Black Dog Swimming

Kerry Kraemer:
50^th in the 100 Breast – 1:11.77
34^th in the 200 Breast – 2:34.07

She led the last 100m and won her heat by a couple body lengths – That is the Kerry we know and love. 

Mike Holmes:
15^th in the 1500 – 15:31.92

He led most of the race and won his heat – from lane 8! Mike actually had the dual-listing of MN Aquatics and BDOG –Our Club President, Regan Cox, was there and said it was fun to hear it announced!

The Olympic Trials plays out in six dimensions: swimmer, family member, coach, official, fan, and media. A swimmer zips up while a parent worries. A coach hugs while a reporter scribbles.  Everyone is temporarily mad, crazy with excitement. And for one week every four years, all six dimensions are connected by tradition and pageantry; linked by a furiously inexorable vein that pumps hope into dreams. Even oft-reserved reporters temporarily surrender to the moment, jumping, screaming, like punch-drunk fools.

It's wonderful.

The families at the Olympic Trials are the most optimistic, hopeful people you will ever meet.  These are the people who have watched the athletes—their athlete—strive for unachievable perfection.  They supported them, nurtured them, cheered for them.  If the athlete wins, they win. If the athlete loses, they lose. The pain is shared, the joy is shared.  So to Kerry’s, Mike’s, and all the Black Dog families that have sacrificed so much for their swimmers.   Thank you!!!!!!!

Nine world records fell – and some were broken more than once – this week in a pool engineered specifically to be fast. Expect even more – many by U.S. swimmers in Beijing. The same company that built the Olympic Trials pool has  built the one used in Beijing, and now that the hard part is over (athletes admit that Trials are more nerve-wracking that the Olympics themselves), more records will fall.

GO USA!