The Aussie swimmer with the most engaging and eletric smile is Brooke Hanson. And though she’s a newlywed of just 7 weeks, I have a feeling after this weekend, she probably isn’t doing a whole lot of smiling.
After hosting a spa and pool show Sunday night, Brooke suffered an apparent electrical shock and was immediately hospitalized. She was discharged Sunday night and now focuses on her recovery. The fierce competitor in Brooke can only think about getting well and returning to the pool, but she knows it may be some time before that happens.
So, we Swim Aids are keeping her in our thoughts and wishing her a speedy recovery!
I just know y’all have heard about Kate Ziegler absolutely destroying the oldest World Record on the books, right? If not, allow me to educate you.
The Scene: 2007 TYR Swim Meet of Champions, hosted annually by Mission Viejo Nadadores The Previous Wins: 200, 400, 800 Free The Victim: The 1500 Freestyle World Record, previously held by Janet Evans The Real Deal: 15:42.54
All I have to say is WOW!
Go Kate! Work it out, girl!
MORE: Our girl, lala, attended this meet and told me all about it when she got in last night! She was so excited as any of us would be had we been able to witness such an exhilirating race! She said that it was her favorite race ever! (And keep in mind that she was in Melbourne during the “Phelps Show”). She also shared that the crowd was on its feet from the 200m mark of the race until the end; cheering Kate on every stroke of the way! Here is a video of the last 3 minutes of Kate’s race. Thanks, lala, for the details of this historical race! We can’t wait to see you in 10 days!
So, being the good daughter that I am, I decided to bond with my Dad. And when I mean bond, I mean surfing on the internet as I am in the same room with him. Well, as usual, he watches The O’Reilly factor on FOX News.
Towards the end of the show, Bill opened up his email bag. One of the questions a fan had was about Amanda, who was the show Tuesday or Wednesday. I forget what the question was, but I remember clearly what Bill had to say:
She is a highly skilled athlete and one of the nicest person I have ever interviewed.
 After my excitment, I turned to my dad and asked if he had watched that episode of the O’Reilly factor. And I quote my dad:
“Duh!”
Well, let me set the truth: my dad was more excited about the O’Reilly factor than Amanda’s nude photos on the show. But, beacuse of her interview and reasoning for the photoshoot, he now respects Amanda and her career.Â
Well done, Miss Beard! You have converted another fan!
Okay, so I’m all for Amanda’s playboy cover. And I don’t mind defending my view (if you want that, hit me up!). But, I swear, if I ever met this guy who wrote this blog/article, there would be more than debating going on! Put up your dukes and read some pieces of the article!
So gold medal swimmer Amanda Beard has posed nude in Playboy, and is featured on the cover of the July edition of the men’s magazine. Big deal. If she weren’t an Olympian she’d be just another girl willing to take her clothes off for the camera.
ANNNND
Beard is a successful athlete and is relatively good looking, but other than the fact that she is an Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer, there’s nothing about her posing nude - or her looks - that is noteworthy.
Our dear departed handyman, Big Daddy Keller, seems to be doing well in his new training environment out in Cali. We’re glad. Nothing depresses us more than the mere thought or mention of a sad Kletus.
In an interview with the Orange County Register, Kletus revealed that he knew he wasn’t enjoying swimming as much as he should be. Then went on to compliement Salo’s program at USC/Trojan. So we are left to believe that he is now happy again. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to judge for ourselves in a couple of weeks.
There were no Klete-isms in the article, though. That was most disappointing. We prefer Klete pieces like this one, which appeared on Swimming World Magazine’s website back in 2005. An instant classic. If you didn’t read it back then, we strongly suggest you doo so now…or else!
In other news, Klete is about to become our next “Special Guest” here. It might be a permanent thing too.
We just love it when any swimmer gets to shine a little in a national magazine! Miss Kara Lynn Joyce is the latest swimmer to receive a little love.
ESPN Magazine ran a feature in the June 18, 2007 issue where they spotlighted photos taken by some of the country’s top athletes. Other athletes contributing their shots to the magazine included Laila Ali, James Blake, Gretchen Bleiler, Randy Couture, and Matt Hasselback. There are some additional galleries on the ESPN Page 2 website, including more from KLJ like getting a blood test and chillin at the recent Speedo shoot. See all the galleries here!
Click the picture to your left for the full scan. Thanks to our dear friend lala for the head’s up and the scan! Go check her site out, while you’re at it. She may even attend more meets than us! Plus her site houses a fantabulous gallery that she’s dying to share with you!
A Vanderkaay named Peter has many nicknames. We’ve heard PVK, Big P, and Vander in addition to the ones we’ve given him such as Jesus and Cracker (loonnnng story that we’re not going to share). But Vandy is a new one to us.
After PVK wrecked shop in Canet, WCSN put up a link to his meet record-setting performance in the 400 Free under the heading “Vandy Breaks Record”. The link also appeared on the live video window. I’ll be honest, after watching a good portion of the 2nd day of action (and staring at the links on the side), it finally dawned on me that Vandy = Vanderkaay. Then I rolled my eyes.
Is it that WCSN feels so comfortable with Pete in all his Vanderness to give him a nickname? Or has he finally crossed over into the big leagues where the masses need a new & fun name to refer to him as? My vote is for neither of these scenarios. Someone just thought they were being cute. Yea, that’s our job!
It wouldn’t have taken that much more space in the layout for them to spell out Vanderkaay. And I’m certain I wasn’t alone when I exclaimed:
The Aussie swimmer with the most engaging and eletric smile is Brooke Hanson. And though she’s a newlywed of just 7 weeks, I have a feeling after this weekend, she probably isn’t doing a whole lot of smiling.
Our dear departed handyman, Big Daddy Keller, seems to be doing well in his new training environment out in Cali. We’re glad. Nothing depresses us more than the mere thought or mention of a sad 
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