The Aquatics Magazine (Summer 2014) by Aquatics Media Group

AQUATICS

ISSN 2054-1082

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF AQUATICS MEDIA

SUMMER 2014 BLN2014

MAGICAL MOMENTS OUR BEST MEMORIES FROM THE 32ND LEN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS IN BERLIN PAGE 13

+ OLYMPIC

BROADCASTING REALM THE POWER & INFLUENCE OF OLYMPIC BROADCASTING PAGE 27

FINA WP SUPER FINAL REPORT

MASTER OF MY FATE INVICTUS GAMES

MY GAMES w/ REBECCA SONI

LZR ELITE II

AQUATICS MEDIA

REVIEW

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AQUATICS Magazine

CONTENTS OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF AQUATICS MEDIA

SUMMER 2014 03 FOREWORD By the Editor

05 FINA WP WORLD LEAGUE The matches have been played and the results have been ratified. All the 2014 Super Final action for both men and women is documented from start to finish

13 MAGICAL MOMENTS The 32nd LEN European Championships provided us with two weeks of magical moments in Berlin. Now is your chance to relive the best highlights from BLN2014

27 BROADCASTING REALM Consider the underestimated and often overlooked role of broadcasting at the Olympic Games in this special feature which brings to light the power and the influence Olympic broadcasting has on the world’s greatest sporting event

31 MASTER OF MY FATE The story of the inaugural Invictus Games held in London and how the wounded soldiers have transformed into athletes

35 MY GAMES Q & A with 6-time Olympic and World Champion Rebecca Soni (USA) on her Olympic memories from London and Beijing

37 PRODUCT REVIEW The Speedo LZR Elite II: to buy or not to buy? We think you should

40 FINA CALENDAR & ADMINISTRATION The International Federation’s events calendar and doping news

AQUATICS MAGAZINE SUMMER 2014 WEBSITE www.aquaticsmedia.com COVER Federica Pellegrini of Italy prepares herself before the final of the Women’s 200m Freestyle (Andrea Staccioli/DeepBlueMedia/Insidefoto)

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WHO TO FOLLOW

AQUATICS MAGAZINE

Editor in Chief Hugo Lowell Executive Editor William Gilman Editorial Staff Robert Howat Pedro Horta-Osorio Photographers Giorgio Scala Operations Director Robert Howat

Sarah Barrow @sarahbarrow88 Illya Kvasha @iluhakvasha Missy Franklin @missyfranklin88

CONTRIBUTIONS Rebecca Soni; FINA Calendar & Doping;

IMAGES Giorgio Scala/ DeepBlueMedia; Andrea Staccioli/ DeepBlueMedia; Francois Nel/Getty Images; Lintao Zhang/Getty Images; Paul Sanwell/OPP;

Federica Pellegrini @mafaldina88 Adam Peaty @adam_peaty Katinka Hosszu @HosszuKatinka Arena Water Instinct @arenapeople

CONTACTS Please send all letters to:

Tania Cagnotto @tcagnotto

AQUATICS MEDIA 211 Hammersmith Grove, W6 0NP, London, UK tel: +44 (0) 7718 138559 email:

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Aquatics Magazine is published quarterly by Aquatics Media. The articles published in the Aquatics Magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Aquatics Media. No articles may be reproduced without the prior permission of the Aquatics Media Editorial Department AQUATICS Media takes no responsibility for the content of advertising placed in the AQUATICS Magazine Printed by Mixam Group in the UK

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FOREWORD

Left The 32nd European Championships proved to be very successful (Giorgio Scala/ deepbluemedia)

FOREWORD That sense of nostalgia I feel at the end of August when the crowds have left the arena and the scoreboard has been switched off is something that I have experienced so often. Yet every time it happens, I find it so hard to shake it off, for it basically means the end of the best part of the aquatics season.

It was, without doubt another glorious summer. The swimming at the 32nd LEN European Championships in Berlin (BLN2014) were, for the first time, staged in a velodrome while the diving and synchro events took centre stage at the Schwimm und Sprunghalle next door. Numerous new marks and two World Records were set at BLN2014; Berlin, the “Sportmetropolis”, certainly living up to its name. We have also come to the point where there is now less than

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two years to go until the Rio 2016 Games. I remember, after the close of the London 2012 Games, distinctly thinking how long it would be until the next Olympics. How time has flown by. Although the summer may be over, 2014 is not over by any means and there is still much to look forward to. In December, Doha will welcome the aquatics family for the FINA Short Course Worlds and the FINA Aquatics Convention while until then, almost all the disciplines will have World Cup meets where large amounts of prize money are waiting to be awarded to the victorious. Equally, there is also just as much action to look back upon. The 2014 FINA Water Polo World League finished with the US taking the women’s title in China while a month later, Serbia took the men’s title in Dubai in a close match against the 2013 World Champions Hungary.

We knew that no-one would want to forget those memories from BLN2014 either. The “Magical Moments” feature documents the very best moments we experienced in Berlin while our Olympic feature for this edition draws you behind the scenes to the broadcasting of the modern Summer Olympic Games. The realm of broadcasting is powerful and far-reaching, ironic as its role in bringing more people into contact with the Olympic Movement is often overlooked and underestimated. From the usage of 3D cameras to Super High-Vision, this is sure to be a real eye opener.

Hugo Lowell @hugolowell Editor in Chief AQUATICS Magazine

FINA WATER POLO

FINA WP SUPER FINALS FINA WATER POLO WORLD LEAGUE 05

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With the European, American and Oceania preliminaries over, the Women’s FINA Water Polo World League Super Final for 2014 kicked off in Kunshan, China. The star-studded line-up of teams included the 2013 World Champions Spain, the 2012 Olympic Champions USA, the 2011 World Champions Greece, 2004 Olympic Champions Italy and the Bronze medallists from the 2000 Olympics, Russia, amongst others. The outcomes of the quarterfinal matches were no doubt interesting, to say the least, perhaps one could go as far as saying that they were surprising. Match 13, the quarterfinal game between Canada and Australia ended 7-8 to the Aussies. The game itself was extremely tight, both sides tying after the first, second and third quarters but in the end it was both the inability of the Canadians to take advantage of the man-up situations and a last minute goal from Jane Appel that send the Aussies through. Match 14, the quarterfinal between USA and Brazil saw the Americans running away to an 11-1 win over their southern neighbours. It seemed that the American’s overwhelming strength, technique and experience decided the outcome of this match, the Brazilian centreforward, in the last two quarters being pushed out to the 5m line, meaning that the back of the Brazilian shooting arc was roughly 8-10m away from the goal, each shot being comfortably saved by the American goalkeeper Elizabeth Keeve. Match 15, the quarterfinal between Russia and Italy was another close affair, although Italy relied heavily on Giulia Gorlero’s goalkeeping skills to keep many Russian shots out of the net. The Italians led after the first two quarters, but Russia came back well to take the lead after the third. However, the Italians had done enough in the first half, and with the onset of fatigue, the Russians were unable to respond and create any chances.

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Match 16, the quarterfinal match between Spain and China was the most surprising of the night, the hosts beating the 2013 World Champions 8-9. China winning the first quarter 2-1 became the deciding factor, as all the other quarters were drawn (2-2, 3-3, 2-2). Sun Yating (CHN) was undoubtedly the best player of the night, the centreforward scoring a great hat-trick, two of which were backhand shots. It seemed Spain took a little too long to get into the game as although they did in the end manage to produce some excellent shots, the buzzer came before their final offensive had barely started. Perhaps with another quarter, triumph would have been theirs although the crowd was against them unlike in Barcelona where they had been the home nation. After the quarterfinals were played, four teams were eliminated from medal contention and four teams remained.

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Match 19, the semifinal game between Australia and USA saw the Aussie team steamrolled by their American counterparts in a game which ended 4-13 to the United States. Straight from the first whistle, the Americans were ahead, winning the first quarter 4-0. Eventually, Australia started to recover but was still unable to score more than two goals per quarter as the United States casually swam through the Aussie defence to net four more in the second quarter, three more in the third and two more in the last quarter. Australia were also unable to convert their man-up advantage situations into good shots (2 of 12) while the Americans went 4 of 6 in their man-ups. Hosts China was narrowly beaten by a quick thinking Italian side who kept their opposition guessing by switching their defensive tactics halfway through the second quarter. The Chinese did not help themselves either, allowing the

Italians to claim a penalty and managing to miss an excellent man-up opportunity in the third quarter, allowing their adversaries to counter attack and score. China had started the game well, drawing with Italy 3-3 after the first quarter, even to take the lead after the second (3-1) but were stopped in the decisive third quarter from scoring any, while the Italians netted an easy four. This Chinese defeat left Italy and the United States to battle for the FINA Water Polo World League Super Final gold medal and China and Australia to face each other for the bronze medal. Match 23, the Bronze Medal Game was an exhausting match for both, the teams already burning their last reserves after playing matches continuously over the past couple of days. The Aussies built on their lead they gained in the first quarter (2-1) and ruthlessly exploited their man-up advantages (3 of 4) while the Chinese hosts could only

