The blueseventy blog

1 hour swim=4920 yards

2012-01-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

Last weekend the San Francisco Bay Area Tamalpais Aquatic Masters swim team took on an hour swim distance challenge. Worth noting was 60 year old Laura Val’s 4920 yards! Her new age group (60-64) is treating her well! Laura also decided to swim the local Quadrathon meet the next day. The format is racing a 500, 100, 200 and 50 free, all within a 2 hour time frame. She managed to set 4 new National Records. Additionally, had the hour swim been in a sanctioned pool she would have broken the 1000 and 1650 on her way. When Michael Moore, Pacific Master’s president and meet head official, who is very familiar with Laura’s accomplishments, noted that she "didn’t look like she was trying that hard", she responded that she had done 3 back to back 1650's the day before. What an accomplishment Laura - swimming faster in blueseventy!

neroXII

2012-01-21T10:59:00.000-08:00

Testing, testing and more testing. It may sound tedious but this is how we make a suit swim better than anything else.

It's been a busy 645 days working towards one simple goal: make the fastest possible swimsuit. Our design team has gone on to develop a fabric that's more compressive and water resistant than ever before. We've agonized over fit and obsessed over subtle cut lines. After all, it's in the subtleties that vortexes are created and speed is lost - fit is not something to gloss over. We tested and retested seam profiles in the wind tunnel as well as flume testing because fluid dynamics is one of the most complex sciences and testing in both environments gives us valuable data. Finally we gave it to elite swimmers in three different countries to test and provide crucial feedback.

The result is the newest generation of our Nero competition swim suit, the neroXII, a suit that has undergone more testing and employs more technology than any competition suit we have ever developed. We overlooked no detail in creating the ultimate piece of swimming equipment to help you achieve your fastest swim.

The neroXII is finally available.

Visit neroxii.com to learn more.

BE THE FIRST

2012-01-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

2012 is going to be an exciting year. Our new pool competition race suit comes out in less then a week and our brand new wetsuit line will be released in February. In order to celebrate we wanted to launch a short but sweet contest to offer one lucky swimmer an opportunity like no other - be the first to experience the new Helix wetsuit before anyone else!

Entering is easy. Winning is not. Send us a photo or a short video (seventy seconds or less) of your favorite place to swim, whether it is your local pool, your favorite lake or the open water with a brief explanation on why the location tops your list. The team here at blueseventy will choose our favorite and the winner will be announced January 30th.

Submit your entry to firsthelix@blueseventy.com by January 27th for your chance to win. To learn more click here.

The 2012 redesigned Helix stays true to it’s predecessors by offering unparalleled flexibility, comfort and speed in the water, but now adds a split chest panel for easier breathing, more buoyant rubber in the core of the suit, and a refined fit in the neck and shoulders. We’re confident the 2012 Helix is the fastest and most comfortable version yet of the world’s most recognized triathlon wetsuit.

To be the first to learn about our new Nero suit you can pre-register here.

Happy swimming!

2012-01-03T14:49:00.000-08:00

blueseventy athlete and aspiring New Zealand Olympian Tony Dodds is one to watch. Since becoming a competitive triathlete in 2005 he has quickly made his way to the top, securing the title of New Zealand Under 23 Champion three times and winning the New Zealand Sprint Championships in both 2010 and 2011, as well as achieving a number of top placings on the world stage.

Enjoy this video put together by Tim Pierce for the Revealing Lake Wanaka series which highlights stories from people who live and love beautiful Lake Wanaka on the South Island of New Zealand.

Follow Doddsy's journey at tonydodds.com

Happy Holidays around blueseventy

2011-12-22T06:24:00.001-08:00

We are always thankful we get to work at a terrific company, make cool products, and get to meet amazing people all over the world. Our sponsored athletes are nothing short of incredible. Here are 2 pics wishing us Merry Christmas that were in our inbox today:

Lovely Kate Bevilaqua

Wacky Guy Crawford

John Dahlz- Iron distance swim set

2011-11-27T07:09:00.000-08:00

John Dahlz recently lead out of the water at Ironman Arizona with a 46:56 swim. In talking to John post-race, we asked him to share his favorite swim set for 2.4 mile prep. John says, "My favorite workout for ironman training is 800 repeats on a tight interval (ideally your threshold base interval)."

4 x 800 on 9:20(short course yards) descending 1-4 with 2 x 100 IM on 1:30 as recovery after each 800, so it's really 4 x broken 1k's.

"I like 800s because they are long enough that you can get into a rhythm, but short enough you do not get bored. The 2 x 100 IM's break up the set both mentally and physically, but still maintain your aerobic heart rate throughout the set. I think descending the intervals is key for the 800s because it gives you the confidence that you can get through a 4k main set feeling strong. Plus with the IM thrown in, the set goes by pretty quickly and with a w/u and c/d you can get a 5-6k workout in in less than 1.5 hours."

Brownlee named Brit triathlete of the year

2011-11-14T21:36:00.000-08:00

In from Competitor magazine.

Alistair Brownlee ( blueseventy ) and Helen Jenkins named British triathlons Olympic athletes of the year.

http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/11/news/brownlee-jenkins-named-british-triathlons-olympic-athletes-of-the-year_43234

Helen Jenkins and Alistair Brownlee were named joint-winners of the 2011 Olympic Athlete of the Year award.

See the complete press release below:

The prestigious award rounds off exceptional seasons for the two athletes who both finished the year winning their second career world titles in Beijing.

Helen Jenkins also celebrated winning the GE British Triathlon Female Elite Triathlete of the Year award, following a season which has seen her win the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship London presented by Tata Steel and finish second in Beijing, Kitzbuhel and Madrid.

Helen was also a member of the ‘Dreamteam’ in Lausanne that saw the GE Great Britain Triathlon Team win gold in the ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships in the Olympic Capital of Lausanne.

Upon receiving both awards, Helen commented: “I think it’s the third year in a row and it’s so nice that people keep voting for me.”

PHOTOS: A Look at the Lives of the Brownlee Brothers

She added: “It’s great to be in a sport that is growing so much. It’s an honor to be in such an amazing team, there are so many people doing well at the moment, it’s amazing to be part of the sport at this time.”

On an evening aimed at celebrating Britain at its best, Alistair Brownlee was also awarded the GE British Triathlon Male Elite Triathlete of the Year for the fourth successive year.

Alistair won the Madrid, Kitzbuhel, London and Beijing legs of the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series and like Helen was a member of the GE Great Britain Triathlon Team that won gold in the ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships.

When asked about the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games he commented: “I believe I can be there, and that gives me the best possible chance to win that medal on that day.”

Kona Pier Swim

2011-10-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

We turned up for a morning swim at 6:30 am and it seems every pro was out for a splash in the ocean.

Cam Brown , Lieto, Crowie, Luke Mckenzie, Joe Gambles, Rasmus, Leanda Cave, Kate Bevilaqua, Jo Lawn ... the list goes on. The pack was about 20 with about 18 of them professionals that will be in the hunt for a top finish.

For a group of people that are racing each other in a weeks time. They are all friends and some often train together. Being it's still a week from race day , there wasn't alot of tension. Just a group of friends going out for an early morning swim. I'm sure that will change late this week.

we had a good swim . with the boys and girls stopping to check out the fish...Also to see if we could touch the sand with-out blowing an ear drum.. equalising is important!!!

Luke excited, because he had 4 espresso shots in 30 sec's.

Kate Checking out the fish she's likely to see.

Fraser Cartmell post swim

The Swim Start

Being a swim company we usually don't go too far from the water, Or we dry out.
However on the odd occasion we get out for a ride .
On this particular ride i didnt see the wind once, i just dangled in the slip stream of some of the worlds best triathletes. Front = Belinda Granger and Linsey Corbin. Back = Kate Bevilaqua and Hillary Biscay.
Taking the photo = Guy "holding on for dear life " Crawford

Side shot , Same ladies getting aero.

