Ed Moses Swims Against the Tide in New Reality Show

A year ago Ed Moses announced his comeback to the swimming world. Now he is starring in a reality show on the Universal Sports Network. “Against the Tide” will feature Moses as he prepares for next summer’s Olympic trials in Omaha, Neb. The reality show will give you an idea about both his life in and out of the pool.  

Moses, 31, now trains at the Trojan Swim Club in Los Angeles with a number of Olympic hopefuls and Olympians. His University of California teammates, Mike Alexandrov, Azad Al-Barazi and Maz Jaben will also be featured on the show.

They, along with Moses, filmed a music video of an original song created to promote the show. The video features Olympian Katie Hoff and has become a hit within the swimming fan community. “It’s a pretty funny video and makes you want to watch the show because you want to see what hilarity they are going to come up with next,” swimming fan, Caroline Reed said.

Moses, a breastoker, swam at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and won a silver medal in the 100 Breaststroke and a gold medal with the 4x100 Medley Relay team. After failing to make the Olympic team in 2004, Moses left the swimming world and started his own production company, Mojo Marketing and Media.

Moses partnered his company with Universal Sports to document his comeback to the swimming world. “Against the Tide” premieres on the Universal Sports on Dec. 14 at 9 p.m. ET. The series will run consecutively for five nights. 

Missy Franklin and Ryan Lochte Shine During USA Swimming’s Golden Night

Ryan Lochte and Missy Franklin holding their awards. 

        On Sunday, USA Swimming hosted the 8th annual Golden Goggle Awards at the JW Marriot in Los Angeles. The master of ceremonies was actor and comedian Kevin Nealon, but the stars of the night were Missy Franklin, Ryan Lochte and the U.S. 2011 World Championships Team.

            Missy Franklin, 16-year-old phenom, took home three awards Sunday night. Her shining moment came when a speechless Franklin was given the Female Athlete of the Year award, “I have no idea why I’m standing up here right now,” she said, “I definitely don’t feel like I deserve this.”

She also took home the award for Female Race of the Year and shared the award for Relay of the Year with her 4x100 Medley Relay teammates Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni and Dana Vollmer. Franklin has been compared to the “female Michael Phelps of swimming” because of her success at such a young age.

            Phelps was noticeably absent Sunday night as his teammate, and rival, Ryan Lochte took home the Male Athlete of the Year award. Lochte expressed his love and thanks to his coach, Gregg Troy, who took home the Coach of the Year award. Lochte also shared a tender moment with his mother “Mom, you’re so beautiful,” he said, “I love you.”

Ryan Lochte and his mother on the red carpet.

Lochte took home the award for Male Race of the Year for his performance in the 200 Individual Medley, in which he broke a world record breaking an 18 month world record drought. Lochte thanked Phelps, who swam against him at the world championships in this event, for pushing him to many limits.

Peter Vanderkaay and Alex Meyer rounded out the winners. Vanderkaay took home the Perseverance award while Meyer took the Breakout Performer of the Year. Meyer is the first American swimmer to earn a spot on the 2012 Open Water swimming Olympic team. 

Hardy Wins Aquatic Athlete of the Year

Jessica Hardy at the 2011 Shanghai World Championship after
winning the gold in the 50 breaststroke. 

           On No.10, USA swimming member, Jessica Hardy was awarded the Aquatic Athlete of the Year award at The Long Beach Aquatic Capital of America Foundation’s 3rd annual Aquatic Athlete of the Year Ceremony in Long Beach, Calif. 

             Hardy was recognized for her accomplishments at the 2011 FINA World Championships held in Shanghai and USA Swimming’s National Championships in Palo Alto, CA both held this summer.  Hardy became a world champion in the 50-meter breaststroke and a U.S. national champion in the 100-meter breaststroke. She took silver along with her teammates in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay in Shanghai.

Hardy currently holds three world records, both the long and short course record in the 50-meter breaststroke and the long course record for the100-meter breaststroke. “When someone is breaking world records like that and defending them all over the world, you have to respect and honor that commitment to the sport,” said Ray Burton, board member at the Long Beach Aquatic Capital of America Foundation.

            Burton served as the night’s emcee and Tom Shadden, who serves as co-chair of the board along with Burton, handed out the awards. The dinner was hosted by law-firm Keesal, Young & Logan. Hardy’s parents, Denise and Bill Robinson, were on hand to accept the award on their daughter’s behalf. Hardy was unable to attend because she was competing in Minneapolis at the first grand prix of USA Swimming’s Grand Prix Series.

Hardy won against a number of other aquatic athletes including open water swimmers Ted Bramble, Parks Wesson and Lexie Kelly; two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Misty May-Treanor, along with a number of other athletes. A committee set up by the foundation looks at eight categories of sports and chooses the nominees and winner for the year. “We look at the range of competition, success in that competition, and to what extent it has brought recognition to the sport and to our community,” Burton said.