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convert 1 out of 8 opportunities given to them. With the Australian defense shutting out the Chinese for almost 20 minutes, the hosts saw themselves being outclassed by a more experienced side, losing 7-2 to Australia, much to the disappointment of the home crowd. Match 24, the Gold Medal Game between Italy and the United States was supposed to be the one where Italy finally beat the USA in a Super Final after two previous attempts. In 2006, Italy had lost 9-6, in 2011 9-7, and in 2014, with 40 seconds left on the clock it was 9-8 until Maggie Steffens (USA), voted best FINA water polo player in 2012, took a clear shot just out of reach of Italian goalkeeper Laura Teani’s hands, securing both Steffen’s hat trick in that final as well as the United States’ overall victory. As one would expect from a Super Final gold medal game, there were high levels of technical skill as well as a touch of drama in the middle. To

start with Italy very much had the upper hand, leading the Americans 4-1 midway through the second quarter until they lost their crucial centre-forward Palmieri, for an alleged elbowing incident which saw her being excluded with substitution for the rest of the match. It was after this turning point that Italy understandably lost their great momentum which they had had earlier, while at the same time the American offence began to click, ensuring that after the conclusion of the second period the score was 4-4 and after the third, 8-4 to the Americans. Italy, nonetheless, did have enough in the tank to recover and win the last quarter, Tania Di Mario scoring a strong shot from the back of the offense arc. With 1:10 remaining on the clock and the Italians trailing 89, it seemed as if they might just be able to get a last shot in the net to take the game to penalties but the quick counter attack by the Americans saw Steffens’ (USA) shot find

the back of the net, meaning that the United States pulled away to a 10-8 victory. Italy’s Head Coach Fabio Conti later said, “Congratulations to the US, they have the best team. They have a complete team, they are very fast, they are very tough so it’s not easy to play against them, especially not in the sixth game in a six-day tournament. I’m very happy with my players, they showed strong character. We committed small mistakes in defense, but its not a problem. We arrived here to prepare for the European Championships, after spending 20 days together, so I didn’t expect us to be in such a condition on the last day of this tournament. It’s really important for us to feel we can compete with the world's best teams.” American player Annike Dries seemed to share Conti’s opinion on the Italian side, stating that “Italy did a really good job on their 6 on 5 today. We came out a little slow but we turned that around with the intensity of our de-

Left Keszthelyi Rita of Hungary challenges Kelly Rulon of United States (Lintao Zhang/ Getty Images) Right The US women’s team won gold at the 2014 Super Final (Russell McKinnon)

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fence. We came back together as a team, put away shots when we needed to and played smart in the second half. We’ve changed our defensive mentality (while rallying from 4-1 to 4-8), we didn’t let easy possessions for their centreforwards and that let our offence do its job with more confidence.” MEN’S TOURNAMENT - DUBAI Just as the women’s Super Final included all-star teams, so did the men’s Super Final. Those nations present included the defending Super Final Champions Serbia, 2013 World Champions Hungary, 2013 Super Final bronze medalists Montenegro, 2013 Super Final fourth place finishers USA as well as BCN2013 qualifiers Australia and China amongst others. Unsurprisingly, the quarter finals ended with the favourites progressing through to the semifinals, the USA, Brazil, Canada and China all getting knocked out. Match 13, the quarterfinal game between Montenegro and the USA saw the Montenegrins starting slowly, taking five of the first eight minutes of the first to break through the American defense thanks to Vjekoslav Paskovic (MNE) who fired his shot over the goalkeeper’s arm. This was quickly followed by Drasko Brguljan (MNE) also netting a shot to give their side a two goal lead over their opponents. In the second quarter, USA captain and centreforward John Mann hit back, scoring his team’s first goal before teammate Alex Bowen got his fifth goal of the tournament. Montenegro was however not going to allow the USA to gain the upper hand, two brilliant shots from Mladan Janovic prevented the Americans from taking the second quarter. The start of the third quarter saw three quick successive goals from the Montenegrins, which allowed them to effectively win the game, the late surge by the Americans in the last quarter not enough to turn the game around; Montenegro won 10-4. Match 14, the quarterfinal between Australia and Brazil saw the South American team being knocked out of the tournament in a

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thrilling match which ended 14-7. In this game, the power of the Australians when having an extra-man advantage proved decisive in the outcome of the final score. Australia dominated the first quarter, Brazil the second. But it was the third quarter which turned the tables in favour of the Australian side. Aaron Younger (AUS) scored two shots at the start with Jared Gilchrist Scoring his second to put Australia 3-0 up. After fixing his cap which had been ripped from his head, Gilchrist scored his third while Brazil’s Guilherme Gomes converted his penalty. From there on, the game went relatively smoothly for the boys from down under, not being put into any high-pressure situations. In Match 15, the quarterfinal between Serbia and Canada, Serbia cruised to a 16-11 win to progress to the semifinals. However, the Serbians did not have it all their way, the Canadians’ rather aggressive attacking style making many heads turn. Although 4-1 down after the first quarter, centre-forward Nicholas Constantin-Bicari (CAN) scored three goals to keep his side in the running. Although the Serbians were eager in their offense, by halftime, with the scores at 7-4 to Serbia, Canada was still very much in the thick of it. Dusan Manadic (SRB) opened the scoring in the third quarter but Canada also scored twice, leaving the score at 8-6 with just under two minutes left. Sensing potential danger, Serbia’s captain Zivko Gocic took a goal while his teammate Nikola Raden also scored, taking the score to11-6. In the end, the Canadians (who were tiring and were suffering the loss of their head coach Alex Beslin who was sent off for disputing a referee call) made some desperate attempts to try to pull off the win, John Conway (CAN) making a spectacular lob in the final seconds before the buzzer. However it was not to be, the Serbians going through to the semifinals, winning this close game 1611. 2013 World Champions Hungary breezed through their quarterfinal match against China, winning 13 -5. Although China ended up spend-

ing the majority of their time defending, crucially they never gave up attacking, showing some great improvement from last year and great strength of character. Hungarian captain Daniel Varga scored the opening two goals of the first quarter while his brother Denes Varga also scored one for his side. However, later on, China’s captain Feihu Tan responded by scoring off a man up to draw the scores at 3-1. The second quarter saw Marton Toth, Balasz Erdelyi and Marton Szivos (HUN) all score goals before Denes Varga netted his second goal on the man-up to put China six goals down at 7-1. Tao Dong (CHN) later converted his penalty to close the gap to five goals, 7-2. In the second half, Ning Pan earned a red card for his efforts in swimming over a Hungarian player while Marton Vamos hit the crossbar on his penalty shot. In the last few minutes, China attempted a somewhat successful comeback where Zhongxian Chen and Nianxiang Liang both scored but the Hungarians were left relatively unchallenged even though they failed to convert any of their man-up opportunities. In Match 19, Hungary’s semifinal match against Montenegro was a very close game where previously written off Montenegro surprised everyone by taking the fight to Hungary right until the last whistle was blown. Uros Cuckovic (MNE) opened the game with an early goal but Hungary soon followed it on with Norbert Madaras popping two to take the lead only for Mladan Janovic (MNE) to reduce it back to a tied score with his penalty shot. The second quarter was largely an uneventful one but the third quarter was full of energy and excitement. After halftime, the score had stood at 5-3 to Hungary, but with goals from Vjekoslav Paskovic and Janovic for Montenegro, it was anyone’s game. Luckily for Hungarian Head Coach Tibor Benedek, his players saw the imminent danger of the Montenegrins pulling ahead. Norbert Hosnyanszky (HUN) netted a fine shot while Daniel Varga (HUN) got a more controversial one from five meters, pulling their side to safety (7

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-5). The third quarter ended with both sides scoring four goals each and in the fourth quarter, with the score at 9-8, Filip Klikovac (MNE) pulled one off the post but it was not enough to prevent a Magyar victory. The other semifinal, Match 20, between Serbia and Australia saw the latter effectively destroyed by last year’s Super Final winners, although Serbia did get off to a slow start, barely winning the first quarter 2-1. However, once warmed up, Serbia’s star player Filip Filipovic started his goal scoring rampage, netting four in the first 11 minutes of the match. Serbian captain Zivko Gocic and Slobodan Nikic also scored for Serbia, continuing their lead over the Aussie Sharks. Nonetheless Australia were still trying hard; Aidan Roach and Aaron Younger’s efforts in offense reducing Serbia’s lead by two goals, putting their side back into contention. At 29 seconds, Serbia went to a timeout and Dusan Mandic (SRB)

claimed his tenth goal of the tournament. Dusko Pijetlovic was in the limelight in the third quarter, scoring two spectacular goals one after the other. Younger opened the scoring in the final period, but Serbia responded, Filipovic getting his fifth goal of the match while Milos Cuk (SRB) did the same. With Australia’s last minute penalty saved, Serbia played for time to take the win. The gold medal match between Serbia and Hungary was a close encounter between two old rivals, Serbia ultimately defeating the Magyars 10-6 in a thrilling game. Filip Filipovic (SRB) once againopened the scoring in the first quarter to put his side ahead but an early penalty by Denes Varga (HUN) tied the scores. However, it was not long before Serbia eased into the shooting, Andrija Prlainovic and Stefan Mitrovic (SRB) catching Hungarian goalkeeper Viktor Nagy unaware and each claiming a goal. The second quarter was a disaster for Hun-

gary; they did not manage to score a single goal while their opponents popped a casual four, leaving them in a great deficit which later proved impossible to turn. Filipovic scored two consecutive goals in the second quarter while teammate Dusan Mandic got another from the same position to put the scores at 7-2 at halftime. Mitrovic was back in action at the start of the third, scoring another goal to complete his hat trick as Dusko Pijetlovic also managed one for Serbia. Denes Varga (HUN) was however still getting some good chances and he closed the 7 goal deficit to 6 until Mandic’s lob for Serbia basically put Hungary out of the game. Yet, in true Magyar fashion, the Hungarians fought back bitterly, their defense closing out Serbia completely while their offense struck shots past goalkeeper Gojko Pijetlovic on three consecutive occasions. However, their last surge was in vain as the last whistle indicated a triumph for Serbia once again. Ser-

