Winners of BE THE FIRST

Our BE THE FIRST contest was a huge success. We received so many great submissions we couldn't pick just one winner. We're happy to be sending the first 2012 Helix wetsuits in the northern hemisphere to two lucky athletes. Below are the winning submissions:

Igor Belakovskiy of Concord, MA sent us a beautiful shot of Walden Pond.

"It looks very calm and peaceful here, but trust me, at 5:30am on any summer day it's anything but. From May to September, Walden Pond, is a haven for hundreds of Boston-area triathletes and open water swimmers. From Olympians to Team in Training first timers, fromsprint triathletes to Ultraman competitors, Walden really hassomething for everyone. And if you get there a little early, or stay alittle late, you get to see the pristine beauty that Henry DavidThoreau experienced in the 1800s. What's not to love?"

We love it Igor! The second photo had the staff here at blueseventy pooling with jealously (no pun intended). What an awesome backdrop for a pool! Kevin Dessart of the Colorado Springs Swim School sent us this photo of the Wilson Ranch Pool.

"I think the picture speaks for itself. It's absolutely beautiful and if you can't get motivated to swim at the base of the Rocky Mountains, you should choose another sport!"

Agree. Congratulations Igor & Kevin. Enjoy the 2012 Helix! We loved so many of the photos and videos submitted we wanted to share some our favorites below. Click on the slideshow to see the highlight reel. Thanks to everyone who submitted an entry. Happy swimming!

blueseventy takes crowns in London

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

don't take our word for it...

We love this kind of thinking... wanna see just how much faster you will be swimming in blueseventy? Test it like Scottish Elite Triathlete Mike Adams did - check out it out here.

Andrew McCartney tries out the new 2010 Helix

Andrew McCartney joined the blueseventy team this year, and sent us an email after testing his new kit for the season. Andrew will be racing at the Hy-Vee ITU Elite Cup in Des Moines in a couple of weeks where he hopes to defend his swim prime...

Well we had our first swim out in the lakes yesterday. It was a tad bit chilly on the face but quickly warmed up. We swam a 4km set so I had lots of time to get a good feel of the new wetsuit. What an amazing difference. I love the forearms! You really don't need very much material there.

I always talk about feel of the water. I think any swimmer would say that the 'feel of the water' is the key to fast swimming and it always bothered me that you can't really feel the water if it is covered by 5mms of wetsuit material. So I think that is spot on. Shoulders feel great in the wetsuit and the floatation feels awesome. This I all noticed from one swim. May I also add, thank goodness for zippers from the bottom up. This makes for fast, effortless transitions.

I would also like to say the goggles are fantastic. The Nero Racers fit my face perfectly. The choice of different lenses are an often forgotten aspect of goggles and is always appreciated.

So thanks again for helping me out this season.

Hope all is well,

Andrew McCartney

http://andrewmccartney.blogspot.com/

Docherty Wins By An Inch

Last weekend, Bevan Docherty from New Zealand outsprinted Australia’s Brad Kahlefeldt to win the opening leg of the Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Series as they crossed the line together in 1:50:25. A photo finish awarded victory to the Kiwi in the US$150,000 event held in the Korean city of Tongyeong and places him at the top of the Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship rankings.

The two lap 1500m swim was led out by Korea’s Chang Yon Lee which sent the Tongyeong crowd into a frenzy. Hot on his heels was France’s three time European champion Frederic Belaubre and Australia’s Courtney Atkinson who was given a 15 second time penalty in transition for a false start.

On the 40km cycle a large front pack of 50 athletes formed until Mark Fretta from the USA and Belaubre managed to escape up the road, carving out an ever increasing lead as they pushed on. The duo managed to open up a one minute advantage over the main pack coming into second transition following 30km of hard graft. On the final cycle lap a Russian pairing of Dmitry Polyansky and Alexander Brukhankov also managed to open a gap of 30 seconds taking them clear of the chasers which included Canada’s double Olympic medallist Simon Whitfield and 2008 Tongyeong ITU World Cup winner Tim Don from Great Britain.

Once on the run the Russians quickly caught Belaubre as Kahlefeldt, Beijing Olympic Games bronze medallist Docherty, and his compatriot Kris Gemmell set about reducing the gap to the leaders. Polyansky managed to break Brukhankov but was caught by the chasers lead by renowned runner Jarrod Shoemaker from the USA as the athletes hit half distance on the 10km run.

