Swimmers

A visit by Olympic champion Michael Phelps to the Maryland State House on Thursday transformed delegates into a salivating swarm of paparazzi. Politicians took pictures on their cell phones, whistled and gaped as House Speaker Michael E. Busch introduced a "very special guest." He said that unlike Phelps, lawmakers are not "great swimmers ... but they all know how to tread water very well." Addressing the House of Delegates, a somewhat nervous-seeming Phelps smiled and said it "feels good to be back home" in Baltimore, causing the Baltimore delegation to leap to its feet.

Under overcast skies with light winds and water temperatures in the 70s, 644 swimmers plunged into the bay last weekend for the Toyota Great Chesa peake Bay Swim. The 4.4-mile route, from Sandy Point State Park to Steven sville, raises money for the March of Dimes and the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

INDIANAPOLIS -- For a pair of the nation's top swimmers, the chlorine that was in the air in the Indiana University Natatorium proved to be much thicker than any competitive tensions. Michael Phelps, from Rodgers Forge, and Towson's Katie Hoff each raced in an "off" event on the opening day of the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships and while neither walked away with a gold medal yesterday, each posted a personal-best time. ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships Through Saturday, Indianapolis Today: Michael Phelps takes on Ryan Lochte in the 200-meter backstroke.

Stevensville -- From a distance, the 644 swimmers who stroked and kicked their way 4.4 miles across the Chesapeake Bay yesterday looked like so many colorful bait fish thrashing the water to escape hungry predators. But up close, each was fighting an individual battle with his or her own body and the elements. And all enjoyed some measure of triumph as they stumbled, staggered or strode from the water alongside the east end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. "I used to be in better shape," said Mike Doyle, a 51-year-old electrical engineer from Pennsauken, N.J., who grabbed a pair of crutches as he left the water.

The brave and the silly descended upon Sandy Point State Park last weekend for the 11th annual Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge. More than 7,000 partic ipants chilled themselves in the Chesapeake Bay on Saturday, raising $2 million for the Special Olympics in the process. Among the swimmers was former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a habitual plunger.

KENT ISLAND -- With a rambunctious crowd cheering from shore, "Rocky" theme music blaring and the sun bursting from behind clouds as if to announce his arrival, Tom Newman finished the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim yesterday with a single, triumphant pump of his fist into a crisp morning sky.Then he peeled off his swimming cap, hunched over to catch his breath and talked about how he did it -- how he finished in 472nd place, no swimmers behind him, dead-in-the-water last."Been...

Three-time defending Catholic League girls swimming champ Notre Dame Prep remains unbeaten heading into Monday's showdown with McDonogh, the league's only other unbeaten team and the only team to beat the Pirates last winter.A year ago, the teams ended the regular-season race in a three-way tie with Severn. The Pirates already have beaten Severn, and McDonogh will swim against the Admirals tomorrow.Last week, the Pirates (7-0) trailed by two points going into the 400-yard freestyle relay but edged the Admirals, 87-83, after taking first and third.

Don't play race cardWhy did Jon Morgan want to play the race card in his article last week, "Black-and-white issue?"Race is not an issue. A great African-American, Martin Luther King, once said that a person should not be judged on the color of his skin but rather on the content of his character. This is demonstrated in sports time and time again. Owners, general manager, managers and coaches sign those players who help their organizations win games.Why does Mr. Morgan suggest that race is a factor when it comes to signing quarterbacks?

CLARIFICATONAn article Monday about the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim race reported that the swim started in 1982 as a way to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. The article neglected to say that for the past several years the race's sponsor and beneficiary has been the March of Dimes.Last year, Matt Leimkuhler braved chilly water and strong currents to come second in the 4.4-mile Great Chesapeake Bay Swim race.This year, Mother Nature accommodated Leimkuhler and the other swimmers.

EVERY MORNING during June and July thousands of area youngsters head for their community pool for swim-team practice. Day after day, lap after lap, they build their endurance and practice their skills as they have fun with friends.During the past two weeks, area swimming activity has peaked with dual meets, the Anne Arundel County Championship, divisional and league season championships and other aquatic events.One popular meet was the Fourth Annual Crofton Invitational Novice meet at Crofton Swim and Tennis Club the evening of July 20, a little too late to have gotten into last week's column.