View from " Huggo's on the rocks" just as the sun sets..... thats Kona to me.

Kona Starts Again

2011-09-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

Its that time again.

Kona rolls around and some of us have the pleasure to head out early and do a little training "work" before the mayhem of race week rolls in.

I dropped by every-ones favourite cafe to see every-ones favourite cafe owner "Jeff" From Lava Java.
I had to take a Picture from that Famous cafe view.

next up it was time to hit the pool with some of the worlds favourite triathletes

Jeff the Legend

Next up we hit the pool for session with some of the race favourites, From right to Left .
Linsey Corbin, Belinda Grnager, Craig Alexander, Luke McKenzie

Luke and Belinda trying to free up and legs with a little kick set

Kate , Stroke looking good.

Guy and Kate, They can actually both breathe water.. Hence no bubbles

Luke knocking out a hard pull set.

Cat Morrison Turning up in her awesome blueseventy swimsuit

Kate Bevilaqua keeping her eye on the clock....

Its been a great few days , hanging out with some of the stars of triathlon, chilling at Lava Java , Watching some amazing sunsets. Looking forward to the rest of the triathlon world to roll into town .

remember you can find us / blueseventy out of the Coffees of Hawaii Boat Tuesday through Friday mornings, At the expo Wednesday through Friday and at Bike Works in town.

See you soon

blueseventy Kona

Spotlight on Kona - Luke McKenzie updates us on "island life"

2011-09-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

Aloha! Time is flying out here in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii and I can't believe we have already been out here for almost two weeks since the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas. Every day Kona seems to get a little busier as more and more athletes arrive. We are now inside two weeks till the biggest race of the triathlon year and it will only be a click of the fingers before we are nervously treading water in Kailua Bay ready to do battle at the world's toughest one day sporting event, the Hawaii Ironman.

We have settled in well to life here on the Big Island and the the daily routine has transitioned into a basic existence of train, eat, train,eat, nap, eat, massage, sleep ... Just how I like it! My wife Amanda and I are sharing a condo close to town with our good friend Linsey Corbin from Montana and she is definitely a fun girl to have around. Kona seems like a second home to us these days having spent not only the past six years racing this event but also mid session training camps in May and June for several years. We have built an awesome social network here and it's exciting to return each time and catch up with friends, have BBQ's and feel like we belong as part of the this special community.

My training always kicks to another gear here in Kona. I have been really pleased with the work I have produced since arriving and can feel my body hitting it's stride right on time for the race. This past Saturday I did one of my last big key training sessions leading into the race which was a race simulation. I met a group down at the pier at 6.30am including two time Hawaii Ironman champ Craig Alexander (Crowie), Mathias Hecht, Eduardo Sturla, Jo Lawn and Linsey Corbin who all lay claim to Ironman titles at races around the world. We had a seriously talented group of some of the worlds best Ironman athletes to swim the Ironman course. We also had a friend of mine from my high school days, Brett Carter join us and with his surf lifesaving background he has a serious swimming pedigree. I am sure he will be one of the first amateur athletes out of the water in this year's race. I treated the swim like I was racing and wore my Blueseventy PZ3TX with a race suit underneath. It's important to practice all aspects of the race during this simulation.

A quick transition at the pier and Crowie, Brett and I were off for a four hour ride towards Hawi. Once we hit the Queen Kaahumanu highway the wind was blowing strong from the south and we were flying along almost effortlessly at 40km/hr plus for much of the first hour. This is never a good sign for the return journey, especially when you know that the winds gain strength throughout the morning so the return trip was bound to be a tough one. We made our halfway turn just before the final climb to the town of Hawi and headed back south enjoying a crystal clear day with views of the huge volcano's Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. American Uber biker, Chris Lieto joined us for a while along the Waikoloa stretch and we enjoyed been able to keep up with him for once. The ride back from Scenic lookout was a real tough one as the wind was now in full force and the slight uphill gradient back towards the airport made for seriously tough going. This was perfect as it had really tuned into an Ironman simulation because we were riding at our race pace watts for most of the last hour.

Arriving back at the Kona Aquatic center around midday we quickly transitioned into our running shoes for the last leg of our big training day. We ran a solid 10km out towards the energy lab and let me tell you trying to run with Crowie was tough! I was determined to run with him and I managed to for all but the last 2km. We really have to thank my father Peter for his mobile aid station support out there on the Queen K as the heat and humidity were now in full affect. Our finish line was the pool and it was a very welcoming reward at the end of a tough day of training.

I hope you enjoyed a little insight to training out here in Kona preparing for Ironman. Stop by next week for another update - Race Week!

Four 70.3's in One Weekend

2011-09-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

Another big weekend of racing saw four 70.3 races on.
Japan
Syracuse
Branson
and Cancun

For some it was a final Hit out before Kona in 3 weeks time.
For others it was a test to see how the body responded post 70.3 worlds.

blueseventy athletes shined in the water with the men leading out in almost every race.

70.3 Cancun saw Bryan Rhodes lead from the water
70.3 Brason saw Guy Crawford Lead from the water
70.3 Syracuse saw Erik Limkemann lead from the water

Congrats gents.. great swimming

Big Shout out to Ben Hoffman on a great race in Branson. He really showed great form winning over Matt Lieto who also put together a great race one week after 70.3 World Champs.

Boecherer and Sym took out 70.3 Cancun. Sym is having a fantastic year of racing and is rarely seen off the podium.

Aernouts and Butterfield took out 70.3 Syracuse .Butterfield is making a turn back to triathlon after being a pro cyclist and having a baby.. Seems she has only gotten faster. Definitely one to watch in the very near future.
Big congrats goes to our own Paul Ambrose , having raced almost every two weeks this summer and still placing on the podium.

Now it seems the count down is on ... Kona is on the horizon and people are getting there last week of hard training done before taper time.

Good Luck

2011 Kona Slowtwitch Gathering

2011-09-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

logo courtesy of the fine folks @ Endurance Conspiracy

blueseventy is pleased to be involved again in Slowtwitch's annual Ironman World Championships party. 'The Gathering' is a unique get-together for athletes and industry folks alike to mingle and chat only a few days out from our sport's biggest event. If you were not lucky enough to attend last year don't miss out!

Muscle Milk / CytoMax are hosting again at their beautiful ocean front home right on Ali'i Drive only couple miles from the finish line (trust us you gotta see this place)! Endurance Conspiracy will be assisting as well and already some fine raffle prizes have been donated from Quarq and LeMond. Beverages, food, pro athletes, music, surprises and a raffle are sure to please this year. Visit the Slowtwitch thread to RSVP! Click here to see photos from last year's event. If you're headed to the Big Island this year be sure to join us in the festivities and swing by.

The 2011 Kona Slowtwitch Gathering

Wednesday, October 5th from 4 PM to 7 PM

Muscle Milk / CytoMax house on Ali'i Drive

70.3 Worlds

2011-09-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

It was great day for blueseventy and our athlete Melissa Rollison

She's set the 70.3 world alight this year .
She has only been swimming for 12 months and is already one of the strongest runners in the sport or triathlon.

Come race morning it was blueseventys Leanda cave who lead from the water , quickly followed by Julie Dibens. Rollison was 3mins down at the end of the swim.
Diben took control on the bike , but it was Rollison who was holding pace with Dibens on the bike and come T2 Rollison had only lost a matter of seconds to the bike powerhouse..

Onto the run it was Julie in First with Melissa in second.
Mellisa started taking huge amounts of time out of Dibens lead and soon enough she had taken the lead from Dibens and was running her way to her first 70.3 World Title.

