Watersports blog

Olympic diver and gold winner Matthew Mitcham has singed with Grand Slam International on September 19, 2008. By joining the managing firm, Mitcham joins the ranks of other Olympic divers, swimmers and other athletes. Some of the Olympic athletes represented by Grand Slam include Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe and Olympians Torah Bright, Steve Hooker, Alisa Camplin and Leisel Jones. The firm also represents Marcos Ambrose. Ambrose is a famed NASCAR driver.

MIthcam’s Olympic diving win was a historical one. The young diver managed to get a score of 112.10 for a perfect 10m dive. No other diver in Olympic History has gotten a score that high for a single dive. Not only did his score secure the gold, it also prevented the Chinese team from dominating in the Olympic diving category.

The director for Grand Slam International says that they are thrilled to have Mitcham aboard, “Matthew is an outstanding young athlete whose performance in Beijing was breathtaking.” Said Grand Slam director David Flaskas, “He acted with great modesty and sportsmanship in light of his success and that has endeared him to all Australians,” He also added that, “We (Grand Slam International), very much look forward to supporting Matthew. He has further ambitions in his sporting career including the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2012 London Olympics.”

The Greeks won top honors in the recently concluded European Rowing Championships held in Marathon, Greece. Greek rowing teams won a total of five gold medals last September 22, 2008. Among the top winners were Vasileios Polymeros, Dimitirio Mougios, Chrysi Biskitzi and Alexandra Tsiavou. Sporting officials say that the Greek team definitely did their country proud.

The European Rowing Championships tool place at the Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing center located in Marathon, Greece. The Grecian city played host for the European games which lasted from September 19 to September 20. The games were delayed for a bit due to bad weather. The rowing championship was then concluded in September 22, 2008.

Greece did not only prove to be a great host. They also proved that they were a rowing force to be reckoned with. The team took home the gold medal for men’s Lightweight double skulls and for women’s lightweight double skulls. Biskitzi and Tsiavou won the latter event. They also won for the same even in 2007. Other gold medal recipients were Ioannis Christou for Men’s Lightweight Single skull and Pavlos Gavriilidis and Georgios Tsiompanidis won for Men’s pair rowing. Team Greece also won the gold in men’s four rowing.

Nike is pulling out of the race to develop the best Olympic swimwear possible. It seems like the sports and Apparel Company has been greatly affected by Speedo Swimwear’s Olympic triumph.

A majority of the swimmers signed by Nike wore Speedo Swimwear in the Olympic pool. Despite the fact that Nike Swimwear told them that they would be penalized if they did so. The general feeling among Olympic swimmers in Beijing was that they would not be able to place or break any records if they did not have Speedo Swimwear’s Fastskin LZR Racer. That took its toll on Nike and other swimwear brands who supported the Olympics.

“Nike getting out of the championship swimming market is the death of American elite swimming as we know it,” Evan Morgenstein said, “Some swimmers make 95 percent of their income in non-Olympic years from these apparel deals. If one of only three major players is out (Nike) and the market leader (Speedo) feels its in a position where they don’t have to pay much as long as they have the best suit, the financial model that most Olympic swimmers have lived by since 2000 is over.”

Morgenstein represents a majority of the Olympic swimmers who are sponsored by Nike swimwear.

For now, it is unclear if Nike will sign any more swimmers.

Speedo FastSkin Racer modeled by Michael Phelps

The Canoe Polo World Championships held in Canada saw gold for top British Athletes.
While the world was transfixed over the Beijing Olympics and its aftermath, several great athletes managed to win their own share of gold. The British under 21 canoeing squad included Luke Morris, Zoe Anthony and their Coach Elan Winter. The gold wins served as conclusion to the intensive 5-day affair, which was held a few days ago. Morris was the one who scored the ‘golden goal’ against the French team and gave the Britons a close 1-0 triumph. Coach Winter and Anthony were also part of the British women’s team that edged a win out Germany.
The under 21 Canoe polo game against the French was drenched in drama. The final whistle sounded with neither team having scored. They ended the game in a tensed sudden death match that proved successful for the canoeing Brits.
The British female canoeing team triumphed against their German Arch enemies. The German canoeing team served up a fair game, but in the end, the British won.
The men’s canoeing team did not do so well. They missed the semi-finals position, which subsequently went to Australia. However, their position was enough to secure them a place in the next Canoe Polo World Championship games, which will be held in Taiwan.

