blueseventy On the Blocks for Eurpean Junior Championships

30 June 2009

Swimmers at the European Junior Championships will be able to wear
blueseventy bodysuits in Prague next month after LEN, the European swimming federation, corrected an earlier statement saying they would not be permitted.

An initial statement from LEN on 24 June indicated that blueseventy suits
would not be allowed, but the governing body had not been in touch with
blueseventy regarding the matter. LEN indicated that they would go with
FINAs approved suit list of 19 May 2009, disregarding the recently updated
list, which includes all current models of blueseventy bodysuits.

A later statement reversed this, indicating that 'the latest published list (FINA PR46, June 22nd) of approved swimsuits will be respected at all LEN Events (including Open Water Swimming events) until further notice from FINA.'

blueseventy welcomes this amendment, enabling the Europe's leading juniors to compete under exactly the same conditions as the seniors.

blueseventy Ready for Rome

blueseventy has confirmed that body suits will be available at the World Championships in line with FINAs requirement to supply all competing athletes. Sufficient stocks are available to meet demand all major events this summer, including the European Junior Championships.

Having not altered its technical suit since initial approval in March, blueseventy has continued to produce the suits as planned. blueseventy suits were recently reinstated to FINAs list of approved suits after the brand successfully demonstrated that they do not trap air.

Athletes at the World Championships are invited to test blueseventy suits during competition in Rome.

Ceo, Steve Nicholls, commented: “There are plenty of suits available. We were confident of getting through the latest approval process and continued with production. We’re working closely with retailers to ensure supply meets demand, and will be in Rome with suits.”

“On this basis we are 100% prepared for The European Junior Championships and have yet to be contacted by LEN to discuss our situation. It’s disappointing that athletes at the European Junior Championships next month will not be permitted to select suits from the full list of currently approved suits. This can only cause an unnecessary distraction for them.”

LEN, the European governing body, will allow only those suits included on FINAs list from 19 May on the basis that newly approved suits are unlikey to be available in sufficient volumes to supply all competing athletes.

Nicholls added: “We are absolutely ready for Rome and look forward to seeing the swimmers, rather than swimwear, grabbing the headlines.”

Ironman Japan

Luke McKenzie has just crossed the line here to take back-to-back titles at Ironman Japan. It was a jubilant McKenzie running down the chute, acknowledging everyone in attendance, and of course proudly holding the Australian flag.
It was a humble Luke McKenzie acknowleding the crowd, who admitted once he realized his magnitude of his lead with 6km to go, began to struggle, and upon reaching the final three kilometers, had to stop at each aid station for at least 30 seconds.

'I'm not going to make it' he told Whit Raymond, 'but as soon as I got over that final hill, I lifted and knew I'd get home'.

'I gave it everything, it took so much out of me' was all he could manage by the end, clearly struggling with putting everything he had into today's race. And with back-to-back titles, it was an amazing effort for the 27 year old, who has now taken his third Ironman crown.

Final Standings - Top 10 Men
1. Luke McKenzie 8:28:31
2. Courtney Ogden 8:42:54
3. Petr Vabrousek 8:45:59
4. Park Byung Hoon 8:49:10
5. Kuniaki Takahama 8:51:28
6. Hiroyuki Nishiuchi 8:56:59
7. Cameron Watt 8:57:54
8. Morimichi Iihoshi 9:03:22
9. Masayuki Matsumaru 9:04:14
10. Daiki Masuda 9:05:17

Final Standings - Top 10 Women
1. Nicole Klingler 9:52:52
2. Nicole Ward 9:56:00
3. Megumi Shigaki 10:01:07
4. Hiromi Sato 10:07:50
5. Hillary Biscay 10:14:19
6. Kaori Tokai 10:31:29
7. Mai Taketomo 10:46:18
8. Amanda Balding 10:51:55
9. Anne Fallows 11:05:59
10. Masako Kawakami 11:11:21

Ironman Coeur d'Alene with Guy

Our own Guy Crawford was at Ironman Coeur d'Alene this past week. Here's an excerpt from his blog on race day:

"Conditions looked great this morning , light breeze and the temperature was cool but not freezing... Shame i can't say it stayed like that.

The pro swim start was at 6:25am and the age groupers at 7am .
first out of the water was Flanagan and then the main group of contenders including Rhodes and Pontano.

Kate Major and heather Wurtele were close only seperated by a few second come the end of the swim. It was dark horse Tyler Stewart that came from behind and rode 4:59 to take a demanding lead heading out on to the run. This lead would prove to be too much for Major and Wurtele to close and Stewart came home for her first IM Win ....A surperb victory for a talented lady.

The mens race was an interested affair , Bryan Rhodes lost his pedal and contact with Potano .
Pontano then went on to take controll of the race and never looked back .
American TJ tollakson had a great swim , bike , run combo to come in for second place and rounding out the top three was the funny man "Max Longree" from Germany , who ran his way through the field to finish on the podium.

Congrats to every-one for a great race and toughing it out in those cold conditions"

1 STEWART, TYLER 12/1/1 31/WPRO 01:04:38 04:59:35 03:15:28 09:23:21
2 MAJOR, KATE 2/3/2 32/WPRO 00:58:29 05:16:25 03:13:55 09:32:10
3 WURTELE, HEATHER 4/2/3 30/WPRO 00:58:35 05:12:41 03:19:08 09:34:24
4 COOPER, HALEY 11/6/4 29/WPRO 01:04:30 05:19:24 03:24:01 09:51:11
5 KIERS, RACHEL 9/8/5 29/WPRO 01:03:46 05:22:06 03:23:59 09:53:43
6 BANKE, ANN 8/4/6 30/WPRO 01:03:00 05:18:53 03:26:51 09:54:00
7 JACOBS, JESSICA 15/10/7 33/WPRO 01:13:11 05:22:41 03:12:00 09:54:58
8 NIEDERFRINIGER, EDITH 3/9/8 38/WPRO 00:58:31 05:32:49 03:19:54 09:56:44
9 LILJEBLAD, KELLY 13/13/9 37/WPRO 01:07:33 05:39:06 03:16:46 10:08:31
10 KAMENZ, ANNETT 14/12/10 33/WPRO 01:08:33 05:32:15 03:26:50 10:12:00
1 PONTANO, FRANCISCO 3/1/1 35/MPRO 00:50:28 04:40:41 02:57:50 08:32:12
2 TOLLAKSON, TJ 7/2/2 29/MPRO 00:56:07 04:41:49 03:00:32 08:42:03
3 LONGR?E, MAXIMILIAN 14/7/3 28/MPRO 00:59:48 04:52:28 02:54:31 08:50:19
4 HENKEL, JUSTIN 22/13/4 33/MPRO 01:12:52 04:50:11 02:49:32 08:56:08
5 MIETTINEN, TUUKKA 19/5/5 27/MPRO 01:01:33 04:47:23 03:09:41 09:02:49
6 WURTELE, TREVOR 12/8/6 30/MPRO 00:58:32 04:54:41 03:06:20 09:03:52
7 CURRY, SCOTT 10/4/7 34/MPRO 00:57:50 04:50:08 03:13:16 09:04:45
8 FLANAGAN, JOHN 1/6/8 34/MPRO 00:48:37 05:00:25 03:11:40 09:05:26
9 RUBLE, ZACH 9/12/9 27/MPRO 00:56:46 05:01:04 03:04:21 09:06:30
10 CAIN, DALLAS 21/10/10 31/MPRO 01:07:18 04:46:36 03:18:57

blueseventy Body Suits Back in the Water

blueseventy’s high-tech swimming body suits are back in the pool after the sport’s governing body, FINA, reversed its decision to ban them on the grounds of possible air trapping.
This decision means that swimmers are free to wear them at the forthcoming World Championships in Rome, and all other competitions, at all levels around the world.
Ceo, Steve Nicholls, commented: “We were confident in the scientific evidence that our suit could not trap air and are grateful for the support of Huub Touissant of the University of Amsterdam in presenting our case to FINA. We felt strongly that we would not need to make any alterations to it and we’re delighted that the right decision has been made without any form of bias.
“The last few weeks have certainly hurt us, with minimal sales in the period of not being on the list. However, we have been continuing with production to ensure availability for when the decision was reversed.
We now look forward to the World Championships, where we will have suits available for any swimmers wanting to try them out. We have been in continuous communication with swimmers throughout this period and this announcement now confirms their suit choice for Rome. They can now continue their preparation without this distraction.
"Prior to the latest announcement by FINA, blueseventy had consulted Lawyers to get an injunction against the decision. On consultation with FINA they encouraged us to instead go through their own review process which we have done." Nicholls added.
“The most important thing is that swimmers now know where they stand and have a choice about what suit they can wear. We will do everything we can to ensure that our suits are available and that all swimmers have access to them from all of our global distributors and subsidiaries.

Alistair on Top of the World

The month of June belongs to Alistair Brownlee. Just last weekend blueseventy athlete Brownlee raced at a sprint distance French Grand Prix. Not even being hospitalized from a dog bite on Saturday night could slow him down. A lead group of a dozen took the swim out hard and maintained their lead through the bike with Brownlee in the hunt. Al moves forward on the run and surged into the lead in the final 400 meters to win victory, stitches and all.

No rest for this champion though. Just today Al competed in Washington DC as part of the ITU World Championship Series. Out of the water Brownlee was in 4th with a small gap.(Fellow blueseventy Athlete Andy Potts made his ITU debut for the year and led the men from the water) The lead pack shrunk to four over the course of the bike leg with a 2:00 lead over the rest of the competition. Brownlee then took the lead on the run and crossed the finish for victory by 12 seconds over Javier Gomez.

Back to back outstanding performances for Brownlee move him to #1 in the ITU World Rankings. Next up for Al are the European Championships on July 5th where he will undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with.