Rollison made it an Aussie double with Craig "Crowie" Alexander winning the mens

In the mens it was Paul Matthews leading the blueseventy men to the line in 6th Place , with Tim Berkel and Luke Bell in 8th and 9th respectively

Big congrats to all our athletes, Pro's and AG'ers , Well done for qualifying and racing on what was a truely hard course. Hope you recover quickly.
Marines Ironman 70.3 World Championships
Las Vegas, NV, USA / September 11, 2011
1.2m swim / 56m bike / 13.1m run Top 10 men

1. Craig Alexander (AUS) 3:54:48
2. Chris Lieto (USA) 3:58:03
3. Jeff Symonds (CAN) 3:58:42
4. Michael Weiss (AUT) 3:59:11
5. Joe Gambles (AUS) 4:00:00
6. Paul Matthews (AUS) 4:00:26
7. Raynard Tissink (RSA) 4:00:53
8. Tim Berkel (AUS) 4:02:01
9. Luke Bell (AUS) 4:04:03
10. Alessandro Degasperi (ITA) 4:05:09 Top women

1. Melissa Rollison (AUS) 4:20:55
2. Karin Thuerig (SUI) 4:26:52
3. Linsey Corbin (USA) 4:29:25
4. Heather Jackson (USA) 4:30:21
5. Joanna Lawn (NZL) 4:33:08
6. Leanda Cave (GBR) 4:33:57
7. Heather Wurtele (CAN) 4:35:36
8. Emma-Kate Lidbury (GBR) 4:36:14
9. Christie Sym (AUS) 4:36:52
10. Michelle Wu (AUS) 4:37:03

Janus Charity Challenge

2011-08-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

The Janus Charity Challenge People's Choice Award is a competition between five of the sport's biggest stars and their respected charities. blueseventy is pleased to be involved with two great charities involved this year: David Thompson's World Bicycle Relief and Andy Pott's Eleonore Rocks.

David Thompson hammers in the blueseventy Elite Tri Suit

World Bicycle Relief specializes in large-scale, comprehensive bicycle programs by providing supply chain management, technical knowledge and logistics expertise to poverty relief and disaster recovery initiatives. Since it's founding in 2005, World Bicycle Relief has distributed over 75,000 bicycles and trained over 700 field mechanics. You can find out more about World Bicycle Relief here.

Professional triathlete David Thompson aka DKT races in blueseventy apparel, wetsuit, swim skin and goggles. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota David has forged strong relationships with the mid-west triathlon community always being the hometown favorite at the Life Time Fitness Minneapolis Triathlon. His focus for 2011 is the Hy-Vee 5150 Series Championships and the Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series. Follow DKT at his blog.

Professional triathlete Brooks Cowan races for the blueseventy sponsored Eleonore Rocks Triathlon Team

Eleonore Rocks' mission is to make a positive impact on the lives of sick children and their families. ER donates rocking chairs and provides support to impacted families. ER directs its efforts toward the birthing units and hospital rooms in the NICU. Eagerly anticipating doing everything in ER's power to make the lives of terminally ill children and their families the best they can be. You can find out more about the Eleonore Rocks foundation here.

blueseventy is the Eleonore Rocks Triathlon Team's official wetsuit, swim skin and goggle sponsor. Made up of over forty athletes from all over the country they range from professionals to passionate fundraisers for the foundation.

Joining David and Andy are Hunter Kemper (supporting A-T Children's Project), Matt Reed (supporting the Blazeman Foundation for ALS) and Becky Lavelle (supporting Jenny's Light). Whether it’s the athlete or the charity that inspires you, a vote for your favorite competitor can make the world a better place, and the race a better race.

To show your support, simply CLICK HERE and cast your vote today! Voting ends October 1st. The $20,000 charity prize purse will be divided among all charities based on the number of votes each athlete/charity receives by the U.S. Open Triathlon in Dallas.

London's Dextro Energy Paratriathlon.

2011-08-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

Blueseventy Athlete and Silver medalist Lauren Steadman reports on London's Dextro Energy Paratriathlon.

A massive Congratulations to You Lauren.. Well done.

My race was at 4 on Sunday so i had time to fully prepare and felt quite professional in my cycles uk kit that was kindly donated to me, i also managed to watch the men's elite, to see how they tackled the course.. but how fast were they... it was impressive! Once they'd finished their race it was time for the Paratriathlon :S nerves were high but i set all the transition area up and placed my bike in the stand and pulled on my blue seventy wetsuit which was my race, racing in the suit but it felt incredible in the water and fitted perfectly! I was ready. I went and warmed up in the Serpentine- it smelt horrid and was all green but it was warm so there was a positive side!

The gun went and i was off, the swim is my strongest area due to my swimming background so i knew i had to gain a lead here. I was first girl out and gained a 2 min lead over the previous world champions and then through to transition was first out on the bike and lead on the bike for the next 4 laps. The bike felt comfortable to ride and i felt pride to ride the moda around the course, and with a bit training and race practise the results can be improved further! And finally came the run the last leg, i was 2 mins 50 secs behind the world champion and had a 2 min lead over the girl in third, so i pushed as hard as my legs would carry me hoping to hold onto second and get closer to girl in front, and when i crossed the line... relief passed over my body- i had done it, my second triathlon secured second in the world, it was a priceless feeling...standing on the podium was a great moment with a silver medal around my neck and the crowd cheering! However this couldn't have been achieved without all the support i received and the fantastic equipment i was supplied with to race- Thank you!

thank you again for everything you have done for me, i can't describe how grateful i am to Blue Seventy!!

Thanks,

Lauren Steadman

Berkel defends Challenge Copenhagen title

2011-08-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

Berkel beats Johnsen in dramatic and close iron-distance racing at KMD Challenge Copenhagen

The final 8 kilometres were run shoulder to shoulder as defending champion Tim Berkel from Australia and home town favorite Jimmy Johnsen of Denmark battled it out for a close and very exciting finish infront of over 100,000 spectators in ecstacy in downtown Copenhagen today.

Fast swims were followed by fast bike times, and after Jimmy Johnsen caught Tim Berkel coming into the final 8 km on the run, the two triathletes tried to do serious damage to each other's legs in the final kilometres - each trying to get the gap that would secure the win.

Finally in the last few km Tim Berkel found the extra speed and pulled away from Johnsen and got a good lead very late in the race which he held on to, to take home his second consecutive title at KMD Challenge Copenhagen. Tim's finish time: 8:11:15 included a 4 minute penalty for drafting, but a 48:24 swim, 4:33:18 bike and 2:46:16 run were enough to take the win.

"I'm over the moon to defend my title because I've never done that before. I love this beautiful city of Copenhagen and the crowd was amazing again this year. Jimmy made me work hard today, I was grinding my teeth towards the end and was going as hard as I could," the happy two time winner Tim Berkel said after the race.

Like many other pros during the race, Berkel incurred a 4 minute time penalty for drafting, but rather than deflate him he launched into run frustrated and determined to not let it hold him back.

"I was a little disappointed of the penalty. I felt good on the bike and Bastie and I rode away towards the end so the penalty was very frustrating. After I served I started running angry and ran a ridiculous pace and had to calm myself down and settle in at a slower pace. I had Jimmy and Dejan breathing down my neck, so I got my nutrition and water in and I think Jimmy had worked hard to catch me. I managed to pull away towards the end but that last 8 km is something you don't wanna do in an iron distance race," Berkel tells us.

For Jimmy Johnsen it was as close as it could be for him to win a race on home soil, but the strong Dane had to settle for second place only 35 seconds back after one of the most exciting iron-finishes of the year. Jimmy Johnsen swam 47:40, biked 4:36:55 and ran a 2:44:02 marathon. The top two athletes recognised great performances from the opponent and hugged at the finish line while third placed Dejan Patrcevic (CRO) crossed the line just in front of Danish future hope Mads Vittrup-Pedersen who took 4th with an amazing 2:38:59 marathon.

Biking powerhouse Björn Andersson (SWE) had a solid swim in 3rd position, hammered the bike for a 4:19:47 best-of-the-day bike split, but faded heavily on the run and withdrew after about 28 km of the run.

Another sub-9 win for Keat in repeat
The women's race was much less close as last year's winner Rebekah Keat from Australia hammered the course like it was 2010 and finished off with a 3:05:02 marathon to reclaim her title with a blistering 8:52:42 finish.

