I want to go where Bruce Gennari goes for a swim!

Super swimmer Bruce Gennari forwarded us this photo of him going for a swim at Yosemite National Park on route to 70.3 World Championships.

"I still had Clearwater 70.3 on the schedule and needed to get in some kind of swimming. This was a small stream that I attempted to swim in with questionable results. The water didn't flow fast enough to keep me in place (like an Endless pool). Anyway, thought this photo was pretty cool."

Indeed it is! Who's Bruce? Well you may remember him from being first out of the water at the 1997 Ironman World Championships (yes, back in the pre swim skin days).

Christmas lovin'

Usually it's us sending out the goodies to our athletes... so we love it when Christmas rolls round and we get some lovin' back! Cheers to Nick Linton for the sweet treats and quality homemade card!

(Don't worry if you haven't sent yours in already... we won't mind if it's a bit late!)

Xena pips Dumbo at 70.3 Asia Pacific Champs.

teamTBB’s Caroline ‘Xena’ Steffen held off hot local favourite 'Dumbo' to cap off what can only be described as a dream season with a win at the 70.3 Asia Pacific Championships in Phuket, Thailand. However Dumbo was later disqualified on a technicality yet to be released to media. Well that's how we tell the story - here's what apparently really happened...

Xena crossed the finish line with said elephant (apparently maintaining tradition from it's previous name of the Laguna Phuket Triathlon - we like our version better) to win in a total of 4:20:13.

Xena was second out of the swim heading into T1 15sec down on Anna Cleaver, with Belinda Granger coming out in 3rd just over a minute later. Granger kept in touch on the early stages of the bike but Xena soon built a lead, showing her strength with a ride (2.23.02 for the 90km ride) that would have kept her in the mens chase pack, and clocked the fastest female split by 4mins. Obviously no issues with the stray local dogs and chickens for Xena!

She had little to do on the run but still made a respectable run time of 1:27:17 in the high humidity, finishing her 2010 season with an unblemished record in 70.3, bringing her total to an impressive 4 wins for 4. Adding those to her three 2nd place finishes in Ironman this year, most notably at the Ironman World Championships, she will rank No.1 on the leader board for the Kona Pro Ranking.

Results:
Women
1. Caroline Steffen (SUI) 4:20:13
2. Melissa Rollison (AUS) 4:24:53
3. Belinda Granger (AUS) 4:30:49
4. Michelle Wu (AUS) 4:32:13
Dumbo - DQ.

Kate Bevilaqua leaves it all on the course at IM WA

We love Mondays. No really - it's when we grab a big coffee and sit down and re-live the weekends racing. And it's so much more than fast times on results sheets. Check out the effort Kate Bevilaqua put in to win her first ever Ironman title at IM Western Australia.

After exiting the water with over a 10min deficit to Lucie Zelenkova and 8min 10s to Team TBB's Rebekah Keat, Bevilaqua made up for it on the bike, posting the second fastest bike time, catching Keat 15km out from T2, with Zelenkova out of the running having been plagued with mechanical issues, and eventually retiring from the race.

On the run Bevilaqua continued to pull away from Keat, who has had had a huge 2010 season of racing. Bevilaqua managed to run a race best marathon of 3.20.42 to hold on to her lead and take the win. But words don't do her finish justice. Check out this clip of Bevilaqua leaving it all on the course as she crosses the line. Congrats to Kate on her well earned Ironman maiden victory, and to Rebekah Keat for her second placing (adding to what has already been a great season).

the loggers are swimming faster

The University of Puget Sound swim team is ready to take on the competition at the 2010 Husky Invitational in Federal Way, Washington. They are well equipped with the new blueseventy warmups and swimwear. Good luck Loggers!

Suit selector, by bluseevnty.