Nero RZR Goggle Makes Waves

The blueseventy Nero RZR goggle has been making a splash in the marketplace since it's introduction just a few weeks ago. Check out what swimmers are saying:

"I was VERY skeptical about these goggles when you first gave them to me (well, you gave them to Heather because I said I wouldn’t use them). I’ve used the same goggles (TYR Racetech) for decades and saw no need to change. The thing that gave me the most concern was the semi-solid nose piece. Well, I’m 100% sold. The double strap keeps the goggles more securely on my face in the waves yet is totally comfortable for the pool. The goggles include several different nose pieces to fit different shaped/sized faces and is MUCH more comfortable than my old TYR Racetech goggles. You gave me the yellow goggles and they are amazing to wear – they make the cloudiest day seem sunny yet in bright sun don’t seem to amplify the brightness. Please carry them so I can buy more when these get scratched!"

We're in the process of updating our website with all our new goggles so stay tuned to www.blueseventy.com for more information!

Strong Performances at 70.3 UK

Catriona Morrison took the lead in the run at UK 70.3 to claim the women's title. Morrison found herself chasing Julie Dibens as she started the run. Dibens led the way out of the water in her blueseventy Helix and remained in front through the ride but wasn't able to hold off Morrison during the run. Rounding out the top three in the women's race was Bella Bayliss, fresh off a successful defence of Ironman Lanzarote just a few weeks ago.
On the men's side, Philip Graves blasted to the front of the race during the ride and never looked back as he took the men's title at Ironman 70.3 UK. Graves posted the fastest swim of the day, leaving the water with fellow blueseventy athletes Stephan Bayliss and Bayliss Anderson. Graves rode four minutes faster than the rest of his competition over the challenging Wimbleball bike course and never looked back as he held off both Bayliss and Cartnell for the win.

Albert First Out of Water at 70.3 Switzerland

Marko Albert led the race from the water in typical fashion at 70.3 Switzerland.

Two weeks earlier he led out of the water at 70.3 Australia and will be looking to add to these solid performances throughout the year.

Marko is back from injury, in great shape, and looking towards racing back on both the ITU circuit and 70.3 Worlds.
Good luck and great swimming Marko!

Top Times at Boise 70.3

blueseventy recent addition Magali Tisseyre proved to be a strong competitor at the Boise 70.3. In a stacked pro field Tisseyre was second from the water behind fellow blueseventy athlete Brooke Davison. Tisseyre then took the lead with a bike split of 2:16.28. She maintained her position on the run though second place finisher, Linsey Corbin, posted the fastest run split in the women's field. Finishing in third was 2006 Ironman 70.3 World Champion Samantha McGlone.

1 TISSEYRE, MAGALI 17/15/17 28/PRO 00:28:57 02:16:28 01:24:31 04:12:29
2 CORBIN, LINSEY 27/23/21 28/PRO 00:31:24 02:21:16 01:25:36 04:20:58
3 MCGLONE, SAMANTHA 20/25/22 30/PRO 00:29:05 02:25:03 01:28:50 04:25:10
4 DAVISON, BROOKE 7/27/23 38/PRO 00:26:38 02:30:44 01:27:07 04:26:46
5 VANDEWATER, MELISSA 28/31/25 31/PRO 00:31:24 02:28:43 01:29:46 04:32:34

Current Ironman World Champion, Craig Alexander, claimed the title with an exciting sprint to the finish alongside second place finisher and blueseventy athlete Chris Lieto. The winning time of 3:51.46 was just 2 seconds ahead of Lieto who finished with a time of 3:51:48. Tisseyre, with top finishes at this year's Ironman 70.3 Florida and Ochsner Ironman 70.3 New Orleans, achieved first place success with a time of 4:12:29. Alexander, Lieto, and Gambles remained together for a majority of the race. Lieto maintained te lead on the bike and run until Alexander took over within mere feet of the finish line.

1 ALEXANDER, CRAIG 3/4/1 00:25:39 02:10:08 01:13:44 03:51:46
2 LIETO, CHRIS 4/1/2 37/PRO 00:25:43 02:04:27 01:19:12 03:51:48
3 GAMBLES, JOE 5/3/3 27/PRO 00:25:46 02:09:16 01:19:04 03:56:24
4 HOFFMAN, BEN 10/2/4 26/PRO 00:28:04 02:06:38 01:19:21 03:56:32
5 HURD, JUSTIN 26/10/5 28/PRO 00:31:18 02:09:43 01:13:23 03:57:29

Eagleman 70.3

Cambridge, Maryland played host to the annual Eagleman 70.3 this past weekend. blueseventy's Natasha Badmann proved she's still got it finishing second to Carfrae. Badmann rode almost eight minutes faster to take a three minute lead starting the run. Carfrae caught the six-time Ford Ironman World Champion of Switzerland at the turnaround of the run. The two women battled it out for a short time before Carfrae, the 2007 Foster Grant Ironman 70.3 World Champion, pulled away to take the lead. Rounding out the top three finishers was blueseventy athlete Desiree Flicker. Flicker will also be racing Ironman Couer d'Alene this weekend and is likely to be one of the main contenders.
On the men's side, it was current 70.3 World Champion Ternezo Bozzone who took the win over Cunningham. blueseventy's own Michael Lovato rounded out the top 3 finishers. Lovatos dual top ten results at the Kona Ironman World Championships make him a formidable force in the longer distances.
Great racing athletes!

1 CARFRAE, MIRINDA 10/16/11 28/Professional 00:26:29
02:24:42 01:19:33 04:13:27
2 BADMANN, NATASCHA 22/13/14 43/Professional 00:30:26 02:16:38
01:26:48 04:17:00
3 FICKER, DESIREE 19/19/16 33/Professional 00:29:07 02:28:08
01:24:17 04:24:49

1 BOZZONE, TERENZO 1/1/1 24/Professional 00:23:35 02:08:11
01:16:54 03:51:11
2 CUNNINGHAM, RICHIE 3/3/2 36/Professional 00:24:15 02:11:14
01:13:25 03:51:27
3 LOVATO, MICHAEL 9/2/3 36/Professional 00:26:26 02:08:59
01:18:43 03:56:50

Big Results for blueseventy at Alcatraz

Andy Potts became a 3 time champion with his win at the 2009 Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in San Francisco this past weekend. Mary Beth Ellis held off defending champion Leanda Cave on her way to the women's title.
While Andy is known for his dominate performance in the water, it seems that the young guns of the sport, Clayton Fettel and Dustin McLarty are not letting Potts take the swims with such ease. All 3 blueseventy athletes were in the first group out of the water with Clayton and Dustin in the lead, but it was Potts who took control on the bike leg. Once off the bike Potts was unstoppable, putting together his third straight win here at Alcatraz.
Rounding out the top three was David Thompson and Graham O'Grady, both having great days to finish on the podium in a very competitive pro field.
On the women's side, perennial favorite and blueseventy athlete Leanda Cave was out of the water second and moved into the lead later in the race but was edged out at the end to finish second. Still a stellar performance for Leanda - always the strong competitor.
Congratulations blueseventy athletes on strong performances in and out of the water!

Wellington Wins Kansas 70.3

In shades of the Ford Ironman World Championship, Wellington suffered a puncture during the bike, but managed to change the tire in a matter of minute and post the day's fastest bike split for the women.
Chrissie's overall strength in all 3 disciplines must have her opponents wondering what they will have to do to beat her! The blueseventy athlete is the dominate force in any 70.3 and IM race she enteres.
Chrissie is at the front from the get go, leading out of the water at IM Australia and second out of the water in Kansas. Once again in Kansas, history repeats itself and Wellington suffers a punctured bike tire. The set back proves minor and Chrissie once again demolishes the competition to take first place leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that she is a force to be reckoned with.
Congrats Chrissie!

1 WELLINGTON, CHRISSY 2/1/1 1/F-PRO 00:25:11 02:26:51 01:20:16 04:14:52
2 TAYLOR, PIP 1/3/2 29/F-PRO 00:24:17 02:30:18 01:23:02 04:19:42
3 MARSH, AMY 3/2/3 32/F-PRO 00:25:51 02:26:29 01:26:46 04:21:38

TEAM TBB EXCELS IN EUROPE AND CANADA

This past weekend Rebekah Keat (pictured left) from Teamtbb won in Niederbron-Les-Bains at Challenge France. James Cunnama also had an outstanding race in the Pro Men category with a 4th place finish.

In Switzerland at the Rapperswil 70.3, Teamtbb’s own Erika Csomor finished in 4th, putting pressure on the very strong Swiss team.

Rounding out the recent competitions for the team was the Oliver Half Iron Canada. Teamtbb’s Jonathan Caron had an outstanding performance. Jonathan was at the front of the pack throughout the race but took the lead quickly on the run. He held the top position until the 14km mark when Tom Evans gained ground and went on to beat Caron out by a mere 18 seconds.

Congrats to all Teamtbb athletes on their outstanding performances!
For more information on Teamtbb check out their website at www.teamtbb.com

DEDICATED FINA UPDATE NOW ON IT"S OWN BLOG

To keep everyone informed of the daily updates regarding our nero suits, please click on the FINA UPDATES link (top right) for dedicated updates.

Thanks

blueseventy

1 June Update FINA approval process

We remain in the same situation as before and are not on the list. We continue to believe this is an oversight since we can now confirm that our suits passed all the tests that EPFL put them through. We will be in further contact with FINA and will have an update on the situation at 1pm PST weds.

USMS Response to FINA Suit List

Below is a statement from USMS President Rob Copeland with information regarding suit legality for United States Masters Swimming.

Date: May 20, 2009

At this point in time no suits should be listed as banned by U.S. Masters Swimming for pool or open water swimming.

While FINA has listed the 202 approved swimsuits, FINA has NOT listed the 10 suits that have been “rejected for not passing the tests of buoyancy and/or thickness” or made a ruling on the “136 swimsuits to be modified in accordance with “Dubai Charter”." Until FINA provides the definitive list of banned swimsuits and specific actions on the 136, we should not report any suit as banned in a USMS sanctioned event.

