http://swimstars.org en-us An comprehensive website promoting United States National Team Swimmers http://www.theswimmingtimes.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1257492352&archive= twitter.com/swimstars, it has been compromised and the hacker is using it to spam.

We've sent a request to Twitter support in the hopes that it gets restored quickly, but we're not sure how long it will take. Hopefully everything will be sorted out before next weekend's Minnesota Grand Prix, which we will be covering live!

If we're not able to regain control of our old account, we will make a new one and let everyone know the new handle!

Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for bearing with us!]]> 1257492352 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:25:52 -0500 http://www.theswimmingtimes.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1250658161&archive=1251777640 Natalie Coughlin will be headed to a ballroom this fall to compete on the season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

Her partner is Alec Mazo, who also attended her alma mater Cal at the same time she did! They've just begun rehearsing with the live premiere beginning Monday, September 21st at 8/7c.

Some of the other stars set to compete include actress Melissa Joan Hart, former NFL star Michael Irvin, R&B singers Macy Gray and Mya, and singer/actor Donny Osmond. Click here for more news on the new cast.

Get ready to vote for Nat and be sure to follow her on Twitter and Facebook.]]> 1250658161 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:02:41 -0400 http://www.theswimmingtimes.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1250656951&archive=1251777640 Swimming World Magazine broke the news that Katie Hoff will leave the North Baltimore Aquatic Club and move to the West Coast, to train with new coach Sean Hutchison at FAST Swimming in Fullerton, CA.

FAST was just named a U.S. Olympic Committee Professional and Post Grad Training Center for the west coast of the country, much like SwimMAC, and Katie's former club, NBAC are for the East coast. Hutchison is currently the head coach of King Aquatic Club, and will start his new position coaching elite swimmers next month. He will remain actively involved with KING Aquatics.

Other swimmers expected to move to Fullerton include 2008 Olympians Caroline Burckle and Margaret Hoelzer, as well as 200 IM World Record holder Ariana Kukors.]]> 1250656951 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:42:31 -0400 http://www.theswimmingtimes.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1249700895&archive=1251777640 Jessica Hardy's comeback tour continued tonight as she erased yet another World Record from the books at the US Open.

After taking down the 50m WR yesterday, she contested the 100m distance today and destroyed the global mark set by Rebecca Soni in Rome to 1:04.45.

You can see all the results from US Open action here.]]> 1249700895 Fri, 07 Aug 2009 23:08:15 -0400 http://www.theswimmingtimes.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1249598393&archive=1251777640 Jessica Hardy returned to competition at the US Open this week and she's already made a big splash.

Yesterday, she finished 2nd in the 100 Free, after a 55.07 swim. The gold went to Erika Erndl with a meet record-setting 54.59 and the bronze to Sam Woodward in 55.37. Swim Star Megan Romano placed 5th in 55.52.

Then, today, Jessica swam a 100 Breast time trial and broke the 50 Breast World Record in the process. She split a 29.95 to improve the mark set just days ago in Rome by Russia's Yuliya Efimova.

Follow all the action from Federal Way here.]]> 1249598393 Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:39:53 -0400 http://www.theswimmingtimes.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1249355562&archive=1251777640 Swim Stars Megan Romano and Jessica Hardy are in Seattle (Federal Way) this week for the US Open, being held from tomorrow through Saturday at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center and hosted by the King Aquatic Club.

Megan did not swim at the World Championship Trials last month, choosing to focus more on training and getting ready for her career at the University of Georgia this fall. Her events at the US Open include the 100 Free, 50 Free, and 100 Back.

Jessica is coming off a 1 year ban following her positive test at last year's Olympic Trials. She will contest the 50 Free, 100 Breast, and 100 Free.

You can view the full psych sheet here, courtesy of USA Swimming, who will also provide results and recaps.]]> 1249355562 Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:12:42 -0400 http://www.theswimmingtimes.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1249235189&archive=1251777640 The final day of the 13th FINA World Championships began with the men's 50 Back final. Great Britain's Liam Tancock lowered his own World Record, set yesterday, to 24.04 to win the gold. Junya Koga claimed the silver with a 24.24 swim, followed by Gerhard Zandberg's brone medal-winning 24.34.