Thinking about your next wetsuit? Not sure what suit to buy, or why? blueseventy have just launched their new suit selector, which walks you through the type of wetsuit that is right for your style of swimming. While other brands are still trying to follow the antiquated sales model of good/better/best blueseventy has moved to a new way of designing and developing wetsuits. We call it celebrating difference, and a recognition that no two swimmers are alike. It's all about Balanced Buoyancy, and you can check it out now www.blueseventy.com/wetsuits

NZ State Ocean swim series

November 21st 2010

For immediate release from the State NZ Ocean Swim Series, for further information visit www.oceanswim.co.nz


Dominant victories at State Harbour Crossing

Top Australian swimmer Codie Grimsey upset arguably the strongest field ever assembled at the State Harbour Crossing today. He dominated the men’s race, winning ahead of a clutch of world class Kiwis including defending champion Bryn Murphy who came in second some twenty seconds behind. Australian based Kiwi Cara Baker dominated the women’s field ahead of Lauren Boyle.

The 19-year-old, Grimsey led the field from the beginning. An impressive victory considering the line-up included five of the six previous winners of the event, including three time winner Kane Radford (Rotorua) who had to settle for fifth place on an overcast and rainy Auckland morning.

It is the only day of the year when harbour traffic gives way to swimmers and over 1200 people took advantage of that making their way from Bayswater on the North Shore to the Viaduct in Auckland City in an event that is becoming iconic to the city of Auckland and the Waitemata Harbour.

The men’s podium was rounded out by relative unknown local swimmer Matthew Stanley, the promising youngster out sprinted the more experienced ocean water swimmer, Phillip Ryan.

Grimsey was pleased to go one better than his older brother (Trent) who finished second at this event in 2008.

“While my brother has been over to do the event, it was my first time, so I just thought it would be safest to follow the swim buoys as much as I could – so I just stayed on them the whole way.

“With such a strong field I knew I would have to get off to a fast start – so I did, swimming as hard and as straight as I could.”

Having got a taste for beating the Kiwis, Grimsey is planning on coming back to take on some more of the State New Zealand Ocean Swim Series.

This will please second place getter and first Kiwi home – Bryn Murphy, disappointed to lose today but happy he will get another shot at beating the Australian on his home soil.

“You never want an Aussie to beat you in a race like this but he had a really good race and I’m pleased with my swim, I actually swam a minute faster than last year.

“Codie and I took slightly different lines out there and then came together at the end. He had the little bit of a gap on me which I wasn’t able to catch him unfortunately. I look forward to having another crack this season.”

Three-time winner of the State Harbour Crossing, Kane Radford, was disappointed to not be able to repeat his usually dominating performance at the event.

“I had a really tough day at the office unfortunately. Everything just seemed to go badly. But you have days like that – I’ll be up at Russell for the next swim to hopefully make amends.”

As with the men’s field, there was also an Australian influence in the women’s race with current Australian resident Cara Baker winning the women’s title. The Kiwi-born swimmer confirming her dominance in this series and adding to her State King of the Bays title which she won in April 2010.

“I’m really happy with my swim today, I just went as hard as I could the entire way, I didn’t know where any of the other girls were – I was pretty worried they were right there.”

Baker is planning on making the trip back to her homeland a few more times this season, however is keeping her plans close to her chest.

“I’ll definitely be back for a few more events as part of this series – I’m not going to say which ones – I’ll keep the other girls guessing.

Two swimmers keeping an eye on her movements will be Lauren Boyle and Mellissa Ingram, the two Auckland swimmers taking second and third respectively.

While not challenging the leaders, there was one participant who was more accustomed to being on the water rather then in the water – earlier this year Shaun Quincey was the first person to kayak the trans-Tasman. He crossed the line happy to have ticked off another crossing on his to do list.

“I really enjoyed it actually, I’m a bit out of shape but I made it so happy with that. It’s pretty good to be back in the water, right now I’d rather be on the water but pretty good to be in it and doing other challenges – so it was good fun.”

Scott Rice, Event Director of the State Ocean Swim Series, was extremely pleased with today’s event.

“It was such a great atmosphere at the finish line today, all the swimmers seemed to have a great time and everyone was just buzzing.”

Today was the seventh staging of the State Harbour Crossing, the event is the first in a series of six swims as part of the State New Zealand Ocean Swim Series.

