AQUATICS

ISSN 2054-1082

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF AQUATICS Media

SPRING/2014

www.aquaticsmedia.com

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FINA/NVC

DIVING WORLD SERIES

PROGRESS REPORT AFTER COMPLETION OF LEGS NO.s 1-3

SPIRIT OF YOG NANJING PREPARES TO

WELCOME THE 2ND

SUMMER YOUTH OLYMPICS

FINA WATER POLO

THE CULMINATION OF THE SUPER FINAL QUALIFICATIONS

+ MY GAMES

EMILY SILVER’S BEIJING 2008 MEMORIES

CONTENTS

AQUATICS Magazine

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF AQUATICS Media

SPRING 2014

03 FOREWORD By the Editor 05 FINA WP WORLD LEAGUE The European qualifications for the FINA Water Polo World League continued with Serbia, Hungary, Spain, Italy and Russia securing their Super Final berths 09 FINA/NVC DIVING WORLD SERIES The FINA/NVC Diving World Series 2014 got off to a flying start in Dubai, Beijing and London to conclude the first three legs of the series

21 SPIRIT OF YOG The 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games are coming to Nanjing in 2014. We give you a brief introduction to YOG

25 MY GAMES Emily Silver recounts her memories of her Olympic silver medal winning race and her emotions from Beijing 2008 29 OBITUARIES Legendary aquatic athletes, Olympians and figures who have sadly passed away

32 FINA CALENDAR & ADMINISTRATION The International Swimming Federation’s events calendar and doping news

Cover Image: OMEGA

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On the cover of the AQUATICS 2/2014 Edition: Daniel Goodfellow (GBR) competes in the men’s 10m platform event at the FINA/NVC Diving World Series in London PHOTO BY PAUL SANWELL / OP PHOTOGRAPHY

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AQUATICS Magazine

AQUATICS MAGAZINE

Editor in Chief Hugo Lowell Executive Editor William Gilman Editorial Staff Robert Howat Ben Wormsley Pedro Horta-Osorio Photographers Matthias Hangst Florian Eisele Giorgio Scala Operations Director Robert Howat

CONTRIBUTIONS Dr. James Perkins, MPhys, PhD (Warwick); Emily Silver; FINA; Olympic Review

IMAGES OPP/ Paul Sanwell; DeepBlueMedia/ Giorgio Scala; AQUATICS Media/ Hugo Lowell Getty Images; Xinhua;

CONTACTS Please send all letters to: AQUATICS Media 211 Hammersmith Grove, W6 0NP, London, UK tel: +44 (0) 7718 138559 email: info@aquaticsmedia.com

website: www.aquaticsmedia.com

AQUATICS Magazine is published by AQUATICS Media. The articles published in the AQUATICS Magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinion of AQUATICS Media. No articles may be reproduced without the permission of the AQUATICS Media Editorial Department AQUATICS Media takes no responsibility for the content of advertising placed in the AQUATICS Magazine Printed by Mixam Printing Group UK

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Emily Silver is an American swimmer who won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay. In this issue of the AQUATICS Magazine, Emily recounts her memories of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad

EMILY

SILVER

Dr. Perkins is a physics teacher and the Master in Charge of water polo at St Paul’s School, London. He is a veteran of the English Kent League, BUSA and BWPL as well as refereeing in those competitions. In this edition of the AQUATICS Magazine, James reviews the Mikasa W6000W ball

JAMES

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AM CONTRIBUTORS

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With less than 100 days to go until the Opening Ceremony of the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games

and the 32nd LEN European Championships in Berlin, the host cities of the two main events of the summer

are in their final phases of preparation. It can be a nerve-racking time for the organisers, but both events

seem to be on track - venues are nearing completion, volunteers are receiving their final training sessions

and tickets are quickly selling out.

Meanwhile, the qualifications for the FINA Water Polo World League Super Final continued across Europe,

with Serbia and Hungary securing their men’s Super Final berths, while Spain, Italy and Russia did the

same for the women’s. Next up will be the Americas and Oceania in the second phase of the global

qualifications.

The FINA/NVC Diving World Series, of which we cover the first three legs in this edition, got off to a flying

start in Dubai before moving to Beijing and then to the site of the 30th Olympiad, London, where we saw a

transformed London Aquatics Centre in its “legacy mode”, a new WR in the men’s 10m platform as well as

some outstanding results from the World Series debut divers.

I hope you get as much enjoyment from reading about the events from the last quarter as we did covering

them.