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bia Head Coach Savic later commented that “I think we won because we played very well in defense, but I’m a little disappointed with the final quarter because we lost three goals. I think that my guys thought they had already won. We hope to medal at the European Championships.” The Hungarian head coach was disappointed yet pointed out, “I always said that Serbia was the form team here. Their five-metre shots meant we couldn’t do anything. They won the game in one period and were 7-2 up.” ■ The 2015 edition of the FINA Water Polo World League will commence in November 2014 with the European qualification rounds. Previous Page Andrija Prlainovic (SRB) competes for the ball with Daniel Varga (HUN) (Francois Nel/ Getty Images) Below The Serbian team brace for a shot from Uros Cuckovic (MNE) (Francois Nel/Getty Images)

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FINA WATER POLO WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINAL 2014 RESULTS MEN’S SUPER FINAL RESULTS

WOMEN’S SUPER FINAL RESULTS

SERBIA

USA

HUNGARY

ITALY

MONTENEGRO

AUSTRALIA

CHINA

USA

SPAIN

CANADA

BRAZIL

RUSSIA

CHINA

BRAZIL

BLN2014

MAGICAL MOMENTS THE 32ND LEN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (BLN2014) 13

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BLN2014

From the 13th to the 24th of August, for 12 fantastic days, the capital of Germany was also transformed into the capital of European Aquatics. Berlin, the Sportmetropolis, lived up to its name and reputation - both spectators and athletes alike had nothing but praise for the 32nd LEN European Championships. From day one to day twelve, we relive the very best moments of each day at BLN2014.

DAY 1 - 13 AUGUST Men’s 5k Open Water (Time Trial) Considering the disappointing performances at the London 2012 Games and at the 15th FINA World Championships in Barcelona showed by Great Britain, very few would have expected Daniel Fogg (GBR) to become the European Champion in the men’s 5km open water time trial. He not only won the event, he took it by a large margin of 20.3secs over second place finisher Rob Muffels (GER) who was overjoyed to be standing on the podium with his fellow German and 10k open water World Champion Thomas Lurz. Fogg later commented on the nature of his swim: “I finished very well, in the second round it was my tactic to swim faster, but I had no experience in the time trial, it was the first for me. It was very hard.” Lurz had the lead at the halfway point and Fogg was in fourth but just as he had planned, his back-end speed tactic worked very well and it catapulted him to the gold medal. Women’s 10k Open Water The women’s 10km open water swim also provided some surprises for the spectators in Berlin. Many would have thought that Hungary’s Olympic Champion Eva Risztov would have taken the title but in the end, she succumbed to Sharon van Rouwendaal‘s (NED) speedy finish. What also came as a shock was that this was only van Rouwendaal’s second attempt at this distance, pipping Risztov at the finish by 1.1secs. Aurora Ponsele (ITA) had had a fast

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start but she tired after the first 5km and managed a respectable third, her first international medal. Risztov, later gracious in defeat, said “never ever a silver medal made me so happy as this one. It was an extremely tough race with a great finish. Last week I practiced something similar and my coach told me, hey, don’t go so fast, we don’t prepare for the 400m free but I said, watch out, I will need that speed in the race. And it happened and I’m really satisfied with my performance and my first European open water medal.” DAY 2 - 14 AUGUST Women’s 5k Open Water The local fans had plenty to cheer for after Isabelle Harle (GER) took the gold in the women’s 5km open water time trial. She won the event with a massive margin of 34.2secs and was the only swimmer under 58mins. Winner of the 10km on the previous day, Sharon van

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Rouwendaal (NED) got her second medal of the Championships by finishing second as Spain’s Mireia Garcia took the third spot. Both winners of the time trial later noticed how hard the event was to swim. Harle said that “when you are alone on the course it is very difficult for you to know how well you are doing. After yesterday’s race for the others, the only way to succeed here was to make speed from the start. I was always thinking that Thomas Lurz was swimming in front of me and that helped. In the team event he really will swim in front of me so we will have to win.” LEN

Special Award Ceremony To round off an excellent day of open water swimming, the awards for Europe’s best swimmers of 2013, elected by the LEN Family, were presented. LEN General Secretary David Sparkes handed over the prestigious LEN awards to Thomas Lurz of Germany and Martina Grimaldi of Italy on

site in Berlin. DAY 3 - 15 AUGUST Rest Day The third day of the Championships saw the open water swimmers get a well deserved free day to rest and recuperate before the team event a day later. DAY 4 - 16 AUGUST 5k Open Water Team Event As is the case with relay/team events, the atmosphere in Grunau was fantastic for the 5km open water team event. Hundreds of fans lined the banks for what the locals hoped would be Germany’s first gold medal of the Championships. However, it was not to be - the combination of Ferry Weertman, Sharon van Rouwendaal and Marcel Shouten of the Netherlands proved too much for the German team of Rob Muffels, Thomas Lurz and Isabelle Harle as the Netherlands romped to a clear

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victory. They were the quickest at the first split and held onto it the whole way. The Greeks (Spyridon Gianniotis, Antonios Fokaidis and Kallipoli Araouzou) were next to slap the touchpad at the finish line, while the weary German triple scraped into the last podium spot to at least claim the bronze medal, fighting off the Hungarians to the last second. In fact, with the exception of teams Hungary and Italy, the position in which the teams were at for the first split ended up being their final positions. Synchro Duet In the synchro events, it was, of course, the Russians who won both of the first synchro medals on offer. In the duet, Daria Korobova and Svetlana Kolesnichenko won the event with a comfortable margin of 6.1908 points. They were the only pair to be awarded a 9.9 difficulty score and a 9.9 artistic impression score. For the first time, the Ukrainians were able to beat their rivals, per-

forming slightly better than the new Spanish lineup of Ona Carbonell and Paula Klamburg while their highest score was a 9.5 for artistic impression. Spain saved themselves with two 9.4s, earning the bronze medal. DAY 5 - 17 AUGUST Synchro Solo It was the “Queen of Synchro” who won in Barcelona last year and it was the “Queen of Synchro” who won again in Berlin. Svetlana Romashina (RUS) stunned the spectators with a dazzling Solo routine to take the crown, scoring the highest points out of everyone in the final in all three of the judging criteria (execution, artistic impression and difficulty), ending with a total score of 95.8333 points, capturing numerous 9.6s while although Spain’s Ona Carbonell gave a good fight finishing second just 2.1333 points behind, her average score was lower (9.3 points). Ana Voloshyna of Ukraine secured third place with 92.3333. There was no way Romash-

ina would accept anything other than the European title in Berlin: “The solo event was the only one for me here at these European Championships. Being the reigning World Champion motivated me because I definitely had to win.” Mixed 25k Open Water In the men’s classification, it was Frenchman Alex Reymond who stopped the clock first in Grunau with a 12.4secs lead over second placer Evgenii Drattcev of Russia. This should have perhaps been a tighter finish if Drattcev had not tired so much on the final leg as all through the final few splits, they traded the number one spot continuously before Reymond set fire to his afterburners to power past in the last stretch. Unfortunately Andreas Waschburger of Germany could not quite add another bronze to the host’s tally, losing out by 1.6secs to Italy’s Edoardo Stochino. “It was a hard race, I’m very happy to win it.” said Reymond after-

Previous Page Florent Manadou (FRA) after his victory in the Men’s 100m Freestyle (Giorgio Scala/ deepbluemedia) Left The Women’s 5km Open Water podium (Giorgio Scala/ deepbluemedia) Right The Russian team perform during the Team Event (Giorgio Scala/ deepbluemedia)