For State Insurance, the support of the series is part of the biggest sponsorship deal in its one hundred year history of supporting New Zealand communities.

The next event in the State New Zealand Ocean Swim Series is the State Russell to Paihia Swim on Saturday 11 December 2010.

Take the plunge this summer. Find out more at www.oceanswim.co.nz

We talk open water swimming with Pilar Geijo

Pilar Geijo has to be the happiest person we've ever met. Not just because she has taken her first ever title as the overall winner of the womens FINA Open Water Grand Prix series. Every time we talk get the chance to chat with Pilar she leaves you smiling and with the urge to go out and swim for the shear joy of it. So we thought we'd give you the chance to get to know the new queen of open water swimming. We've said it before and we'll say it again... we love Pilar!

Pilar collecting her spoils at the FINA Grand Prix in Roberval, Canada

blue70: So congratulations on claiming the No 1 spot on the FINA open water Grand Prix series! You have progressed so fast – 23rd in 2008, second last year – when did you believe you could take the series win this year?

Pilar: Firstly, Thanks a lot!!
In 2009 when I was second on the ranking Grand Prix, this was actually the first time that I could attend all the races of the circuit (ten races) - it was also the first time that I participated in long races so this represented a big challenge for me.In 2010, it was the second time that I decided to take part of the circuit, so I had more experience. In the middle of the year after the race in Mexico where I won with a high level of competitors I realized that it was possible to win the series. After the races in Canada where I won both, the difference of points with the second girl ranked were enough to let me imagine that the possibility to win the series could become true.

The result has come a little early this season after racing was cancelled due to the death of Fran Crippen in the men’s 10k race in Dubai. How has his death impacted on the open water swimming community? I imagine you are all very close?

Fran's death was really very sad for the whole community of the swimming. I was in Dubai and it was terrible to hear about this news. I had not had much opportunity to talk to him because we take part in different circuits, so we didn’t attend the same races. Anyway, the people I have spoken with that did know Fran have given me wonderful comments of what a good person he was.

You are the first Argentinean woman to win a FINA open water swimming title – who inspired you to become a competitive swimmer?

I learned to swim in a club called GEBA where I meet Alfredo Camarero who was an Argentinean open water swimmer in the 50´s; he was a World Champion in 1955, and 1956. I meet him when I was 10 years old. He always told me his experiences, and he always used to say me that my personality and my good humor will help me to swim in open water. I remember that he told me "if you want to be a different swimmer, you MUST do different things, things that the other don’t do".

What age did you start swimming, and who taught you?

I learned to swim at the age of 6, and started to compete at the age of 8 in the swimming pool.

When did you decided to pursue open water racing (rather than pool), and why?

At the age of 15 I participated for the first time in a competition of Open Water and it liked me very much.

I used to compete in swimming pool (800, 1500 freestyle) and I had very good results, anyway I always liked the long distances and the swimming pool was short for me! So I tried with open water, and I love nature and the open water was the perfect scene to be near to nature.

What do you think has been the key to your success?

Patience, conviction, dedication, a lot of training and a lot of love. And the most important key: Enjoy the activity that you do!!!

When did you know you could achieve the level of success you have?

The most important thing to have success is to have clear your goals. Sometimes you have to take important decisions and that have risk. The important thing is that you close your eyes and think: "What do I really want for me??” that’s going to help you to focus on your goals.
This year we had very clear our goal and we decided don’t stop until we achieve it!!

Pilar rocking her Carbon Race goggles at training

What makes you want to succeed at swimming at the highest level - what drives you to want to be the best?

I have a lot of personal reasons that makes me want to have success. It was more than 15 years that I’m a swimmer, and during this long way I had found a lot of situations that I had to resolve, a lot of obstacles to overcome. I love to improve myself. During this long way I meet a lot of people that really wish for me all the best, and they have only love for me. All the support of my family, my mum, my dad, all the dedication of Diego (I was his first elite swimmer and it was a big and important decision for him to start coaching me).

All these loving people give me the power to have success, because I know that with good results or bad results they will be always supporting me… The best part of a good result, is not only the title, the best part is to share your happiness with the people I love. This is a big reason to want to be the best!!!

