14-YEAR-OLD RAFAEL GU FROM SAS BLASTS 1:49.49 SCM 200 FREE, 49.79 100 FREE
BY SPENCER PENLAND 4
January 28th, 2019
Beijing, more specifically the International School of Beijing, played host to the Asia-Pacific Activities Conference Championships, a high school conference consisting of international schools based in China (and Hong Kong), Vietnam, South Korea, and the Philippines, this past weekend. This was a Short Course Meters (SCM) meet, and it was incredibly fast.
Shanghai Amercican School -Puxi’s Rafael Gu was perhaps the biggest star of the meet, and for good reason. The 14-year-old also swam for Rose Bowl Aquatics in California last Summer. He broke the APAC Record in all 5 of his events, and broke the All-Conference International School Records in the 100 back and 100 free. Gu’s times converted to Short Course Yards will be provided in (parenthesis). In the 100 back, Gu blasted a 57.03 (51.37) to knock down the APAC and International High School Records. His 100 free was even faster, with Gu swimming a stellar 49.79 (44.85) to smash the records. For reference, the 44.85 converted time would rank 4th all-time in the US for boys 13-14. His 200 free was virtually equal in terms of speed to his 100. In the 200, Gu swam a 1:49.49 (1:38.63), where the conversion would again rank 4th all-time for US 13-14 boys. It should also be noted that his time converts to 1:52.68 for LCM, which is actually faster than the current National Age Group Record, held by Dare Rose. Gu’s final individual event was the 100 IM, where he threw down an impressive 57.68 (conversion N/A). His final record came when Gu led off the 200 medley relay in 26.28 (23.23).
In the boys 200 medley relay, The International School of Beijing team consisting of Kan Yuan, Kingston Yip, Curtis Wong, and Alan Sun won in a new All-Conference Record of 1:47.22. Similarly, the 200 free relay saw the APAC and All-Conference records go down, this time by Shanghai American School Pudong. The team Jeffrey Lin, Steven Zhao, Eric Liu, and Evan Aballea touched the wall first in a final time of 1:37.23. There was one other boys APAC Record broken, the 200 IM, which was broken by Kan Yuan with a 2:08.91.
In the girls meet, Hong Kong International defended its team title handily, beating runner-up International School of Beijing by well over 100 points. Hong Kong’s 400 free relay team of Gabrielle Wei, Aly Lindsay, Nathalie Kerrigan, and Hannah Qi-Wen Tan combined for a 3:59.21, establishing a new APAC Record. The team was also helped to its victory by individual champions Wei (200 free – 2:06.64, 100 breast – 1:12.10, 200 IM – 2:20.30), Elizabeth Won (400 free – 4:31.91), Lindsay (100 free – 59.68), and Sonja Kai Lam Chen (50 back – 30.30).
Anthea Wong was the biggest record-breaker on the girls side, claiming victory in the 100 IM (1:04.22), 50 fly (27.45), and 100 fly (1:01.63), each in a new APAC Record. She also won the 50 free in a time of 26.62. There were 2 more APAC records broken, both coming in backstroke events. Annalie Yu broke the 50 back in time of 30.02 in prelims, swimming slightly slower in finals to finish 2nd behind Sonja Chen. Emily Park won the 100 back with a 1:04.30, breaking the APAC Record.
APAC TEAM SCORES
Girls
1. Hong Kong International School – 462.5
2. International School of Beijing – 336
3. Seoul Foreign School – 201
4. Shanghai American School Puxi- 188.5
5. Shanghai American School Pudong – 119
6. Brent International School – 105
7. United Nations International School of Hanoi – 52
t-8. Western Academy of Beijing – 61
t-8. Concordia International School – 61
9. American International School of Guangzhou – 34
Boys
1. International School of Beijing – 504.5
2. Shanghai American School Pudong – 351.5
3. Shanghai American School Puxi- 307
4. Seoul Foreign School – 152
5. Hong Kong International School – 121
6. Western Academy of Beijing – 71
7. United Nations International School of Hanoi – 57
8. Brent International School – 42
9. American International School of Guangzhou – 30
10. Concordia International School – 10
Residents of Japan will soon have the chance to snag tickets to the world’s biggest international sporting competition, the Summer Olympic Games, hosted by Tokyo in 2020.
Right now, those living in Japan are able to register on Tokyo 2020’s online platform to obtain a Tokyo 2020 ID. That ID will then be used to apply for tickets this spring, before the tickets are available for general sale.
ID holders will eventually participate in an online lottery, which will aim at giving as many people as possible a chance to purchase tickets for the event of their choice. After the initial tickets are allocated, the remaining tickets will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Tokyo 2020 ID portal is currently available in Japanese, with an English version to set to launch before sales begin. It can be accessed at https://id.tokyo2020.org/. Already more than 1.2 million people have obtained their Tokyo 2020 ID.