Hugo Lowell

Editor in Chief AQUATICS Magazine

@hugolowell

FOREWORD

FOREWORD

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FINA WATER POLO WL FINA WATER POLO WORLD LEAGUE QUALIFYING

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During the third round of the European qualifications, all four leading teams Hungary, Italy, Serbia and Montenegro looked solid in the water, each winning their respective matches of the third round of the FINA Water Polo World League. Men’s Tournament The Group A match was played in Kazan, the site of the 16th FINA World Championships in 2015, and reigning champions Serbia beat the home team in an unsurprising 12-8. Sibenik then hosted the Group B match where 2012 Olympic Champions Croatia played 2013 World Champions Hungary in a nail-biting duel. It was ultimately the visiting Hungarian side which prevailed over the locals, winning 8-7 after the penalty shootouts (it was 6-6 after the conclusion of regular time). At about the same time, the Germans travelled to Herceg Novi to play World Championship silver medallists Montenegro for the European Group C match. It seemed that their experience paid off in the end for the Montenegrins won 13-10 over the visiting side. The leading teams Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro were all on track to claim Super Final berths after Round IV of the European Qualifications. In Bucharest for Group A, Romania had a somewhat of a surprise victory over the Russia, beating the visitors a clean 13-7.

The Group B match, played in Athens, saw the Greeks narrowly lose to the Hungarian Magyars 12-11, while in Novaky, Montenegro triumphed over Slovakia, winning 8-5.

Luck did not seem to be on the

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side of the Germans, as they lost again, this time to Olympic silver medallists Italy in a grueling match, the scores ending at 12-10. Serbia, Greece, Italy and Slovakia each claimed a win in Round V of the European qualifiers. A third win for both Serbia and Hungary secured those two nations a spot in the men’s Super Final while in Group C, Italy or Montenegro had a final chance to qualify for the Super Final. World Championship silver medallists Montenegro suffered their first loss in 2014, losing to Olympic silver medallists Italy by a single

goal in Bari (9-10). Finally, Slovakia won their return match against Germany in Bratislava 12-9. Women’s Tournament 2013 World Champions Spain claimed their second victory of the 2014 World League, defeating Great Britain and Russia in the their round of the European preliminaries. After its initial defeat against Italy, the Greek side desperately were in need of a win in Athens against Hungary. Things were looking up after the first quarter (3-1 to Greece). The visitors recovered well to come back in the second quarter (5-2 to Hungary),

They fell back in the third and

fourth quarters, handing the victory to the home team. Christina Tsoukala was undoubtedly the star of the match, scoring six goals. In Round IV, Italy and Spain went on to win their third consecutive fixture, securing their berths for the women’s Super Final, due to be held in Kunshan (CHN) about a week before the men’s Super Final in Dubai (UAE). In Group A, Russia also looked to book their place in the Super Final after defeating Great Britain 20-13 in Chelyabinsk (RUS), dominating from the first quarter, 7-3, 3-5, 8-3, 2-2. ■

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* The men’s FINA Water Polo World League Intercontinental Tournament for America, Asia, Africa and Oceania is scheduled in Shanghai (CHN) from May 26-June 1 2014 with Group A including CAN, KAZ, JPN, AUS and Group B including CHN, RSA, BRA, USA. * The women’s FINA Water Polo World League Intercontinental Tournament for America, Asia, Africa and Oceania is scheduled in Los Angeles (USA) from May 19, with Group to be decided. For more information, please visit fina.org.

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FINA/NVC DIVING SERIES FINA/NVC DIVING WORLD SERIES 2014 NO.s 1-3

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Replacing Midea Corporation, NVC Lighting became the title sponsor for the 2014 edition of the FINA Diving World Series which got off to a flying start at the Beijing Water Cube in China from the 14th March. Meet 1: Beijing (CHN) In front of a roaring home crowd, the Chinese divers claimed three out of four titles on Day 1 of competition at the Beijing Water Cube, the last title going to the Russian pair Evgeniy Kuznetsov and Ilya Zakharov who clinched gold in the men’s 3m synchro springboard. The impressive Chinese gold medal haul was led by the women’s pair Wu Minxia and Chen Ruolin, four-time Olympic champions in the 10m platform, who claimed gold with a score of 347.52, easily beating second place finishers Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion of Canada who finished on 307.56 points. Roulin had in fact taken a tumble from the shuttle bus on her way to training two days prior to competition but said that “my left arm is swollen but I am really excited compete and forget about my injury”. The men’s 3m synchro springboard was the only event which did not see a Chinese victor, the Russian men’s pair Evgeniy Kuznetsov and Ilya Zakharov taking the gold with a 455.28. However the Chinese were still close to a clean sweep, taking second place with 450.00 points. Wu Minxia (CHN) was up next in the women’s 3m synchro springboard with partner Shi Tingmao, (CHN) a World Champion. Their score of 330.60 was enough for the win as Canadians Pamela Ware and Jennifer Abel finished second (305.16) and Arantxa Chavez and Laura Sanchez of Mexico placed third (296.10).