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wards. “The 25km is my best event, the other distances are too short for me. At the beginning nobody liked to take the lead, it was very strange, the leader exchanged several times. Then Yevgeny Drattsev and me decided to leave the others behind and it worked.” In the women’s classification, LEN award winner Martina Grimaldi (ITA) won by a comfortable margin of 6.9secs over Hungary’s Anna Olasz. Grimaldi initially started near the back of the pack in ninth place (out of 15 swimmers), but quickly worked her way up to fourth position and stayed there for the majority of the race, drafting off the leaders before surging past Olasz coming into the finish. Where Waschburger could not deliver a bronze for Germany in the men’s 25km, Angela Maurer (GER) did, only 0.4secs adrift of Olasz, meaning it was almost a silver medal. Olasz, for her part, could not have seen any of this coming. Moving into second place after the sixth split (of nine), she would have had some difficulty in seeing Grimaldi and Maurer approaching in the last moments of the race. Grimaldi was pleased with her performance, saying how “Last year in Barcelona (when she became the World Champion) I did not realise that I came first when I touched the pad, but today I knew it immediately. Still, it was a difficult race today. During the last lap I tried to beat Angela Maurer, when I felt her in my feet, I speeded up and on the last five hundred metres I had the feeling of touching the gold medal.” DAY 6 - 18 AUGUST Women’s 400m IM Katinka Hosszu (HUN) had wasted no time in getting her first Championship Record (CR) at the European Championships. In the heats of the 400m IM she glided effortlessly to a 4:31.53 (CR) before breaking her own record again in finals (4:31.03). She was under World Record (WR) pace at the 330m mark but as fatigue started to set into her legs she fell off the pace. Her efforts were nonetheless impressive: she was just 0.72secs off her own European Record (ER) set in the shiny suit era. She was in the lead from the first

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turn until the final touch, no-one even coming close to touching her dominance in this event. Mireia Garcia (ESP) finished in second, 2.10secs back while Aimee Wilmott (GBR) surprised some by coming third with a 4:34.69. Men’s

100m Breaststroke (SF) It is often a rare sight to see a sub 59sec time in the men’s 100m breaststroke even in an Olympic year. Yet Adam Peaty (GBR) was just 0.22secs off the World Record (WR) and 0.04secs off the European Record (ER) in the semifinal at BLN2014. He easily broke the CR in this event, previously held by the now deceased breaststroke legend, Alexander Dale Oen (NED) from 2010. His reaction off the blocks was particularly fast (0.61secs) and he was the first to turn at the 50m mark. His immense strength was obvious from the start, Peaty lunging further and further with every stroke. From there, he turned up the intensity still further and flew to his new CR time of 58.68. Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay The women’s 4x100m freestyle relay featured high emotions and plenty of drama in the Velodrom. For much of the race, the Danes were in the lead and managed to cling onto it until the end. By then, they enjoyed over a one and a half bodylength lead over the Swedish and were looking for a comfortable win in the first relay at the Championships. A long wait at the end of relays until the results are announced is never a good sign, and sure enough, after the stats were compiled in the timing suite, Denmark were disqualified for an early takeover. Julie Levisen, the second swimmer, was a little too eager to jump into the pool. Elation turned to despair as the ratified results were displayed and Sweden, who had resigned themselves to a silver medal, were jubilant with the sudden turn of events while Denmark tried to digest the bad news. DAY 7 - 19 AUGUST Men’s 50m Butterfly It wouldn’t have been surprising if it turned out that Florent Manadou (FRA) and Yauhen Tsurkin (BLR) were actually twins separated at birth. In the men’s 50m butterfly, both swim-

mers shared the same reaction time (0.62) and same gold medal winning time of 23.00secs. This by itself is enough to take your breath away, but not if you later found out that the next two fastest finishers (Andriy Govorov (UKR) and Benjamin proud (GBR)) also shared the same reaction time (0.60secs) and the same finishing time of 23.21. Men’s 100m Breaststroke It seems that since Michael Jamieson (GBR) won a historic silver medal at the London Olympics, British breaststroke has reached new heights, just as Japanese breaststroke did after Kosuke Kitajima’s (JPN) successes at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. In the men’s 100m breaststroke final, the Brits went a one -two, Adam Peaty clocking a 58.96 while Commonwealth 200m breaststroke champion Ross Murdoch finished second 0.47secs behind. Adam Peaty was fast off the blocks (0.61secs reaction time) and in fact third at the turn but his strength in the last 50m, which he describes as his “great back end,” helped him push past Murdoch (who was first after the first 50m). Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay Great Britain ended a fantastic day of swimming by setting a new WR in the mixed 4x100m medley relay. With the exception of Jemma Lowe, all three of the other British swimmers had already won either a medal on day seven of the European Championships their power and speed in the relay showing the world why they had already won their individual titles. The mixed quartet smashed the previous WR held by the Australians by over 2.5secs and dominated the entire field, winning the event by almost two seconds. The Netherlands, who finished in second, also went below the Aussie WR set in January this year but ultimately lost out on the breaststroke leg (1:01.66 (NED) against the 59.30 (GBR), both swum by males). DAY 8 - 20 AUGUST Men’s 1500m Freestyle Gregorio Paltrinieri (ITA), swimming a 14:39.33 in the men’s 1500m freestyle final, broke the European Record (ER) by more than 3secs

while also becoming the first ever European to swim under 14:40. He was the first to turn at every wall and finished in much the same fashion, more than 10.66secs ahead of his nearest challenger. He was impressively consistent, not one 50m slower than 30 seconds whereas his rivals’ splits were a completely different story; their splits times varying with every 50m. His victory was made sweeter by the fact that his teammate Gabriele Detti finished with a bronze medal and the capacity crowd clapped in time to the national anthem during the medal ceremony, the noise reverberating across the hall to honour Paltrinieri’s victory. Women’s 100m Breaststroke In the women’s 100m breaststroke, it was Rikke Pedersen (DEN), the WR holder in the200m who won in a new CR time of 1:06.23. She turned first and commanded a fantastic advantage over her rivals and kept it all the way to the finish. About a second behind her was Sweden’s

Jennie Johansson who went a 1:07.04 closely followed by Arianna Castiglioni (ITA) who turned fifth but had made up the two place deficit by the end of the race. Men’s 200m IM The roar which could be heard in the men’s 200m IM as local heroes Markus Deibler (GER) and Philip Heinz (GER) traded the gold and silver medal positions with Laszlo Cseh (HUN) was incredible. Deibler was first after the butterfly with Cseh second. But it was Cseh who was ahead after the backstroke and Heintz in second. Deibler led again after the breaststroke with Cseh back at his heels. But in the end the 200m IM, which has always been synonymous with Cseh, ended in his favour. It was in the final mad moments of the race where Cseh, with the German supporters on their feet, brilliantly outtouched the Germans to take the title. Heintz, unfortunately for the Germans, was just 0.07secs too slow for the gold and settled for the silver

while Deibler missed out on the medals altogether with Roberto Pavoni (GBR) beating him to the wall in the last metre. DAY 9—21 AUGUST Women’s 800m Freestyle In the women’s 800m freestyle final it was Spain’s Mireia Garcia who took the initial lead, but at the same time was desperately trying to shake off Great Britain’s Jazz Carlin who kept up some pressure at her feet. At the 600m mark, Carlin, riding Garcia’s wave (which was gently washing over the lane line) gradually edged into the lead. By the 700m mark this advantage had spread to a two bodylength lead and in the end, Carlin won by 5.68secs, setting a new CR (8:15.54) in the process. Garcia still managed to hold on to second place while Boglarka Kapas (HUN) finished third. Men’s 200m Breaststroke Pushed on by a home crowd screaming themselves hoarse, Marco

BLN2014

Koch (GER) produced a fantastic swim to set a new CR and almost break the WR - his time of 2:07.47 only 0.46secs shy of the current WR set in 2012. Ross Murdoch (GBR), who became Commonwealth Champion in Glasgow only a month before, narrowly came in second (0.30secs behind Koch), marginally slower than the time he had posted in the Tollcross pool. The field was pretty even up until the last 50m, where Koch finally found enough energy from the crowd to deliver a gold medal as long time international breaststroker Giedrius Titenis (LTU) beat Andrew Willis (GBR) into third place. Commonwealth Champion Murdoch later commented on the effect of a home crowd saying, “in Tollcross, we had almost 5,000 people in there, the majority of them being Scottish that night, it was incredible. Tonight it was different, tonight someone else was the home favourite.” Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay Sweden looked set to grab the

gold medal in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay, the last event of the evening but was denied the victory in the last seven meters of the race by 200m freestyle ace Federica Pellegrini (ITA). At the 600m mark, Sweden owned the race, second place Italy trailing about five seconds behind. However the last leg for the Italians was a fast one but for the Swedish it was a slow one. Pellegrini, with apparent ease, beat her flailing counterpart Stina Gardell’s time (SWE) by just over five seconds, Gardell’s time of 2:01.51 being the second slowest of all the swimmers in that final. The fight for third was just as close, Hungary barely managing to fight off the Russians for the last spot on the podium. Men’s 3m Springboard The German public could not have wished for a better result in the men’s 3m springboard final, Patrick Hausding (GER), by now the poster boy of these Championships, topped all his other competitors scoring

487.85 points (although he started rather poorly, scoring only 5s and 5.5s on his opening dive (205B) which was also his lowest difficulty dive). He came back late in the rounds, scoring 8s on his highest difficulty dive (5156B) which put him back in the running. Russia’s Ilya Zakharov who never fails to win a medal at major championships pocketed a silver with 483.20points while Ukrainian IIlya Kvasha placed third with 477.20 points. DAY 10 - 22 AUGUST Men’s 800m Freestyle The medal winners of the men’s 1500m freestyle were the same as the medal winners in the men’s 800m freestyle final, the first event of the finals session on the 22 nd of August. Paltrinieri (ITA) who had won the 1500m free in ER time earlier in the week, once again stayed in the lead from start to finish, his competitors not even coming close to the hulking Italian as he set another CR.