This is Hardy’s second Aquatic Athlete of the Year award.  She is a Long Beach, Calif. Native and graduated from Wilson High School in 2005. 

Four-Day Olympic Trial Tickets Now on Sale

Quest Center Omaha during the 2008 USA Swimming Olympic Trials

USA Swimming has announced the availability of four-day Olympic trial tickets. The 2012 swimming Olympic trials will take place in Omaha, Neb. at the Quest Center Omaha during the week of Jun. 25 through Jul. 2.  Swimming fans will now have the option of purchasing packets for either the first four days of competition, Jun. 25-28, or the last four, Jun. 29-Jul. 2.

Ticket prices range from $180 to $290 depending on seating placement and availability. Ticket packages include both the morning preliminary sessions and the nightly final sessions.  Packages can be purchased online through Ticketmaster or at the CenturyLink Center Omaha box office , either in person or by phone. 

This new ticketing option will appeal to those who cannot attend the full week competition or cannot afford to. Andrew Perez, Former swimmer and Pasadena, CA resident, says he changed his mind about not attending after hearing about this new option, “Initially it was too expensive,” he said, “Now my expenses will be cut about half and that changes everything.” 

USA Swimming initially began selling full session tickets in July. They included all eight days of competition and the prices for that package ranged from $325 to $525 based on location. Those tickets are no longer available online but can still be purchased by contacting the box office.

In July there were also 140 exclusive seats made available. Those who purchased these seats for $1000 were able to snag the best seats in the house. Those people will be seated on the pool deck watching USA’s best swimmers battling for a coveted spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. “As a former swimmer, being on deck at Olympic trials would be an amazing experience,” he said, “Definitely the best seats available.”  
 One-day tickets have not been made available but USA Swimming says they will be made available at a later date. For additional information on the swimming Olympic trials please visit HERE.

Presentation of Olympic team at 2008 trials. 

The Golden Goggles are Coming to Los Angeles

Olympian Rebecca Soni accepting the Female Athlete of the Year
award at the 2010 Golden Goggle Awards. 

USA Swimming will be hosting its 8th annual Golden Goggle Awards on Nov. 20 at the JW Marriott Los Angeles at L.A. Live. The event is organized to honor the achievements of the world championship team that competed this summer in Shanghai and also serves as a fundraiser for the USA Swimming Foundation.

The Golden Goggle Awards recognize the national team’s best performances and give an opportunity to the swimming community and swimming fans to vote for their favorites. Mariah Cunnick, Director of Development at USA Swimming, talked about the importance of the Golden Goggles to the swimming community “It’s huge,” she said, “ It's really our only centerpiece event focusing entirely on our athletes.” 

Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps and Missy Franklin lead the nominations with four a piece. Phelps and Lochte are both nominees for Male Athlete of the Year and they along with Ricky Berens and Peter Vanderkaay make up the gold winning 4x200 Freestyle Relay team, which is nominated for Best Relay Performance of the Year.

Lochte has two nominations for Male Race of the Year. The first for his world-record-breaking performance in the 200 Individual Medley and the second for the 200 Freestyle.  Phelps also holds a nomination in that category for the 200 Butterfly. Phelps shares a nomination for Best Relay Performance with Nick Thoman, Nathan Adrian and Mark Gangloff for the 4x100 Medley Relay.

Missy Franklin leads the nominations on the women’s side with a nomination for Best Female Athlete of the Year, Female Race of the Year and two nominations for Best Relay Performance of the Year. She shares one of her relay nominations with the 4x100 Medley Relay team, which includes: Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni and Dana Vollmer. She shares the other with Dagny Knutson, Katie Hoff and Allison Schmitt for their performance in the 4x200 Freestyle Relay.

This year, USA Swimming will be adding a silent auction to the event. The proceeds of the auction will be benefiting their foundation. “We were looking for ways to maximize the potential of the event without risking the integrity of the event,” Cunnick said.

The auction will feature 35 items which include living the life of a national teamer for three days at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, being a “basket kid” at the U.S. Olympic Trials next summer, being an honorary team captain at the 2011 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool, a swim lesson and lunch with Olympian Natalie Coughlin, along with many other items.

The silent auction will take place during the reception hour, but there is a way that those who will not be attending that night can get into the action. USA Swimming will be opening an online auction on Nov. 7 that will run through Nov. 19 at 11:59 p.m. The online auction will feature 12 of the premier items being offered at the Golden Google Awards.

Actor and comedian Kevin Nealon will be hosting the event. Cunnick says the swimming community is extremely excited about the host for this year. The theme of the night will be Rock & Roll and Beatles tribute band “The Return” will be contributing to that atmosphere.

 The Golden Goggle Awards began in 2004, “They’re a great way for the swimming community to connect with one another and get together to celebrate our athletes, “ Cunnick said. The Golden Goggles alternate coasts each year and will be held in New York next year. 