If you hear anything from FINA in contradiction to this statement, please inform me as soon as possible. The list of FINA approved suits can be found at: http://www.fina.org/project/index.ph...=2389&Itemid=9. The FINA press release can be found at: http://www.fina.org/project/index.ph...390&Itemid=108

Rob Copeland
President - United States Masters Swimming

22 May FINA update

Hi All,

Quick update for everyone who may be watching this. Overnight (EU Friday) we were able to meet with both FINA and  the EPFL.

I can't divulge exactly the contents of both those conversations, yet, but I can say that we are extremely optimistic that we will be able to get a correct and just decision regarding the current status of blueseventy's suits, and that it is possible this will be in the short term future.

I hope everyone is able to enjoy their weekends, good luck to everyone at meets especially JEI, and we'll have more info early next week, when we hope to have a time at which the FINA bureau will be able to review the decision made by the commision.

Thanks
Steve

USA swimming allows nero suits

Hi All,

Just a quick update again re: suit approvals. Our understanding is that USA swimming and USMS are still allowing any suits currently FINA approved, but not on the newly published list to be used in competitions over the weekend.

It would appear that the absence of clear timelines from FINA, in terms of which meets, and at which date the current suits become illegal (Some people are saying this is only for ROME, others this should be applied to events from 31 March...) mean they do not have a clear idea of what is expected by National bodies. Therefore every countries national body is doing their own thing.

Thanks 

Steve

FINA approval update May 21: what do I do with my nero

Thank you for your email in regard to your blueseventy swimskin. We understand your initial concern regarding the legality of competing in this currently and wish to assure you that we are working towards a win / win solution for all our loyal blueseventy customers. The most common question we have at the moment is “What does this mean for me, I just bought a nero suit, is it now useless”

Our initial contact with FINA has been to immediately over turn the decision as it is based on factually inaccurate interpretations of their own laws.  Please see our website for more information regarding this, or visit Steve Nicholls, Our CEO’s blog, details below

Regarding the legality of your suit:

Currently there are several points that need clarification:

1. Dubai charter was set up to limit suit use for the ROME world championships. At this stage it is unclear whether the current rules will make suits illegal/ legal for any other events in 2009, or just ROME.
   
2.   We have already started sampling different ways to, at our cost voluntarily adjust a blueseventy nero suit to fit into FINAs new rules.  Our goal is to have a method that is quick, simple and something we can do to suits that have been purchased already. Currently FINa have requested we modify our suits because they "may trap air" and the lack of objective measures to quantify this effect is the major limiter on evaluating success/ failure of this modification.
   
3. We also have several straight forward alterations to forward production that will allow the escape of the possibly trapped air that has made our suits illegal. These are minor changes but again depend on what constitutes trapping air, and what constitutes air escaping.
   

Most importantly we’re thinking about what we can do for our customers, and people who own one of our suits, so please be patient keep your nero, a lot of countries are still letting swimmers use these suits until such time as they get clarification from FINA (for example USA swimming, US masters swimming). We’ll be updating information as regularly as we can, please see any of the below links for details:

www.blueseventy.com

http://www.thewaterisopen.blogspot.com/

www.blueseventysteve.blogspot.com

FINA approval update: May 20

Hi to all following this:

Just a quick update for anyone following this:

Our position after analyzing the decision made by FINA is that there has been a misinterpretation by the FINA executive on the rules of FINA. UNder FINA's current rules:

Clause 3.1(c) dictates that the suit:

…shall not be constructed to ….create an air/water trapping effect…..”

This is an objective measure.  

Your assertion that the rule has been offended is based on Professor Mason’s subjective assessment that the construction“may” cause the air/water trapping effect.  

Clearly, until it can be categorically proven that the construction of our suits creates the air/water trapping effect, clause 3.1(c) has not been offended and FINA has no basis under its own approval requirements to reject our suits.  The current rejection is therefore wrong. 

We have requested urgent clarification from FINA regarding this matter, and have submitted a letter to them yesterday (lausanne time). We have placed several Calls to FINA but at this stage we we're told that Mr Marculescu is unavailable. 

Additionally it is worth noting that overnight (thursday) will be a Holiday in Switzerland so we are unlikely to get any further information until the next day.

We will try to keep you updated.

Regards

Steve

blueseventy Addresses FINA’s Suit Approvals

New Zealand — May 19, 2009 — Today FINA released its list of approved suits for the World Championships in July. FINA rejected 10 high-tech racing suits and approved 199 others with 136 swimsuits to be modified in accordance with the “Dubai Charter”.

blueseventy submitted 11 models of suits for FINA approval, including tights and jammers. At this time, blueseventy suits are not listed on FINA’s site as approved models, including the models that had previously been submitted (in late 2007) and had received approval.

blueseventy is stunned by this omission. “As a company, and personally, we were very comfortable with the criteria for testing that FINA had outlined, our suits passed well under the threshold for buoyancy and thickness proposed by them,” stated blueseventy’s Global Marketing Manager, Dean Jackson. “We have had confirmation that our suits passed the independent laboratory testing for both of these tests.”

Officially blueseventy is classified as one of the suits that ”may cause significant air trapping when worn by the swimmers.” However, there are several other similar brands with suits that use exactly the same fabric, with a similar construction, that have passed without a problem. This confusing situation has led the company to seek clarification directly from FINA and blueseventy is awaiting their response.

blueseventy has 30 days to make modifications to the suit so that it no longer traps air, but the system around this is unclear since trapping air is not a measurable value and the subjective nature of this “testing” is not black or while. Initially the Dubai Charter and resubmission of these suits was in order to gain acceptance for the Rome World championships and it is blueseventy’s understanding that previously approved suits remain legal for all competitions.

“We are dedicated to working on the best solution to the short-term situation and will work closely with FINA on this process,” said Roque Santos, blueseventy Vice President of Swimming. “Most importantly, we care about swimmers, we care about our company and we care about fair play for all brands in this process.”

blueseventy's Dirk Bockel Wins Big at Ironman 70.3 Florida

May 17, 2009 marks the first career Ironman 70.3 victory for blueseventy athlete Dirk Bockel. Dirk led the race from the beginning where his plan was to “…take the swim out really hard in order to keep the group small once we were on the bike.” Exiting first from the water Dirk maintained through the bike and was at the front of the pack in the run with competitor Luke Bell. “It was a bit of a yo-yo game on the run. I threw in a couple of surges and gained ground…In the last loop I knew that I was the stronger one – so it really didn’t have to come down to a sprint at all.” Showing his confidence, Dirk even threw on a pair of Mickey Mouse ears while running to the finish.

This year Dirk placed third at Ironman New Zealand in March and finished 4th at Ironman St. Croix only a couple of weeks ago. Later this summer he will compete in the ITU Long Distance European Championships in Prague and will finish the season at the Ironman World Championships in Kona.

Congrats Dirk!

blueseventy Athlete Normann Stadler featured in German FHM Magazine

World class triathlete Normann Stadler was featured in the European FHM Magazine, giving readers hints on how to be a successful triathlete. Normann suggests starting out with a sprint triathlon as a first race. He also provides a training schedule as well as specific tips for each leg of the race. For the swim, Normann states that you don’t have to only swim crawl stroke, but recommends it over the breaststroke. His most important piece of advice though, is to have fun with both the training and the competition.

Check out the German FHM for the full article!
Photo from FHM Magazine

blueseventy Partners with Legendary Swimmer Rowdy Gaines

Seattle, WA, — May 8, 2009 — blueseventy, the world’s leading maker of wetsuits, swimskins, and other swimming accessories, is pleased to announce their sponsorship of swimming legend and triple Olympic Gold Medal winner, Rowdy Gaines.

“blueseventy has truly gone from zero to 60 in the pool swimming market in just a year,“ says Roque Santos, V.P. of swimming at blueseventy. “Today, we are very excited to be signing a man we consider to be swimming royalty. Knowing Rowdy personally and now working with him is a great honor. He truly encompasses all that is great about our sport and embodies the spirit of blueseventy.”

Back in the sport, and swimming competitively again, Gaines has broken three records in the blueseventy nero comp swimskin, including two National Masters records at the YMCA Nationals in the 50 yard freestyle and 100 yard freestyle and most recently at the USMS Masters Nationals in the 200 yard freestyle.

“I have been involved with this great sport for 35 years,” says Gaines. “It is amazing what blueseventy has brought to swimming. I am so proud to be a part of a company that thinks of the athlete first, both young and old."

Under this agreement, Gaines will serve as an ambassador for blueseventy at Masters Swimming Competitions as well at his clinics. In addition, Gaines will work as a close advisor to the blueseventy product development team on innovations in swimskins, goggles and other swim accessories.

Gaines was the fastest man in swimming throughout the early 1980s. At the peak of his career and heavily favored to win five gold medals at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the U.S. boycott denied him that chance. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he capped his phenomenal career with three gold medals and two world records. Displaying his intense perseverance and incredible competitive drive, Gaines’ swimming accomplishments are truly remarkable including:

• 8 Time NCAA Champion
• 22 Time NCAA All American
• 17 Time National Champion
• 8 Time Pan Am Games Champion
• 11 Time World Record Holder
• 5 Time World Champion
• 3 Time Olympic Gold Medalist

Known as the voice of swimming, Gaines has worked with CBS, TNT and ESPN as a regular announcer for swimming and other events, and called his fifth Olympic telecast for NBC at the 2008 Games in Beijing. He will again be part of the NBC broadcast team in 2012 for the London Olympics.

The blueseventy/Gaines sponsorship represents the first of several partnerships that will be revealed by the company in the upcoming weeks.

Alejandro Jacobo – Mexican World Championships MVP!

Congratulations to Alejandro and his recent outstanding performance at the Mexican World Championship Trials!

Across the world, nations are holding meets to determine who will represent their country at the Pool and Open Water World Championships in Rome this July. Recently, Alejandro swept the 50, 100, and 200 breaststroke events at the Mexican World Champs wearing a blueseventy Nero and was named MVP of the meet. All three of these swims were Mexican National Records, earning Alejandro a spot on the Mexican World Championship Team, and a chance to compete with the best in the world this summer in Rome.