It was her fifth iron distance race under 9 hours, two of them in Copenhagen.

"I tried to focus on having a solid swim and not having to work too hard on the bike. I wanted to try to get my run legs back in this race and run around the 3 hours that is my level so that was great. Each lap the crowd just got bigger on the run, the second lap was good, third amazing and fourth incredible, I have never seen a crowd this big and it was fantastic today," Keat says.

"Despite my big lead late in the run I'm not the type that's backing off, it's not in me, and I always run as hard as I can. I wasn't happy with my last two 3:13'ish marathons, so I wanted to show I could run fast. I'm happy about my marathon performance today but would love to crack three hours again."

Photo credit: Paul Phillips/Competitive Image.

Olympic selection race

2011-08-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

Well it was an all Brownlee affair at the London ITU World Series race.

The race that would see athletes get there first chance to qualify for there respective countries Olympic teams.
The location : , London,
The task : , Qualify for your countries Olympic team.
The Goal: For most athletes it was to make the top ten and be the first or second of your countrymen/woman in order to Qualify.

For Great Britain , you had to finish in the top 3 overall...Not an easy task unless your last name is Brownlee!!

Blueseventys Alistiar Brownlee took the win over Alexander Brukhankov (RUS) and younger brother Jonathan Brownlee

Alistair was off the front on the bike , which is highly unusual for the main pack to let the fastest runner in the field get away.
I guess with Olympic spots on the line , the goal of winning the race becomes second to the goal of coming top 10 and securing your spot.

Words from Alistair
“It was great, I couldn’t have asked for more,” Brownlee said. “I think it stayed at 10 or 15 seconds for a couple of laps and then it just went 30, 45, 60, I couldn’t quite believe it to be honest. I knew that we were in danger of being attacked on the bike and I think to be honest me being away served its purpose better than anything.”

Well done Al... Great race
Well done to all the qualifying athletes from all nations.

All the medals from the pool at the FINA 14th Swimming World Champs.

2011-07-31T17:06:00.000-07:00

The World Champs has finally come to an end after a couple of fantastic weeks of competition, suitably ended with the smashing of the 10 year old 1500m free record held by Grant Hackett by Chinas Sun Yang (that dude can SWIM! - his last 50m was faster than most of the 200 free final splits!)

We like to look back over the pool results and well, looking up results is a time consuming (but enjoyable) job. So in case you like pouring over times like we do, we'd throw it all on one page for you. Nice and easy. If you want the splits - you can get all the down and dirty details from FINA's results page

14th FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS - Shanghai 2011

50m
Male swimming-50m Freestyle Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	CIELO Cesar	Brazil	21.52
Silver	Luca Dotto	Italy	21.9
Bronze	Alain Bernard	France	21.92

Female swimming-50m Freestyle Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Therese Alshammar	Sweden	24.14
Silver	Kromowidjojo	Netherlands	24.27
Bronze	Marleen Veldhuis	Netherlands	24.49

Male swimming-50m Backstroke Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Liam Tancock	United Kingdom	24.5
Silver	LACOURT Camille	France	24.57
Bronze	Zandberg	South Africa	24.66

Female swimming-50m Backstroke Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	ZUEVA Anastasia	Russia	27.79
Silver	Aya Terakawa	Japan	27.93
Bronze	Melissa Franklin	USA	28.01

Male swimming-50m Breaststroke Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	FRANCA DA SILVA Felipe Alves	Brazil	27.01
Silver	SCOZZOLI Fabio	Italy	27.17
Bronze	VAN DER BURGH Cameron	South Africa	27.19

Female swimming-50m Breaststroke Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	HARDY Jessica	USA	30.19
Silver	EFIMOVA Yuliya	RUS	30.49
Bronze	SONI Rebecca	USA	30.58

Male swimming-50m Butterfly Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	CIELO Cesar	Brazil	23.10
Silver	Matthew Targett	Australia	23.28
Bronze	Geoff Huegill	Australia	23.35

Female swimming-50m Butterfly Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Inge Dekker	Netherlands	25.71
Silver	Therese Alshammar	Sweden	25.76
Bronze	Melanie Hennique	France	25.86

100m
Male swimming-100m Freestyle Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Jammes Magnussen	Australia	47.63
Silver	Brent Hayden	Canada	47.95
Bronze	William Meynard	France	48.00

Female swimming-100m Freestyle Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Ottesen Jeanette	Denmark	53.45
Gold	Herasimenia Aliaksandra	Belarus	53.45
Bronze	Kromowidjojo Ranomi	Netherlands	53.66

Male swimming-100m Backstroke Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	LACOURT Camille	France	52.76
Gold	STRAVIUS Jeremy	France	52.76
Bronze	IRIE Ryosuke	Japan	52.98

Female swimming-100m Backstroke Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	ZHAO Jing	China	59.05
Silver	ZUEVA Anastasia	Russia	59.06
Bronze	COUGHLIN Natalie	USA	59.15

Male swimming-100m Breaststroke Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	DALE OEN Alexander	Norway	58.71
Silver	SCOZZOLI Fabio	Italy	59.42
Bronze	Cameron VAN Der Burgh	South Africa	59.49

Female swimming-100m Breaststroke Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Soni Rebecca	USA	01:05.1
Silver	JONES Leisel	Australia	01:06.2
Bronze	Ji Liping	China	01:06.5

Male swimming-100m Butterfly Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	PHELPS Michael	USA	50.71
Silver	Konard Szerniak	Poland	51.15
Bronze	Tyler McGill	USA	51.26

Female swimming-100m Butterfly Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	VOLLMER Dana	USA	56.87
Silver	Coutts Alicia	Australia	56.94
Bronze	LU Ying	China	57.06

200m
Male swimming-200m Freestyle Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	LOCHTE Ryan	USA	01:44.4
Silver	PHELPS Michael	USA	01:44.8
Bronze	BIEDERMANN Paul	Germany	01:44.9

Female swimming-200m Freestyle Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Federica Pellegrini	Italy	01:55.6
Silver	Kylie Palmer	Australia	01:56.0
Bronze	Camille Muffat	France	01:56.1

Male swimming-200m Backstroke Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	LOCHTE Ryan	USA	01:53.0
Silver	IRIE Ryosuke	Japan	01:54.1
Bronze	CLARY Tyler	USA	01:54.7

Female swimming-200m Backstroke Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Melissa Franklin	USA	02:05.1
Silver	Belinda Hocking	Australia	02:06.1
Bronze	Sharon Van Rouwendaal	Netherlands	02:07.8

Male swimming-200m Breaststroke Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	GYURTA Daniel	Hungary	02:08.4
Silver	KITAJIMA Kosuke	Japan	02:08.6
Bronze	VOM LEHN Christian	Germany	02:09.1

Female swimming-200m Breaststroke Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Soni Rebecca	USA	02:21.5
Silver	Yuliya Efimova	Russia	02:22.2
Bronze	Martha McCabe	Canada	02:24.8

Male swimming-200m Butterfly Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Michael Phelps	USA	01:53.3
Silver	Takeshi Matsuda	Japan	01:54.0
Bronze	Wu Peng	China	01:54.7

Female swimming-200m Butterfly Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Jiao Liuyang	China	2.05.55
Silver	Ellen Gandy	United Kingdom	2.55.59
Bronze	LIU Zige	China	02:05.9

Male swimming-200m Individual Medley Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	LOCHTE Ryan	USA	01:54.0
Silver	PHELPS Michael	USA	01:54.2
Bronze	Laszlo Cseh	Hungary	01:57.7

Female swimming-200m Individual Medley Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	YE Shiwen	China	02:08.9
Silver	Alicia Coutts	Australia	02:09.0
Bronze	KUKORS Ariana	USA	02:09.1

400m
Male swimming-400m Freestyle Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Park Tea Hwan	Republic of Korea	03:42.0
Silver	Sun Yang	China	03:43.2
Bronze	BIEDERMANN Paul	Germany	03:44.1

