Kiphuth's 'Cathedral of Sweat' Where 'Mr. Yale' Held the Key to Glory
Two weeks ago, I watched the Connecticut Boys High School State Championship meet which was held at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. I have plenty of videos I'd like to share with the Dynoswim community. Stay tuned for more on that later... In the meantime, read about one of the pioneers of the sport - Bob Kiphuth, a pillar of the Yale community for 50 years.
~By Cecil M. Colwin
He converted swimmers world-wide to a new system of training.
Whenever I see swimmers doing their land training exercises, I think of my friend, the late Bob Kiphuth of Yale, the acknowledged 'Father of Land Training for Swimmers'.
His full name and title was Professor Robert John Herman Kiphuth, Director of the Payne Whitney Gymnasium, Yale University. But to us the great Olympic coach was plain Bob Kiphuth. But any familiarity, during working hours, ended there. Kiphuth ruled Payne Whitney with a rod of iron.
Any man with more than casual contact with him came away with some of the Kiphuth stamp. He was one of those men you don't forget. Last September at the Pan Pacs in Atlanta, I recalled a veritable Kiphuth kaleidoscope of memories with Peter Daland , who was Kiphuth's assistant in the 1950's.
Read on at Swimmingcoach.org
Finding Her Rhythm: Swimmer Adjusts to a Heart Procedure and a New Coach
~By Karen Crouse
LOS ANGELES -- The choice was hers. Rebecca Soni could slide over into the lanes with the U.S.C. distance swimmers for a series of 300-yard repeats with precious seconds to catch her breath. Or she could join the sprinters for a series of 50-yard swims with enough time in between to converse.
On the surface, this might not seem like much of a choice. Soni, a junior whose best event is the 200 breaststroke, once tried to keep swimming when her heart seemed to want to jump out of her chest.
Blind Swimmer is True Inspiration
~By Eric Sondheimer
Andrew Luk, a sophomore at Diamond Bar High who joined the junior varsity swim team last month, has a growing list of admirers, including opponents.
A loud beep tells the six swimmers standing on starting blocks to dive into the pool. Andrew Luk of Diamond Bar, wearing goggles, pushes off from the wall as his competitors splash and dart ahead in the 500-yard freestyle race.
Jones And The Ripple Effect
~By Craig Lord
The US sprinter, saved from drowning as a five-year-old, promotes water safety back at his home pool.
Cullen Jones, the 23-year-old US sprinter using his speed in the pool as a means of widening the sport's appeal to more black children, would have drowned when he was five had it not been for the vigilance of a lifeguard and his parents.
Person of the Week: Dara Torres
Swimmer Tries to Become Oldest Female Olympic Competitor in Her Sport
More than 20 years ago Dara Torres earned a reputation as one of the best swimmers in the world; she won gold at her first Olympics in 1984 and went on to score eight more medals at three more Olympics.
Aqua Marine
~By Mike Gordon
The way Ben Mercier views it, he isn't swimming "crazy and fast" anymore. He's just bodysurfing.
But the former collegiate All-American swimmer has turned surfing's purest discipline into a heart-pounding cardiovascular workout that can last up to three hours.
"When I bodysurf, I really get into it," said Mercier, who swam the 200-meter butterfly at the University of Hawai'i from 1992 to 1997. "I will stay out there until my calves cramp and I can't swim."
Read on at the Honolulu Advertiser
Natalie's Story
Despite losing her leg only a year after she just missed qualifying for the Olympics, South African swimmer Natalie du Toit still competes, still succeeds, and still dreams of one day taking part in an Olympic Games.
The CEO of CrackBerry Meets the CEO of BlackBerry
...At the word “triathlon,” Jim’s eyes lit up and I immediately could tell this was another subject he was truly passionate about. His first question to me cut right to the core, “Are you a swimmer?” I responded that swimming is my weakest area and he immediately advised me to get a “good swimming coach.” He explained that, from his experiences, success in swimming is based on technique, and that it takes a swimming coach with a trained eye to help you master your swim.
Read the entire article at Crackberry.com
Mary Ann Meekins Inducted to Deland Hall of Fame
Mary Ann Walts Meekins swam at DeLand High School and was in the Class of 1944. Former DHS Coach "Spec" Martin was the one who got her to the state meets, where in 1941 she won three events. No one at DeLand High School had repeated as a state champion until the 2000 season when Sara McLarty, the granddaughter of Meekins teammate Cynthia Fogle Bruce, won an event.
Meekins swam for the Riviera Club out of Indianapolis where she earned All-American honors from 1941-1944. She set the national record for the 800-Freestyle event.
World War II prevented her or anyone else from swimming in the Olympics in 1944. She however, was presented a certificate of being on the 1944 Mythical Olympic Team. To this date, she still swims with Masters (Dynoswim) Programs.
She and her husband Charles, reside in Flagler Beach, Florida.
Brian Goodell
~By Sharon Robb
“We all experience doubts and fears as we approach new challenges. The fear diminishes with the confidence that comes from experience and faith. Sometimes you just have to go for it and see what happens. Jumping into the battle does not guarantee victory, but being afraid to try guarantees defeat.”
-- Brian Goodell, 1976 Olympic gold medalist
Brian Goodell was known for his mental toughness and tremendous work ethic.
Meet Michael Rich; 3rd Grader and Author
Michael's class assignment to write on the topic, "If I could camouflage myself..."
Michael Rich
3rd Grade
02/04/07
If I could camouflage myself, I would hide on the bottom of an Olympic pool.
To begin with, I would be invisible so I could get up close to someone. I could go from lane to lane to see each swimmer as they swim. I’d have the best view to watch the fastest swimmers in the world as they compete against each other.
In addition, I would be able to watch and learn the stroke techniques of the world’s best swimmers as they go for the gold medal.
