World Championship Preview

Someone,
Take a letter. Address it to Craig Lord.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21310178-14641,00.html
Above is the article from the Herald Sun, the interview that I had withRebecca Williams. And below is the link to Craig Lord's article forSwimNews.com http://www.swimnews.com/News/displayStory.jhtml?id=5102
I get the feeling Craig Lord doesn't like me very much. Fine, I can livewith that AND sleep well. But look here, I didn't slam Australian Swimming as some pinhead on another website suggests. I am DISAPPOINTED that theAustralian team has faltered since Sydney, I'm not reveling in it. I have taken the time to cut and paste the context that I feel validates any comment I made to Rebecca in an article where we were discussing theAustralian MEN'S swim team. Context Craig, context. Didn't Scotland do better than Australia in the gold count at the last Commonwealth Games? Is it crazy to think that the results are going to be much different a few months later? Anybody in the swimming world knows that the US men are going to beat Australia, if they aren't DQ'd. The article with the Herald Sun only addressed the US/Australia teams but it has to be mentioned that the rest of the world is catching up with or has passed the once formidable Aussie team. Why? There are still great swimmers and coaches in Australia, it's a seaworthy ship they have. It just doesn't have a rudder. If that responsibility was put on anyone after Don Talbot left, the entire country looked longingly toward Ian Thorpe expecting him to draw a sword and lead the charge. It didn't happen, and it was unbelievable pressure for Ian, I am sure. It's my estimate and I'm entitled to it. As a point of interest I find it supportive of my belief that Ian has continued to address this responsibility since his retirement acting as anadvisor/mentor to the younger swimmers "putting back into the team", acknowledging that there isn't anyone fulfilling this role.
http://www.timedfinals.com/18022007/ian-thorpe-to-mentor-australian-swimmers/
And yeah, for those that can't spell it out Alan Thompson is the contractor that is out to lunch. Here the fearless Aussie leader demonstrates his character: http://www.timedfinals.com/26012007/alan-thompson-questions-australian-medias-role-in-male-swimming-success/
I think it absurd that he blames the media for his team's poor performances. It's a far cry from the enlightened (and VERY successful) Eddie Reese who had this to say, "So many times we think we - and our workouts - are the reason one or two swimmers do well. Sometimes the special athlete will make all of that look good, and the athlete is the reason, not the workouts. Very simply, I take credit for every bad swim and try to fix myself and the program from there." I'm not being a zealous patriot. This isn't about US versus them. Eddie demonstrates the character of a great team leader, something Australian Swimming lacks at the moment. For this reason alone one could expect the US team to beat Australia. Craig, if ever you are able to get someone to sit down and explain to you how a search engine works you'll be able to pull up that ever so elusive"context" you speak of (in addition to the relay splits of Ian and I ((mysplit was faster, I'll just let you know since you still are havingtrouble)). Also, I said that the US team would "smash the Aussies like a guitar", not "the US men's 4x100 meter freestyle relay team will smash the Australianmen's 4x100 meter freestyle relay team like a guitar." And for the record Craig, the Australian men had an INCREDIBLE relay performance in Sydney. I was the first to say it, AND the first to congratulate them. HOWEVER, I believe that the US's 33 medals to Australia's 18 is a smashing, of the royal kind. In the meet that Australia was to dethrone the US as the number one swimming nation in the world, we almost doubled their medal count. It's a smashing. I can't believe I'm still trying to explain the context almost seven years later. Good luck with everything. I hope this journalism thing works out for you.
Signed lovingly,
Your buddy,
With a brain,
Gary Hall Jr.
The Race Club
Visit http://www.theraceclub.net/phpBB2/posting.php?mode=reply&t=1034 to submit your thoughts. We'd love to hear from you. Is today's Australian team a ghost of what it once was? Why?