The year’s third quarter is ending and it is nearly time to welcome the last three months of 2008. The weather is turning and the nights are progressively getting cooler. Gone is the sweltering heat of summer. It’s that time of year where the trees start to color and their leaves start to fall. It is a great time for hunting and for picking wild mushrooms and berries. Autumn is also the best time for fishing. Whether you live in near the South Coast or on the Canadian North Coast, you are definitely in for good fishing.

The Salmon are on their way upstream and soon the rivers will be teaming with young, fat and healthy fish ripe for picking. Steelhead is also in season and there are even rumors of good California and Pacific fishing. Klamath and Trinity rivers are the best places to go. There have also been good reviews of fishing out of Eureka and Trinidad. A bit of cold weather is expected in the next few weeks. This is also coupled with a few thunderstorms. The cooler temperature is what is necessary to coax the Salmon to move upstream.

Experts forecast that the second week of October will see an increase in Salmon and Steelhead fishing all over the country.

Surfer Tim Boal has won the World Qualifying Series of the Association of Surfing Professionals (APS) in the 5-Star Rip Curl Pro Zarautz event last September 14, 2008. 25 year old Boal from Anglet, France beat out 19 year old Joan Duru who is also from France.  Boal has now gone from a No. 5 position to number three in the Association of Surfing Professionals’ international rakings.

Boal dominated the last day of the competition held in Zarautz, Basque. He gained an unbelievable 16.34 score tally. He left his closest competition Duru behind with a lot of catching up to do.

This is what the surfer had this to say about his win:

“I am so stoked to finally get a big win, I was able to get the waves and surf them well and it is great to getting the feeling right. That win is the icing on the cake. I made the final in California at the US Open of Surfing but failed to win it and it was a big frustration for me. I fell on lots of waves there and I just wanted to make a good final here to put that loss in California behind me
This latest win from Boal has given him a total of 11888 points. That alone has undoubtedly secured the surfer a position in the top 50 of next year’s Association of Surfing Professionals ranking list.

‘I Am…’ is a TV program that showcases the achievements of both teens and adults. It airs in Connecticut as well as other US states. A few nights ago ‘I Am…’ featured champion water skier Alex Laurentano. The show was entitled: ‘I Am a Champion Water Skier’.

Twenty year old Laurentano has been water skiing since she was a toddler and loves her swimwear. Her most recent achievement involves helping the USA Water Ski team to win the Pan American Championships. The event was held in Medellin, Columbia. It lasted for a week starting July 28 and was concluded on the 3rd of August. The Pan American Championships featured water skiing teams from Central and South America.

The beaming Laurentano had this to say about her Pan American win:
“I won five gold medals — for slalom, trick, jump, overall and team overall. I think my favorite event is probably jumping. It’s such an adrenaline rush when you jump — it’s like you’re flying.”

Laurentano grew up in Connecticut, but constantly traveled to Florida to train in Water Skiing. When she was 16, she left home and stayed in Florida to study and train. She says that water skiing has given her the chance to travel to all sorts of places around the world.  At present she is set to join more events including the Under 21 World Water Skiing Championships.

When Baltimore born Michael Phelps started collecting medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a lot of people cocked their heads and thought: “Maybe I should start swimming again”.

Whether it was his intention or not, the 23 year old American athlete has undoubtedly renewed the world’s interest in water sports. There’s nothing like a rally for gold medals and Olympic history to encourage people to don their Bikinis and dive back into the water.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics in itself was bound to renew interest in all sorts of water sports. After all, the Games showcase all sorts of water sports from diving, synchronized swimming and relays. But it was Phelps’ record breaking success that drew attention the pool once more. Previous 2004 Olympic star swimmer Ian Thorpe of Australia has also done his share to highlight water sports.

Visits to public pools in the US increased during the Olympic week. Some public pools even posted continuous updates about America’s reigning swim star. School swim teams also enjoyed a renewed interest. More kids have taken up swimming this year. A number of them were also interested in synchronized swimming and diving events.

Hopefully this interest in Water Sports will hold until the 2012 London Olympics. Maybe then a new star will follow in Thorpe’s and Phelps’ footsteps.