Despite being caught Polyansky refused to be dropped as a surging Kahlefeldt first shelled Shoemaker, and later Gemmell from the lead pack. The Russian eventually succumbed to the brutal pace in the final 500m as the Aussie and Kiwi broke clear to fight it out in the home straight.

Kahlefeldt stole the early yards but Docherty responded and sprinted past. The Australian kicked again and overhauled the Kiwi but then slipped some ten metres from the line, losing momentum and allowing Docherty’s last ditch effort to gain the extra inch that he needed to win.

Kahlefeldt appealed against the verdict to award Docherty the race victory but the decision was upheld after a review of the photo finish.

“It’s all a blur, when it comes down to those sort of situations,” admitted Docherty. “It’s just mind over body. I couldn’t really feel my legs but they wanted to go forward. Brad got a bit of a lead on me and I came back and inched in front and we both just went for the line. It was a case of just cross your fingers and go for it!”

“Deep down I know I have a pretty good sprint. That was my game plan going into the Olympic Games but unfortunately it didn’t quite go my way. This time it paid off but that Olympic gold medal is going to haunt me and until I achieve that I’m not going to stop.”

I was more than happy with my result, but of course I wanted to win,” said Kahlefeldt. “I felt really good out there and kept trying to push the pace through the twisty and windy sections on the run but I was waiting for Bevan to come around me. In the home straight he got past, then I came over the top of him, then he came back in front and I just gave it 100 percent. I’ve been in these situations before when it’s oh so close, and I knew I just had to give it everything in such a big race.”

Don't just take our word for it...

Angie from Jack and Adams Bicycles in Austin, Texas thought she'd share her thoughts about trying on the helix before her wetsuit-swim triathlon on the Jack and Adams blog.


"The guys at the shop encouraged me to check out the new wetsuits and said that I would most likely be pleasantly surprised. I was a little skeptical until I tried my wetsuit on the night before the race in my hotel room. Boy was I impressed! I could actually move my arms freely in my new blueseventy Helix. It was awesome! I was excited to complete a wetsuit swim."

For the whole post please go to:
http://jackandadams.blogspot.com/2009/04/wetsuits-what-not-to-do-pre-tri.html

To helix or not to helix? That is the question...

Over 300 yards, Coach Lee from BodyZen tests the speed difference between swimming with and without the blueseventy Helix wetsuit. www.bodyzen.com

blueseventy dominates the Sand to Surf in Mt Maunganui

Olympic 10K Marathon Swim gold medalist Larisa Ilchenko is well-known for winning races in dramatic fashion at the very end. We call her classic open water move, The Ilchenko.

Australian David Browne (above photo) pulled The Ilchenko on Kane Radford at the 2.8K Sand to Surf, Mt Maunganui Swim, the fourth of five races on the Sovereign New Zealand Ocean Swim Series.


With nearly perfect conditions and out in front of the other 697 swimmers, David and Kane battled it out mano-a-mano throughout the entire race before David did The Ilchenko less than 200 meters from the beach finish to defeat Kane. "David just swam a brilliant race, he was never far from my hip or my toes and just had a little bit more at the end to out run me up the beach. It was a great race though, tight all the way and a case of waiting, waiting, waiting to see who would move first. Coming down the stretch I went a little left, David a little right and he just nudged me to the beach," said the gracious Kane.

David explained his strategy, "I knew I had to wear him down, he is such a strong swimmer and swam so well in Aussie at our nationals a month back. It was toe to toe, stroke for stroke, we both started fast to drop some of the pool swimmers and then I just found something to bring it home. Over the final few hundred meters, we both hammered it, this was a great race to win."

The women's race was also tactical with Charlotte Webby beating established star Kate Brookes-Peterson and finishing eighth overall. "I sat with [Kate] early, but when she put her foot down, she opened up a gap of about 100 meters and there was little I could do. But around the back i made some great ground through good navigation and sensed my chance. I went straight and that proved the difference, I'm delighted."

Brian Stover's helix wetsuit review

Brian Stover wanted to find the fastest wetsuit for himself to last the next few triathlon seasons. He borrowed a whole pile of suits from Trisports.com to trial - one of them was the blueseventy helix.
To ensure unbiased results as possible and make the test as fair as possible, he did two rounds of testing for each suit. Each day's testing consisted of 2×400 on the 6:00. Then he changed suits, swam 200 to make sure the suit was on properly and swam another set of 2×400 on 6:00. Two suits got tested per day. He did not know which suits in round one were being tested until that morning. During the second round he swam the suits in the reverse order of the first round to hopefully eliminate fitness gains.

