Swimming Trials @ Marion

Cam & I went to the Australian Swimming Championships the week of March 20th and really had a fantastic time watching all the swimming. This is the qualifying race for the London 2012 Olympics.

Check out the two Beefeaters down in the lower left of this photo. Two guys in red coats with the tall black hats. Adelaide's version of guards for the royals weren't as stiff as those in London, but they were entertaining & they danced.


Lots of finishes were extremely close like this one. I really love the butterfly, people powering through the water only raising forth to look ahead every few strokes. Its really powerful (my version, not so much). The guy that is two from the top has already won this race and is lifting his head as the guy second from the bottom just reaches the wall.


This is Libby Trickett, who has returned from retirement to enter her 4th Olympics. She just made the team when I took this shot & she was elated. Not only an amazing athlete, but also a spectacular role model. Keep an eye out for her in London everyone.


Cam snapped this "best shot" of the night - the start of a women's backstroke, I think. I hope the woman at the bottom closes her mouth soon.


Of course there was lots of competition, but also quite a bit of camaraderie. These two have been training together for years and they placed right next to each other. A healthy rivalry if I ever saw one.


My favorite moment over the course of both nights was this victory. I can't remember the whole story, but she has just found out that she won the race & I think she managed to beat her personal best record. When they interviewed her, she was so happy, she couldn't talk.

Neither Cam nor I are really much into following swimming as a sport, but these trials were really exciting. We rode our bikes to the pool & had a great couple of evenings. The scent of chlorine with a dash of Beefeaters and lots of splashing has set the stage for us for the Olympics.