…Austria’s Markus Rogan has been selected as his country’s Olympic flag-bearer. The 2004 double-silver medalist lives and trains in Southern California, and will lead the contingent of 69 Austrian athletes into the stadium in London on July 27th. The always-lighthearted Rogan said of the honor this morning that he was “Feeling pride and humility” and doesn’t “care about the juxtapose (sic) between those feelings”. Rogan’s primary focus at these Olympics will be the 200 IM, where he enters as the 5th seed..
…Three-time individual Olympic champion Brooke Bennett made her big comeback last night at the United States Masters Swimming National Championships that are being swum this weekend in the Olympic Trials pool in Omaha. For now, she’s just testing the waters in Masters competition, but she is back in the USADA drug-testing pool. The distance specialist, who has been training with Randy Reese in Clearwater, swam a 17:54.28 to win the women’s 30-34 age group by a hefty 13 seconds. That will be her only swim of the weekend, but full results (including a National Record in the 18-24 age group of that same race) can be found here…
…Long-time head coach at Stony Brook Dave Alexander passed away last week after a battle with cancer. He founded the women’s swim program in 1979, and in 1995 took over a coed group. He was the head coach of the team up until his death at just 63-years old, making him the only head coach in the history of the women’s team. In his 32-year career, he won over 300 dual meets with the Seawolves. A full rememberance can be read here…
…As Garrett reported this morning on the SwimSwam News show, the Australian Olympic Committee has outlawed sleeping pills for its athletes after a firestorm surrounded Grant Hackett’s admission that he was dependent on them during his illustrious swimming career. The information was revealed as a part of a nasty breakup with his wife, but could have far-reaching effects on the wider sporting community. The team medical manual outlawed the pills in London, specifically targeted at “Stilnox”, known as “Ambien” in the United States. It is no secret that elite athletes, including here in the United States, use sleep aids to assist in their recovery, especially when travelling abroad for international competitions…