He wrote about his review of the helix:
"Four swim times were 4:25, 4:27, 4:24, 4:28. Average time 4:26.
This suit stands in stark contrast to the Xterra. That suit [helix] feels like you’ve been shot from cannon. This suit swims fast but feels slow. I kept checking the clock every 50 and thinking no way is this suit this fast..."

For Brian's entire review please go to
http://accelerate3.wordpress.com/

blueseventy introduces Lucy!

This year we welcome Lucy Chatfield who is the latest member to join the blueseventy staff as UK Sales Manager. Lucy has worked in the fitness industry prior to her joining us and brings a great wealth of experience and swimming talent.
Lucy just recently placed a stellar 3rd in her age group in her first race of the year which was the pool-based NUTS Aquathlon (hosted by the Nottingham University Tri & Swim Club) in February. Her first triathlon for the 2009 season will be East Leake sprint on March 29th; a helix will certainly be required in the chilly temperature!
Lucy took up triathlon last year and completed 3 x sprints, 1 x olympic and 2 x aquathlons (pictured above in action).

Welcome Lucy!

Rob Matthews; blind aspirations..

Here is the remarkable story of New Zealander Rob Matthews, a blind athlete who doesn't let anything get in the way of doing what he loves. Watch how his coach, Spencer Vickers (who happens to be our model in our blog heading picture and image above) works with Rob to achieve amazing results.

http://tvnz.co.nz/breakfast-news/breakfast-thursday-march-12-2537699/video?vid=2537939

Timo Bracht looking good

The German site Magic Sport has a very nice 360 view feature and recently invited Timo Bracht to try out/show off new CEP items and while he was there they also wanted a nice 360 view of the blueseventy Helix wetsuit. Timo is looking fit and ready for 2009.

A focused Chris McDonald at Challenge Wanaka...

Above is a great shot that our Sponsorhsip Manager, Guy Crawford took of winner Chris McDonald preparing for the start at this year's Challenge Wanaka, held in New Zealand. Congrats on another win Chris!

blueseventy's Roque'n Rollin'

Roque Santos (right), our ex-Olympic swimmer and nero VP of sales, takes a dip in his helix wetsuit with his ex- College roommate, Todd Robinson under the monumental Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Happy Ironman Arizona finisher...

Here is Marit Fischer in her helix tst wetsuit the day before Ironman Arizona, held earlier this month. She raced on a hurt Achilles and still managed a great race - 12:41. Congratulations Marit!
Thanks to Matt from nuun for the pic.

Wanaka training for lucky Luke!

Luke Dragstra has a pretty good life. He gets to travel around the world, visiting beautiful places while having fun doing what he loves to do full time - triathlon.
Here is a picture of him in Wanaka, New Zealand where is he is based while he trains for his next pro race - the iron-distance Challenge Wanaka (sister race to Quelle Challenge Roth), held in January.

New Zealand's Buoyant Politician

New Zealand's ACT Party leader Rodney Hide gets some help from his mum as he kits up in a blueseventy helix to swim from Rangitoto to Takapuna Beach promoting the Ocean Swim series.

blueseventy "Top of the South" New Zealand Adventure Swim Group

Norman Coldicott sent us this picture of his adventurous group of swimmers who have been all over New Zealand to swim in some amazing bodies of water - of course in their helix wetsuits and skull caps to keep them warm in the icy temperature.
He says "We really appreciated the support that blueseventy provide our group. It was a great summer [last year] & some of us visited some amazing locations."

ITU World Cup Champion Sam Warriner checks in...

We asked Sam to send us a picture of herself in her super quick helix so here she is kicking back with her dog in the bath!
Sam says after her massive '08 season which ended just recently when she became the 2008 ITU World Cup Champion;
"I am enjoying my break, just sitting on the couch and drinking cups of tea!"
Sam begins racing again soon in New Zealand for the local season.
Thanks for the pic, Sam - you and Bow Wow Warriner rock!

San Francisco Swim Across America and Alcatraz Crossing

Check out the cool link provided by Glenn Mills who provides a slide show of his swim in the San Francisco Bay.

http://www.goswim.tv/entries/5457/san-francisco-swim-across-america-and-alcatraz-crossing.html