Congratulations Alejandro!

blueseventy's GreatBig OpenWaterSwim (UK) coming up!

The inaugural blueseventy GreatBig OpenWaterSwim takes place on Saturday 11th July in the crystal clear water of Dorney Lake, Eton, near Windsor – one of the greatest triathlon venues in the UK, the rowing venue for the 2012 Olympic games and the perfect location for open water swimming.

Accurately measured 1km, 1 mile and 3km race distances are on offer, which are likely to appeal to a whole range of competitive swimmers, ‘open water’ first timers and triathletes looking for something a bit different. Entries are already flooding in and with the likes of Great Britain's leading masters swimmer, Dan Bullock also taking part, the racing promises to be lively and exciting over all three distances.

As well as the exceptional facilities - free on-site parking, toilets, showers and refreshments - Dorney Lake offers an unrivalled opportunity for spectators to watch the swimmers from the lakeside and follow the race down the course.

‘blueseventy are absolutely delighted to be title sponsor for this exciting new event in the South East’ said Dean Jackson of blueseventy. ‘The GreatBig OpenWaterSwim is perfect for long distance swimmers, triathletes and basically anyone looking for a thrilling new challenge.

blueseventy is the leading wetsuit brand in the UK, with the ‘Helix’ being voted ‘best wetsuit of 2008’. So teaming up with Human Race, who are the UK's leading multi-sport race organisers, for this event couldn't be more appropriate. The GreatBig OpenWaterSwim promises to be a fantastic day of racing and entertainment, and is one not to be missed’.

All swimmers will receive a goodie bag, swim hat and a fantastic blueseventy Great Big Open Water Swim t-shirt as a memento from this epic inaugural event. Entry costs only £20 (for all distances) and around 1000 swimmers are expected to take part.

To enter online and for more information check out www.humanrace.co.uk
For more information about the blueseventy ‘Helix’ and the full range of wetsuits see www.blueseventy.com

Charlotte Paul doubles her score!

Charlotte Paul won the Western Australia half ironman, just a few weeks after winning one of the hardest Ironman races in history (Ironman China). Charlotte is showing some great form leading into the northern hemisphere season. Watch this space!
She sent us her most recent race report:

"Hi all

Just checking in to let you know what's happening.

I have just returned from Busselton in Western Australia where I won the Half Ironman on Saturday. It was a big surprise for me to feel so good on the day and be able to take out the title. I had no expectations and no pressure, I was just going to see how I felt on the day. Well I felt good! I won in a personal best time of 4 hours 23 minute.

It was a really fun week with school visits, interviews, a chat with the TriWA junior elites and congratulating all the kids at the finish line of the kids triathlon. Pictures attached. Kristian also gave a presentation to TriWA members on "triathlon is not swim + bike + run".

It's now definitely time for some rest before I start my build for the Quelle-Challenge Roth.

I'm now ranked 2nd in the World, according to www.ironmanrankings.blogspot.com which ranks athletes in M dot ironman distance racing, for the 2009 season, starting with Florida 2008.
According to another website, www.triathlonranking.com, I am 10th in the World. This site ranks athletes on all long course races.(Pre-Busselton results) I finished 2008 ranked 40th, so I'm on the up! You could say I'm going through a "purple patch". I'm on a roll and I'm going with it.

Revised schedule for 2009;

May 2nd Busselton Half Ironman, Western Australia.
July 12th Quelle-Challenge Roth, Germany.
August 23rd Philippines 70.3.
October 10th Hawaii Ironman World Champs
November 1st Port Macquarie Half Ironman
December 5th Ironman Western Australia

I appreciate all of your support.

Charlotte"

Clas is BACK!

blueseventy's Clas Bjorling is back racing again! He got in touch with us to share his latest conquest...

"Hi all.
Yesterday I came back home after finished 2:nd in a international multisport race in China called 2009 Baise Outdoor Quest. It's a 3 day race where you race 5-7 hours a day in running, mountain biking and kayaking, with some more technical things like abseiling, net climbing and cave running.

I raced with 2 other Swedish guys named Martin Flinta and Per Boqvist and a NZ based girl named Fleur Pawsey, our team name was Team Sweden/worldofmultisport.com

The race included 5 international teams and 15 Chinese teams.

It was the first multisport race for me and it was a lot of fun, I felt strong during the whole race, I have had good training through the Swedish winter with a lot of cross country skiing and I also just came home from a 3 week camp in Spain just before the race in China.

Now I’m enjoying a few easier days before I head back into a training routine.

Next thing up for me will be “Tour of Sweden” www.tosweden.se which is a training camp where we will ride the length of Sweden over 2 weeks, 2300 K,plus swimming and running of course, will be a lot of fun.

After that camp I will probably start to be in pretty good shape and be ready for some real triathlon racing."

Luke Mckenzie updates us on his win at the Western Australia Half Ironman

photo by Sarah Hall

"I have just arrived back home after a successful weekend at the Western Australia Half Ironman in Busselton. I won the race in a new course record time of 3.47.01.

We arrived in Busselton on the Friday morning prior to the race to unexpected chilly weather. Our morning swim in Geograph Bay was freezing after training in the warmer waters of Noosa and some uninvited guests (1 million Jellyfish) decided to take up residence on the swim course. The afternoon prior to the race was busy with media commitments for the local and state television and newspapers and an appearance at the kids tri and signing hundreds of autographs for the young ones. We crashed into bed after a long day ready to race the following morning.

Race morning dawned and ideal race conditions came to the party. Blue skies, not a breath of wind and ideal temperature ment it was going to be a fast day. Warming up for the race I learned that TIm Berkel who had won the Ironman event in December and recent third place finisher at Ironman Australia was out of the race due to illness which was a little disappointing as I was looking forward to a rematch against him and Pete Jacobs.

Warming up for the swim I dove in and took 3 strokes only to find the Jellyfish had seemed to increase in numbers overnight and I got stung across my face straight away. I ditched the idea of a swim and decided it would be best to do a dry land warm up with some arm swings and stretches. Luckily my BlueSeventy Helix wetsuit kept me from getting stung on my body once the race started but my face hit a few more stingers throughout the 1.9kms. I swam comfortably on Pete Jacobs feet and we exited the water with a good lead over the chasing group.

Exiting transition and onto the bike I put my head down and went for it, managing to drop Pete through the technical town section before we hit the fast open roads. My Scott Plasma 2 was humming along the open stretches and the front Zipp 1080/ rear Disc combo was roaring, the bike almost felt like it was motorized! I continued to pull away at every turn-a-around and by the end of the 90km bike leg I had established a six minute lead over Pete, Courtney Ogden and Sean O'Neill. I was really surprised with my ride as I felt like I had been struggling in past weeks in my bike training but I just had one of those days where it all clicks and I was stoked to ride to a new bike course record of 2.05.42.

Onto the run and I felt comfortable and in control. I was initially worried that maybe my effort on the bike might have tired my legs but as I found my rhythm I knew I was going to back up the bike with a solid run. My K-Swiss K-ona's bounced along the course and I ran well within myself to maintain my winning break and crossed the finish line in 3.47.01, a new Western Australia Half Ironman course record time. It was awesome to come down the finish chute to see all of Amanda's family cheering me on and celebrating the win with me. Thanks for coming to support guys!

After an overnight red eye flight to Brisbane we are now back in Noosa and back into training. Only 10 days left in Australia before we head to Hawaii for the Ironman 70.3 and our training base for Ironman Japan in June."

Congrats Luke! Triple threat....

Cat Morrison; blueseventy's quiet acheiver

Cat Morrison took the 70.3 St Croix after exiting the water with the lead group, riding comfortably and proving too strong on the run.
blueseventy Joanna Zieger lead out of the water, but unfortunately had to pull out of the race.

Cat swam with the pack, stuck to her plan on the bike and entered into T2 with a 3 minute deficit on former world champ Miranda Cafree. She then proceeded to do the one thing that she does best, run! She won by almost 3 minutes to take her first win of 2009.


1 MORRISON, CATRIONA 9/2/1 /WPRO 00:28:05 02:41:04 01:23:29 04:32:38
2 CARFRAE, MIRINDA 4/1/2 /WPRO 00:27:58 02:38:17 01:29:06 04:35:21
3 GLAH, KEN 1/1/1 46/W45-49 00:27:54 02:34:35 01:35:31 04:38:00
4 SNOW, CAITLYN 7/10/3 /WPRO 00:28:03 02:49:34 01:23:07 04:40:44
5 KRAFT, NINA 2/4/4 /WPRO 00:26:15 02:44:40 01:30:13 04:41:08

Bockel rebounds at St Croix 70.3

At St Croix 70.3, just gone, Dirk Bockel made his move on the 70.3 world circuit.
Although not having the running legs he'd hoped for, Dirk lead out of the water and took it to them on the bike.

It was a scorching 31 degrees in St. Croix , when Dirk Bockel went on to face tough competition at his first Half Ironman of the season.

His old rival from Ironman New Zealand, Mr. Cameron Brown, pulled out of the race before it began, but there were plenty of other competitors to contend with, including multiple Ironman and Half Ironman winners Richie Cunningham (AUS), Timothy O’Donald (USA) and Bryan Rhodes (NZL).

The 2 km swim took place in a relatively calm Christainsted Harbor, with Dirk taking the lead from the first buoy. He remained in the first position until the end of the swim, when he came out of the water first, taking the swim prime and setting a new swim course record of 24 minutes.

A group of 6 men (including Bockel, Cunningham, Rhodes, Hayes, Amorelli, & O’Donald) took off out of transition together. They stayed together throughout the course of the 90 km bike, and despite a multiple efforts to breakaway from this pack, Dirk decided to stay with them. “I created a gap [from the main pack] on several occasions. Once with Richie [Cuningham] and Igor Amorelli, and another time I went with Rhodesy [Bryan Rhodes]. The chase pack closed the gap after some time so I was unable to gain a substantial lead on the bike. As my running form is not exactly perfect due to my foot injury, I knew I needed to focus on the swim & bike a bit more this time. The bike course is one of the most difficult ones that exist--so I tried to make it even harder for the guys that run well by attacking on the bike and pushing the tempo.”