Your husband is your coach so this must be a fantastic achievement for him too – how long has he been your coach?

Yes! For Diego is too the best achievement in his profession and this is for me an extra happiness. We are together 5 years ago, and we are working together in the swimming pool for the last 3 years!! The best 3 years of my sports career!!! :)) It is very funny to share the trainings!

Pilar and her husband and coach Diego Tricarico

What do you think it is about his coaching that has worked so well for you?

Diego is very professional, his knowledge are of a high level, and all of these things give me a lot of reliance.

We have an excellent relationship and this allow me to have fun everyday in every training.

What is it about open water swimming that you love the most?

What more I like about the open water is that everything is unpredictable, different situations can appear that you will have to go solving - trying to take the best decisions.
Not only you have to be a good swimmer, but also you have to pay much attention, and be very attentive to the various movements and situations during the competition.

To succeed at this level you must be doing some huge hours in the pool and in the open water. What does the your average training week look like?

I train an average of 5 hours per day in the swimming pool. 2,5 hours per morning, and the rest during the afternoon. (Average of 15km per day)
Everyday after the training session I made a session of stretching and also 3 times per week I work gymnasium for 2 hours.

Where to from here? What are your goals in open water swimming?

I still have on my mind to be part of the Olympic Games, I was so near to qualified in 2008, I was really strong that day but I think that anxiety played against me. Today I feel that I manage much better my emotions.

And of course – what are your favourite blueseventy products for training and racing?

I love all blueseventy products, I become part of blueseventy team this year and I’m very proud for that. They provide me the best products of the swimming market, blueseventy have innovation, experience, and elegance!!!

For training I like to wear nice swimsuit with funny colors that makes feel comfortable + beautiful, (I prefer the Flair swimsuit in pink!!)

For racing, I need the best swimsuit and I am lucky to have it! The neroTX Kneeskin is comfortable and this is very important for open water swimmer because the races are sometimes longer than 8 hours and we need to feel good!!

Thanks for your time – we can’t wait to see what you do next!

see us at The Running Event

There is a reason blueseventy continues to be the leading wetsuit in all run speciality stores across the country. Today we are headed to one of our all-time favorite places - Austin, Texas for the 2010 Running Event, an interbike for running. If your attending or representing a store at this year's event then we welcome you to stop by booth #725 this Wednesday and Thursday to say hi, see our wonderful gear, meet our fantastic employees and most importantly, find out why blueseventy is the only choice for your store. See you in Big Tex.

Just another day at the UK office...

It might be starting to snow in the UK, but that doesn’t mean we hole up in the office with a nice cuppa and a jaffa cake. Nope, we’re out doing photo shoots and video analysis in all weather (with tea in a thermos).

Here are a few shots that Julie took on some recent shoots with Ross Davenport, and also some video analysis work with the team at Swim Smooth. Julie from our UK office tells all…

Here are a few shots that I took on the photo shoot with Ross - as you can tell I’m not very good with the phone camera – lucky we had a pro doing the proper shots!
The photo shoot was for the awesome new Axium Wiggle suit, and took place at a very beautiful nature reserve in Nottingham.
It was a great afternoon and Ross was very willing despite the weather. It was cold and raining, but never once did he complain about being frozen (and I know he was)! At one stage we asked him to remove the wetsuit to his waist, which he dutifully did, but even just watching I felt very cold and did up my coat!!! I did try to give him warm thoughts (telling him to think he was on a warm sunny beach in the med) but I don’t think it helped…

When you work with people like Ross and Dave (our photographer), no matter what the good old English weather does you always have a great time. And with a great product what more can anyone ask for - we have it all at blueseventy!! Your jealous now aren’t you? No you can’t have my job.

Anyway, next it was a video shoot with the guys at Swim Smooth, who are filming clips for blueseventy, as well as a coaching course. Ross and Mark (TFN TRI Team) played starring roles (no star on the dressing room door - pffft!).
Ross did the first shoot, with the aim being to record an example of a good strong stroke, and of course Ross gave a master class. We had an audience with a few coaches’ present poolside, and all said it was a real privilege to have been able to see Ross swim and chat with him about what makes his stroke so good. And I might also add that he makes our Jammers look very good too!!!!!