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In Beijing on Day 2, home crowd favourite and World Champion He Zi (CHN) missed her third dive in the women’s 3m springboard, leaving teammate Wang Han (CHN) to take the title. He Zi had been progressing well through the rounds until on her third dive, her foot slipped on the board, earning her a disappointing 49.50 points. Wang Han finished first with 368.55 while Zi came second with 356.00 points. Unlike in the women’s event, a missed dive by He Chong (CHN) did not cost him the title. Instead Chong bounced back strongly from a 73.50 slump dive to regain the lead in the last two dives to take the gold with a 528.80. China's synchro platform Olympic champion Lin Yue made a successful springboard debut, placing second with 494.95 points while Illya Kvasha (UKR) claimed the bronze in 484.80, edging Evgeny Kuznetsov of Russia out of the medals by 0.80. Day 3 saw youngster Yuan Cao (CHN) take the men’s 10m platform crown with a fine 579.45, the Beijing native Cao taking the lead in the final after his second dive, an Armstand Back 2 Somersaults 1.5 Twists, Free (6245D), earning 102.60 points and his first perfect 10 in front of the cheering home crowd. He managed to knock Qiu Bo (CHN) from his usual podium place into second (534.05) while Olympic Champion David Boudia (USA) placed sixth. Tom Daley (GBR), the Olympic bronze medallist started well but dropped to sixth on his second dive (Back 2.5 Somersaults 2.5 Twists, Piked (5255B)), before regaining enough momentum to return to a medal position. In the women’s platform event, 16 year old Liu Huixia (CHN) won the title, crushing her opponents Pandelela Rinong Pamg of Malaysia (368.50) and Tonia Couch of Britain (357.90) with an overwhelming score of 412.90. Meet 2: Dubai (UAE) As was the case in Beijing, the Chinese won three out of four gold medals on offer on Day 1 of the second meet in Dubai, held at the iconic Hamdan Sports Complex. Germany proved themselves to be the

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strongest by qualifying for four synchro finals. China once again did not disappoint, getting the clean sweep in the women’s events as well as winning the men’s 10m synchro platform. The Chinese pair Chen Ruolin and Liu Huixia once again performed to expectation in the women’s 10m synchro platform, winning the event with a comfortable margin of 20 points (337.56) over second placers Mun-Yee Leong and Pandelela Rinong Pamg of Malaysia (314.64). Canadians Meaghan Benfeito and Roseline Filion finished third with 309.09 points. This Chinese podium marked the 27th time the Chinese national anthem has been played in the victory

dive better at the London leg of the Diving World Series where he would be greeted with an excited home crowd. The 3m synchro springboard saw Patrick Hausding and Stephan Feck (GER) managing to put a halt to gold medal sweeps by the Chinese, diving consistently to finish with 432.12 points. Cao Yuan and Lin Yue (CHN) struggled to stay in the lead, concluding their campaign for the title with 423.93, good enough for the silver. While the results of this evnt showed that Patrick Hausding (GER) had had the most number of podium places, it also showed that the Chinese have been unable to win this event for the last five times it

ceremony for the 10m synchro springboard out of 28 times the event has been contested in the Diving World Series. China was also atop the podium in the men’s 10m platform, Lin Yue and Yuan Cao successfully beating all other competition to receive the gold medal with their impressive score of 475.32. Germany’s pair Patrick Hausding and Sascha Klein, World Champions in this event, finished second, having scored 437.76 points while third place finishers were Great Britain’s Daniel Goodfellow and Matthew Lee (380.52). Matthew Lee lated commented on the fact that the team “hadn’t much time to train since the previous meet in Beijing” but would try to

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3m springboard World Series medallist (9 medals) after He (23 medals) and Wu Minxia (CHN, 12 medals). The same result occurred in the men’s 3m springboard final where He Chong and Cao Yuan (CHN) took both the gold and silver medals, making that podium the 64th time China has won both gold and silver in the same event at the World Series, a feat no other country has achieved even once. The two dominated from the first round of dives, their technique and immaculate water entries impressing the judges enough for them to finish with 535.80 and 522.95 points each. The bronze medal went to Illya

was contested, the longest run of consecutive non-Chinese victories in any World Series discipline between both men and women. Day 2 of competition showed how strong Chinese diving was after the gold and silver medals in the women’s 3m springboard went to He Zi (CHN, 382.10 points) and Wang Han (CHN, 362.45 points) respectively. Later on, He Zi (CHN), in a tribute to her teammate who finished second, remarked that “no matter who is first or second, the most important is that China won”. Italy’s Tania Cagnotto finished third with 357.85 points, which makes her

the third most decorated

Kvasha, of Ukraine who scored 469.40 points. He remarked later that "it wasn’t my best performance today, but I still finished with a bronze medal. I think I have now the experience to compete against the Chinese divers and will try to do better next time". On Day 3, the final day of the Dubai leg of the Diving World Series, almost everyone expected another Chinese gold medal fest, where both platform titles would go to the Asian delegation. But fortunately for the other participating nations, not everything went according to plan for China as Victor Minibaev (RUS) won the gold in the men’s 10m platform.

