Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry was approved on Tuesday by the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board as one of four athletes selected for the IOC Athletes’ Commission. She will be sworn-in to her post on Wednesday in the Extraordinary Session.
Zimbabwe, along with Slovakian shooter Danka Bartekova, Australian rower James Tomkins, and French canoer/kayaker Tony Estanguet, were elected by their peers in London at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The 7-time Olympic medalist, and two-time champion in the 200 backstroke, was engaged after the Olympics, though she’s denied reports that she is retired.
The athletes’ commission was created in 1981 to serve as a “consultative body” and a “link between active athletes and the IOC.”
In other news from the board’s meeting, they reiterated that any requests from International Federations that would result in athletes receiving more medals would not be considered. They did reaffirm the willingness to study what they called “quota-neutral” requests to swap events or modify competition formats.
This would seem for now as though requests to add 50 meter stroke races to the Olympic schedule are dead-in-the-water, though the potential to turn the women’s 800 free into a 1500 free to match the men’s race is still very much a possibility.
And finally, list of bidders to build a proposed extension to the IOC headquarters has been whittled down to 12, with a winner to be chosen in December.
Could there be a 4 x 50 medley relay added to even out the relays (2 freestyle and 2 medley) and give the 50 meter swimmers something? I also think it’s time to drop the 800m from the women’s program and add the 1500m.
Why mot drop relays to add more individuals? 1 dropped relay adds 4 individual events. Drop the 800 FR relay from each gender and add 50 FLY, 50 BK, 50 BR and 800/1500. That would add both more athletes and it adds more events that are tv friendly.
That is way too many more events, and the relay provides an opportunity for more people to get medals.
Good news if they don’t add the 50’s at the olympic games.
i think the 1964 schedule was pretty good for men. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swimming_at_the_1964_Summer_Olympics)
old school but to some extent it covered everything. there was a sprint free, middle distance free and distance free. there was a middle distance event for each stroke, a sprint relay, a middle distance relay and a medley relay.
i will admit it was a little distance heavy (too bad they couldn’t do 50-200-800) but no one accused don schollander (winner of ABC wide world of sports that year) of medal inflation and whatnot
I also think that the total number of swimming events shouldn’t be increased. One open water marathon distance is fine with me, after all there is also just one running marathon (not counting the 20k/50k walks), and one road race in cycling.
Switching the women’s 800 free to the 1500 would be great, and about time.
I’m surprised this change still hasn’t been made. I thought the 800 was kept in 2012 only because Great Britain wanted to give Adlington a chance to defend her title at her home Games. It doesn’t make sense to have 400-800-10k distances, whereas the 1500 is almost halfway 400 and 10k (geometrically). By the way, why did they introduce the 800 meter for women as a new event in 1968 in the first place, rather than the 1500?
i think it stems from the old belief that women are more fragile and weaker than men, so less able to finish such long and difficult races
women have done shorter races in almost the entire history of swimming. in the early days men did the 800 free relays while women did the 400 free relay.
i don’t think that this attitude still exists (i believe katie ledecky is OK after doing the 1500 at trials) but the tradition of the 800 persists
I agree.
the only reason why w800 still exist in the Olympics is just tradition.
w1500 would make much more sense, as 1500 is lot more different event to 400 than 800 is.
I really wish they get rid w800 in the next olympics and replace it with 1500.
yes, if there is no room for both 800 and 1500, then women should swim 1500m. Separating men and women this way is so old-fashioned.
In order to prop up the significance of the 800m free itself, maybe FINA could replace 1500m free with 800m on the schedule of the s/c World Championships. I mean it would probably be a good thing if 800m free had at least one place in which it’s the most significant long event.
We speaking from an USA Swimming age group coach perspective. My two distance females prefer the 1500/1650 over the 800/1000. Mostly because it is offered at more meets.
They may be fun to watch, but we don’t need stroke 50’s. You have three chances to medal in the strokes and two more in the IM’s.
If anything needed more medals (which swimming doesn’t, it already has enough), it would be Open Water Swimming. Regular pool swimming offers a whopping 16 medals for each gender, but open water only has one. As we know, success in the open water doesn’t necessarily translate into success in the pool, and vise-versa. Perhaps in the future a 5k and 25k could be added to the 10k. I believe it would give swimmers a little more opportunity for success.
As much as the 50’s are cool, I don’t think swimming needs any more medals as it is. Not to take anything away from Michael Phelps…but his medal count is aided by the fact he can do so many events. Look at some one boxing or doing Judo…they have to match up against all kinds of different athletes, fight for days, and the best they can do is win one gold.