Next up was Mark swimming in the Axium wetsuit. The aim was to show how the suit affects body position the water, using some buoyancy exercises.

After the wetsuit session, Mark swam in blueseventy TriDistance shorts to get some video analyses of his swim stroke and provide feedback which he could use to further refine his technique. This video analysis is a fantastic tool for improving technique, and Mark felt he learned a lot from the session. The guys also gave him a CD of the session so that he can continue to use it in his training sessions. Not doubt the knowledge will be put to good use at Clearwater!


You can learn more about Swim Smooth by visiting their website swimsmooth.com

Rich Abrahams shatters records at Kevin Nash Memorial Meet

In the Denver swimming community the Kevin Nash Meet is a short course meter (SCM) warmup for big winter competitions. But no one told Rich that.

Even a 4 hour hike the day before didn’t seem to slow him down. Rich competed in the 50 and 100 SCM freestyles and the 50 and 100 SCM butterfly events, and of course, wearing his NeroTX jammers.

One of Rich’s specialties, the 50 freestyle had an existing world record of 26.68. Unrested, Rich smashed the record with a time of 26.14. In the 100 fly he set a new United States Masters Swimming record of 1:07.54 breaking the old record of 1:08.36.

He just missed records in the 50 fly and 100 free but Rich feels “…confident of breaking (them) in Long Beach when I am rested and tapered.”

Great job Rich and can’t wait to cheer you on in December!


Rich is swimming A LOT faster in blueseventy!

blueseventy sponsored teams rock IM Florida

blueseventy sponsored TeamTBB & Sport Beans/NTTC put together solid performances at Ironman Florida to take top honors.

On the women's side

Team Sport Beans/NTTC pro Jessica Jacobs became the first American woman to win Ironman Florida! Her 9:07:49 clocking for the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run was just off the course record and was the second fastest time ever by a woman in the twelve-year history of the event. Jess did so with the day's fastest women's bike split (4:52:30, 22.97 mph) and fastest women's marathon (3:04:52, 7:03 per mile pace).

Team TBB's Erika

Csomor of Hungary, a two-time ITU World Duathlon Champion and 4th at the Ironman World Championship in 2009, finished 2nd. Fellow blueseventy athlete Kim Loeffler of the USA rounded out the podium. This is the second Ironman win in 2010 for the Sports Beans/NTTC team. Ben Hoffman won Ironman Lake Placid in July.

TeamTBB's James Cunnama capped off an amazing season that saw his first major win (Alpe D’Huez Triathlon), first full-distance win (Rev3 Cedar Point), first 70.3 title (Austin) and now his first Ironman title on Saturday.

He did so after suffering a flat on the bike that cost him time, but made up the ground with a smoking fast 2:43:09 marathon. Portuguese pro Pedro Gomes finished second and blueseventy stud Dirk Bockle backed up a top-ten finish at Ironman World Championships last month with a 3rd place in Florida and showed off that ITU form in the gulf by winning the swim.

Deventio girls are swimming faster in blueseventy

We’re not just about the Olympics and World Champs and all that razzmatazz (word of the day - try and get that in a facebook update!). Anywho – we heard about some great success from three pretty sharp swimmers from the Derventio eXcel swim squad who clocked some great results at the UK School Games which took place in Sunderland.

Evie Keane (16), Emily Allsopp (16) & Jodie Hawksworth (14) were all part of the England Central Team who won the overall swimming title after a very close fought 2 day programme and a highly dramatic final event; which saw the leaders by a very close margin, England North, being disqualified and handing the title to the Central team .

The three Derventio girls all performed exceptionally well in their NeroTX suits, with each of them taking medal places. In the individual events, Jodie was in top form in the breaststroke, bagging the silver in the 100m and bronze in the 200m; Emily also took bronze in the 200m backstroke. In the relays, Evie swam excellent legs in both the 4 x 100m & 4 x 200m freestyle, ensuring her team secured silver medals in both events.