Just as he demonstrated at his Olympic performance in Beijing last August, and his Ironman debut in March of this year, Dirk was the first out of Transition 2, leading the run straight off the bike. The run started out at a comfortable speed and Dirk eventually settled in with a group of 5 athletes.

The sun was beating down on the men as they pounded through the 21 km hilly running course. After 10 km, they started to spread out a bit more, with Timothy O’Donald taking the lead. O’Donald went on to win the race (also setting a course record), Amorelli took 2nd, Cunningham 3rd, and Dirk Bockel finished 4th. “I really wanted to make a podium, but there was nothing else left in the tank. The conditions were brutal. I could have gone faster on the bike but wanted to save up a bit for the run. I actually had a great run, considering my previous injury and the small amount of running that I have done this season. My foot injury did not bother me at all during the running, but I did develop some very intense blistering that covered the entirety of my foot and ankles. This is just a part of long distance racing that I am not really used to yet--and I am certainly going to be wearing socks at my next race!”

Docherty Wins By An Inch

Last weekend, Bevan Docherty from New Zealand outsprinted Australia’s Brad Kahlefeldt to win the opening leg of the Dextro Energy Triathlon - ITU World Championship Series as they crossed the line together in 1:50:25. A photo finish awarded victory to the Kiwi in the US$150,000 event held in the Korean city of Tongyeong and places him at the top of the Dextro Energy Triathlon – ITU World Championship rankings.

The two lap 1500m swim was led out by Korea’s Chang Yon Lee which sent the Tongyeong crowd into a frenzy. Hot on his heels was France’s three time European champion Frederic Belaubre and Australia’s Courtney Atkinson who was given a 15 second time penalty in transition for a false start.

On the 40km cycle a large front pack of 50 athletes formed until Mark Fretta from the USA and Belaubre managed to escape up the road, carving out an ever increasing lead as they pushed on. The duo managed to open up a one minute advantage over the main pack coming into second transition following 30km of hard graft. On the final cycle lap a Russian pairing of Dmitry Polyansky and Alexander Brukhankov also managed to open a gap of 30 seconds taking them clear of the chasers which included Canada’s double Olympic medallist Simon Whitfield and 2008 Tongyeong ITU World Cup winner Tim Don from Great Britain.

Once on the run the Russians quickly caught Belaubre as Kahlefeldt, Beijing Olympic Games bronze medallist Docherty, and his compatriot Kris Gemmell set about reducing the gap to the leaders. Polyansky managed to break Brukhankov but was caught by the chasers lead by renowned runner Jarrod Shoemaker from the USA as the athletes hit half distance on the 10km run.

Despite being caught Polyansky refused to be dropped as a surging Kahlefeldt first shelled Shoemaker, and later Gemmell from the lead pack. The Russian eventually succumbed to the brutal pace in the final 500m as the Aussie and Kiwi broke clear to fight it out in the home straight.

Kahlefeldt stole the early yards but Docherty responded and sprinted past. The Australian kicked again and overhauled the Kiwi but then slipped some ten metres from the line, losing momentum and allowing Docherty’s last ditch effort to gain the extra inch that he needed to win.

Kahlefeldt appealed against the verdict to award Docherty the race victory but the decision was upheld after a review of the photo finish.

“It’s all a blur, when it comes down to those sort of situations,” admitted Docherty. “It’s just mind over body. I couldn’t really feel my legs but they wanted to go forward. Brad got a bit of a lead on me and I came back and inched in front and we both just went for the line. It was a case of just cross your fingers and go for it!”

“Deep down I know I have a pretty good sprint. That was my game plan going into the Olympic Games but unfortunately it didn’t quite go my way. This time it paid off but that Olympic gold medal is going to haunt me and until I achieve that I’m not going to stop.”

I was more than happy with my result, but of course I wanted to win,” said Kahlefeldt. “I felt really good out there and kept trying to push the pace through the twisty and windy sections on the run but I was waiting for Bevan to come around me. In the home straight he got past, then I came over the top of him, then he came back in front and I just gave it 100 percent. I’ve been in these situations before when it’s oh so close, and I knew I just had to give it everything in such a big race.”

All About Mitch

Coming off Ironman Australia, blueseventy's Mitch Anderson confirms that he's an athlete to look out for. Mitch will only get stonger as the year progresses. Recovering well from IM Australia, Mitch snatched the title here in Japan at this Strongman event. He writes...

"I headed over to Japan on the Monday night prior to the race. It took us 38 hours and two nights in airport hotels (epic!) before Sam Hume and I got to Miyakojima, which is a near tropical island at a latitude close to Taiwan. The weather is usually humid (80%+) and warm (25-30C) for race day…plus the white sands of the local beach and a magic buffet breakfast make it a paradise for triathletes. The race has a cap of 1500, for which 2500 Japanese locals apply. I was joined by Humey, German Norbert Huber and the top Japanese athletes like Kawahara (2:47 off the bike last year, 4th IM Japan 08) and Matsumara (2:50 runner, 2nd last year). My legs felt pretty good in the lead up- I was able to run 80 min on the Sunday following Australia and swing an Eliza loop (115km) with the boys…so I had my fingers crossed that I could push the bike and hang tough on the run.

That’s pretty much how my race panned out- I swam 41 high with Kawahara, losing time to Hume and 2-time Olympic turned TBB athlete Nishiuchi…but Hume double flatted and I swept to the lead by the 35km mark. I felt like I was riding a motor scooter for most of the bike portion- I rode a 3:54 for 155km (incl transitions- which was a record by 1.5 min). This was 8 min faster than I had ridden on a much easier day in 2004 and 7 min faster than Matsamaru, with the third best bike split 20 minutes down! My new TT is really perfect, as is the wheel combo of zipp 1080 and sub-9 disc. The marathon was a challenge for my legs after 15km- they felt like dog meat for most of the next 27km. The course is undulating and we had a strong headwind on the 21km out, which made for a bit of a sweaty time on the run back in. I turned with a 7min lead on Matsamaru, who was having a similarly tough run, after expending a fair amount of energy limiting his losses on the bike. I knew it was unlikely that given he had only made 2min up in the first half, that he could make up 7 in the second half…unless I totally cracked. So I kept up the base 4m 30s pace, with a few dips on the ups! I got to the finish which consisted of 300m on an athletics track, and was joined by some local drummers and a couple of guys dressed up in dragon suits! Magic stuff- I thought I might have been taking a serious dose of L.S.D. When I saw those characters!

So, a good win so close to IM OZ and this means I get an automatic invite back next year. I hope I can get Bridie to come for a holiday on Miyako in 2010. Congrats to her for a stellar TT on Chong Ming (45km/h for 21km!) I’m trying to get an Australian tour together, so I’ll keep you posted on that with help from Shane Smith and TriTravel. Many thanks to Naant and Sam for race day support, plus Gary Sato who did a stellar job keeping me running the right directions (no flash backs to IM Japan!). Of course thanks to Darren, Graham and Jo from Giant for all their help- plus a supply of t-shirts and socks that make me constantly branded correctly! Thanks to Darryl and Steph from Shotz, who supply the worlds best nutrition products. Mary and Neil at Supercraft for their moral and continued support. Matt and Michelle from Shimano for the right groupo- looking fwd to electric durace asap! Antho and the Daves’ from CBD keeping my equipment in prefect nick. Glenn from Cannibal keeps me looking like the fastest athlete, even when I mightn’t be. Chris and Greg from Zipp for the ceramic weaponry. Greg from Rudy- the new glasses are all fantastic and a real step up in eye wear. Guy from Blueseventy for the wetties and Tim from Nuun for the tasty electrolyte replacement. Paul for the Puma gear on and off the track! TriTravel for getting me where I need to go- thanks Shane and Tiff. Sally for the Polar heart rate monitors to help keep me objective. Monika for the Giro helmet free speed and finally Phil at computrainer for making sure I train hard in any weather and can prepare for any course!

My next stop is Europe, where I’ll be hitting a few halves over their summer. This will allow me to prepare for a big day in Kona in October, with IM WA in December.

See you at the coffee shop,
Mitch"

Olympian Alistair Brownlee goes in blue and comes out gold!

Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee convincingly won their respective races at the British Elite Duathlon Championships held at Prestwold Hall Airfield yesterday (26th April).

2008 Beijing Olympian Alistair Brownlee (and newest blueseventy triathlete to join the ranks) led from the front in the senior men's race, winning by a convincing margin from the impressive Matt Gunby, with Matt Moorehouse in third.

Kat Grimmet continued her fine start to the season, by adding the British Elite title to her National Age Group Duathlon title she won earlier in the month at Emberton Park. However she didn't have it all her own way, Grimmet led after the first run stage but Emma Dews closed her down and passed her during the bike, however Grimmet was strong enough to pull back through on the second run to claim the win. Eimear Mullen rounded out the top three in third.

There was some close racing in the Junior age groups, with Jonathan Brownlee and Sophie Coleman claiming the wins, and in the youths Henry Jarvis won the boys race in a close sprint finish with Will Johnston. Maddy Winzer won the youth girls race by an impressive margin.

blueseventy nero used to set Pan American Free Diving record!

As a recent addition to the blueseventy family, Jana Strain smashed the Pan American record in dynamic no-fins free diving - a sport for the mentally and physically tough for sure!!
Jana was ecstatic when exiting the pool and said, “Today was a challenge, static this morning, then going into the dive with a pounding CO2 headache and performing in the deep end of the pool. It was not an easy dive, but it helps me to grow and keeps things interesting and exciting.”

Jana broke the existing records of Mandy-Rae Cruickshank at 100M (328 feet) and Tanya Streeter at 113M (370), both set in 2005. Again this is the best performance by a woman in the Western Hemisphere in almost four years.