Previous Page Katinka Hosszu en -route to winning the Women’s 200m IM (Giorgio Scala/ deepbluemedia) Left The Men’s 200m IM podium (Giorgio Scala/ deepbluemedia) Two Pages Ahead Tania Cagnotto won the LEN Female Special Award (Giorgio Scala/ deepbluemedia)

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Pal Joensen (FAR) and Gabriele Detti came in second and third respectively, as Great Britain’s Stephen Milne cam in fourth, also the same result for him as in the 1500m free. Paltrinieri was out the fastest and kept it up, his splits again not dipping slower than 30secs/50m. Pal Joensen on the other hand started near the back of the field and only as the others grew more tired, the energy which he had been saving up for the first half suddenly came rushing out, Joensen jumping from 5th to 3rd within 50m. Women’s 100m Breaststroke Denmark’s Rikke Pedersen made it a clean sweep in the women’s breaststroke events by winning the 200m breaststroke in a new CR time, her time of 2:19.84 just 0.73secs off her WR she set at the 2013 Worlds. She smoothly negotiated the turns and her brilliant underwater phases which took her almost to 13m ensured she was ahead on every 50m. Winning her first major international medal in Berlin was silver medallist Molly Renshaw of Great Britain, whose time of 2:23.32 was about 3.98secs behind Pedersen’s although still a new personal best. Jessica Vall Montero (ESP) placed third with a 2:24.08.Renshaw later commented how standing alongside Pedersen on the podium “who is kind of like my idol” was “an amazing feeling.” Men’s 3m Synchro Springboard The Germans could not produce the result the home crowd had wished for, but they did come mightily close with a silver in the men’s 3m synchronized springboard. Unfortunately for Klein and Hausding (GER), the Russians who won (464.64 points) used a dive with DD 3.8 and executed it perfectly, scoring 8.5s across the board. This made beating them nearly impossible and with a lack of 9s in their other dives, the Germans had to settle for second. The Ukrainians had put in a brave effort and finished third with 433.98. Women’s 10m Platform Although one might never have a perfect set of dives, Sarah Barrow (GBR) who won the women’s 10m platform final came as close as possible to perfection. Ultimately, as is often the case in diving, it was her consistency which paid off. In all her dives, her score from each judge was never under 7.5 (although at the same time it was never higher than 8.5). But in a sport where for example pushing out the chest a fraction could be the difference between a gold medal and 5th place, consistency is what wins titles. This, combined with three dives at a DD of 3.2 (the highest dive difficulty used in this final) ensured her win. Second place Noemi Batki of Italy was more than 17 points behind. DAY 11 - 23 AUGUST Women’s 200m Freestyle Katinka Hosszu (HUN) gave 200m world record holder and freestyle queen Federica Pellegrini (ITA) a real run for her money in the women’s 200m freestyle,

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BLN2014

leading the way up to 150m. Although Pellegrini turned fourth at the first 50m, she gradually came back from behind to surprise Hosszu with a 29.69sces in last 50m, the fastest of everyone in the final. This meant that as Hosszu slipped from first to second, so did Femke Heemskerk of the Netherlands, dropping to third place although she too managed a sub30secs last 50m. Pellegrini of course celebrated her victory in her trademark fashion, sitting on the laneline, soaking up the applause for her maginificent last sprint which allowed her to become the European Champion in a 1:56.01, barely slower than her 2010 CR time of 1:55.45. Men’s 200m Backstroke The hot favourite in the men’s 200m backstroke was of course defending champion Radoslaw Kawecki of Poland. He took it out hard in the first 50m, but it was Christian Diener (GER) who smoked the field from lane one. The rest of the swimmers

obviously unaware of Diener, did not react to his fast swimming until the 150m mark when Kawecki suddenly realised the trouble he was in and turned up the heat, surging ahead to take the gold in a 1:56.02 while Diener finished next in a 1:57.16. Kawecki later said that “even though Diener was swimming in lane one, I noticed he was ahead. This pushed me.” Gabor Balog was third with a 1:57.42. Men’s 50m Breaststroke Only the day before, Great Britain’s Adam Peaty had set a new WR in the men’s 50m breaststroke semifinal and what all the fans wanted to see was whether he could go any faster. He himself had commented after his semifinal swim that he “didn't have the best finish” and so could perhaps improve his time. From the start, his superiority over his rivals was clear. At first, he seemed a little overwhelmed by the size and power of the other swimmers, trying to es-

tablish himself in the race. But by the 20m mark, when the field had spread out, Peaty was at the front, leading them down the final stretch. By the end, he savoured a half-bodylength lead over his counterparts to clinch the win in a 27.00secs, a little slower than his WR the previous night. He could not repeat his WR however, saying how the combination of setting WR before the finals and “slipping on the block” had put him in a “really hard mental state” for the race. Men’s 100m Freestyle Relay The golden event of the night was of course the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay. France led the way with Jeremy Stravius gaining halfbodylength lead as early as the 50m mark but fresh from his backstroke exploits was Poland’s Pawel Kawecki who stole the first position by the end of the first 200m. France was not having any of that though, and Bob Bowman-trained Yannick Agnel (FRA) had a whole bodylength lead over the

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BLN2014 field by the 400m mark. The Netherlands had started to come through at this point and Joost Reijns consolidated second place. The third swimmer for France, Lorya Borelly (FRA) did have a comfortable cushion of lead which he should have been able to keep but the Russians tore down the pool to finish barely behind the Frenchman. By the start of the third leg all the security France had enjoyed was now gone, Alexander Sukhorjukov destroying Clement Mignon while Germany started to pull through, their hopes resting on Paul Biedermann. By the end, the race was all Biedermann’s and he relished the opportunity to represent his country at a home European Championship, taking the title in a 7:09.00, while the Russians came second with a 7:10.29 and Belgium somehow sneaking into the bronze medal position, kicking France out of the medals altogether. Men’s 10m Platform There was plenty of excitement for the men’s 10m Platform final with two Germans, Sascha Klein and Patrick Hausding, competing. However, the only man to beat the Chinese at a major competition, Victor Minibaev

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(RUS) was there too, making sure that if he had his way, the Germans would get nowhere near the gold medal. Tom Daley (GBR) was in the lead to begin with but an average score in the 5255B, what he calls his “demon twister dive,” got him pushed down the table as Minibaev went from strength to strength as the rounds progressed. By the final round, Minibaev could not be touched. He was too far ahead and as the panicking divers put all their faith into their last dives, they were fighting not for the gold, but for the silver and bronzes. Daley managed to pull himself together for the rest of his dives and finished second, his score of 535.45 being his highest of 2014 while Germany did get a bronze medal, Sascha Klein beating his compatriot Patrick Hausding with a 530.95. Minibaev was by now miles ahead with a 586.10, impressively, as it turned out, not scoring lower than 8.5 for any of his dives.

DAY 12 - 24 AUGUST Women’s 200m Butterfly Spain’s Mireia Garcia used the full 15m off her dive to push into the lead on the first 50m of the women’s

200m butterfly but it was the Iron Lady, Katinka Hosszu (HUN) who was looking to upset the Spainard. By the 100m mark, Garcia and Hosszu were stroke for stroke but when fatigue started to set in for Hosszu, Garcia pulled away into clear water, her teammate Judit Sorribes (ESP) going right with her. Spain this way enjoyed a one-two on the podium (2:04.79 and 2:06.66 respectively) while Hosszu did enough to scrape into third place, her efforts at the start clearly helping her. She finished in a 2:07.28. Women’s 400m Freestyle Federica Pellegrini (ITA), with her signature straight arm freestyle commanded the field with Melanie Costa sticking next to her in the initial stages of the women’s 400m freestyle. At about the 200m mark, Mireia Garcia (ESP), the top qualifier was a little off the pace while Jazz Carlin (GBR), Pellegrini, Costa and Sharon van Rouwendaal (NED) all turned together. In the second half of the race, Garcia’s strong back end came into play while Carlin found some extra energy to burn. The two went stroke for stroke all the way until the last 50m when Carlin left everyone

BLN2014 else behind to grab the win in a 4:03.24. Rowendaal was second with a 4:03.76 and Garcia just got hold of the bronze with a 4:04.01 and Pellegrini, despite her great start, was unable to stand on the podium. Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay Denmark was the early leader in the final of the women’s 4x100m medley relay. They managed to keep up this heroic effort with Pedersen having a 0.19sec reaction time, until Sweden started to come on hard and briefly stole the lead. With the last swimmers for both teams in the pool, they went head-to-head right up until the last 5m where with an explosive lunge toward the wall, Denmark beat Sweden in a thrilling race, touching in a time of 3:55.62, a new ER and CR while Sweden, who lost another relay to a poor finish, came second in a 3:56.04. Great Britain, who had quietly snuck up beneath the radar as everyone in the Velodorm focused on who would win the event, came third, 2.35secs behind the winners. Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay The last event of the swimming was one full of exhilaration and drama, the German masses shouting at the

top of their voices for their team. France led the relay at the start with an excellent backstroke leg from Jeremy Stravius and in the breaststroke 200m breaststroke champion Marco Koch (GER) was not far behind his French counterpart but it was Great Britain’s Adam Peaty who smashed everyone else in the field with a phenomenal breaststroke leg. Adam Barrett (GBR) kept up the bodylength lead for Great Britain right up until the 300m mark as France and Germany battled for second and third. But lo and behold, Great Britain’s Benjamin Proud was losing ground as the French tore down the home straight in such way that was reminiscent of that 4x100m freestyle relay in Beijing 2008. However, caught up in the excitement, the home side Germany slipped into fourth as Hungary beat them to the wall. The British quartet went a 3:31.73, just able to hold onto the gold medal position while France finished a mere 0.74secs behind. Hungary was next in with a 3:33.11 to complete the podium. Women’s 3m Springboard The final event of the European Championships was the final of the women’s 3m springboard. Italy’s Tania