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consecutive victories in the 10m platform until he finished in second place behind Cao Yuan (CHN) at the first leg of the 2014 World Series in Beijing (CHN). The fight for bronze was another interesting battle, as Olympic Champion David Boudia (USA) and Olympic bronze medallist Tom Daley (GBR) dueled for third place. The contest ended in favour of the American, who beat off Daley by 7.85 points. The equivalent women’s event did not conjure up as much emotion as the men’s 10m platform, with the forseeable win of Liu Huixia (CHN), who improved her semifinal score of 395.40 to take the gold with

Qiu Bo (CHN) looked set to bag the gold until he missed his fifth dive, the Front 4 Somersaults Tucked (109C). Minibaev saw his opportunity and seized it, scoring perfect tens as Bo struggled to recover his position. From there, Minibaev was untouchable, leading the field all the way to the end. It turns out that Minibaev is the first and only man to have beaten the Chinese in this event. Tom Daley (GBR) had won the 10m platform twice before, but without Chinese participation. In addition, this win gave the Russian the honour of being one of the five male divers, not Chinese, to have won an individual title at a Diving World Series event.

Before this final, Bo had won 11

400.70 points. Between Huixia, Si Yajia (CHN) and Chen Roulin (CHN), China has now won the women’s 10m Platform event the last eight times since the start of the 2013 season. Second place went to Pandelela Rinong Pamg (MAS), who obtained her 14th podium finish of the World Series. Pamg had had a poor qualification score going into the final, but dived consistently through the rounds to finish with 358.75 points, enough to secure the silver medal. Canada’s Roseline Filion finished third with 355.20, a slight improvement from the semifinal round.

Meet 3: London (GBR)

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performance here was much better than the one in Dubai." Great Britain’s Tonia Couch and Sarah Barrow won their first medal of the 2014 Diving Series on home soil, their score of 321.24 being good enough for the silver. China’s Yang Jian and Aisen Chen who made their debut in the 2014 edition of the Diving Series won their gold medal after scoring 479.13 points. The Chinese pair, modest as ever, said that “We have dived together for a year which isn’t a long time to perfect a partnership so there is still a lot to improve on, but we are quite happy with the result.” Determined to forget about civil issues back home, Ukraine’s

On the first day of competition at the London Aquatics Centre, venue for the swimming and diving events during the London Olympics, China bagged all the gold medals in the synchro events. As expected, Chen Roulin and Liu Huixia (CHN) rolled easily through the rounds to finish with 337.14 points in the women’s 10m synchro springboard, their effort of 79.68 in the 5253B helping propel them to the gold medal. “Coming back to this pool after the Olympics I find the pool is quite familiar but also I have some new feelings because of the changes to the venue. Today I think the first two dives were not so good for us,” Chen remarked. “But the

Oleksandr Bondar and Maxym Dolgov dived consistently to win the silver, scoring 91.02 points in their 4 ½ somersaults dive (109C) to finish with a total of 448.26. In the women’s 3m synchro springboard, the Chinese pair Wu Miinxia and Shi Tingmao (CHN) won their gold medal for their country by diving to a 332.40. They also had the highest scoring dive (78.30 points) out of all the divers for their Back 2 ½ somersaults piked. Later on, Wu commented: “I think the performance was so so. We will try every aspect of training and competition to try to improve. We hope to compete at the World Cup in Shanghai and we

PHOTO BY PAUL SANWELL /OPP

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saw her record 81.00 points ensured her victory in the final as she pulled away from her other competitors. “There were some good things and bad things from today’s competition,” He Zi said. “So in the future we hope to do much better to try and win medals in future World Series. Sometimes you have good dives and sometimes you have bad dives but you can also learn from the bad dives.” The silver medal went to compatriot Han (359.00) while Pamela Ware (CAN) won the bronze medal (335.25) in only her first year diving in the World Series in the individual events. "Just to be back where I was last year is amazing,” Ware said. "This competition for me

will try our best to win the gold medal.” China’s He Chong and Qin Kai consistently earned straight nines from the judges on their way to the gold medal, their only stumble occurred in the last round where they scored 7.5s and eights. Otherwise the pair were near perfect, totaling 469.41 points to beat Ukraine’s Oleksandr Gorshkovozav and Illya Kvasha (443.43) and Russia’s Evgeny and Illya Zakharov (442.62). He Zi and He Chong (CHN) secured the gold medals in the women’s and men’s spring-board events respectively on the second day at the London Aquatics Centre. He Zi’s 2 ½ somersaults piked dive which

counts to qualify for World Cup and Commonwealth Games points wise, so I'm very happy today. A year ago I was doing the Grand Prix and not placing, this year everything moved up since Barcelona, it's really cool." For his first three dives, the forward 2 ½ somersaults 2 twists piked (5154B), the inward 3 ½ somersaults dive tucked (407C) and the 3 ½ reverse somersaults tucked (307C), He Chong scored (CHN) 91 points for each one, propelling him into the lead from the get-go of the men’s 3m springboard final. Once ahead he never looked back, his scores of straight nines dropping only to 8.5s in the fourth round before finishing up to tally 559.00 points to win