UPDATE: Online auction is now open. Here
            UPDATE: The Golden Goggle Awards will be live streamed on Nov. 20                 at 6pm PT Here

Remembering USA Swimmer Fran Crippen

Fran Crippen on the medal podium at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Sunday, Oct. 23, marked one year since Fran Crippen’s tragic death during a 10-kilometer open water race in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. Fran Crippen, a member of USA Swimming’s national team, was participating in the last race of FINA’s 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup series when he lost consciousness and drowned. Now a year later, his family and friends are remembering and honoring him.

A day before the one-year anniversary of Fran Crippen's death, a number of his teammates on the national team, and current members of FAST Swimming in Fullerton, Calif., honored their friend and teammate by holding a special practice along with scattering flowers at the Long Beach Marina in Long Beach, Calif.

Fran Crippen’s older sister, Maddy Crippen, remembered her brother with a memory of the day she made the 2000 Olympic team. Her younger brother was the first person to run up to hug and congratulate her. She was still in the pool, and he was preparing for his own race. Nevertheless, he made his way towards her. “It was all such a blur but he was just as excited for me in the moment, as he would have been for himself,” Maddy Crippen said, “That is the kind of person he was.”

 The Crippen family, along with a number of Crippen’s friends, is continuing the fight for athlete safety in open water swimming. The Fran Crippen Elevation Foundation was launched in November 2010. The FCEF strives to promote open water safety and is committed to helping other swimmers like Fran Crippen Work the Dream.   

The foundation offers “Work the Dream” grants to swimmers who are working toward their dream of becoming an Olympian. The “Work the Dream” grant provides funding to these athletes so they can focus on training without worries. “We want to be a financial resource for athletes who, like Fran, have big dreams and the power to go after them!” said Maddy Crippen, Officer at the FCEF.
           The FCEF works with safety advocates and medical professionals and organizes committees to ensure that something as preventable as Fran Crippen’s death does not happen again. The FCEF has also established Team Fran. A team made up of volunteers that participate at community events, help at swim clinics and do various other things that Fran Crippen spent his time doing. The proceeds of the events go to the various FCEF programs.

Fran Crippen and the FCEF were honored in September at a MLB Phillies game. Maddy Crippen threw out the ceremonial first pitch. “Fran was a HUGE Phillies fan and for them to honor him the way they did was very meaningful for all his friends and family,” Maddy Crippen said. 

Fran Crippen won six national titles during his swimming career and was a member of USA Swimming and the national team. Fran Crippen was well on his way to competing at the London 2012 Olympic games in open water swimming, but he wasn’t always an open water swimmer. 
          He transitioned from the pool to open water in 2006 and swam under Coach Bill Rose in Mission Viejo, Calif. with the Mission Viejo Nadadores from 2006 to 2008.“Fran loved to race and compete: meets, practice, it didn't matter, and once the pool door opened it was ‘Go Time.’,” Maddy Crippen said,  “RELENTLESS describes Fran's approach to excellence.” 
           In 2007 he won gold in the 10K at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro and also took the gold at the 2009 Rome FINAWorld Championships. He took the silver in the 10K at the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, Calif. 

“His loyalty to family, friends, his University and his Teammates was palpable,” Maddy Crippen said. Fran Crippen represented the Germantown Academy Aquatic Club in Fort Washington, Pa. 

Olympian Takes Fight Against Cancer Into The Water

Aaron Peirsol talks to a group about open water swimming.
Retrieved from "Swim For Your Life" Official Facebook page.

On Saturday, Oct. 8, Olympic swimmer and Trojan Swim Club member, Eric Shanteau hosted the second annual "Swim For Your Life" charity event at the Lake Lanier Island Resort near his hometown of Atlanta. The event was organized to benefit Lance Armstrong’s foundation, Livestrong, which is a foundation dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by cancer.

Saturday’s event featured a number of Olympic swimmers ranging from, Orange County's own and recently retired, backstroker Aaron Peirsol  to Tunisian Olympian Ous Mellouli, who trains with Shanteau at USC. The event was kicked off by a one-kilometer open water race. Amanda Weir, 2004 Olympian, took top honors on the women’s side while the events host himself won on the men’s side. The event also included a five-kilometer open water race that was won by three-time Olympic medalist, Katie Hoff and All-American swimmer Robert Looney on their respective sides.

After the races, a number of Olympians including Kathleen Hersey and Mark Gangloff, hosted an open water swim clinic. It was later followed by a 500-yard junior swim. The 500-yard swim allowed children and parents in attendance to get an insight into open water swimming. After the event ended, Shanteau sent a message via Twitter, “Incredible event today!! Thanks to all the participants, volunteers, spectators and sponsors. huge success!! #Swim4Life.”
                Shanteau credits the idea of “Swim For Your Life” to the Livestrong Challenge, which is a cycling race. “That was really the event that planted the seed in my head. It was like OK, let’s see what we can do with the swimming world,” Shanteau told USA Today.
              A week before swimming at the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials and making the Olympic team, Shanteau was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Shanteau is now three years cancer-free and training in Los Angeles for next year’s Olympic trials.