Cagnotto led after the first round of dives but an unfortunate slip in her second sent her plummeting down the table. Germany’s Tina Punzel was another medal contender in this event and she sucked the energy from the crowd and channeled it into her dives. Although she scored the same number of points for her two initial dives (58.50), she gradually raised her game to lead the group after the conclusion of the fourth round and through the fifth round (314.20 points). However her teammate Nora Subschinski was also very consistent, scoring an average of 7.5 points/judge for each of her dives, ending with 317.90 points, ahead of Punzel. Russia was, however, too strong for the field, Nadezhda Bazhina scooped the title from behind with a 322.80. All in all, the 32nd LEN European Championships in Berlin were a huge success. More than 60,000 spectators turned up to witness the Championships in the three venues, creating an unforgettable atmosphere. For the first time, Great Britain topped the medals table, a feat they were not even close to when they hosted the Europeans back in 1938 and 1993. Thanks to Great Britain’s

Two Pages Back (R) The Men’s 3m Synchro Springboard podium (Giorgio Scala/ deepbluemedia) Left Adam Peaty after his World Record swim in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke (Giorgio Scala/ deepbluemedia) Right The German freestyle relay team salute their fans after their winning performance (Giorgio Scala/ deepbluemedia)

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BLN2014 swimmers, it was also possible to see two WRs broken in the men’s 50m breaststroke and in the 4x50m mixed medley relay. In fact, Adam Peaty’s 50m breaststroke semifinal effort was the first individual WR to be set since 2008 at an European Championship. In addition, three more ERs were bettered in the pool while 29 new CRs were set over the course of the swimming events. Adam Peaty (GBR) and Florent Manadou (FRA) collected the most number of gold medals at BLN2014 (4 apiece), while Katinka Hosszu (HUN) and Mireia Garcia (ESP) both stood on the podium five times each, showing their depth in the swimming events. Sarah Sjoestroem (SWE) was the most decorated athlete of BLN2014 with seven medals to her name, showing her stamina and excellence as a world-class swimmer, although her gold medal haul could have perhaps been more impressive had she not lost the 100m butterfly and the 50m freestyle by 0.01secs and 0.07secs respectively as well as if her team not faltered in the relays. Katinka Hosszu (HUN) finished with one less medal overall while Francesca Halsall went home with a total of five medals. TV exposure, which in this digital age is key to the success of any event, was great: the initial viewing figures in Germany and in Europe topped the 1 billion mark while more than 60,000 spectators came to watch the events at this edition of the European Championships. One can only hope that in the coming years, these figures will steadily increase to push aquatics to new heights of popularity. ■ nd

Not all the results from the 32 LEN European Championships are listed in these highlights. Full results can be found at: 84.33.37.145/berlin2014/ The next edition of the LEN European Swimming Championships will be held in London in 2016. For more information, please visit: www.len.eu

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32ND LEN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (BLN2014) TOTAL (SWIMMING) MEDALS BY ATHLETE (TOP 3) RANK NAME

TOTAL

Sarah SJOESTROEM (SWE)

Katinka HOSSZU (HUN)

Francesca HALSALL (GBR)

32ND LEN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (BLN2014) OVERALL MEDALS TABLE RANK NOC

TOTAL

GREAT BRITAIN

RUSSIA

ITALY

GERMANY

DENMARK

HUNGARY

FRANCE

SWEDEN

SPAIN

NETHERLANDS

POLAND

SERBIA

UKRAINE

LITHUANIA

BELARUS

FAROE ISLAND

GREECE

SLOVENIA

FINLAND

BELGIUM

AUSTRIA

OLYMPIC BROADCASTING

BROADCASTING REALM THE POWER OF OLYMPIC BROADCASTING 27

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OLYMPIC BROADCASTING

When snippets of the 1936 Berlin Games were broadcasted on a closed circuit in and around the venues in Berlin, it marked the dawn of what is now a fundamental pillar of the Olympic Movement: Olympic Broadcasting.

BY HUGO LOWELL

78 years on, the televising of the Olympics has become a global phenomenon. In contrast to the lucky few hundred at the Berlin 1936 Games who were able to catch a glimpse of the action on a TV monitor, the London 2012 Games had an audience of 4.8 billion viewers across 204 countries and territories which televised the Games. This extraordinary figure underlines just how far Olympic broadcasting has come and its significant importance to the Olympic Movement. As well as communicating the exploits of the world’s best athletes and the Olympic values across the globe, the income generated from broadcast agreements with the Rights Holding Broadcasters (RHBs) has also become the greatest single source of revenue for the Olympic Movement, helping to ensure that it always has a secure financial base. “Our primary broadcasting objective has always been to ensure that as many viewers as possible are able to experience the Games” explained Timo Lumme, the Managing Director of the IOC Television and Marketing. “With that in mind, coverage of each Games has been made available to an increasing number of countries and territories around the world.” As well as TV and radio coverage, broadcast rights agreements now also include digital coverage, which in “the digital age” has played an important role in spreading the Games and the Olympic values even further. Taking that concept a step further, in the recent agreement between NBC Universal and the IOC which saw the former gain broadcasting rights in North America until 2022, the contract included a clause which stated that NBC Universal has broadcasting rights not only in TV, radio and digital communication, but also in

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OLYMPIC BROADCASTING

any other mode of communication developed between now and 2022. However, capturing all the action for those watching on a screen would not be possible without the presence of the Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS). Since its joint venture with the Beijing Organising Committee (BOCOG) for the 2008 Games, OBS has been the Host Broadcaster (HB) at every Summer and Winter Olympic Games to date, offering unbiased and unedited footage of every Games to RHBs, re-

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cruiting the best professionals in the broadcasting industry with critical sport specific knowledge to complete its mission. In addition, OBS also prides itself on leading the way in broadcast innovations at every Games. At London 2012, OBS used some 1,000 cameras, 40 of which were new High Super Slow Motion cameras, to produce some 5,600 hours of coverage, all in high definition. OBS also developed their own specialised cameras such as the memorable â&#x20AC;&#x153;Olympic Dive Camâ&#x20AC;? which fell with the divers as they descend-

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Left The Transmission area of the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) at London 2012 was used non-stop throughout the duration of the Games (Panasonic) Above OBS continued to lead the broadcast innovations at London 2012 by making use of 33 True 3D broadcast cameras in partnership with the BBC and the NHK (Panasonic) Previous Page A broadcasting suite in operation during the London 2012 Games (Panasonic)

ed at the Aquatics Centre while a gyro-stabilised waterproof camera designed to get both above and below the surface shots of the synchronised swimming events was also used. Thanks to the use of 33 True 3D cameras, London 2012 was the first Olympic Games to be broadcast live in 3D, bringing the image of the Games to viewers at home in a

whole new dimension never seen before. To further enhance the coverage of the Games, the OBS, in partnership with the BBC and Japanese national broadcaster NHK, filmed part of the London 2012 Games was filmed in Super Hi-Vision, the next generation of HD. This gave the viewers at home 16 times the quality of HD with wide angle camera shots to make them feel as though they were actually in the venues, all in Bose 5.1 surround sound to capture crystal clear audio to supplement the graphics on their screen. Manolo Ramero, the CEO of OBS, is proud that his organisation has been able to spread the coverage of the Games even further than ever imagined possible. “The fact that more and more countries are able to enjoy watching the Olympic Games and the excitement, drama and good feelings they produce proves not only that the Olympic Movement itself continues to grow, but also that OBS is successfully capturing the unique atmosphere of the venues and the host city” he says. But with an ever growing interest in the Olympic Games and only a limited number of tickets, the role of Olympic broadcasting is sure to keep growing in size and complexity in order to satisfy the billions watching their sporting heroes digitally. ■

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INVICTUS GAMES

MASTER OF MY FATE THE INVICTUS GAMES 31

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INVICTUS GAMES

There is nothing quite like the British when it comes to supporting disabled athletes. At the London 2012 Paralympics, the British public flocked in their thousands to cheer on the handicapped competitors at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (QEOP), just as they had done a few weeks before for the London Olympic Games with the same electrifying enthusiasm.