Olympic swimming medalist Katie Hoff is changing coasts in an effort to jump-start her stagnant career. The Towson resident said yesterday that her decision to leave Baltimore and train in Fullerton, Calif., for the 2012 London Olympics leaves her anxious, excited, sad and more than a little nervous. That swirl of emotions is not unlike those of a freshman heading off to college, she said. For Hoff, though, the stakes are higher. The 20-year-old Towson resident heads west next month to try to regain her form.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Michael Phelps could sense the question coming long before it was asked. After all, new, high-tech swimsuits and their legality in competition have been the talk of the swimming world since the Beijing Olympics. They're the main topic of conversation for the 800 swimmers at the U.S. nationals, which begin today at the Indiana University Natatorium. World records are falling, and FINA, the sport's governing body, has said that virtually every suit on the market will be legal, at least until 2010, when officials plan to reassess suit standards.

There will be plenty of swimmers in Indianapolis at the U.S. national championships next week wrestling with the decision about what kind of swimsuit to wear. Michael Phelps won't be one of them. FINA, the sport's governing body, ruled recently that swimmers can wear two new but controversial suits between now and Jan. 1 - they'll re-evaluate the decision after that. But Phelps said Wednesday that he's sticking with the LZR Racer he wore at the Beijing Olympics, where he won eight gold medals.

A visit by Olympic champion Michael Phelps to the Maryland State House on Thursday transformed delegates into a salivating swarm of paparazzi. Politicians took pictures on their cell phones, whistled and gaped as House Speaker Michael E. Busch introduced a "very special guest." He said that unlike Phelps, lawmakers are not "great swimmers ... but they all know how to tread water very well." Addressing the House of Delegates, a somewhat nervous-seeming Phelps smiled and said it "feels good to be back home" in Baltimore, causing the Baltimore delegation to leap to its feet.

BEIJING - The day the Olympics began, before the Opening Ceremony fireworks exploded, before the giant torch lit up the night sky and before Michael Phelps began blowing up world records right and left, 6,800 miles away, Emily Long sat down at her laptop and filed her dispatch. FRIDAY, AUGUST 08, 2008 Hey Every1!! I can't believe 8-8-08 is FINALLY here!! I'm SO EXCITED!! I can't wait to see the swimming plus the other sports!!... So probably I'm going to drive you all crazy with all this EXCITEMENT!

BEIJING - Just how bad can the pollution get in China? The first practices of the U.S. swim team might have provided an unpleasant answer. The U.S swimmers, as well as the Australian swim team, said that when they arrived for their initial practice at the National Aquatics Center on Monday, they noticed what could be described only as a visible haze hovering around the ceiling. "[Monday,] they said it was the worst it's been," Erik Vendt, a member of the American 800-meter freestyle relay team, said yesterday.

OMAHA, Neb. -- Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff don't swim in every event at the U.S. Olympic trials. It just seems that way. It seems that way because the two Baltimore swimmers are in the finals of some event virtually every night, and sometimes more than one. Last night at Qwest Center, it was the first time all week that neither Phelps nor Hoff was racing for a spot on the Olympic team. No one would dispute that Hoff and Phelps are, for the most part, in a league of their own in terms of talent.

OMAHA, Neb. -- Michael Phelps isn't shy about how much he loves to play poker. He plays it with friends, plays it in casinos with strangers, and sometimes plays it online, late at night. But on the eve of the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, it's his coach, Bob Bowman, who will decide which hand Phelps will play in the Qwest Center pool this week. The event officially begins tomorrow, even though a severe storm damaged the Qwest Center yesterday and forced hundreds of swimmers practicing to evacuate the pools.

What if someone told you that the fastest female swimmer in the United States isn't some fresh-faced prodigy just entering her prime? What if it weren't someone training six hours a day, eating, breathing and living the sport? What if, instead, the fastest American happened to be a 41-year-old mom coming back from shoulder surgery? A 41-year-old mom who already retired once? What if, against logic and odds, you heard that she has been getting faster as she has grown older? What if she went into the U.S. trials in Omaha, Neb., next week with a chance to make her fifth Olympic team, but her first since 2000?

Eight seniors at Fallston High School joined the school's swim team with high hopes. Five joined as freshmen, two as sophomores and one as a junior. First, they set their sights on winning the county meet. They achieved their goal four years in a row. Then, despite facing adversity, they set a goal to win the state championship when it was initiated in 2007. And they did. They repeated the feat this year. "These boys stuck together and worked as a team," said Sheri Huppenthal, one of the team's two coaches.