Competition shifted to the women's 50 Breast, with Yuliya Efimova taking the gold in 30.09, another World Record. Rebecca Soni's 30.11 was good for silver, while Sarah Katsoulis, of Australia, rounded out the podium in 30.16. All 3 medalists were under the previous mark, set last month by Amanda Reason of Canada.

Ryan Lochte used the breaststroke leg of the men's 400 IM to solidify his lead, which he never relinquished, winning gold in 4:07.01. Teammate Tyler Clary took the silver in 4:07.31, out touching Laszlo Cseh (4:07.37).

The women's 50 Free crown was won by the sprint freestyle queen of this meet, Germany's Britta Steffen She added another World Record to her collection, with a 23.73 finish. Therese Alshammar grabbed the silver in 23.88, while Cate Campbell and Marlene Veldhuis hit with identical 23.99s.

Moving on to the 1500 Free, and Olympic Champion Ous Mellouli finished strong to take gold in 14:37.28, pulling away from Canada's Ryan Cochrane, who touched second in 14:41.38. The bronze went to Yang Sun, who made it to the wall in 14:46.84.

The final individual event of these championships was the women's 400 IM, where Hungary's Katinka Hosszu
bested the field with a 4:30.31 effort to win gold. Kirsty Coventry (4:32.12) touched just ahead of World Record Holder Stephanie Rice (4:32.29) for the silver. Americans Elizabeth Beisel and Julia Smit finished 5-6 with times of 4:34.90 and 4:35.33, respectively.

The 13th FINA World Championships closed with the men's 400 Medley Relay. Team USA's squad -- which featured Aaron Peirsol, Michael Phelps, Eric Shanteau, and Dave Walters -- were the favorites and lived up to the hype, taking gold in World Record fashion; 3:27.28. Germany finished second in 3:28.58, with Australia snagging the bronze in 3:28.64. Matt Grevers swam in the prelims, to help Team USA qualify for the final. He will receive a gold medal as well.

View the full results of these Championships online, coutesy of OmegaTiming.]]> 1249235189 Sun, 02 Aug 2009 13:46:29 -0400 http://www.theswimmingtimes.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1249148991&archive=1251777640 The 7th day of action from Rome kicked off with the women's 50 Fly. Marieke Guehrer (25.48) took the gold in the first women's final of the day, the 50 Fly. Yafei Zhou, of China, surged to take the silver in 25.57, ahead of Ingvild Snildal, who took bronze in 25.58. The World Record Holder, Therese Alshammar, did not even make the podium after stopping the clock at 25.59 (4th).

The men's 50 was next, and the 100 Free Champion, Cesar Cielo, made it a sweep of the men's sprint freestyle events, winning in 21.08, a new meet record. Fred Bousquet grabbed silver in 21.21, with countryman Amaery Leveaux completing the podium in 21.25. Americans Cullen Jones (21.47) and Nathan Adrian (21.49) finished 5-6.

Action shifted to the women's 200 back as Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry posted the first World Record of the day with a 2:04.82 finish. Anastasia Zueva of Russia hit in 2:04.94 for silver, while USA's Elizabeth Beisel earned her first World medal with the bronze in 2:06.39.

After 3 finals, the women's 50 Breast semifinals were at the blocks. Moniek Nijhuis won the first semi in 30.38, followed by American Kasey Carlson, who hit in 30.46. In the second semi, Sarah Katsouli, of Australia, made it to the wall first in 30.33, with Yuliya Efimova (30.40) and Amanda Reason (30.42) hitting second and 3rd repctively. American Rebecca Soni, who finished 4th in the 2nd semi, will also advance after her 30.56 swim.

All eyes have been on the rematch of the epic 100 Fly from the Beijing Games. It had a photo finish, with Michael Phelps edging Mike Cavic (who swims for Serbia). It was basically a repeat of that finish, except it wasn't as close as Beijing, as both swimmers broke the 50 second barrier. Phelps hit first in 49.82 to Cavic's 49.95, both under Cavic's WR mark from yesterday. Rafael Munoz notched the bronze in 50.41.