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she was the only diver to score more than 75 points in every single dive she did made sure she had that extra edge over her rivals, winning her best event in fine style. Silver medallist Meaghan Benefeito (CAN) briefly held the lead in the second round but soon dropped down to second, ending her title-chase in London with a respectable 394.75 points. Rimong Pandelela Pang (MAS) was in good form, finishing third with 380.70 points. The highlight of the night was undoubtedly the men’s 10m platform event, where reigning world champion Qiu Bo (CHN) was not present, leaving Tom Daley (GBR), the local boy, to

the crown. Ilya Zakharov (RUS) finished second with 536.15 while third place (523.20 points) went to Evgeny Kuznetsov (RUS) who twice dropped to fourth place but managed to resurrect himself in the end ahead of Great Britain’s Jack Laugher. As is now normal custom in the diving world, both the women’s and the men’s 10m platform events were won by athletes from the Chinese delegation in London. Chen Roulin (CHN) showed her perfect technique in all her dives to capture the women’s 10m platform crown, scoring 400.55 points overall. Although Roulin sat in second place for a while, because

challenge Olympic champion David Boudia (USA) and Chinese sensation Yang Jian. Unfortunately for the two Olympic medallists Boudia and Daley, neither was able to get off to a good start, leaving Jian to run away with compatriot Aisen Chen to take the top two places. To add insult to injury to the two favourites, Yang Jian also managed to set a new WR of 616.50 points as Oleksander Bondar (UKR) scraped into third place (549.55 points). All in all, Boudia came fourth (532.55) while Daley, trying to combat his “demon dive” finished fifth (525.45), both divers not having the best of days in their first event back at the London pool since the Olympic Games. ■

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SPIRIT OF YOG NANJING 2014 YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES

President Jaques Rogge who first came up with the idea of a Youth Olympics. “But Singapore was a great success. The athletes were absolutely thrilled. They loved it.” The second summer YOG, which will take place from the 16 to 28 August 2014, could potentially be an important event in IOC and Olympic history, for the organisers of Nanjing 2014 think success in Nanjing would underline confidence in China’s ability to host a major sporting event, leading Beijing to win the bid to be the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. A mixture of excitement and anticipation dominates the

Nanjing’s Olympic Park with its stadium, natatorium and gymnasium has always been the heart of Nanjing’s sports. However this summer, the sprawling complex, located in the Hexi New Town, will also be the heart of the world’s sports as the best young athletes from all over the earth will come together to celebrate the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG), following on from the successes of the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore in 2010. “We went to Singapore for the first Youth Olympic Games not knowing if the experiment would be a successful one; it was the first trial,” explains former IOC

atmosphere in Nanjing, as the Youth Ambassadors take tours, tickets go on sale and the date of the opening ceremony come closer. Signs announcing the event are displayed all over the city and everywhere you look, Lele, the official mascot, waves down from billboards promoting the Games. More than 3,600 young athletes aged between 15 and 18 will take part in the Games over 12 days in August, when they will compete for the 222 available gold medals in Nanjing. However, the spot on the podium will not be the only focus for the young athletes. This summer YOG will be an opportunity for cultural

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BY HUGO LOWELL

Opening Ceremony held at the Nanjing Olympic Stadium, which, if all tickets sell out, will be attended by 60,000 eager spectators. In line with the goals of YOG, a Culture and Education Pro-gramme (CEP) will be held alongside the main sporting programme, with a comp-rehensive range of activities and team building exercises available to the athletes and their delegations to enjoy. Under Nanjing 2014’s slogan “Share the Games, Share our Dreams,” the CEP will encompass themes such as the Olympic Values, Healthy Lifestyle, Social Responsibility, Expression and other Skills Development.

exchange between young people from all over the world. To facilitate this, a unique mix of cultural and sporting activities have been integrated into the programme. In Nanjing, there will be 30 different disciplines although some will be adapted specially for the summer YOG, with innovative new formats and team competitions such as including mixed gender events. Basketball will be played 3 on 3 in Nanjing, just as there will be Golf and Rugby Sevens played for the first time. Beach volleyball will replace indoor volleyball and hockey will be played in a seven-a-side format. The Games themselves will

kick-off with an elaborate

The idea behind this is that it will give the young athletes the tools they need for later life. Of course the primary focus from the point of the Games is sporting success, but the CEP is designed to run alongside, educating them as they strive to achieve their goals. Through seminars and information flyers on nutrition and anti-doping, the focus will be placed on helping young people lead healthier lives. Topics such as environment protection, conscious use of resources, the exchange of ideas and the spreading of the Olympic Values over new media and social networking, as well as the development of

professional career planning will

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all be part of the programme. After the successful introduction of the Young Reporters programme in Singapore in 2010, the concept will continue in Nanjing. The Young Reporters will be guided by experienced media professionals to gain valuable reporting experience. In the lead-up to the Games, there will be a virtual torch relay as well as a more traditional physical torch relay. The virtual torch relay’s ‘flame’ is passed on via a mobile app or online, designed to bring together youth from all over the world to share their different cultures and to communicate with each other. The IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli explained at the 5th IOC CoCom Meeting for Nanjing 2014 that the virtual torch relay “integrated the spirit of the Games and interpreted the concepts of the Games, while maintaining youthful characteristics.” The physical torch relay will be more local affair in Nanjing, the torchbearers carrying a torch named the “Gate of Happiness” by its designers who also developed the torches for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games. ■