For more information about Jana Strain please visit www.janastrain.com

Dynamic Without Fins (DNF) is covering the greatest possible horizontal distance under water on a single breath, without the use of any propulsion device. DNF requires very good technique. Performances can only be recognized in pools with a minimum length of 25 meters

Jana was competing with many other talented athletes today including William Winram who also set a new record in DNF. Jana’s record was officiated by Grant W. Graves and Robert King, AIDA Judges. This competition was the 1st AIDA Canada sanctioned competition since being awarded the national delegate by AIDA International earlier this year.

Legend Mike Ross loves the nero!

Former champion Mike Ross tried the nero with super quick results (some even faster than our own blueseventy legend Roque Santos). Below is a quick review he sent to Roque after trying out the nero.

"Roque,

The blueseventy pants are magic.  Rather than beating around the bush, I will just give you the play-by-play:

Saturday
100 Free, Full Body, 45.61 (I flubbed the last turn and had a poor underwater kickout, so I was happy with this time)
200 IM, Full Body, 1:51.85 (I was shocked by that time.  All-time best)
50 Back, Leggings, 22.77 (this convinced me to try the leggings for the backstroke on the next day)

50 Fly, Full Body, 22.61
100 Back, Leggings, 48.49 (I came back faster than I ever have as a masters)
50 Free, Leggings, 20.83 (I have never, ever, broken 21.  I kept the leggings on, because I didn't have time to change)

5 National records

Mike"

BOOOM!

blueseventy's Charlotte Paul Ironman winner!

Charlotte was kind enough to give us the low down on her fantastical and purely tough race in China in sweltering conditions.


"In Chinese culture, the number 8 is lucky. The Olympics in Beijing were opened at 8pm on 8/8/2008. On Sunday 19th April at Ironman China, my race number was 8. And now I have 8 sunburnt into my skin!

Last year Ironman China was horrific due to “freak” weather conditions. No chance of that happening 2 years in a row! As everyone who raced has said, these were by far the toughest conditions I’ve ever raced in. I was at the media conference with girls saying “the hotter the better”, surely they wouldn’t have asked for this? Or wished this on all of us? A staggering 40% of the field did not finish.

Most people know that the temperature hit 45 (113f) degrees c, what most people don’t know is that the “heat index” hit 56 (139f)…Herein lay the problem.

I was hungry for the win, and determined to go after it! I was disappointed with my performance 6 weeks earlier in New Zealand and wanted retribution. I knew it was going to be tough. Edith Niederfriniger I think is very similar to me across all 3, and I knew Tereza Macel was on form after a strong race at the Singapore 70.3. Then there was Hillary Biscay, Mariska Kramer-Postma and Kim Loeffler too...we totalled 5 past Ironman Champions.

The theme of the day for me was racing blind and purely on feel. It’s the first time in an Ironman that I haven’t seen the course. I asked Belinda Granger, last year’s winner, if I should check it out. Belinda never checks out the course, so I wasn’t surprised by her answer- “if you’re confident about your biking, which you should be, you’ll be fine, and the run’s flat”. Now I couldn’t see the course, as it would mean I wasn’t confident.

Blind also meant no heart rate and no bike computer. I’ve raced my last couple of IM without HR and I really like it, but this was the first time with no computer too.

The swim was absolute chaos, a mass start with age groupers wearing wetsuits, the pros speed suits. We were told in race week that the river currents were strong- they weren’t kidding! Getting around the buoys was a mission- battling the current was mission impossible for some. Usually when I look up in a swim I can see a stream of athletes’ ahead- the direction to swim is pretty clear. This time I would look up to see swimmers scattered over a 50m radius- with no idea who to follow. We were being swept all over the place, and all choosing different lines. It was as if we were all told to go swim around randomly for about the right amount of time, and then we could get out!

I had avoided the river in race week. I didn’t want to risk picking up any bugs. So lap 1 was a disaster, I was 5 mins behind the lead female, Tereza Macel, lap 2 slightly wiser, a further 3. I swam a 54:59.

I was very happy that once on the bike I was able to take on Michael Phelps attitude from his book “No Limits”, the acronym “W.I.N.”- What’s important now? I put the swim out of my mind. Dwelling on the swim wasn’t going to help me on the bike.

The bike course was fantastic; it took us along undulating smooth highway, through villages and Haikou City. It’s definitely the sort of course I like- point and go!

I rode really well for me, a 5 hour 12. I had moved the seat of my Airfoil further forward since NZ, and I felt much more powerful. I caught Edith just after the first turnaround at 45kms, and then rode with her for the next 45, until she dropped me. It was getting hot. At this point I started to feel a bit average, and realized that I hadn’t peed. I needed to drink more. Until that point I was getting a 500ml water bottle at every aid station- every 30 mins. So I started slowing down at the aid stations and grabbing 2 bottles each time, half in the mouth, half on the head- absolute heaven. I chose to wear a non- aero helmet and am very glad of that decision. I came good, and finished the bike feeling pretty strong.

Tereza had flown on the bike, and was 16 minutes ahead of me into transition. But as I came in on the bike, the course follows the first 10km of the run course. I caught sight of her walking. This gave me a huge boost. On the flipside, I couldn't see a lot of running happening, and that was pretty ominous. The worst part of the run was the first 10kms, the heat was just so brutally intense, like nothing I've ever experienced. My head felt like it was in a vice, my hands felt swollen and my skin slathered in thick white sunscreen was all making me feel slightly sick. Somehow it got better.

There were more athletes than I have ever seen walking- and these were the 70.3 athletes too!
In the first 10ks I really wanted to walk, but I wanted to win more. That’s what kept me going.

I just concentrated on running- any pace. It didn’t matter, it was a start, and I was at least moving forward. I was breathing like a freight train, and yet I think I was clocking near 5 min kms, about 50 seconds slower than planned. I didn’t ever consider what the temperature actually was, or my pace- that was all irrelevant, I appeared to be gaining on the others, and that’s all that mattered. None of these facts would have got me up the road any quicker. They probably would have just killed me mentally! This was one of those times where it’s “best not to know”.

I was looking up at the sky- desperately searching for clouds! There were a few wisps, nothing more. But at soon as there was a slight bit of breeze, or shade, and the temp dropped just slightly, I picked up my pace. It was noticeably easier. I pushed when I could, and concentrated on just moving when it was too hot. I was suffering too, but not as much as others it seemed. I could see I was gaining on the girls ahead so I just kept working.

In that first 10kms I made up 10 mins on Tereza and was only just behind Edith. At this point I thought I could catch them. I took the lead at about 18ks. I really didn't let myself think about the win until I was at the 30km turnaround, I was heading for home and I could see there was no one coming to get me. I had been dying to look behind to get some kind of indication of the gap. I couldn't turn around- it would break one of my golden rules- never look back! Even though I counted 7 mins to Edith, I was so conscious of not cramping, or dehydrating that I remained really focused the whole way to the finish.

Nutrition was paramount. I made sure that I took on whatever liquid was on offer, and as much as I could. This was no time for being choosy! Most people were stopping for aid and so they weren't really prepared for anyone trying to run through the stations- so I just had to grab whatever I could. I was taking almost 2gs of sodium per hour, and made sure I had my High5 gels in small amounts- because I knew my guts would be more sensitive. There was no room for slacking off. I felt totally on the edge. I'm usually a peeing machine on the run- I think I went once.

I saw my friend Hillary Biscay, out on the run course, she was so excited to see me in the lead- she was awesome! There’s no crowds cheering in China- but I didn’t need it- there was Hillary- she nearly made me cry- so I shouted back at her “I love you Hillary!” I must have been delirious.

The finish chute was quite an emotional experience. 9 hours and 48 minutes worth of focusing was over- and I had done it! I crossed the line 1st female, 5th overall, and my 3:35 run was the fastest of the day- men included- and broke the course record. It could be my best ever day at the office.

I didn't think I'd win another Ironman until I was able to put together a sub 3 hour run. I've been training to do just that. So quite ironic that I ran one of my slowest times ever and it was the fastest on the day- crazy! Yes the course was flat, no I don't think it was long. It was just insanely crazy, crippling, elephant on your back- hot!

Ironman commentator Whit Raymond spoilt me rotten- it was my birthday the following day- and I think it has to be my best ever present. I’m not a “look at me” type, but for one day it was really quite nice. Thank you Whit.

After all our suffering, it was the best post-race camaraderie I’ve ever experienced. We were drawn together and had mutual respect for anyone who was out there- had they finished or not. For most, not finishing wasn’t a choice and they don’t even remember what happened!

Without a doubt I believe I won this race because of my attitude on race day. I’m bottling this feeling and keeping it safe. I altered my expectations and my pace with the conditions and how I felt. I was going to say, “I listened to my body”, I definitely did on the bike, but I had to ignore it on the run, or I wouldn’t have finished! Would I race "blind" again? Absolutely. Would I come back and race Ironman China again? Most definitely.

Thanks to all my sponsors for their support, and a BIG thank you to Kristian, my husband and coach, who prepared me perfectly for this race.

Charlotte"

Congratulations Charlotte... what a magic achievement in such horrendous heat!
From us all at blueseventy.

Photo courtesy of Steph Cox.

Don't just take our word for it...

Angie from Jack and Adams Bicycles in Austin, Texas thought she'd share her thoughts about trying on the helix before her wetsuit-swim triathlon on the Jack and Adams blog.


"The guys at the shop encouraged me to check out the new wetsuits and said that I would most likely be pleasantly surprised. I was a little skeptical until I tried my wetsuit on the night before the race in my hotel room. Boy was I impressed! I could actually move my arms freely in my new blueseventy Helix. It was awesome! I was excited to complete a wetsuit swim."

For the whole post please go to:
http://jackandadams.blogspot.com/2009/04/wetsuits-what-not-to-do-pre-tri.html

Townsend faster than in the Olympics!