Female swimming-400m Freestyle Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	PELLEGRINI Federica	Italy	04:02.0
Silver	ADLINGTON Rebecca	United Kingdom	4:04:01
Bronze	MUFFAT Camille	France	4:04:06

Male swimming-400m Individual Medley Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	LOCHTE Ryan	USA	04:07.1
Silver	CLARY Tyler	USA	04:11.2
Bronze	Yuya Horihata	Japan	04:12.0

Female swimming-400m Individual Medley Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	BEISEL Elizabeth	USA	04:31.8
Silver	MILEY Hannah	United Kingdom	04:34.2
Bronze	RICE Stephanie	Australia	04:34.2

800m
Female swimming-800m Freestyle Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	ADLINGTON Rebecca	United Kingdom	08:17.5
Silver	Lotte Friis	Denmark	08:18.2
Bronze	Kate Ziegler	USA	08:23.4

Male swimming-800m Freestyle Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Sun Yang	China	07:38.6
Silver	Ryan Cochrane	Canada	07:41.9
Bronze	Gergo Kis	Hungary	07:44.9

1500m
Male swimming-1500m Freestyle Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Sun Yang	China	14:34.1
Silver	Ryan Cochrane	Canada	14:44.5
Bronze	Geogo Gis	Hungary	14:45.7

Female swimming-1500m Freestyle Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Lotte Friis	Denmark	15:49.6
Silver	Kate Ziegler	USA	15:55.6
Bronze	Li Xuanxu	China	15:58.0

4x100m
Male swimming-4×100m Medley Relay Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	USA	USA	03:32.1
Silver	Australia	AUS	03:32.3
Bronze	Germany	GER	03:32.6

Female swimming-4×100m Medley Relay Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	USA	USA	03:52.4
Silver	China	China	03:55.6
Bronze	Australia	Australia	03:57.1

Male swimming-4×100m Freestyle Relay Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Australia	Australia	03:11.0
Silver	France	France	03:11.1
Bronze	USA	USA	03:12.0

Female swimming-4×100m Freestyle Relay Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	Netherlands	Netherlands	03:34.0
Silver	USA	USA	03:34.5
Bronze	Germany	Germany	03:36.0

4x200m
Male swimming-4×200m Freestyle Relay Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	USA	USA	07:02.7
Silver	France	France	07:04.8
Bronze	China	China	07:05.8

Female swimming-4×200m Freestyle Relay Final
Medal	Athlete	Nac	Result
Gold	USA	USA	7.46.14
Silver	Australia	Australia	7.47.42
Bronze	China	China	7.47.66

blueseventy donates 10 wetsuits to tri4Japan auction

2011-07-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

The world moves at a rapid pace and the tragedy that was the Japan tsunami quickly slips from the headlines of the world news. But it hasn't slipped from our minds, or the minds of many other leaders in the triathlon industry.

Tri4Japan (tri4japan.com) is a charity established by Mike and Rieko Trees to help ease the suffering of the people of Kamaishi, a town devastated by the March Tsunami and earthquake. As part of their fundraising program, the organisation is set to launch a major sports and triathlon charity auction on eBay beginning on Sunday evening (31st July from 19:00 BST) with over 50 items being auctioned for this great cause.

blueseventy are donating not just one, but TEN of our new positive buoyancy Axis wetsuits, so if you are in the market for a new suit, buy one from the Tri4Japan auctions and not only will you be swimming faster in blueseventy, but all your hand earned cash will go to help make life a little easier in Japan.

The auction sees a mixture of donated items ranging from Tri4Japan t shirts and posters signed by triple Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington up to high modulus carbon bike frames and top-end wetsuits as well as some fantastic World Champion and celebrity autographed collectables.

The full list of items can be found here.

Go on - browse the auctions on ebay and get yourself a bargain and some warm-fuzzies for doing something to help out this great cause.

Auctions Site: ebay (live from 1 August 2011)

Win an Axis Wetsuit!

2011-07-26T20:35:00.000-07:00

We like to think we know everything there is to know about wetsuits, but like they say, "it's not what you know but who you know", so we'd like to get to know you and your wetsuit needs a bit better.

Please give us a hand and fill in our short survey so we can continue to make wetsuits that help you reach your swimming goals, whatever they may be.

TAKE THE SURVEY

And to say thanks for talking to us, we are giving you the chance to WIN ONE OF THREE BRAND SPANKING NEW AXIS WETSUITS.

We'll pick a winner after the survey closes on 26 August 2011, and advise the winners by email.

Cheers & good luck!

SOFLO Swim Team on record breaking streak

2011-07-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

We're rather fond of breaking things like records, so we were pretty happy to hear that five young members of the SOFLO swim team had broken not just one but four 11yr-12yr boys US national relay records in the last month, and all in their blueseventy NeroTX and Nero Race goggles.

4 new national records. 'nuff said.

Tristan Celestin, Juan Lucas, Alfredo Mesa, Julian Pinon, and Cristian Rossi all did their part to help take down the following records:

4 X 50 Freestyle Relay

4 X 50 Medley Relay

4 X 100 Freestyle Relay

4 X 100 Medley Relay

Way to go guys, we love it when people are swimming faster and having fun!!!

Belgian team Uplace dominates 70.3 Antwerp

2011-07-25T17:35:00.000-07:00

Belgium's first pro triathlon team have done their nation (and blueseventy) proud at 70.3 Antwerp with Bart Aernouts taking the mens title and team mate Sofie Goos winning the womens. In fact you could be forgiven for thinking you were reading the 2010 results - because they both won the event last year.

Axel Zeebroek kicked off a great day of racing for the team leading out of the swim, with Bart trailing him by 3min 16 heading onto the bike. But Bart showed his form with a race best 2.07.33 bike split followed up with a dominating run split of 1.10.04 - more than 4mins faster than the next fastest run split!

Bart took the podium spot with a total time of 3.45.36, 3 minutes ahead of Axel and 9 minutes in front of German Markus Fachbach. This is his second win in a row at this event, after running down Bjorn Andersson's 7min lead off the bike to take the title ahead of Marino Vanhoenecker and Dirk Bockel who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.

And making sure the women of the Uplace Team could take equal share of the celebrations was Sofie Goos, who won the women's race for the third year in a row. Sofie strung together a consistent performance to take the win in 4.21.24, finishing 1min16 ahead of fellow Belgian Sophie de Groote. Natascha Badmann rounded out the podium, finishing in 4.26.44.

Uplace Team members Tine Deckers and Bert Jammaer also raced during the weekend with Tine Deckers finishing 2nd in Ironman Lake Placid; now sure of her ticket for IM Hawaii.

Bert Jammaer finished 8th in Ironman Frankfurt. For Bert it was his first Ironman of the year after being diagnosed with mononucleosis at the end of March. The race was a great hit out for him in a quality field and team manager Ben De Wolf was happy with his result. "For long time in the run he was on track for a top 5 finish but the last 10k his tank was empty. Step by step he will reach back his best level and I’m sure he will be close to an Ironman win later this season".

blueseventy dominates in 70.3 Racine

2011-07-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

blueseventy athletes dominate in 70.3 Racine

Bryan Rhodes leads from the water
Paul Ambrose wins over-all
Tim Berkel Second over-all
Christie Syms wins over-all

Here's the low down on the way things unfolded.

Bryan Rhodes guided the men’s field out of the water in a time of 24:20. Following closely by four, led by Australian Paul Ambrose (24:26),

Ambrose then took control of the race , pushing a fast pace on the bike and dropping all other contenders.

Coming into T2 Ambrose has a 5:11 lead over Bryan Rhodes and Tim Berkel ( Also a blueseventy athlete )

While 2 x IM World Champion Craig Alexander was some 7 mins off the pace

Hitting the run , Paul Ambrose looked strong and held a steady pace, the only person to make any ground on Ambrose was the quick moving Tim Berkel , known for his run speed, But no-one was going to catch Ambrose today cruising to the finish line in 3:51:50 with a comfortable 5:42 winning margin over Berkel.