GET CONNECTED

ONCE AGAIN, THE YOGGER WILL BE IN ACTION – HOWEVER THIS TIME AT NANJING 2014 One of the main goals of the Youth Olympic Games is to bring together the young athletes from around the world to interact with each other and share their different cultures. Now, thanks to a clever little device called a YOGGER, a portable flash USB device which uses Near Field Communication (NFC) to exchange personal information just by touching two of these gadgets together. All the young athletes as well as the Young Ambassadors will be issued with a YOGGER, allowing them to make new friends by sharing their contact details - including email addresses and multiple social media addresses in a fun and secure way, enabling them to stay in touch even after the Games come to an end. To share information, all that needs to happen is for two YOGGER devices to go through the “Touch & Glow” process by touching them together and waiting for the light to flash green.

PHOTO BY GIANNA LOHNN / 8 BY ‘15

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PHOTO BY OMEGA WATCHES

MY GAMES BY

EMILY SILVER ALONG WITH HER TEAMMATES, EMILY SILVER CLAIMED AN OLYMPIC SILVER MEDAL IN THE WOMEN’S 4x100m FREESTYLE RELAY AT BEIJING IN 2008

time, I felt like I was really behind in terms of my training and where I needed to be at that point, but I just tried my best to maintain a positive attitude. When we finally arrived in Beijing, three days before the 4x100 freestyle relay, my event, the head coach of the women's team asked me to do a 100 freestyle time trial to make sure I'd be fast enough to swim on the relay. I ended up swimming a 54.7, which was the same time I had gone a month before at the Olympic trials without a broken hand. In essence, I had re-qualified for the Olympic team. I raced in the preliminaries of the Women's 4x100 freestyle relay. It was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life. I swam in the Olympics. I almost couldn't believe it as it was

On July 4th, 2008 my childhood dream was realized. I qualified for the U.S. Olympic swim team. The next day, less than 24 hours later, I broke my hand in two places by finishing too hard at the wall in my 50 freestyle. After a painful flight home from the Olympic trials, I was scheduled for hand surgery at the Stanford Medical center a few days later. After receiving a phone call from the Head Coach of the National team, my question was answered. He told me regardless of whether or not I swam, they wanted me there. The surgeons put in two plates and 17 screws into my right hand. I was told to rest for at least a week to let everything set. Once I was able to swim again I could only kick and swim with one arm. It was a difficult

happening. My race was okay, not the fastest I'd ever been, but I was just happy to be swimming at all after everything I'd gone

through. It was a huge relief. I was not put on the final relay, but watched as my relay teammates won silver for USA. All six of us received a medal for our part in the success, and when I was given my medal from my coach, she told me, "No amount of money could ever buy this, and very few people in the world will ever receive one." Still to this day, it amazes me every time I hold it. After the Olympics I decided to retire from the sport, to experiences other challenges and victories in life. ■

BEIJING 2008 SILVER: Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay

MY GAMES

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REVIEW BY DR. JAMES PERKINS

MIKASA W6000W THE MIKASA W6000W WATER POLO BALL IS THE OFFICIAL BALL OF FINA, LEN & THE US WATER POLO FEDERATION

accustomed to the balls used in matches. I prefer the latter method for more experienced players and so I choose reasonably priced ball with consistent grip over the course of a season. The Mikasa W6000W FINA Game Ball has been the official ball of London 2012, USA polo, LEN and Australian National League, some of the most high profile water polo competitions in the world; for good reason. Handled dry, you expect a ‘sticky’ ball, akin to other game balls (Epsan Diamond, Waterfly Champion) but in the water the W6000W has a more subtle feel. It requires a few minutes in the water to fully coat the surface yet this seems to bring the ball to life. If you’ve trained with overweight balls then you’ll know the feeling of passing or

One of the simplest sports on earth; water polo. A ball, goals, some way of telling the opposition from your own team and away you go.

The spectacle that is the Olympics or the European Championships with the referee catwalks, ball release mechanism and (at London 2012) the illuminated two and five metre lines is a far cry from local or even regional water polo in most countries. However, a ball that has adequate and consistent grip that can be handled by amateurs and professionals alike is essential. As a coach, there are two schools of thought. One, to use old, worn out balls, in training to get players used to handling without relying on the grip of the ball. Otherwise, regularly replace balls to become

shooting with a regulation weight ball straight after. There is an element of that feeling with the Mikasa, the hint of extra power that comes from a ball you have full confidence in handling. Visually, the W6000W has the splash of pink and blue and may not be to everyone’s taste. Come on manufacturers, the rules state that hats need only be contrasting to the ball, so why not provide more choice in colour and design. At around £30-36 in the UK, this is likely to be a match ball rather than a regular training ball for the majority of clubs, but is still worth the investment. ■

PRODUCT REVIEW

MIKASA W6000W - Size 68-71cm - Weight 400-450g - The Official Game Balls for the FINA Events, made by MIKASA CORPORATION

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LINO LOURENCO

FINA BUREAU MEMBER & NATIONAL LEVEL SWIMMER FINA Bureau Member Lino Candido Lourenco (ANG) has passed away at the age of 46. He was previously the Secretary General of the Angolan Swimming Federation, Member and then Vice President (from 2004) of the Confédération Africaine de Natation (CANA) as well as being a national level swimmer and having great expertise at officiating – indeed he officiated at several editions of the FINA World Championships. Also active in the areas of Management and Marketing, he was the first ever representative of Angola to become a FINA Bureau Member.