In the first semi of the 50 Free Marlene Veldhuis touched first in 24.20 (meet record), followed by Therese Alshammer 24.32. Fran Halsall's 24.42 will be enough to move on as well. The second semi's top time was recorded by Cate Campbell, who lowered the newly set meet record to 24.08. Britta Steffen qualified next in 24.28, with American Amanda Weir 3rd in 24.31. Dara Torres grabbed the final spot in tomorrow's final, after her 5th place finishing 24.43 swim.

Liam Tancock won the men's 50 Back semifinal #1 with a new World Record of 24.08. Aschwin Wildeboer had the next time of 24.48, followed by Helge Meeuw's 24.59 was 3rd fastest. Junya Koga's 24.29 was the second semi's top time. Camille Lacourt hit second in 24.46 and Gerhard Zandberg third in 24.48.

The women's 800 Free gold goes to Lotte Friis, who stopped the clock at 8:15.92. It looked like Italy's Alessia Filippi would push her for gold, but Friis held her off down the stretch. Great Britain's Joanne Jackson took silver in 8:16.66, while Italy's Filippi rounded out the medals in 8:17.21.

The final event of the day was the women's 400 Medlay Relay final, which the Americans failed to qualify for for the first time. The Chinese relay won the country's 2nd relay gold in World Record fashion with a combined 3:52.19. Australia nearly caught the Chinese, but ran of out room and finished second in 3:52.58. Germany's 3:55.79 was good enough for the bronze.]]> 1249148991 Sat, 01 Aug 2009 13:49:51 -0400 http://www.theswimmingtimes.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1249100280&archive=1251777640 The theme of the 13th FINA Championships, daily World Records, continued during Day 6 action. Today's finals saw the men's 200 Back, women's 100 Free, women's 50 Fly, men's 100 Fly, and men's 800 Free Relay records go down.

It all got started with the women's 100 Free. Current World Record Holder Britta Steffen, of Germany, lowered her mark to 52.07 as she scooped up the gold medal ahead of Fran Halsall (52.87) and Libby Trickett (52.93). The American duo of Amanda Weir and Dana Vollmer went 4-5 with respective times of 53.12 and 53.30.

Next event was the men's 200 Back final, which featured a hotly contested race for the gold between Aaron Peirsol, Japan's Ryosuke Irie, and Ryan Lochte. Peirsol redeemed himself for his 100 Back final and took the gold as he lowered his own WR to 1:51.92. Irie touched second in 1:52.51, while Lochte snared the bronze in 1:53.82. He would later take the pool for the 800 Free Relay final.

The women's 50 Fly semis was the day's 3rd straight event with a record-setting finish, thanks to Therese Alshammar's 25.07 finish. She will be pushed in the final my Marleen Veldhuis (25.28), Ingvild Snildal (25.53), as well as Marieke Guehrer (25.58), and 100 Fly WR holder Sarah Sjostrom (25.76).

The men's 50 Free broke the day's World Record-palooza, but there was no shortage of excitement. Fred Bousquet set a new meet record to qualify first with a 21.21 swim in the 2nd semi. In the 1st semi, Croatia's Duje Draganja hit in 21.29, to score the 2nd seed. Amaury Leveaux (21.32) and Cesar Cielo (21.35) advance as does Cullen Jones, whose 21.40 established a new American Record. Fellow American Nathan Adrian will also challenge for a medal, qualifying 7th in 21.46.

Up next was the women's 200 Breast final. After qualifying first with a WR mark, Canada's Annamay Pierse settled for silver (2:21.84) as Serbia's Nadja Higl claimed the title with a 2:21.84 effort. Mirna Jukic snagged the final spot on the podium after a 2:21.97 race. Rebecca Soni, who was seeded 2nd, just missed the podium, finishing 4th in 2:22.15; well off her semifinal time.

The men's 100 Fly semifinal was the focal point of the day as the rivalry between Michael Phelps and Mike Cavic heated up even more.Phelps took the first semi in 50.48, and was immediately one-upped by Cavic, who shattered Phelps' World Record with a 50.01 that nearly broke the 50 second barrier. It sets up quite the battle during the final!

