A "brief" look back to the future

Hello from Federal Way, WA! The US Open just finished up last night and Junior Nationals starts tomorrow morning. Tommy Inwood had best times in everything he swam and he made the C Final of the 200IM last night, so he got to swim twice. It was a very, very fast meet! Jessica Hardy broke 3 world records, the 50 breast twice (both times taking out a 100!) and the 100 breast. Amazing to watch! Perhaps the best thing, though, was watching the A Final of the men's 200IM. With all the controversy about the new tech suits that will be illegal very soon, there has been much said about the swims done in them. The 8 finalists paraded out in their warm-ups ready to swim, and when they got behind the blocks and took their warm-ups off, they were all wearing briefs! The entire aquatic center stood and clapped and cheered for each of them as the introductions were read. To me, this symbolized the start of a new era (actually an old one) in swimming. With the new rules to take effect January 1, 2010, this was one of the last meets where the tech suits could be worn. The 8 guys in the heat took us back to the future showing the past and future of the sport.

I hope everyone is having a great August and I will see you soon!