically as if they were in a hard 10k training set. 

The first repeat they just need to keep from spending too much energy, both emotional and physical. I would, however, have them be very aggressive on the first set of turns to establish dominance and set up the fact that they are not going to be gentle in this race. I would also ask them to do their best to feed on the first lap. Even thought it is only 1000 meters into the race, there won't be much traffic coming in and they can learn what it will be like swimming into the feed dock later, more crucial feed laps. 

Then regaining and maintaining top 6-8 position over the next 3 laps would be the goal. By lap 4-5 there will be some serious breakaway attempts by the various swimmers and they should all be taken seriously and remembered by their coaches as to whom is trying this. When this starts to happen, anyone with hopes of medaling must be within the top 5 as these women are tough enough to break the lead pack into many small packs that will get left behind and out of medal contention. Then, that fateful last lap will not be for the weak, timid, or inexperienced. 

If the aforementioned strategy happens, the last lap will be brutally fast and filled with potential contact. This is where they need to truly practice to win a medal. The best acceleration in the final 10-30 meters will be your winner and I will go out on a limb and predict it will be someone coming from the 3rd or 4th position coming out of the last 2 turns.

The men's race: 
I really think it could end up a pretty boring race even for an open water geek like me. I think the experienced men are not going to take the early breakaways as seriously as the women must and it could be their downfall. The men should be thinking in terms of each segment (turn to turn) rather than each lap. 

They will need to closely monitor the lead prior to turns to identify who is picking up their tempo on a turn approach. This would be a sure sign that a breakaway on the next segment is imminent. All things being equal, I would predict the best place to make a mid race move would be approaching the slight turn after the feed dock. If pulled off properly; you can blast 3 short sprints, then just stretch out and try to maintain your new lead on the long straight after the left turn. 

If one or more of the men go that route, they could pull away from the pack without seriously diminishing their energy and end up holding a mid race breakaway. I think the pack would let them go.

Thanks Swimming World Magazine for publishing a few of my thoughts...

Guest editorial by John Dussliere, published online july 21,2011
Santa Barbara Swim Club 

CLOVIS, California, July 22. As I write this, there are athletes collapsing and being pulled from the water in China at the World Championships 25k race. There are spectators acting as lifeguards. There are boats being dispatched to rescue competitors. There are also a few tears running down my face. 

How have we let this get to this extreme? I have taken a pretty strong stand today via Twitter while I am coaching my own team at the sectional championships in Clovis, Calif. I want to thank my swimmers first and foremost for supporting this "volunteer" sector of my life as it has pulled me away from them from time to time. 

Next, I must report that everything I write in this piece is an opinion that is mine and mine only, and does not reflect my involvement or the opinions of the U.S. Olympic International Operations Committee, the Open Water Steering committee, and the newly-formed Open Water Development Committee, all of which I am an active member. 

Now to the business of the day: I made a promise to some very special people last October [when Fran Crippen died] that I would never tire in my efforts to never see another death in Elite International Open Water Racing. Today, I decided to no longer work in the background on this issue. 

I began to get information during the past few days on what the real temperatures have been throughout the competition in China. I found that everyone's thermometer was coming up with different numbers. 

In my experience, this has always been the case. The athletes' thermometers are usually pretty accurate, but favor getting out of practice; the coaches' thermometers are usually less extreme than the athletes on the hot or cold side. Then when the official race temperature is published, it always seems to fall into the safe zone. Hmmmmm. 

So, this competition is no different from so many others. At times, the thermometer game is just that, a game. But now things are different. Extreme water temperature issues have become a matter of life or death. It does not matter what is official or what is anecdotal. We have once and for all proven that we, humans, cannot be trusted in this matter of reporting temperature. The trust is gone. 

So, where do we turn? We presently have a couple studies on what temperature we can handle as humans. We also have a responsibility to each other to not put each other in harm's way. I was relieved to see that an old friend from 2006-08 Marcel Wouda, coach of the Dutch Olympic Champion, pulled his swimmers the day before the race. Then, I saw a report that Thomas Lurz of Germany, a guy that has more open water gold than a 49ers creek, pulled himself from the race yesterday as well. 

Then, I started probing to see what our USA athletes were doing. No word, and I have good sources! I wanted them to make the right decision as I saw it and pull out. I was then relieved to hear that Alex [Meyer] and Haley [Anderson] pulled out, then very concerned that Claire [Thompson] was going to swim. 

With some deeper thought, I was beginning to question why should these athletes and coaches be posed with this decision? That's not right! This decision should be made when the race committee sees the potential for the water temp to get into that high side danger zone. 

Thinking even further: should this ever be a judgment call? This should be a clear rule. The best athletes in the sport at any given time know when something is not right or safe. As do their coaches. As do our officials. But the athletes, coaches and officials still do not have a definitive rule when it comes to temperature. 

I don't want to offer that the results should have an asterisk this year, but I cannot believe that the results would be the same if the race had all of its original entrants and it were contested in a body of water that posed no temperature threat to its participants. 

I have no scientific basis for pressing for a high temperature rule of 28 degrees Celsius, but when the athletes want this temperature, and the top coaches (of which I had an athlete in the Beijing Games) want this temperature; I tend to think it has value. There are lots of air and water temperature combo suggestions out there, but why not have a simple rule stating the high temperature may not exceed 28 degrees at any time during a FINA or USA Swimming sanctioned event? 

I witnessed the effects of the cold water first hand in Melbourne 2007 Worlds after the 25k when my athlete did not recognize me or even remember I was there after the finish as he was being held up in the shower as the doc was trying to raise his core temperature. 

I also stood in the church at a funeral of the greatest of young men last November. I have witnessed the effects of both "suggested" safe environments. We are wrong. Let's admit to being wrong. 

Let's go forward together and not allow our athletes and coaches to be put in such a horrible position that could put them in harm's way or rob them the opportunity to compete when others might. Let's once and for all set a safe standard of 28 degrees Celsius and get back to the human capacity to compete, not survive. Let's never let a competition need an asterisk next to its results. If you think there is a "they" out there, you are mistaken. It is "we" that can bring this rule about.