Per Tokyo organizers, a more detailed schedule, including the ticket sales launch date and other details regarding ticketing, will be announced later.
Additionally, those living outside of Japan will be able to order tickets through the National Olympic Committee of their respective country or region or via their authorized ticket resellers. A list of these organisations in each country will be published by the spring of 2019 on the official Tokyo 2020 ticket sales site. BY LORETTA RACE
“What-Went-Well Exercise”
Courtesy: Elizabeth Wickham January 30th, 2019 by SWIMSWAM
I discovered a simple exercise that can help us—and our kids—with our mental well-being and happiness. Our kids work hard every day to improve technique, speed and endurance. Here’s an idea to help them work on a positive outlook. So much of swimming is between the ears, so why not share this positive psychology exercise with your children and try it yourself, too?
I learned about this simple practice called the “What-Went-Well Exercise” or “Three Blessings” in a book called Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being. According to author Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D., “We think too much about what goes wrong and not enough about what goes right in our lives. Of course, sometimes it makes sense to analyze bad events so that we can learn from and avoid them in the future. However, people tend to spend more time thinking about what is bad in life than is helpful. Worse, this focus on negative events sets us up for anxiety and depression. One way to keep this from happening is to get better at thinking about and savoring what went well.”
Think about how this concept plays into swimming. Kids who focus on what might go wrong may tense up and not swim well. They can add time because of their negative self-talk and poor attitude. That doesn’t usually translate to happy parents, either. If we can relax and enjoy the moment, our kids may be more relaxed, too. Kids often pick up on how we’re feeling. For example, when we get anxious, the anxiety can spread like wildfire.
Try this 10-minute exercise and share it with your kids, too:
“Every night for the next week, set aside ten minutes before you go to sleep. Write down three things that went well today and why they went well,” Seligman wrote. “You may use a journal or your computer to write about the events, but it is important that you have a physical record of what you wrote. The three things need not be earthshaking in importance. (“My husband picked up my favorite ice cream for dessert on the way home from work today”), but they can be important (“My sister just gave birth to a healthy baby boy”).
“Next to each positive event, answer the question “Why did this happen?” For example, if you wrote that your husband picked up ice cream, write “because my husband is really thoughtful sometimes” or “because I remembered to call him from work and remind him to stop by the grocery store.” Or if you wrote, “My sister just gave birth to a healthy baby boy,” you might pick as the cause “God was looking out for her” or “She did everything right during her pregnancy.”
“Writing about why the positive events in your life happened may seem awkward at first, but please stick with it for one week. It will get easier. The odds are that you will be less depressed, happier, and addicted to this exercise six months from now.”
Philippe Lucas : “Training is training, but outside of the pool, I’m cool”
Profiles / Interviews 2019
By Christina Marmet, FINA Aquatics World Magazine Correspondent (FRA)
Legends coaching legends: Philippe Lucas (FRA, swimming, open water)
For an athlete to be outstanding in Philippe Lucas’ book, all it takes is hard work and competitiveness. Lucas is France’s most successful swimming coach and was propelled to international fame in 2004 when his young protégée Laure Manaudou became the first Frenchwoman to win an Olympic title in swimming. Since then, Lucas has coached a legion of notable swimmers ranging from Esther Baron, Camelia Potec and Federica Pellegrini to, now, some of the cream of the crop in open water swimming, like Sharon van Rouwendaal, Marc-Antoine Olivier and Aurélie Muller.
He does not attribute his success to anything in particular, and he admits he does not have any secrets up his sleeve when it comes to bringing his athletes to the top, over and over again. “First of all, they need to like training,” he said. “That’s the first step, but that’s the problem with a lot of swimmers (laughs). They need to love training, it needs to be a passion for them, and they need to want to succeed. Then, they must have a strong competitive spirit, and to be able to bring it at the competition. And that’s also not a given for everybody to be capable and strong to win on D-Day.”
“When I tell them we are going to work hard, it’s to succeed”
Continued on: http://www.fina.org/news/philippe-lucas-training-training-outside-pool-im-cool
Pedro Adrega, FINA Communications Department
Potential bidders for the organisation of the 2025 and 2027 FINA World Championships and FINA World Masters Championships met today with FINA in Lausanne (SUI) for an information meeting about the candidature process and the main topics related with the staging of the FINA showcase.
Representatives from China, Hungary, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine and USA (Australia is also a candidate at this stage, but their representatives could not make the trip to Switzerland), were briefed on many important matters, including the benefits and legacy of hosting a FINA World Championships, operational aspects such as the broadcast and media operations plan, accommodation and travel, marketing and sponsoring, and also the financial requirements to stage the competition.
Several external partners were also invited to the meeting in order to provide valuable insights on the positive effects and global impact of the FINA World Championships.