In the women's 200 Back, Kirsty Coventry set the tone with a 2:05.86 championship record performance that was well ahead of the rest of the semifinalists. Anastasia Zueva had the next qualifying time of 2:07.00, followed by Elizabeth Simmonds (2:07.21), Team USA's Elizabeth Beisel (2:07.48), and 100 Back World Record holder Gemma Spofforth (2:07.64). America's Liz Pelton grabbed the final qualifying spot with a 2:09.57 swim.

The final individual event of the session was the men's 200 Breast final. Hungary's Daniel Gyurta (2:07.64) out touched USA's Eric Shanteau (2:07.65) for the gold by .01 of a second. There was a tie for third between Giedrius Titenis and World Record Holder Christian Sprenger (2:07.80).

The United States kept their stranglehold on the men's 800 Free Relay title by improving their Beijing WR to 6:58.55 thanks to Michael Phelps, Ricky Berens, Dave Walters, and Ryan Lochte. Peter Vanderkaay and Davis Tarwater swam in the prelims to help Team USA qualify first for the final.

Full results can be found on the OmegaTiming website.]]> 1249100280 Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:18:00 -0400 http://www.theswimmingtimes.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1248978287&archive=1249099212 More World Records tumbled during the 5th day of the FINA World Championships. Headlined by Ryan Lochte, Christian Sprenger, Annamay Pierse, Jessicah Schipper, Jing Zhao, and the Chinese 800 Free Relay squad.

Libby Trickett won the first women's 100 Free semi with a 52.84 swim. World Record Holder Britta Steffen took second in 52.87, ahead of Fran Halsall's 53.05. In the 2nd semi the Americans went 1-3, with Amanda Weir hitting in 53.02 and Dana Vollmer in 53.55. Ranomi Kromowidjojo split the two with a 53.31 swim.

Ryan Lochte takes the 200 IM gold in World Record form, charging to the wall in 1:54.10. Laszlo Cseh takes the silver in 1:55.24, and other American Eric Shanteau bronze in 1:55.36.

Team USA's Rebecca Soni distanced herself from the field in the final 50m of the 200 Breast with a 2:20.93 swim. Second went to Joline Hostman of Sweden (2:22.24), followed by Nadja Higl's 2:22.28. The top time of semifinal #2 belonged to Annamay Pierse as she blew away the rest of her competitors in breaking the World Record (2:20.12). Mima Jukic (2:22.13) finished 2nd.

The men's 100 Free title was won by Cesar Cielo (22.17) in a hotly contested final. The silver went to France's Alain Bernard 47.12, and the bronze Fred Bousquet (47.25). American Dave Walters finished 5th (47.33), but broke Michael Phelps' American Record in the process.

Australia's Jessicah Schipper shattered yet another World Record as she stopped the clock at 2:03.41 to take the 200 Fly gold. Zige Lio of China claimed the silver in 2:03.90 and Katinka Hosszu takes bronze in (2:04.28). American and now former World Record Holder Mary DeScenza just missed the podium, finishing in 2:04.41.

Aussie swimmers Christian Sprenger (2:07.31) and Brenton Rickard (2:07.89) finished 1-2 in the first 200 Breast semi with Sprenger taking down Kosuke Kitajima's World Record. In the second semi, Eric Shanteau nearly tracked down the World Record that was set in the previous heat, to win in 2:07.42. He did manage to improve the American Record that he set in prelims. Giedrius Titenis touched second in 2:08.35.

China claimed 2 more World Championship medals with the finals of the women's 50 Back. Jing Zhao set a new 50 Back World Record in 27.06, to beat out Daniela Samulski (27.23) and teammate Chang Gao (27.28).

Aaron Peirsol returned to the pool, after not qualifying for the 100 Back final, to contest the 200 Back today. In the 1st semi, Peirsol took care of business to finish first in 1:54.06 with a new meet record. Arkady Vyatchanin touched second in 1:54.90. Ryan Lochte returned to the pool, after his 200 IM win, for the second semi. Lochte finished second in 1:55.39 as Ryosuke Irie qualified first in 1:54.14.

The final event of the day was the women's 800 Free Relay, and the Chinese team locked up another gold medal with a World Record setting effort of 7:42.08, to finish just ahead of Team USA (7:42.56). Great Britain scored the bronze in 7:45.51.]]> 1248978287 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:24:47 -0400