“I had a great day today, everything just fell right into play for me and, considering the talent on display, I couldn't be happier,” said Ambrose after the race.

“I love testing myself against some of the best athletes and today, I just had my day.”

Women’s race

Donna Phelan led the women’s field out in a time of 27:55. Exiting the water second, eight seconds back, was Michelle Wu. From Australia, Wu had established over a minute gap on her fellow Aussie, Christie Sym.

Out on the bike course, in the hot morning sun, Sym forged her way to the lead while American Kristin Andrews worked her way past Phelan.

Sym took a firm hold of the race during the early miles on the run that saw her pulling away from all other contenders. Andrews was aware of the quick running Wu and Jacobs behind and had to hold it together until the finish line to ensure she held second place. How-ever Christie could soak up the finish line atmosphere, having a lead margin of 4:32 mins over second.

Men’s results

1	Ambrose, Paul	3:51:50
2	Berkel, Tim	3:57:32
3	Evoe, Patrick	4:03:14
4	Cartmell, Fraser	4:04:58
5	Rhodes, Bryan	4:06:28
6	Paul, Jeff	4:07:45
7	Francis, Tom	4:08:05
8	Alexander, Craig	4:09:52
9	Wade, Robert	4:13:40
10	Ruble, Zach	4:14:22

Women’s results

1	Sym, Christie	4:28:54
2	Andrews, Kristin	4:33:26
3	Wu, Michelle Wu	4:33:48
4	Jacobs, Jessica	4:34:21
5	Phelan, Donna	4:38:49
6	Chong, Jessica	4:42:42
7	Castro, Terra	4:51:53
8	Yaremczuk, Natasha	4:58:14
9	Beebe, Kelzie	5:09:13

Big congrats to our blueseventy athletes and all athletes competing on the day. WELL DONE

Record Breaking Laura Val

2011-07-13T11:18:00.000-07:00

Laura Val already holds all of the short course meter freestyle World Records in the 55-59 age group. Since aging up to the women's 60-64 age group this year she's wasted no time continuing her record breaking ways. At this past weekend's Pacific Swimming Championship in Santa Cruz, CA Val set no less then ten masters world long course records.

Val, representing Tamalpais Masters, put on a show during the 1500 meter freestyle in what could be considered the finest Masters swim performance ever - she broke almost all the freestyle records for the 60-64 age group! She set a new 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m on her way to setting a new 1500m record of 19:52.85, smashing the previous best of 21:16.05.

Val, racing in the blueseventy NeroTX, completed the freestyle sweep by just missing breaking the thirty second mark in the 50m freestyle (she touched the wall in 30.00). She capped off the meet with a world record sweep of all the butterfly events and the 400 IM.

Congratulations Val on a truly epic meet! She now owns the short course and long course world records in all the freestyle events for the 55-59 and 60-64 age groups.

Bevan Docherty reports on his Edmonton World Cup win

2011-07-11T16:10:00.000-07:00

So here it is, the money end of the season. Time to start paying dividends with all the hard training I’ve been doing and get some results! What better time to make it come together than my last hit out before the big one in London…

The race is Edmonton World Cup in Canada, a course that has been very favorable to me over the years. Way back in 2001 as my first Elite World Championship where I finished 7th, to 2007 when I won the race. In-fact, I was sitting in race briefing watching the highlights of the 2007 race thinking ‘how things have changed so much, the style of racing, the intensity, I even had a good amount of hair back then!’

A lot might have changed, however it was the “Old School” athletes that were dubbed as the favorites and as my competition. Hunter Kemper was my main threat, hot off some convincing race wins. In the same breath, I can never count out Canadian Olympic great, Simon Whitfield, who knows how to turn it on when needed. I was ranked #1 for the race, that adds pressure but also gives you a slight advantage, as you are able to select your starting position first.

The swim is held in a “duck poo” filled pond, but that’s ok as they dump enough chlorine in it to kill off anything nasty! Trust me I’ve swum in much worse! I chose a far left starting position as it was the shortest line and gave me clear water. That paid off as I was positioned well exiting the water in the top 10. Into the bike I tried to push early, however, the nature of the course didn’t allow for a break to get away, so the rest of the bike was just about staying out of trouble and conserving the legs for the run.

The run is where it all happened. I had a great transition and hung onto Hunter who was pushing a very solid pace. After about 1km, I felt Hunter fade just a little so I tightened the screw and kept driving, instantly surging to a 15m lead. From there I continued to drive the pace. However, going into the 2nd lap of 3, I began to pay the price for the early effort.

By this stage a young French guy bridged the gap and took control of the race as I hung on to try to compose myself again. It took me until the start of the last lap when my body started to come back into form, as I turned the tables on the Frenchie by pushing the pace and making him hurt. Now was no time to start playing games, with Hunter still only 50m back and ready to pounce, we had to drive all the way to the finish line. With only 800m to go, I felt the Frenchie fade so I pushed again. It wasn’t easy but I didn’t want it to come down to a sprint and wanted to enjoy my win!

Crossing the line in first, I was pretty happy with how the day went but I’m not disillusioned. This was only a World Cup race, and not a World Championship Series race with a lot of big hitters not present. It was a great boost for my confidence, but I realize that there is still a lot of work to be done. In order to win Gold in London, I’ll need to lift my game even more! In saying that, I enjoyed the sound of the NZ National Anthem and the taste of Champagne. These victories don’t come as often as I would like, so I try to enjoy them as much as I can.

As per usual, many thanks to everyone that supports me. Next race is the big one of the season, London WCS and NZ’s first Olympic qualifying race!

Bevan Docherty

Paul Matthews on Fire

2011-07-10T15:13:00.000-07:00

His races all seem to be coming together!!

Recent results below!!

1st : 5150 Washington DC
4th : Rev3 Quassy
1st : 70.3 : Kansas
2nd : 5150 : Boulder Peak

Paul has been winning races for some time , But he has had his ups and downs in the sport.
After years of hard work, Matthews is showing why he's a top contender for this years 70.3 World Title.

If you are only just starting to take notice of Paul Matthews a.k.a Barny , it's because he's a quiet bloke from Australia that mostly just goes about his business !!! "Quiet until you get to know him that is "
learn more at http://www.paulmatthews.com.au/ or twitter: @paulbarny and you'll soon know he's a great guy and a funny character!!

Q: So why is he's having his best year to date ?

A: Without giving to much away, I have been training with Bevan Docherty ( two times olympic medalist and ITU world champion ) If you think racing is hard all you need to do is spend a few weeks with Docherty and then you'll know about pain !!
Paul and Bevan are training out of there not so secret ( yet i'm still not going to tell you ) location .

Q: So whats next ?
A: I'm going to race 70.3 Vineman next weekend and then knuckle down into a training block before hitting 70.3 World Championship in Vegas.

Q : Do you have a goal for Vegas you want to share?
A: Top 3 would be an awesome result for me!!

Q: What do you think of the new course?
A: REALLY hard, REALLY hot , but a great course for me!!

Q: So after Worlds will you be staying in the USA or heading home ?
A: i will be heading back to Australia , i have unfinished business at the Noosa Triathlon ( a huge Olympic distance event ) and then i'll head to the 70.3 Asia Pacific Champs in Phuket

Q: So we hear your success is due to training with Guy Crawford for all those years ( he's the dude writing this )
A: yep ... i enjoyed having Guy sit on my wheel every day for a year!!

Q: Anything else you'd like to add?
A: YES...The dragons ( NRL Team in Australia ) will repeat their grand final victory come october!!!!!

Great year to date Paul , good luck at Vineman and we hope to see you on top the podium at Worlds.

