Day one of swimming action is underway. In the prelims the men’s 400 freestyle was the most exciting event (that I saw, but I left early). The first two circle seeded heats were quite quick, with a lot of big names in the final heat, including Australia’s hero Grant Hackett. It looked like the final heat slowed itself down as no one took the race out and everyone just stayed with each other. With 50m to go there were six guys turning together, all fighting for spots in the final. Hackett managed to finish second in the heat, but that was only good enough for 8th place overall. He just about missed the final. But I wouldn’t put any money on him tonight as he sure didn’t look good in the water. However he’s a veteran, so you never know. Just goes to show you that anything can happen in this sport.
The Canadians had a strong morning with Mackenzie and Julia both advancing to the semis in their events. I’m taking personal credit for Julia’s best time in the 200 IM, as being the great teammate that I am, I let her have the last piece of raisin toast at breakfast. Ryan had a great 400 free, going a best time. He had a great last 50 to win his heat by a nail. Brittany and Mike also had strong swims, but both just missed advancing.
I didn’t race this morning, so I just warmed up and watched half of heats. The session was supposed to take over four hours! There are 1200 swimmers in the meet, which is insane. And 190 guys in the men’s 50 free! Apparently rumor has it that the more countries that participate, the more money FINA gets from the IOC. So you just have to deal with it. I’m going to stay home tonight and watch finals on TV to rest up for the big event tomorrow. One day until race day…
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