UROS

MAROVIC

OLYMPIC YUGOSLAVIAN WATER POLO PLAYER

Former water polo player Uros Marovic, who won gold with the Yugoslavian team at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City has died at the age of 67. He scored 198 goals during his career and amassed 203 national team caps. As well as his Olympic gold from Mexico City, Marovic also won two European Championship bronze medals in 1970 and 1974. He will perhaps be remembered for scoring the decisive goal against the Soviet Union in overtime during the

Olympic gold medal match.

OBITUARIES

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SHIPPING COST SHIPPING COST

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PHOTO BY SIGRID DEITELHOFF

FINA CALENDAR: 2014 15 MAY 2014 - FINA DIVING WORLD SERIES NO. 5 – GUANAJUATO (MEX) 30 MAY 2014 - FINA DIVING WORLD SERIES NO. 5 – WINDSOR (CAN) 6 JUNE 2014 - FINA DIVING WORLD SERIES NO. 6 – MONTERREY (MEX) 10 JUNE 2014 – FINA WP WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINAL, WOMEN – KUNSHAN (CHN) 16 JUNE 2014 – FINA WP WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINAL, MEN – DUBAI (UAE) 28 JUNE 2014 – FINA 10k MARATHON SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 3 – SETUBAL (KOR) 15 JULY 2014 – FINA DIVING WORLD CUP – SHANGHAI (CHN) 23 JULY 2014 – COMMONWEALTH GAMES – GLASGOW (SCO) 24 JULY 2014 - FINA 10k MARATHON SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 4 – LAC ST. JEAN (CAN) 26 JULY 2014 - FINA OWS GRAND PRIX NO. 4 – LAC ST. JEAN (CAN) 27 JULY 2014 – 15TH FINA WORLD MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS – MONTREAL (CAN) 30 JULY 2014 – 14TH FINA WORLD JUNIOR SYNCHRO SWIMMING WORLD CHAMPS. – HELSINKI (FIN) 1 AUG 2014 – FINA DIVING GRAND PRIX NO. 6 – BOLZANO (ITA) 2 AUG 2014 – 2ND FINA WORLD MEN’S YOUTH WP CHAMPIONSHIPS (18 & U) – ISTANBUL (TUR) 12 AUGUST 2014 – 16TH FINA WOMEN’S WATER POLO WORLD CUP – KAZAN (RUS) 13 AUGUST 2014 – 32ND LEN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (SW, DV, SY, OW) – BERLIN (GER) tbc AUGUST 2014 – PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS – QUEENSLAND (AUS) 16 AUGUST 2014 – 2nd YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES – NANJING (CHN) 19 AUGUST 2014 – 25TH MEN’S WATER POLO WORLD CUP – ALMATY (KAZ) 25 AUGUST 2014 – 2ND FINA WORLD WOMEN’S YOUTH WP CHAMPIONSHIPS – MADRID (ESP) 28 AUGUST 2014 – 2nd FINA WORLD JUNIOR OWS CHAMPIONSHIPS – EILAT (ISR) 27 AUGUST 2014 – FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 1 – DOHA (QAT) 31 AUGUST 2014 - FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 2 – DUBAI (UAE) 9 SEPTEMBER 2014 – 20th FINA JUIOR DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS – PENZA (RUS) 19 SEPTEMBER 2014 – ASIAN GAMES – INCHEON (KOR) 29 SEPTEMBER 2014 – FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 3 – HONG KONG (HKG) 2 OCTOBER 2014 – 13TH FINA SYNCHRO SW. WORLD CUP – QUEBEC CITY (CAN) tbc OCTOBER 2014 – FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 4 – EINDHOVEN (NED) 8 OCTOBER 2014 – FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 5 – MOSCOW (RUS) 17 OCTOBER 2014 – FINA DIVING GRAND PRIX NO. 7 – SINGAPORE (SIN) 22 OCTOBER 2014 – 14th FINA WORLD JUNIOR SYNCHRO CHAMPIONSHIPS – TAMPERE (FIN) 24 OCTOBER 2014 – FINA DIVING GRAND PRIX NO. 7 – KUALA LUMPUR (MAS) 24 OCTOBER 2014 – FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 6 – BEIJING (CHN) 28 OCTOBER 2014 – FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 7 – TOKYO (JPN) 1 NOVEMBER 2014 – FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP NO. 8 – SINGAPORE (SIN) 29 NOVEMBER 2014 – 3RD FINA AQUATICS WORLD CONVENTION – DOHA (QAT) 3 DECEMBER 2014 – 12th FINA SC WORLD SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS – DOHA (QAT) 12 DECEMBER 2014 – FINA SYNCHRO WORLD TROPHY – BEIJING (CHN)