In conclusion, I hope to pick up some more speed in my favorite stroke, which is freestyle. This would be an opportunity of a lifetime to learn from the best of the best.
Swimming and Cancer
~By Phil Dodson
November 8th, played back my voice messages after my noon workout. My doctor called with my PSA test results, a 5.2, over the 4.0 recognized as threshold for possible prostate cancer. Given my family history, this news came as no surprise, but it was very inconvenient. I was doing so well in swim training, the best I have felt in 3 years. Why now? I’d been swimming good enough to have a good chance at breaking the 200 yards free ILMSC record for 50+ men next spring. At age 53 I figured it would be my last chance at this record I had been so close to for two years.
Community: Swimming Can be a Fountain of Youth
~By Vern Miller jr., The New Jersey Herald
Sooner or later, almost everyone faces the reality of falling out of shape. Too much sitting, whether at work or burrowed into the couch, has taken its toll. That feeling overtook Bob Hopkins in 1977, when he was 35, as he huffed and puffed his way up a long flight of stairs. "I knew I had to do something, but I wasn't sure what," Hopkins said. "I didn't know how I could fit exercise time into my busy schedule, especially with all the hours I was putting in at work. I needed to flip the mental switch where I realized that no matter what my responsibilities were at work, I couldn't do them if I wasn't in shape. "Eventually, my slogan became, 'If I'm dead or incapacitated, I don't make quota anyway.'"
Sectarianism Sinks as Disabled Iraqis Swim Together
~Ahmad al-Rubaye, Baghdad, Iraq
In the vast indoor Olympic swimming pool in northern Baghdad, sectarian differences are submerged after a commute which is equally dangerous for all the swimmers.
Read on at South Africa's Mail & Guardian online
Name that Swimmer...
Mary Ann Meekins, Celebrity Dynoswimmer
Mary Ann Meekins, proud Dynoswimmer, is a former member of the 1944 U.S. National Team. Unfortunately there were no olympic games that year due to World War II. The national team however has been recognized by the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Attached is the certificate as well as pictures of Mary Ann in 1944 when she qualified for the olympics and in August 2006 before Dynoswim practice at the Frieda Zamba Aquatic Complex in Palm Coast, Florida.
We're proud to call Mary Ann our teammate...
Past Details on Our Celebrity Swimmer
Follow-Up to the "Team Hoyt - Can" Must See Video
Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who together compete just about continuously in marathon races. And if they’re not in a marathon they are in a triathlon — that daunting, almost superhuman, combination of 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America.
"Can" Dynoswimmers Must See Video
Please view the following video, especially you Dynoswimmers, and provide any thoughts and comments below.
Swimming Against the Tides
A record-setting 44-year-old swimmer gives and gains inspiration at youth competitions
By Katherine Nichols, Star Bulletin
For most people, getting older means slowing down. But 44-year-old Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen is an exception. She has set 147 masters swimming world records in every distance from 100 yards to 5 kilometers. Forty-six of those records -- in multiple strokes and age categories -- are still current. In 2004 she was named World Masters swimmer of the Year, and in 1988 she was the oldest swimmer to hold a Division II NCAA record.
Bahamas Masters Swimming
The sport keeps growing and growing...
Swimmer CEO Profile
Toyota Motor Sales USA President, Jim Press, keeps his life in perspective.
...with the help of some chlorinated water, of course.
Janet Evans
This weeks USA Swimming 20 Question Tuesday is with Janet Evans.
Natalie Coughlin
Interesting article on 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Natalie Coughlin.
Olympic Moments: Mark Spitz 1972 Games
The world before goggles.
Swimming in the News
A couple of interesting articles about swimming that I've come across. Enjoy!
Ex-Runner Devotee and Masters Swimming
Masters swimming is for everyone...
Read the Washington Post article:
Nine Year-Old Swims From Alcatraz to San Fran
A 9 year-old-boy swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco in an effort to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims. For more info check out the following two links.
Young Swimmer Raises 30K for Katrina
Johnny Weissmuller
Read about the man, the myth, the legend. I always thought he trained for a time in Austria and did low 50s for the 100 Free (yards?). They describe a high 50s 100 Free (meters). If anyone can confirm or deny, then please let us know...
"He swam with his back arched and his head, shoulders and chest thrust out of the water. He shook his head loosely from side to side, inhaling and exhaling on both sides. He cocked his elbows high, drove his arms down into the water hard and behind him hard. While he kicked six beats to every cycle of his arms, he considered kicking of consequence only to maintain balance, stay high in the water and reduce drag."
Remember Swimmers and Triathletes Among Those Lost on September 11, 2001
New Team Members
I have received some inquiries from some potential recruits. Read About Our New Members
Dog Beats Most in Swim from Alcatraz
I wonder what stroke he did? Read how Rover paddled his way to fame
Phelps Won't Touch Breast
We're talking Breaststroke, what were you thinking? Click here for Phelps on Breaststroke
Swimming for Freedom
Great article about one man's swim to freedom... Download file
Women Warriors
Please read the following story about Hamdiya Ahmed al-Sammak, a 1970s era elite level javelin thrower and gifted swimmer. An all-around athlete who now, thirty years later, finally has the opportunity to train, the freedom to excel, and the will to test the limits of her body. Click the link... Women Warriors
Celebrity Swimmer
Our very own Mary Ann Meekins, who was once a member of the 1944 United States National team (the year the olympics were cancelled due to WWII) is still swimming strong. A committed member of our Dynoswim swim team, we're proud to share the pool with Mary Ann...
Click here to view article (right mouse click and use the "zoom out" function if image is posted too large). Take a look at Mary Ann with some of her old teammates, she's the pretty blonde all the way to the right! Click here to view photo ("zoom out" if necessary).