Wearing a blueseventy nero, Darian Townsend provided the biggest fireworks of the fourth night of long course swimming at the South African National Championships. He came through with an African record in the men's 200 IM.

Townsend clocked an African-record time in the men's 200 IM semi's with a time of 1:58.33. That effort smashed his standard of 1:59.22 set at the Beijing Olympics currently recognized by Swimming South Africa as the record. Townsend, however, does reportedly have a 1:57.88 to his credit from the KZN Provincial meet in December. Riaan Schoeman also cleared 2:00 with a second-seeded 1:59.94, while Chad Le Clos finished third in 2:01.83.

For the full media release please go to:
http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/20927.asp

Our very own blueseventy legend!

Our very own ex-Olympian swimmer and VP of swimming, Roque Santos scored some unbelievable results over the weekend. At the Pleasanton, Ca. PMS Masters Championships Roque collected:
2 individual national records (the distance is in yards, so no world
records could be broken),
1 relay national record (with his wife... and the entire team was of course in blueseventy)
5 Pacific Masters records,
7 best Masters times in over 10 years!
Oh, and 2 lifetime best times!

Keep on Roque'n and rollin' :-)

CONGRATULATIONS! from us all at blueseventy!

To helix or not to helix? That is the question...

Over 300 yards, Coach Lee from BodyZen tests the speed difference between swimming with and without the blueseventy Helix wetsuit. www.bodyzen.com

new goggle product testing

Gordon Crawford sent us this mail on what he thinks of our latest goggle styles:

Hi,

I have tried the following out over the last few months and thought that you would like feedback.

1.0 The Vision goggle, white with pink lenses:

These are without doubt the best google I have used both in the pool and open water. The goggle performs mcuh better than similar goggles by other manufacturers. The frame is perfectly balanced in terms of flexibiltiy and rigidity making them extremely comfortable but rigid enough not to lose their shape. The pink lenses do not mist, offer incredible visibility and are great for both pool and open water swimming, cutting out the glare inside and enhancing light in the open water.

More importantly for the public the goggles look great and I have had lots of people at my tri club, 200+ members, and at the events nationally ask: who made them and when can I buy them?

2.0 Hydra Vision goggle, yellow lenses:

These are a sleeker goggle but offers the same benefits as the Vision for both pool and open water. The frame is a bit more flexible and I preferred the rigidity of the Vision. In terms of the yellow lenses they were a bit more subtle to the pink but again great for open water and pool swimming.

The feedback from club members and at races was great and they appealed more to guys due to the colour. Again I was asked who made them and when could they buy them.

Kind regards

Gordon

blueseventy loves the open water world cup circuit!

Vitek Rostislav is pictured here in the blueseventy nero comp just after the 2009 World Cup Argentina Santa Fe-Coronda 57KM where he placed 3rd.
Congratulations Vitek on such a mega swim!

SPOTTED! Legendary Rowdy Gaines swims in blueseventy nero and breaks record!!

Just recently at the YMCA Masters Nationals, Mike McGowan from the Coral Springs Pro Shop helped zip up swimming legend Rowdy Gaines in a size 26 blueseventy nero comp! THEN Rowdy swam the 100 yard Free in 47.04!  This is a National Record by over 1 sec!!!

Rowdy is a former American swimmer, U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame member, Olympic three-time gold medalist, and member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He is currently the chief fundraiser for USA Swimming as well as a swimming analyst for television networks ESPN and NBC including coverage of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, his fourth as a TV commentator.

BodyZen sends thanks

We were totally delighted to receive the following feedback from such a prestigious coach!

Guy,

I just wanted to let you know that I had the pleasure of racing this past weekend for the first time in the Helix. Over the last 14 years I have raced in, trained in or tested over a half dozen tri wetsuits and I honestly, without hesitation, can say that the blueseventy Helix is the best suit bar none ever.

It was perfect from start to finish. The issues I have had with other suits were nonexistent. It was easier to put on, more flexible and less irritable around the neck, it did not store water in one of the arms during the stroke and was simple to get off in a hurry. I was able to have a top ten swim time out of 1500 competitors with it. The best thing was that the chest area was not constricting at all and above all else the shoulder flexibility was perfect allowing me to extend and get a lot of distance with every stroke. You have set the bar very high with the Helix and I will be happy to endorse the suit and recommend it to everyone I talk to.

Thank you for your involvement in the sport.

Best Regards.

Lee Zohlman, President
BodyZen Enterprises Inc.
A Full Service Multi Sport Company
USA Triathlon Elite Level 3 Coach
http://www.bodyzen.com

Skype: leezee007

http://www.twitter.com/bodyzen

The German double-striker!

Just recently Elke Schmitz from SFF Bonn knocked down two 45–49 women's German Masters records in blueseventy's nero.

During the XXXV International Masters swim event in Hürth/Cologne (March 21, 2009) 45 year old Schmitz broke the short course 50 m breaststroke and 100 m breaststroke records once again (set by herself only two months ago in January at the international trials in Gau-Algesheim)!
Of course she was once again wearing the blueseventy nero, which she loves.

Elke timed 1:18,88 to break her 100 m breaststroke mark of 1:20,38 and finished with 0:35,43 breaking her old 50 m breaststroke record 0.35,48.

Congrats from the entire team at blueseventy!

Sam Warriner's close call!

Sam wrote to us about her recent race in California - the 70.3 in Oceanside. She had an unfortunate event the afternoon before her race which made a huge impact on the following day. Here she tells what happened...

"Hi there,

Well, I’m sitting here writing this very disappointed and I’m annoyed with
what should have been a great race. However the acts of nature prevented
that. Today I raced in the California 70.3 (Half Ironman) in Oceanside.
I’ve just completed an absolutely amazing block of training in California,
and I’d had a full taper for this race too as it was my last race in the
base phase of my season.

I thought the race was a great way to end a great block. I did everything
right in my taper over the past 6 days.

Yesterday afternoon I had just finished my normal pre-race day 15 minute
swim on the course, I was just thinking ‘well done sam’ there’s nothing
more you can do now when suddenly I collapsed in the water, not being able
to feel my whole right leg. I thought something had bitten me at first,
maybe a crab? But then the most agonizing pain hit me, paralyzing my leg
and making it difficult to move. I thought perhaps I’d cut a tendon or
ligament, it was excruciating. I was in agony and could not walk, I had
to crawl out onto the beach and the lifeguards came racing over with
lights and sirens blaring. That was when I noticed the blood in the
water and realized it was my blood!!!

I was in a state of panic, my first thought was ‘dam I can’t race
tomorrow’, I think this was because it dawned on me just how much work I’d
put into getting ready for Oceanside 70.3.

Luckily the lifeguards were calm; I guess they see this sort of thing
quite often. They informed me I’d been wiped by the tail of a Stingray
and it had left poison in my ankle!? I honestly say I’ve never known pain
like it. I was stretchered off to the life guard head quarters where I
spent the next two hours soaking it in boiling hot water. I felt so sick
that I had to lie down. After about two hours the pain lifted so I
thought I would be ok and was laughing about it
At race briefing although I got slightly worried when the bleeding
returned intensely later that evening.

As the evening went on the chances of me racing were looking less and
less, I was in so much pain as the swelling was so big I could not walk
on it. I really did not think I could start, so I spent the whole night
soaking it in hot water and icing it, I got absolutely no sleep,
eventually after a lot of bleeding the swelling started to subside. So
when I got up at 3.30am when we were due to rise for the race I could walk
on it so decided to give the race a go.

In the swim I lost valuable time to the lead group as I could not kick
Properly, I eventually exited 90 seconds down on a group of 3 strong
cyclists which I was gutted about. I did not feel pain during the swim
but my range of motion for my kick was severely limited. As I ran into
transition I had to do so on my tip toes, as I couldn’t stretch my foot
out.

I cycled strongly and got to the front pack after 40km of solo riding,
despite not being able to do my shoe up!

I came off the bike and onto the run in first place but I had problems
getting my running shoe on because of the swelling and lost one place in
transition.

As soon as I started running I had absolutely nothing, my heart
rate was so high. I was so annoyed; all I could think was that I’d trained
so hard for this race, what the hell was going on? I was gutted and
basically I lost a lot of positions because my
body had nothing. I was so upset because I knew I had done such a great
block of training and wanted to show everyone I am a force to be reckoned
with in Korea when the ITU World Championships series starts.

Eventually I finished in 7th place and went to the medical tent. My ankle
was very swollen. The medics were very concerned about me, as they
thought I probably still had poison in my system and I’d lost a lot of
blood over the previous 12 hours too.

So I was very disappointed after the race but I’m starting to see the
positives now. I know that I will be back even stronger as I always am
after a disappointment, I also know that I don’t have any more 70.3 races
until Worlds in November, and I also know I didn’t show my cards today so
nobody will be expecting the performance I’m planning on putting in once
November comes!

But for now it’s all eyes on the first round of the ITU World Championship
Series on May 3rd. I’m hoping for a little more luck when it comes time
to defend my World No.1 spot!

Regards,

Sam.

Teambb's true success!

Alex Bok, Team Manager of teambb sent us some outstanding results from the past weekend. He writes:

"Dear Sponsors,

This weekend saw 11 teamtbb athletes attend 4 races across 4 continents.

Hereby a quick report on this weekend’s great results:

1. Ironman South Africa (5th of April)

Lucie Zelenkova from teamtbb won Ironman South Africa today.

This is the country where Lucie lives although she is from the Czech Republic. She run a near-perfect race here today and her signature smile was as big as the crowds have ever seen it. She's set a new course record with her 9hrs 16 seconds! Lucie joined teamtbb only a few months ago and with today’s IM South Africa she completed the South Africa double as she also won the Ironman 70.3 win back in January 2009.

Other teamtbb athletes finished as following during today’s IM South Africa:

· Stephen Bayliss came in a great 4th place in a time of 8 hrs 47 min
· James Cunnama was the 1st overall South Africa male athlete in 8 hrs 55 min
· Caroline Koll was the 1st overall South Africa female athlete in 10 hrs 08min
· Bella Bayliss had to withdraw from the race.