BY HUGO LOWELL

Two years after the London Games had drawn to a close, the thousands were back again in the QEOP, but this time to support their wounded veterans competing at the inaugural Invictus Games, using the power of sport to overcome and recover from their injuries sustained in battle. “In my head it seemed very, very easy. In reality its been a real struggle,” said HRH Prince Harry who first came up with the idea of the Invictus Games in March 2014. “Me and my big mouth, saying we’re going to fill the Olympic Stadium, we’re going to do this, do that. Oh of course I’m nervous. If all the venues sell out, I’m happy.” There was no reason for him to fear. Many events, including the swimming and the closing ceremony, sold out completely while the host broadcaster, the BBC, gave the Invictus Games prime time coverage and highlights every day of competition. Right from the start, the public were behind Prince Harry and the veterans. The opening ceremony was inundated with British military pageantry and pomp, bringing tears to many athletes who had had to overcome great difficulties and sacrifice so much to earn the right to compete. The ceremony itself was a huge success, some of the most memorable moments included the Red Arrows fly-past after a short rendering of the national anthem by the Band of the Irish Guards, the clever manipulation of the flags of the participating nations (which were turned upside down) spelling out the letters “IAM” for the Invictus Games, Chris Martin of Coldplay performing the Invictus Games anthem and the spe-

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INVICTUS GAMES

cial video message from Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the United States to the competing athletes. The swimming was unsurprisingly held at the jewel of the QEOP, the London Olympic Aquatics Centre. Sellout home crowds drove the British swimmers to a massive medal haul while it was the more traditional swimming delegations which won the majority of the overall medals (USA, Australia and home team Great Britain). INVICTUS GAMES SWIMMING HIGHLIGHTS Just as it normally is with able-bodied athletes, the Men’s ISD 50m freestyle final proved to be the closest event of the session, the margin between first and third a mere 0.76secs. Australian Adrian Talbot got the to the wall first in the dash (28.10secs) while David Wiseman (GBR) was

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able to secure a silver for his home team with a 28.45. Benjamin Webb (AUS) grabbed the bronze for Australia with a 28.86. Perhaps the most beautiful win was in the men’s ISB 50m breaststroke (SB8) where Great Britain’s Lewis Edwards (who eventually went on to win four gold medals at the Games) pulled away from the rest of the competition after only the first 15m, his powerful lunging stroke pushing him further and further into the lead so that by the end of the 50m, he could not be caught by anyone else in the field. He comfortable bettered his prelim time of 43.18, going almost two seconds quicker in the final with a 41.22. In the end second place finisher Geoffrey Evans (AUS) was more than ten seconds behind Edwards while compatriot Curtis McGrath finished just behind in a 52.97.

INVICTUS GAMES The men’s ISC 100m freestyle final was no doubt the most exciting, GBR going a one-two in a remarkably close final. Michael Goody was the winner (1:01.91) over his teammate Luke Reeson by 0.57sces. Rhoden Galloway (USA) completed the podium by finishing third with a 1:03.26. The mixed 50m freestyle relay was the final event of the swimming at the Invictus Games and the swimmers did not disappoint the deafening crowd. The field barely spread out in the first 50m, but it was Great Britain who stole the lead after the first 100m, the US in lane four desperately trying to catch up. On the final 50m, GB were still out in front and the spectators were on their feet as the home team touched first in a 1:53.41 while the Americans came second (2:01.96) and the Netherlands finished third (2:13.40) some way behind the top two. All in all, it seemed like the inaugural Invictus Games proved to be a huge success for both competitors and spectators alike. The supportive yet energetic atmosphere in the venues seemed to be the real driving force behind the athletes’ suc-

cess, while many of the competitors also expressed how the power of sport has quickened their recovery process. However it was those nearest to the athletes who felt the most inspired. The mother of Kimberly Sterling, the winner of the women’s ISC 50m breaststroke and the women’s ISC 100m freestyle said after her daughter’s win: “I’m very, very, very proud. She’s come through an awful lot along with every one else taking part.” And so they had. The harrowing stories of how the veterans went through hell and back to claim their places on their delegation’s team are truly inspiring. So what does the future hold? Based on the success of the event in London, Prince Harry has ambitions to make it bigger and better in the coming years and even hold it abroad. But wherever the Invictus Games go, the wounded soldiers will follow, trying to rebuild their lives. And there is no doubt about it: by taking part in the Invictus Games, they are able to turn their lives around completely, becoming the master of their fate and the captain of their soul. ■

Previous Page A swimming finals session gets underway at the London Aquatics Centre (Invictus Games) Above Rhoden Galloway (USA) competes in the men’s 50m breaststroke ISC final (Paul Sanwell/OPP) Right The crowds made the electrifying atmosphere of the Games (Invictus Games)

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MY GAMES

MY GAMES REBECCA SONI REBECCA SONI (USA) IS A SIX-TIME OLYMPIC MEDALLIST, 6-TIME WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (LC) MEDALLIST & FORMER WORLD RECORD HOLDER

Q: Your qualification in the 100m breast in 2008 was a very last minute affair. Did you have any idea that events would play out as they did with both Jessica Hardy and Tara Kirk finding themselves with serious setbacks in getting to Beijing? None of us could have seen that turn of events. The way that I approached it was to stay as far removed from the situation as I could. I had to! It was the coachesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; decision to put me in the 100m breaststroke, and of course I did as they asked. I was just there to swim, and I saw it as a great opportunity to get a race in before the 200m breaststroke. Q: How did getting a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke set you up for gold in the 200m breast? Swimming the 100m breaststroke in Beijing and getting a silver medal were both surprises. I was absolutely thrilled to have gotten that

silver. I was always stronger in the 200m, and I used the 100m as an indicator for how good I was feeling, as a warm up race. It was a chance to get off the blocks before the 200m to see how everything was going. I still didn't expect or aim to beat Leisel. In my eyes, as well as everyone else's, she was unbeatable! I was racing for a silver in that 200m, and the outcome of the race was a surprise to me. I simply focused in on my own race, and tried to tune out what was happening around me. Q: How did you feel after winning a gold in the 200m, a silver in the 100m and then another medal on the relay? It was amazing to compete with my teammates on the medley relay. We got a silver in 2008, but it was still a great race. Racing the relay at London 2012, now that was an amazing memory. Racing with some of my best friends, we had

an absolute blast in bringing home the gold medal and the World Record. Q: Was another silver medal in the 100m in London particularly painful? It wasn't the best feeling...but it was what it was. To me it was a lesson in the power that the mind has over us as athletes. I wasn't prepared, mentally, and it showed. But I left that race still feeling confident in the 200m, because that was always my number 1! And I still had a good race, so I knew I was where I needed to be. Q: In what way do you look back on your Olympic experience? I cherish my Olympic experience so much. It will forever be a part of me, even now that I've moved on from swimming. The training shaped me into the person I am today. The experiences and amazing memories, I'll carry them with me forever!

Interview conducted by Hugo Lowell. Special thanks to Mary Anthony (Wasserman Media Group) and Rebecca Soni for making this possible.

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MY GAMES

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PRODUCT REVIEW

REVIEW SPEEDO LZR ELITE 2 SPEEDO IS THE WORLD’S TOP SELLING SWIMWEAR BRAND - MORE OLYMPIC MEDALS HAVE BEEN WON IN SPEEDO THAN ANY OTHER BRAND.

In many ways, Speedo’s latest racing suit, the Fastskin LZR Elite 2, cannot be praised enough. For competitive swimmers, finding a good racing suit that is comfortable, technologically advanced and can be used to race any stroke in any distance is a challenge which is sure to leave those in the dark frustrated and sweaty. Thankfully, the Fastskin Elite 2 ticks most if not all of these boxes. Since the launch of the original legendary LZR Racer before the Beijing 2008 Games, Speedo have continuously produced racing suits which required you to curl bin bags around your feet to slip it on, suits which were uncomfortable to stay in any longer than the duration of your race as well as suits which were lacking in technology after only a year on sale. These problems, fortunately for the swimmers and for Speedo, have all disappeared since the launch of the most recent product

SPEEDO LZR RACER ELITE 2

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line.