2015 10 JULY 2015 – PAN AMERICAN GAMES – TORONTO (CAN) 19 JULY 2015 – 16th FINA LC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – KAZAN (RUS) Tbc – FINA MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS – KAZAN (RUS) 1 SEPTEMBER 2015 – 5TH FINA JUNIOR SWIMMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – SINGAPORE (SIN) Tbc – 11TH FINA WORLD WOMEN JUNIOR WATER POLO CHAMPIONSHIPS (20&U) – GUADALAJARA (MEX)

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DOPING OFFENCES: Indra GUNAWAN (INA): July 1 2013, tested positive to substance Methylhexaneamine (Class S.86.b Specified Stimulants) following a doping test conducted at the 4th Asian Indoor Games in Incheon (KOR). Starting July 1 2013, the athlete has a period of 2 years’ ineligibility. Putera Guntur PRATAMA (INA): July 2 2013, tested positive to substance Stanozolol (Class S.1.1.a Exogenous Anabolic Androgenic Steroids) following a doping test conducted at the 4th Asian Indoor Games in Incheon (KOR). Starting July 2 2013, the athlete has a period of 2 years’ ineligibility. Duygu BIROL (TUR): July 6 2013, tested positive to substance Oxilofrine (Class S.6.b Specified Stimulants) following an in competition doping test in Turkey. Starting August 14 2013, the athlete has a period of 2 years’ ineligibility. Abdulahim Lafei (TUR): July 3 2013, tested positive to substance Metenolone (Class S.1.1.a Exogenous Anabolic Androgenic Steroids) following an in competition doping test in Turkey. Starting August 14 2013, the athlete has a period of 2 years’ ineligibility. Alexander NIKOLOV (BUL): March 23 2013, tested positive to substance Stanozolol (Class S.1.1.a Exogenous Anabolic Androgenic Steroids) following an in competition doping test in Bulgaria. Starting March 23 2013, the athlete has a period of 2 years ineligibility. Yulia Efimova (RUS): October 31 2013, tested positive to substance 7-keto-DHEA (Class S.1.1.b Endogenous Anabolic Androgenic Steroids) following a FINA out of doping test in Los Angeles (USA). Starting January 1 2014 the athlete has a period of 16 months ineligibility. Furthermore, all results achieved by the athlete on or after October 31 2013 and through are disqualified. Sergey MAKOV (RUS): October 12 2013, tested positive to substance Ostarine (Class S.1.2 Other Anabolic Agents) following a doping test conducted at the FINA Swimming World Cup in Moscow (RUS). Starting January 20 2014 the athlete has a provisional suspension until a hearing before the FINA Doping Panel can be made.

BIDS FOR 2015/2017 FINA EVENTS: FOR THE FOLLOWING EVENTS, BIDS MUST BE PRESENTED NO LATER THAN 31 OCTOBER 2014. FINA WATER POLO WOMEN’S WORLD LEAGUE SUPER FINAL 19TH FINA WORLD MEN’S JUNIOR WP (20&U) CHAMPIONSHIPS – 2017 12TH FINA WORLD WOMEN’S JUNIOR WP (20&U) CHAMPIONSHIPS – 2017

CHANGE OF NATIONALITY: Ms. Jennifer FERNANDEZ GONZALEZ (Diving): from Cuba to Puerto Rico

FINA STRUCTURE: FINA BUREAU 2013 -2017 President: Dr Julio C. Maglione (URU) jmaglione.fina@adinet.com.uy

Honorary Secretary: Paolo Barelli (ITA) presidenza@federnuoto.it Honorary Treasurer: Pipat Paniangvait (THA) pipat.p@mama.co.th Vice Presidents: Husain Al Musallam (KUW), Tamas Gyarfas (HUN), Dennis Miller (FIJ), Dale Neuberger (USA), Sam Ramsamy (RSA) Members: Fernando Carpena (ESP), Errol Clarke (BAR), Dimitris Diathesopoulos (GRE), Dr. Mohamed Diop

(SEN), Matthew Dunn (AUS). Ben Ekumbo (KEN). Erik van Heijningen (NED), Andrey Kryulov (KAZ), Lino Candido Lourenco (ANG), Eugenio Martinez (CUB), Jesus Mena (MEX), Dr. Margo Mountjoy (CAN), Coaracy Nunes Fihlo (BRA), Vladimir Salnikov (RUS), Kazuo Sano (JPN), Qiuping Zhang (CHN). Honorary Life President: Mustapha Larfaoui (ALG) larfaouimustapha@yahoo.fr Honorary Members: Gennady Aleshin (RUS), Rafael Blanco (ESP), Bartolo Consolo (ITA), Eldon C. Godfrey (CAN), Nory Kruchten (LUX), Francis Lyuce (FRA), Guillermo Martinez (CUB), Chief Olatokumbo Thomas (NGR), Gunnar Werner (SWE). Executive Director: Cornel Marculescu * For information on the structures of the FINA Technical Committees, please visit fina.org

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