Learn more about Paul and follow him on his twitter !!!
www.paulmatthews.com.au/
twitter: @paulbarny

Thanks
blueseventy

Kate Bevilaqua reports on her Win at Ironman Korea

2011-07-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

After the disappointment of Lanzarote I was looking for another Ironman to race, I needed more points if I wanted to qualify for Hawaii and Guy was after a 70.3 and redemption following Boise 70.3. Why not Korea? We could both go and race in the same location on the same day and besides the fact it was going to take us 5 flights and a day and a half to get there, there was no reason not to!

I am so glad we did!!

After flying Boise to Seattle, Seattle to LA, LA to Tokyo, Tokyo to Seoul, Seoul to JeJu Island we finally made it to our destination Wednesday afternoon. Bikes together and a quick trip to the local mart and we were in bed and slept for 13 hours! The longest I have ever slept before! It was obviously needed though.

The next day we woke up to torrential rain that continued all day long, the training we had planned never eventuated but we were able to find the local indoor 50m pool and swum a couple of km’s to remind the body about why we were in Korea and we were actually racing in a few days time.

We had been told about a local “western” pub called “Ghecko’s” and deciding to be on the safe side we went and checked it out! It was perfect and we ended up eating there the next 3 nights in a row!

By Friday morning we had started to feel a whole lot better and it was heating up outside with no rain! An early morning run reminded us how humid and sticky it was, then it was time for a ride to check out some of the course including the swim.

The afternoon was occupied with the Pro Press Conference and a tour of the bike course which was definitely worth doing although it took just about as long as I did to ride it during the race. It gave me a good insight into where the climbs were and the various out and back sections. I like knowing as much as I can about a race course before the day.

Saturday after a bit of a sleep in it was the mandatory swim, bike, run and our first experience at swimming in the fog. By the time we arrived at the swim course around 9.30am you could only see about 50m in front of you! This was going to be fun! The water was beautiful to to swim in though, perfect temperature, and after begging Guy to slow down I was able to hang on his feet for a good session.

The afternoon was spent relaxing, a quick race briefing and an early dinner. We were ready to go!

Sunday morning my race start was 7am. Guy not until 9am. So we worked out at compromise. I was up at 4.30am and on the 5.20am bus for the start line and he got to sleep in a little bit longer and arrived by 6.30am to see me before I started, help get my awesome blueseventy wetsuit on and calm my nerves. It worked perfectly!

Lucky I was in the water early, we were called out by 6.45am and waiting on the start line for 15 mins before the gun went off! Luckily the fog had cleared enough and it was going to be a complete Triathlon. Although swimming is not my favourite discipline I was still glad there was one, otherwise it would not have been a complete Ironman.

With a mass start the swim was full on and I was ready for the hard fought start. The fists and kicking were on right from the word go and I found myself right on the rope getting totally hammered. But surprisingly I still felt okay! I was getting used to it happening and just stayed strong knowing that soon enough it would settle down. Around 600-700m a more orderly group had formed and I was in a good place. It was a too loop swim and coming up onto the beach to start the second I saw there was about 4 of us together and knew I had to stay with them for the second lap otherwise it was going to be a lonely swim. I also heard Guy yelling out giving me the splits to Maki and Hillary and reminding me to swim like a “Swinger”. My swim coach Paul Newsome from SwimSmooth has established that it is the type of swimmer I am and when I think about swimming like that I feel so much more comfortable and get into a good rhythm. That is all I thought about on the 2nd loop.

A quick transition was the key and again I heard Guy giving me the splits which surprisingly had not changed that much since the first lap. So far so good! Now the race plan was to get to the front!

Onto the bike and you begin with a nice climb out onto the highway. it is nasty because you are trying to settle down after the excitement of getting out of the water and onto the bike but feel like you are red lining already no matter how easy you take it. Onto the main highway and the rolling hills begins. I didn’t take long to get going and feel comfortable and had Hillary in my sites after the first 20-30km. Maki was continuing to ride strong in front while I was focusing on hydration and nutrition. It was heating up quickly and if I was not smart now I would pay for it later on the run!

Around 80km I had finally caught Maki and I was now in the lead of Ironman Korea! Wow!! But there was still such a long way to go! Now I had to put time into those amazing athletes behind me. Who know’s what is going to happen? I was still feeling good riding with my Rolf Prima TT58 and Disc continuing to push on the second lap. Eating constantly, my vegemite sandwich at special needs and plenty of electrolyte and water at every aid station. The winds picked up slightly on the way back into town but in my head I was thinking, “this is no way as hard as Lanzarote! Finish it off strong!” But don’t get me wrong, I was also thinking “Have I gone too hard on the bike?? There is one hell of a run to come??” But I was choosing to ignore that statement and go with the “feeling strong” one instead!

I took it easy on the last downhill into transition and started preparing my mind and body for the run to come! Once my bike was gone and bag in my hand I sat down, took a deep breath, loaded up nutrition in my pocket, shoes the fast light

K-Swiss K-Ruzz and socks on, Garmin….start!

The first 500-600m is straight down hill….ouch the quads! It was easy to just go with it and take advantage of the downhill, but then surprise surprise, the next 2km was up, up, up!! It was aid station to aid station, it was heating up and again I was concentrating of nutrition, coke, water, electrolyte every aid station. Banana’s became my new favourite food! I was carrying a small bottle I would refill at every aid station that would get me through until the next one. Unfortunately just before the first turn around at the World Cup Stadium for the second time this year I was hit with a stitch on my right hand side. No worries, I will run through it! But I couldn’t, it was getting so painful just to breathe that I had to stop and walk! All I kept thinking was “no”, “please, not now!” I was feeling okay and had a chance here for my second Ironman title, otherwise it was going to be the longest walk!! Another kilometre of walk running and I was started to get excited…was it going? Eventually it did and it was a relief not to have to deal with it anymore!

At 15km into the run I had a pleasant surprise as Guy turned up on his bike! His race was over and had a break through with 2nd place finish in the 70.3! The first thing I did was ask him how he went but he told me to shut up and concentrate on what I was doing! Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition, one foot in front of the other!! Stay focused!

After special needs on the run it was time for the downhill again and lucky although you go pretty close to the finish line you turn one street before it so don’t have the agony of seeing it knowing you still have 21km to go!

After the massive uphill I saw Guy again and he was able to give me a split of 16mins! This was great news! But again, there was still a long way to go! So many Ironmans are won and lost in the last 5-10km. I just had to stick to exactly what I was doing. Which at that time was literally 10min run, then 20-30sec’s walk through an aid station, loading up! My feet were squelchy because my socks were soaked, and because I had been drinking so much, well obviously it had to come out at some point in time! But all I could think about was, “I can win this! I will I will, I can I can I can”

With 5km to go there was of course more climbing and by then I had chosen not to worry about the pace on the Garmin, Guy rode past and said “see you at the finish line Champion” which brought a huge smile to my face! The last aid station is 1500m from the finish line but knowing I had the time I again stopped to load up, because I definitely did not want a repeat of Ironman WA. I was going to enjoy this finish line and take it all in!

Downhill and the excitement began to build! I was there! I did it! I am going to be Ironman Korea Champion for 2011…I am going to finish standing up and actually have a finish line photo this time! Plus Guy and I joked after WA last year that he didn’t get a hug when I finished because I was collapsed on the ground! He was going to get his hug this time!

The yellow K-Swiss men came and joined me on the red carpet and I was celebrating long before the banner! The emotions were overwhelming!

Done!! Guy got his hug! There was a post race interview, then the mandatory drug testing! But the smile could not be wiped off my face!

It was a successful weekend for both Guy and I and hopefully racing in Asia will continue to grow. A big thanks to Tinny and Bomi for looking after us for the weekend.

On a personal note, I can not believe where I have come over the last 2 years. After thinking my career was over and spending 18 months on the side line to having won 2 Ironmans in the last 8 months and still knowing there is so much more to come!

I could not have done it without all the amazing family, friends and sponsors who have stood by me.

Mum and dad…love you both and although you weren’t physically there, you were with me all the way!

