…Former Texas women’s head swim coach Richard Quick has been nominated for the State of Texas Sports Hall of Fame, located in Waco. While the head coach of the Longhorns from 1982-1988, he won five-straight NCAA Championships (1984-1988) as he lead the development of women’s sports in the NCAA. That included coaching 17 Longhorn Olympians and 25 individual NCAA Champions. Voting will be done between now and August 1st, and for $25, you can register and become an Official Voting Member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Quick is the only aquatic nominee on this year’s ballot, though current Texas men’s coach Eddie Reese was inducted in 2002…
…In Olympic news, great strides are being made for the equality of women in sports in the Arab region. At a recent Olympic summit, it was announced that Qatar and Brunei would send female athletes to the Olympics for the first time ever. Meanwhile, Kuwaiti athletes will be allowed to compete at the 2012 London Games under the Olympic flag, as their National Olympic Committee is currently suspended (a tactic frequently used in controversy – seen often during the Cold War era). Swimming is one of 5 sports Kuwait competed in at the 2008 Olympics, with Mohammad Madwa tying for 45th in the men’s 50 free in 22.83. Since then, the Kuwait’s have seen the rise of a young star in Yousef Alaskari, who trains in Florida with the Davie Nadadores and will be headed to Georgia in the fall…
…Swimming Canada says that 30 countries have committed to participate in the inaugural Junior World Open Water Championships in mid-August. That’s an outstanding sign for the future of the sport globally, as these inaugural events are often times skeptically-viewed, even with the support of major organizations like FINA (see the Youth Olympics in 2010). The diversity of athletes is similarly exciting. Many will come from the Western Hemisphere, but also from such non-traditional swimming countries as Albania and Morocco – the latter of whom are making an effort to advance in this sport, though they saw two scratches at the Olympic qualifier in Portugal last week. This meet will also feature athletes from Egypt – a force of open water swimming in the 60’s thanks to legends like Abo Heif. Those 30 countries that have confirmed that they will send athletes are listed below…
Albania
Argentina
Bahamas
Barbados
Brazil
Canada
Cayman Islands
Chile
Costa Rica
Egypt
El Salvador
Croatia
France
Germany
Ghana
Great Britain
Greece
Hong Kong
Israel
Italy
Kazakhstan
Mexico
Morroco
Peru
Portugal
Russia
South Africa
Spain
Trinidad & Tobago
Uruguay
United States of America