The Sainsbury's UK School Games is an event for the UK's elite young athletes of school age. About 1600 athletes compete across ten sports in a four-day Games environment designed to replicate the feel of major event such as the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games and Commonwealth Games (but with more chaperones I’ll bet).

L-R: Emily Allsopp, Evie Keane, Jodie Hawksworth

got wetsuit withdrawals?

You don't have to swim to get some rubba-loving.

We know that when you can't be out swimming in the open water that you miss the feel of a wetsuit against your skin, and the protection from the elements it provides you... We know how much you love your blueseventy wetsuit, but lets face it, you can’t really rock out for coffee in it now can you?

Well we have the perfect solution for you – we’re giving you a fantastic 50% off our Nero Jackets so you can keep warm and toasty on land; without having to wear your wettie down the street. Because to be honest, that just looks kinda strange.

Click on the appropriate store link and enter the promotional code rubbalova at checkout to get 50% off your Nero Jacket.

USA Online Store
NZ Online Store

Xena takes win at Noosa

Team TBB's Caroline Steffan (aka Xena) takes yet another win on her path to complete global domination.

In a bit of a change from her normal long distance racing, Xena raced in the standard course, draft legal Noose Triathlon, which attracts huge entries including the sports top ITU racers.

Caroline biked her way to the front of the field and held on to take the win over young Aussie Ashleigh Gentle and fellow blueseventy athlete Nicky Samuels (who led out of the swim), and only 3 weeks after her 2nd place finish at IM Hawaii.

We suspect that her nickname of Xena depicts a warrior-like plan of complete global domination. So far in 2010 she has clocked wins in IM 70.3's Geelong, Singapore and Switzerland, won the ITU World Long Distance Championships in Germany, and placed 2nd at IM Hawaii, IM South Africa, IM Frankfurt and the Noumea Triathlon. Man her airmiles points must be getting her some sweet upgrades!

All Leanda, all of the way!

Our lovely Leanda Cave scored her 2nd 70.3 victory over the weekend at IM 70.3 Miami.

Leanda had her best swim at the event in her new PZ3TX, and led out from the water closely followed by fellow blueseventy athlete Nina Kraft, and Kelly Williamson. The trio had nearly 3mins on the remainder of the field when they hit the bike course.

Not happy with just smashing the swim, Leanda also set her new race-best time on the bike, and also punched out a solid half marathon to take record the fastest bike and run splits.

Fantastic work Leanda – and just 3 weeks after a top 10 placing in Kona!

For the full race report check out slowtwitch.com

PZ3TX blackmarket exposed!

Okay so “exposed” may be a little too strong, but we have discovered that our new PZ3TX is not just fast in the water, but a little too fast out of transition too. And not in a Rasmus Henning “just so comfy I forgot to take it off for the bike” way either.

The PZ3TX has obviously developed a market in the seedy underworld of Ironman.

We’ve now become aware of at least half a dozen swim skins that “disappeared” from the transition at Kona. The thieves targeted all and sundry; pro’s and age groupers alike. Even third place getter Marino Vanhoenacker was not immune to the epidemic (they really should have got him to sign it before they pinched it – that would have certainly boosted it’s street value).

Our R&D department is currently working on GPS tracking systems and we have entered discussions with the US Treasury about some kind of label minting system in order to reduce the chances of a potential counterfeiting ring developing.

Marketing Manager Dean Jackson commented “due to the new swimskin rules being so late to be approved, we only had the PZ3TX on the market just one week before IM Hawaii. But people should be aware that we will have more suits on the market shortly, and there is no need to resort to theft to secure one”.

Rhodsey models the PZ3TX at our store in Kona. Then he ran like he stole it. He did't.

We're following the swallow...

Being that it’s nearly the end of the week, it’s a great time to surf the net and read some blogs. Well our ‘recommended reading’ this week is the latest update from British triathlete and blueseventy fish Jodie Swallow.