Guy..this is an amazing adventure we are on and I am so glad we get to share it together xx

Coach Jeff Shilt.. we have achieved so much in such a short amount of time, I can’t wait for the next chapter! Thank you!

K-Swiss, Novatron, Rolf Prima Wheels, Blueseventy , GU, Ryders Eyewear, Computrainer, FELT, SKINS, Selle SMP Saddles and TriTown Boise!! Thank you for believing in me!

Kate

Conquering the English Channel Swim

2011-07-06T15:08:00.000-07:00

Amongst the open water swimming fraternity there exists a small but elite group that have conquered the English Channel.

Sure - for many marathon swimmers 34km isn't all thaaaaaat far. Quite a few of the FINA races are longer than that. But there are quite a few things that make this challenge so tough that fewer people have achieved this great feat than have conquered Everest. Gives it a little perspective (or just means there are fewer people nutty enough to want to do it - but we're going with the first option).

Our friends at Swimsmooth know better than most what it involves, and the training it takes to make this intrepid crossing.

Wayne Morris, Ceinwen Williams, Paul Newsome
and Paul Downie pre-swim at Trigg.

The water is a chilly 15-17ºc, and features strong tides and rough conditions. The swim will take somewhere around 12-16 hours and to stay within the rules of the English Channel Swimmers Association the swimmer can only wear normal bathers (like you wear to squad) and a swimcap. So no nice warm wetsuit or neoprene cap for these guys. Just think about that for a moment... that's icecream headache temperatures. For 12 hours or more. In nothing but briefs or your standard swimsuit. Brrrrrrr....

And you better like swimming in the dark. Because you have to work in with the tide times you may find yourself setting off in pitch black. Team member Ceinwen Williams commented "Swimming in total darkness is extremely disorientating as you lose perception of where the water ends and air begins - very freaky at first but thankfully you do get used to this!".

And you can't just rock on up and decide to take on the swim. Besides the ridiculous amount of training (up to about 60km a week, half of which is in cold open water) you need to complete a qualifying swim of 6hours in 16ºc water or less, and also find (and fund) yourself a pilot (aka dude in a boat) who will guide you through the strong currents to France. Oh - and for the eight swimmers from Perth tackling this crossing there is a support crew of 30 - most of who are travelling to the UK to assist during the crossing (does that make them sherpas?).

Now Swimsmooth Head Coach Paul Newsome is no slouch in the pool - but even so we were really impressed with the pace he maintains during these swims. For his six-hour qualification his actual swim speed was just under 13'40"/km, or the equivalent of doing 245x 100m intervals, hitting 1'22" for every 100m, leaving every 1'27". That is pretty sharp - plenty of triathletes would be happy with that pace for Ironman let along 34km!

AND if conquering such a unique challenge was not enough of a goal, they are also raising money for Breast Cancer Cure WA. So far they have raised a stunning AUD$25,000 and hope to have raised more by the time they have finished.

You can read more about their efforts on Swimsmooth's blog or their Channel Dare website.

blueseventy takes crowns in London

2011-07-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

Blueseventy Helix clad swimmers take men’s and women's elite crowns in the great London Swim.

Mens Elite winners L:R
Dave Carry (2nd), Tom Allen (1st), Jan Wolfgarten (3rd)

Womens Elite winners L:R
Keri Anne Payne (2nd), Isabelle Haerle (1st), Maaike Waaijer (3rd)

Saturday July 2nd saw one of the greatest days in open water swimming. Over 5000 swimmers entered the east India docks of London to take part in the biggest one-day participation of the UK Great Swim Series. Tom Allen and Isabelle Haerle took victories again in the Elite races with Isabelle taking the scalp of Open Water star Keri-Anne Payne in the process. Isabelle said of her win “It was always going to be hard to win with Keri-Anne and Cassie Patten in the race and a field of the best girls in swimming. It was a tough race and I had to give it all I had to take the victory”

Men’s’ victor Tom Allen, fresh from his win at the Great North Swim in Windermere was surprised how fast Dave Carry took the event out, “ Dave went quick, which surprised me, but I just had to sit close and swim a smart race until I knew it was the right time to go. I am delighted to take another win in this great swim series and in the great setting of the Docklands”

The event saw not only the elite of the swimming world take to the famous docklands of London, but also over 5000 swimmers raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity entered the 17-degree waters with their own personal motivations for finishing their Great Swim.

blueseventy were delighted to again be the choice of the elite, with over 95% of the elite field choosing to wear the award winning Helix wetsuit. Andy Caine, elite athlete manager for the event stated “We leave it up to the athletes as to the suit they choose to wear, and it’s the great suits, fitting and knowledge of the blueseventy Team that make the Helix the time and time again request of the worlds greatest open water swimmers at our events”

Great East Swim: Results

Elite Men:

1. Tom Allen 16:31:22

2. Dave Carry 16:35:20

3. Jan Wolfgarten 16:42:95

Elite Women:

1. Isabelle Haerle 17:56:39

2. Keri-Anne Payne 17:58:67

3. Maaike Waaijer 17:58:92

QT2 & B70

2011-07-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

One triathlon team produced two Kona qualifiers, the 2nd place female pro, 6th place male pro, the overall age group winner and the 4th place amateur at this past weekend's Ironman Coeur d'Alene. Hard to believe that one team based out of Boston could do so much but strength, as they say, is in the numbers. Four of the top 17 finishers were QT2 SYSTEMS coached athletes. They also had four first-time Ironman finishers get the job done. In all QT2 SYSTEMS brought a crew of over 30 including athletes, coaches and support crew to Northern Idaho. There presence was definitely felt as the dust settled on Sunday.

blueseventy is pleased to continue to support one of the best teams in the country. Clearly the athlete looking to toe the line at Ironman World Championships should take a look as the 2010 results speak for themselves: 25+ male finishes under 10:30 and 10+ female finishes under 11:30. But the team isn't just made up of professionals like Cait Snow. First-time triathletes located all over the country have found success from QT2's in-depth coaching and nutrition plans.

Congratulations to all QT2 athletes for a great weekend of racing! You can learn more about this fantastic team at qt2systems.com on Twitter @QT2Systems and Facebook.

The Celebrity Issue

2011-06-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

Kate Middleton's Sell-Out dress
at Wimbledon
Photo: PA

So earlier this week we heard that Kate Middleton wore some fancy dress to Wimbledon, and such is her fashion prowess that the dress sold out online within days at a whopping £395 (great bargain really seeing as it was down from £795?!?).

Then we got an email from our friends in Ireland with some 'papped' pics of boyzone band member and Coro Street star Keith Duffy competing in a triathlon in our Reaction wetsuit and TriDistance apparel.

We're hoping that these pictures will have the "Kate Middleton" affect, especially as our product is only £250 at the most! We're braced and ready for the influx of orders - best get in now!!

In from Anna Cleaver

2011-06-28T14:57:00.001-07:00

Anna Cleaver is proving to be a force over any distance .

She's turning into a regular podium placer and one to really watch in any distnace race.
An ex swimmer, she's always putting the other ladies under pressure from the gun.

Here's a quick note from Anna on her recent race at the 5150 in the UK and her busy schedule following the race. ....

Hello from Liverpool .
UK's 5150 (non drafting Olympic distance) race was today. I got 2nd to Liz Blatchford. Liz is an amazing athlete and lovely lady. Liz has been doing this sport for over 10 years and is one of the best, so it was an honour to race her.

I have to admit that I wasn't 100% going in, having not recovered too well since the half ironman so I didn't feel on top of my game today, but very happy with the result none the less.
I gained some valuable points towards qualification at the prestigous Hyvee triathlon (held in the US in September, with a $1million prize pool).

Next stop France for some training then Zurich 5150 in 2 weeks. I also came away with a nice little trophy and the worlds biggest beer glass (trying to fit that in the bike box will not be easy..!).

Keep your eye on the prize Anna and well done on an awesome season to date. your ripping.