Most importantly, the suit is comfortable. Whereas with the original LZR Racer, standing for more than five minutes was an almost impossible task, with the Elite 2, lasting the whole meet without having the circulation cut off from your legs is relatively easy. And this is without the suit losing its ability to keep your muscles compressed during your race. In terms of technology, the Elite 2 is at the forefront of the industry. By purchasing the newer models of the suit, you are guaranteed more water repellency than its predecessor. What is most interesting about this suit is that Speedo have punctured 20 tiny holes in the bottom of the suit between the legs which act as a drainage point for any water which may have slipped into the suit. This ingenious little idea seems to be unique to the Elite 2, making sure that the suit stays as a second skin throughout your race. With fully taped seams to reduce drag

and no product label biting at your back (it is stamped on the back instead), it is of course FINA approved as well as its design being based off 3D athlete scans and computational simulations. In addition, thanks to its simple construction and design, the Elite 2 is not only quick to don and doff but is also designed so it can be used for any stroke in any distance, handy for when you have to swim multiple events in a row and don’t have enough time to be switching to a dry suit. As the Elite 2 is now essentially the top model in the Fastskin family and used by the greats such as Michael Phelps (USA) and Ryan Lochte (USA), the Elite 2 is definitely on the pricier end of the scale but ultimately, you get what you pay for and if there is a suit which satisfies everyone's needs, this is most certainly it. You can even choose from six different suit colours to personalise it however you want. ■

RATING: ●●●●○ // VERDICT: Little expensive, but an excellent choice. Yes, this is a no-brainer. // GET IT: www.speedo.com

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FINA CALENDAR: 2014 1 AUG 2014 – FINA DIVING GRAND PRIX NO. 6 – BOLZANO (ITA) 2 AUG 2014 – 2ND FINA WORLD MEN’S YOUTH WP CHAMPIONSHIPS (18 & U) – ISTANBUL (TUR) 12 AUGUST 2014 – 16TH FINA WOMEN’S WATER POLO WORLD CUP – KAZAN (RUS) 13 AUGUST 2014 – 32ND LEN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (SW, DV, SY, OW) – BERLIN (GER) tbc AUGUST 2014 – PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS – QUEENSLAND (AUS) 16 AUGUST 2014 – 2nd YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES – NANJING (CHN) 19 AUGUST 2014 – 25TH MEN’S WATER POLO WORLD CUP – ALMATY (KAZ) 25 AUGUST 2014 – 2ND FINA WORLD WOMEN’S YOUTH WP CHAMPIONSHIPS – MADRID (ESP) 28 AUGUST 2014 – 2nd FINA WORLD JUNIOR OWS CHAMPIONSHIPS – EILAT (ISR) 27 AUGUST 2014 – FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 1 – DOHA (QAT) 31 AUGUST 2014 - FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 2 – DUBAI (UAE) 9 SEPTEMBER 2014 – 20th FINA JUIOR DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS – PENZA (RUS) 19 SEPTEMBER 2014 – ASIAN GAMES – INCHEON (KOR) 29 SEPTEMBER 2014 – FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 3 – HONG KONG (HKG) 2 OCTOBER 2014 – 13TH FINA SYNCHRO SW. WORLD CUP – QUEBEC CITY (CAN) tbc OCTOBER 2014 – FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 4 – EINDHOVEN (NED) 8 OCTOBER 2014 – FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 5 – MOSCOW (RUS) 17 OCTOBER 2014 – FINA DIVING GRAND PRIX NO. 7 – SINGAPORE (SIN) 22 OCTOBER 2014 – 14th FINA WORLD JUNIOR SYNCHRO CHAMPIONSHIPS – TAMPERE (FIN) 24 OCTOBER 2014 – FINA DIVING GRAND PRIX NO. 7 – KUALA LUMPUR (MAS) 24 OCTOBER 2014 – FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 6 – BEIJING (CHN) 28 OCTOBER 2014 – FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 7 – TOKYO (JPN) 1 NOVEMBER 2014 – FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 8 – SINGAPORE (SIN) 14 NOVEMBER 2014 – CENTRAL AFRICAN & CARIBBEAN GAMES - VERACRUZ (MEX) 29 NOVEMBER 2014 – 3RD FINA AQUATICS WORLD CONVENTION – DOHA (QAT) 3 DECEMBER 2014 – 12th FINA SC WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS – DOHA (QAT) 12 DECEMBER 2014 – FINA SYNCHRO WORLD TROPHY – BEIJING (CHN)

2015 4 JULY 2015 – PACIFIC GAMES – tbc (PNG) tbc JULY 2015 – UNIVERSIADE – GWANGJU (KOR) 10 JULY 2015 – PAN AMERICAN GAMES – TORONTO (CAN) 19 JULY 2015 – 16th FINA LC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – KAZAN (RUS) tbc – FINA MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS – KAZAN (RUS) 1 SEPTEMBER 2015 – 5TH FINA JUNIOR SWIMMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – SINGAPORE (SIN) tbc – 11TH FINA WORLD WOMEN JUNIOR WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIPS (20&U) – GUADALAJARA (MEX)

2016 tbc 2016 – LEN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (SW,DV,SY) – LONDON (GBR) tbc 2016 – OLYMPIC WP QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT – FLORENCE (ITA) tbc 2016 – OLYMPIC WP QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT – tbc (NED) tbc 2016 – 21ST FINA WORLD JUNIOR DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS – GUADALAJARA (MEX) tbc 2016 – 21ST FINA WORLD JUNIOR SYNCHRO CHAMPIONSHIPS – GUADALAJARA (MEX) tbc 2016 – 21ST FINA WORLD JUNIOR OWS CHAMPIONSHIPS – GUADALAJARA (MEX) tbc 2016 – ASIAN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS – TOKYO (JPN) 5 AUGUST 2016 - XXXI OLYMPIC GAMES - RIO DE JANEIRO (BRA) tbc DECEMBER 2016 - 3RD FINA AQUATICS CONVENTION - WINDSOR (CAN) tbc DECEMBER 2016 - 13TH FINA WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS (25m) - WINDSOR (CAN)

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DOPING OFFENCES: Shruthi MAHALINGAM (IND): November 20 2013, tested positive to substance Methylhexaneamine (Class S.86.b Specified Stimulants) following a doping test conducted at the 67th Senior National Aquatic Championships (IND). Starting April 24 2013, the athlete has a period of 1 year ineligibility. Gert-Jan INGELS (BEL): January 11 2014, tested positive to substance Cocaine (Class S.6.a Non -Specified Stimulants) following a doping test conducted at a water polo competition (BEL). Starting January 27 2013, the athlete has a period of 2 years’ ineligibility. Mateusz CHABA (POL): June 16 2013, tested positive to substance Methylhexaneamine (Class S.6.b Specified Stimulants) following following a doping test conducted at the Polish Swimming Championships (POL). Starting June 16 2013, the athlete has a period of 1 year ineligibility. Ivan Enderica OCHOA (ECU): November 21 2013, tested positive to substance Clenbutarol (Class S.1.2 Other Anabolic Agents) following a doping test conducted at the XVII Juegos Deportivos Bloivarianos (PER). Starting March 7 2014 the athlete has a provisional suspension of 12 months. Furthermore, all results achieved by the athlete on or after November 21 2013 and through are disqualified.

BIDS FOR 2015/2017 FINA EVENTS: FOR THE FOLLOWING EVENTS, BIDS MUST BE PRESENTED NO LATER THAN 31 OCTOBER 2014. FINA WATER POLO WOMEN’S WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINAL 19TH FINA WORLD MEN’S JUNIOR WP (20&U) CHAMPIONSHIPS – 2017 12TH FINA WORLD WOMEN’S JUNIOR WP (20&U) CHAMPIONSHIPS – 2017

FINA STRUCTURE: FINA BUREAU 2013 -2017 President: Dr. Julio C. Maglione (URU) Honorary Secretary: Paolo Barelli (ITA) Honorary Treasurer: Pipat Paniangvait (THA) Vice Presidents: Husain Al Musallam (KUW), Tamas Gyarfas (HUN), Dennis Miller (FIJ), Dale Neuberger (USA), Sam Ramsamy (RSA) Members: Fernando Carpena (ESP), Errol Clarke (BAR), Dimitris Diathesopoulos (GRE), Dr. Mohamed Diop (SEN), Matthew Dunn (AUS). Ben Ekumbo (KEN). Erik van Heijningen (NED), Andrey Kryulov (KAZ), Lino Candido Lourenco (ANG), Eugenio Martinez (CUB), Jesus Mena (MEX), Dr. Margo Mountjoy (CAN), Coaracy Nunes Fihlo (BRA), Vladimir Salnikov (RUS), Kazuo Sano (JPN), Qiuping Zhang (CHN). Honorary Life President: Mustapha Larfaoui (ALG) Honorary Members: Gennady Aleshin (RUS), Rafael Blanco (ESP), Bartolo Consolo (ITA), Eldon C. Godfrey (CAN), Nory Kruchten (LUX), Francis Lyuce (FRA), Guillermo Martinez (CUB), Chief Olatokumbo Thomas (NGR), Gunnar Werner (SWE). Executive Director: Cornel Marculescu

* For full information on the structures of the FINA Technical Committees, please visit fina.org

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FINAL COMMENTS WHETHER YOU WERE MERELY PERPLEXED, FELT LIKE YOU JUST HAD TO COMMENT OR CAME UP WITH A GREAT PHOTO CAPTION, WE WANT TO KNOW! HAVE YOUR SAY HERE

RE: AQUATICS SPRING 2014 COVER

RE: FINA/NVC DIVING WORLD SERIES Since our last visit to the London Aquatics Centre when we went to watch the diving during the 2012 Games, the venue could not have changed more. Two years ago we were stuck in those great big wings barely able to see the diving pit but this time around we were actually able to see the top of the 10m board quite clearly. The atmosphere was fantastic and the organisers had done a great job with the lighting and staging. If only they could do something about the searing heat inside though!

“Front Page news!!! Fabulusss work Daniel…”

Although I’m not a diver, I managed to injure my tricep a couple of years ago and had my arm taped just like (Paul Sanwell’s) cover image...brings back some painful memories!

A. Goodfellow via Twitter Jim H. via email

Melanie G. via email

RE: FINA/NVC DIVING WORLD SERIES It is amazing how dominant the Chinese are in this sport. Perfection from every dive. Not a surprise they won everything and set a WR in the process. Super effort, well done. Tom G. via email

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