Jodie has had a fantastic year to date, scoring numerous wins across a range of distances. She’s clocked up wins just recently at the Tongyeong World Cup in Korea, the Geneva ITU European Cup and Alpe De Huez. She’s also been runner up at IM 70.3 Singapore, the ETU Long Distance champs, and the Tizzy World Cup, plus scoring a tough top 10 finish at the London Dextro WCS race. Anyone would be happy with that resume of results!

But I digress… Jodie’s latest blog covers a trip to Essex, tales out of school, a lost passport and her wins at Tongyeong and at the last French Grand Prix of the year. So grab your cup of coffee and enjoy a read. Work’s overrated anyway…

Jodies blog - www.ifollowtheswallow.co.uk

Photo credit: Jero Honda / triathlon.org

Rowdy Gaines and Team Blu Frog Set Masters World Record

Rowdy Gaines led teammates Keith Switzer, Marc Middleton, and Scot Weiss in a World Record performance at the Rowdy Gaines Masters Classic in Orlando, Florida earlier this month.

The relay team went into the event with laser focus - set on smashing the current 200 SCM (short course meter) freestyle relay World Record of 1:40.17. The team was led off by Rowdy himself splitting a blazing 23.95, followed by Switzer at 24.85, Middleton at 24.96, and Weiss bringing it home in 25.03. Together they clocked 1:38.79, decisively taking down the old record - in blueseventy of course!

The boys gave a master class on setting World Records in blueseventy

Greg Louganis is swimming faster

Last month famed Olympic gold medalist diver Greg Louganis took the plunge in the pacific for the first annual Swim for Equality, a 1.7 mile swim held in Malibu on September 25th. Greg Louganis and his swim partner, Greg Armstrong, along with more then 50 swimmers helped raise almost $130,000 in funds for awareness of LGBT equality in California.

More Information Can Be Found Here

special deal for the State NZ Ocean Swim Series!

Given that's it raining sideways here in NZ half the time, it's a little hard to get all excited about the coming summer, but our friends at the State NZ Ocean Swim Series have just made it that little bit easier... Check this out!

blueseventy followers - $5 off your State New Zealand Ocean Swim Series Entry

The State New Zealand Ocean Swim Series is a six-race ocean swim series taking place on some of New Zealand’s most beautiful harbours and beaches. Whether you are a first-time ocean swimmer, competent recreation swimmer, or going all out to be your age group champion there’s something for everyone. Each event* will host four event disciplines - the 200m State OceanKids, ‘Give It A Go’ 300m ocean swim for individuals or teams, ‘Step It Up 1000m’ ocean swim or ‘I’m Going Long’ ocean swim ranging from 2.6 to 3.3km. *Harbour Crossing 2.8km only

The next two events are coming up really soon -Harbour Crossing, Auckland City, 21 November 2010 and the Russell to Paihia, Bay of Islands, 11 December 2010. Take the plunge and enter the State New Zealand Ocean Swim Series. Visit www.oceanswim.co.nz for more details and as blueseventy follower you can get $5 off your entry fee when you enter online using this special code: blueseventyfan10

Lucy Gossage post Kona

You all remember our friend Lucy Gossage we posted about on Sept. 7th with her update on Ironman World Championships prep. Well she checks back in post race. Here's the scoop:

Race day came and I have never felt more ready for a race than I was for this one. I felt prepared to give it everything, and was up for the challenge of seeing what I could do against the best athletes in the world. All the British names I recognised from ironman racing were there which was cool though a bit scary - it's rare to actually have to race each other in ironman!

The swim was as expected - fist fight for 20 mins and then I managed to find some free water. Lou and I didn't start next to each other but somehow ended up swimming the last 15 mins or so on our own, side by side, exiting the water together! It made me chuckle thinking our coaches would be having a field day seeing how close together we were after the swim! The blue seventy PZ3TX swim skin was clearly fast as I exited the swim far higher up in the field than I had expected. (YES! nice plug Lucy. Thank you!)

The bike was awesome. Yes it was hot and yes it was windy but in a way I was pleased as I wanted the 'real' Kona experience. I was adding nuun tablets to water from the aid stations which helped me stay hydrated despite the tough conditions.

After my race at the Vitruvian I decided not to use any gimmicks so raced without a heart rate monitor or speed and just according to feel. I suspect because of this I biked harder than I have done before in an ironman (and paid for it on the run!) but there's no point going to Hawaii and not giving everything so I don't think that was a mistake. However, it did make the run hard - really hard..... I felt rubbish from the start and there were times when I was tantalisingly close to walking - I had dropped/lost my salt tablets and the special needs station with the spare ones was at 18 miles which seemed a very long way away. Furthermore, I was having to stop several times behind bushes (or imaginary bushes!). I did have visions of not making it, and there were so many times when I wanted to quit but knowing I was up there in my age group was enough to let me summon every ounce of physical and mental strength I could find to keep running. I hadn’t done all that training over the last 9 months to give up in the last hour….. I think the last 4 miles were the hardest as you can't let up, even right to the end - seconds count in Hawaii. The phrase 'Race to the line' is never more pertinent than there. Running down the finish chute knowing I’d given everything I had was incredible and I hope will be a memory I’ll treasure for a long long time.

Needless to say I’m mighty chuffed. I've conquered Hawaii, conquered my psychological battles in Germany and finished smiling. In fact I'm still smiling. And probably will be for a while! I feel very privileged to have Lou Collins as a training partner and am so pleased she salvaged a problematic bike with an absolutely superb run to claim the 25-29 world champion’s title. For two amateurs from Nottingham, I think we did our home club (TFN) proud!

Lou Collins & Lucy Gossage showing off some hardware

Lucy Gossage finished the 2010 Ironman World Championships in just over ten hours to claim fourth place in the 30-34 age group. Lou Collins closed with a 3:11 marathon to take the top podium spot in the 25-29 age group. Congratulations to Lucy & Lou!

Are you a top age group athlete? Did you know blueseventy is currently accepting 2011 sponsorship applications thru mid-Dec? Well now you do. Do something about it.

NZ surf lifesavers collect medals at World Champs

Nope, they aren't handing out medals for saving lives on the beach (though they should - big fat gold ones every time) but they do hand them out for being exceptionally fast at the Surf Lifesaving World Championships currently underway in Egypt. The New Zealand team have been competing against the worlds best in the pool, with the beach events to come.

The NZ team have had some great results in the pool including a Gold and NZ record for blueseventy athlete Samantha Lee in the 4x50m obstacle relay, a Silver and NZ record in the 200m obstacles, and a bronze - 100m rescue medley. Samantha also helped the Kiwis score another Gold in the 4x50m obstacle relay.


The aptly named ‘golden girls’ sporting the neroTX are Julia Toomey, Rachel Clarke, Ayla Dunlop-Barrett, and Samantha Lee.

With the completion of two very long days in the pool, New Zealand is currently in 3rd place with 340 pts, behind Italy (420 points) and Germany (378 points). Not to be forgotten are beach specialists and arch rivals Australia currently sitting in 4th on 313 points.

the underpants run in Kona

Yes, starting at endurance maximus, it's on like Donkey kong...

Kona Slowtwitch Gathering

If your on the big island this week be sure to slot in your calendar a stop to the 2010 Kona Slowtwitch Gathering at the Muscle Milk house powered by blueseventy. Wow, that's a mouth full. In case you didn't get it....

.... looks so much better in picture form.

This is an annual tradition passed down from the ages held every year in Kona prior to the Ironman World Championships. Triathlon's largest online forum (Slowtwitch.com) with the help of blueseventy and Muscle Milk/CytoMax will present this year's event at the Muscle Milk house located right off Ali'i Drive. It's cool event where age groupers, pros and industry folk all live in peace and harmony (at least for the 3 hrs). We welcome all to stop by on Thursday anytime from 3 to 6 in the afternoon. There will be some light snacks, drinks and some free swag.

Muscle Milk House (2.3m from pier)

76-6168 Alii Dr

Kailua, HI 96740

Thursday, October 7th

3 - 6 PM

Slowtwitch Link