2. Ironman Australia (5th of April)
The much hyped three way showdown between Chrissie Wellington, Michellie Jones and Rebekah Keat never eventuated, with the withdrawal of Jones through injury, but it was Wellington and Rebekah Keat who fought it out in the swim, with the Ironman World Champion breaking away early on the bike and never looking back.

Teamtbb Rebekah Keat was however recovering from a cold a few days prior to this race, so taking her troubling health level into account, teamtbb management was very impressed with her 2nd place this weekend in a time of 9 hrs 21 min, which showed true determination.

Equally impressive was teamtbb’s rookie Abigail Bayley who finished in 5th position with a time of 10 hrs 01 min.

Final Standings
1. WELLINGTON Chrissie 8:57:10
2. KEAT Rebekah 9:21:33
3. STEFFEN Caroline 9:38:44
4. JARRETT Kelly 9:38:52
5. BAYLEY Abigail 10:01:27

3. Ironman 70.3 Oceanside (4th of April)

Erika Csomor came in 4th in IM 70.3 Ocean side on Saturday the 4th of April. Competing as defending Champion Erika battled to a hard fought 4th in an extremely strong field. The bigger battle however was to get her to the start line at all , as our Hungarian Supa star had been laid low with the flu."

Well done Teambb!

8 out of 11 Norwegian records broken in blueseventy...

Last weekend was the swimming Short Course National Championship in Norway, Kristiansund. Gard Kvale and Katharina Stiberg swum in the blueseventy nero, and broke 7 Norwegian Sr. Records. The Varg relay team also broke the 4x50 meter freestyle record using blueseventy suits.


The following is a list of those who broke the senior records:
50m back, Female: Katharina Stiberg, Bjerkvik SK, 27,63 26.03.2009 - blueseventy
50m fly, Female: Katharina Stiberg, Bjerkvik SK, 26,16 27.03.2009 - blueseventy
100m back, Female: Katharina Stiberg, Bjerkvik SK, 59,56 28.03.2009 - blueseventy
4*50m fri, Male: IL Varg, 1.31,17 28.03.2009 - blueseventy
200m fly, Male: Gard Kvale, Bergens SC, 1.58,28 28.03.2009 - blueseventy
100m IM, Female: Katharina Stiberg, Bjerkvik SK, 1.00,37 28.03.2009 - blueseventy
200m fri, Male: Gard Kvale, Bergens SC, 1.46,18 29.03.2009 - blueseventy
100m breast, Female: Katharina Stiberg, Bjerkvik SK, 1.07,53 29.03.2009 - blueseventy

Guy's Blog

Goggles

















No goggles





Click on my blog on the top right (Guy's blog) if you want to see more random action or go to www.blueseventyguy.blogspot.com

So i finally caught up With Maik Twelsiek from Dresdner Kleinwort,
We thought it was going to be best to meet up at the beach and trial his new gear!!
Unfortunately that same Shore break that has been hitting the Mooloolaba shores was now hitting the Noosa shore. That didn't stop Maik from getting out there, Even a lost pair of goggles from a wave breaking on him didn't dampen his spirits. Was very funny to watch though!!

Amanda came to the rescue with another pair of goggles and friendly advice!!! I'm not sure if he was keen to venture back into the surf for another drilling though.
Maik is one of the most friendly guys you'll ever meet. Always keen to catch up for a chat. (will even give up his chair before an Ironman)
After his 14th place at Kona last year , he proved he can mix it with the best!! He'll be one to watch tomorrow at Ironman Australia.!!!

blueseventy makes the Sydney Telegraph

The global interest of the nero is growing! The Sydney Telegraph writes about the nero swimskin.

In this article, it promotes speculation about a blueseventy ban, which is not the case.

"Steve Nicholls, CEO of blueseventy says:
"Our suit is shiny, black and compared to a wetsuit, which isn't correct."

There has been widespread talk amongst coaches and officials during certain championships that the Blueseventy would not pass the first phase of testing being done by FINA, which will deliver its verdict on March 31.

The criteria demands that suits must be less than 1mm in thickness and have a buoyancy effect of less than 1 newton.

"When we had the manufacturer's meeting with FINA, we showed that our suit is less than 1mm thick and less than 1 newton of buoyancy."

For the exact article please refer to:

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,25216146-5001023,00.html

blueseventy dominates the Sand to Surf in Mt Maunganui

Olympic 10K Marathon Swim gold medalist Larisa Ilchenko is well-known for winning races in dramatic fashion at the very end. We call her classic open water move, The Ilchenko.

Australian David Browne (above photo) pulled The Ilchenko on Kane Radford at the 2.8K Sand to Surf, Mt Maunganui Swim, the fourth of five races on the Sovereign New Zealand Ocean Swim Series.


With nearly perfect conditions and out in front of the other 697 swimmers, David and Kane battled it out mano-a-mano throughout the entire race before David did The Ilchenko less than 200 meters from the beach finish to defeat Kane. "David just swam a brilliant race, he was never far from my hip or my toes and just had a little bit more at the end to out run me up the beach. It was a great race though, tight all the way and a case of waiting, waiting, waiting to see who would move first. Coming down the stretch I went a little left, David a little right and he just nudged me to the beach," said the gracious Kane.

David explained his strategy, "I knew I had to wear him down, he is such a strong swimmer and swam so well in Aussie at our nationals a month back. It was toe to toe, stroke for stroke, we both started fast to drop some of the pool swimmers and then I just found something to bring it home. Over the final few hundred meters, we both hammered it, this was a great race to win."

The women's race was also tactical with Charlotte Webby beating established star Kate Brookes-Peterson and finishing eighth overall. "I sat with [Kate] early, but when she put her foot down, she opened up a gap of about 100 meters and there was little I could do. But around the back i made some great ground through good navigation and sensed my chance. I went straight and that proved the difference, I'm delighted."

For the Germans; triathlon.de interviews blueseventy's Martin Becker...

Pro triathlete Chris McDonald checks in..

Hey guys

I just wanted to drop you a quick line to let you know that this past weekend I competed in the 31st annual Super Frog Half Ironman in San Diego. It is a race that has been put on by the Naval special warfare for those 31 years and also a race that I would recommend for anyone to do.

The race started with a very frigged 56 deg ocean swim of the shores of Coronado , I hit dry land around 50 sec down on race leader Luke Bell and side by side with Lars Linunger. Lars and myself worked hard and managed to pull in Luke late into the 2nd of 4 laps, for there we all had a go at working the pace and trying to stretch each other.

Lars and I did manage to get a small gap on Luke coming into transition and I tried to make the most of it. the run here at super from is 80 sand running with 30% of that is soft deep sand. Luke did come up on me around mile 2 and the elaastic cord was stretching as I worked hard to hang on . Fortunately for me luke went into some pretty severe cramping right as we hit the deep sand, the rest of the run was pretty uneventfull and I managed to hold my lead and come down the shute with another new course record of 3:55 and change. Lars manged to pass luke for 2nd and luke just controlled his cramping to round out the podium after his long trip state side from the OZ just 4 days earlier.

For me in is now down to New Orleans for week two of the double.

Chat Soon
Chris

How will FINA rules affect blueseventy?

Napier New Zealand March 18th 2009

blueseventy’s CEO Steve Nicholls is confident that blueseventy will be able to adapt to any rulings that have come from the FINA Dubai charter.

“We’ve been involved, along with FINA and the other major manufacturers for the last few months in making sure that our products are meeting any restrictions, both in the immediate and long term future” said Nicholls.

Fina’s rules, issued in a two-stage process, will limit suits on thickness, buoyancy and other areas as of March 31st this year. This will be the standard until Jan 1st 2010, when the restrictions of phase two will come into effect.

“Phase one should not affect the legality of our current suits at all. All our in-house testing has shown that our current suits meet all of the phase one restrictions, including those relating to buoyancy. There has been a lot of incorrect information, and personal viewpoints ushered into the public arena, and we feel that some of these tests will help reduce the confusion that seems to be out there.”

“Phase two, will limit suits based on permeability, and dependant upon what that permeability ruling is, theoretically we may need to adjust our designs to make sure we retain a viable swimskin product beyond 2010. Since the FINA think tank in February, we’ve changed our design focus around those possible rulings and have some exciting concepts already in the pipeline.”

That’s for the future. For now blueseventy suits are fast becoming the suit of choice for swimmers globally, none more so than in the US college season, where blueseventy Nero suits took more State championships than any other brand. The current suits should remain in circulation until Jan 1st 2010 when, pending the new permeability rulings they may be phased out.

Commenting on the rulings, Global sales and marketing manager Dean Jackson said “We’re committed to being a long term partner of FINA, and swimming, that’s why we’ve invested back into the sport already, with sponsorship of US masters, and the FINA open water 10km Marathon series. This means that we are listening to coaches, athletes and others in order to ensure we are designing products that meet with the direction of the sport that FINA is charged with protecting. “

blueseventy boosts confidence in Aussie World Champ trials

Going into Day Four Finals session of the 6 Day meet of the 2009 Australian World Champs Trials swimmers in blueseventy are blitzing the pool.
Achievements by Swimmers choosing to wear blueseventy include 2 Commonwealth and three Australian Records, 5 Gold Medals 3 Silver and so far 5 swimmers qualifying for the Australian world Champs swimming Pool Team to be held in Rome in August.
Notable swims include Ryan Nepolean being the first Australian swimmer to qualify for world champs Australian Swimming Pool team wearing blueseventy. The 18 year old came a close second in the 400m to book his ticket to Rome.
Ash Delaney set a new Australian record in the 50m Backstroke on night two wearing blueseventy then went on to swim a 1:55 on night three in his 200m Backstroke to set a new Commonwealth and Australian record.
Sprint Butterfly queen, Marieke Guerher, who set a world record in the blueseventy during FINA world cups late last year has continued to wear blueseventy and continued her fine swimming form with a Commonwealth and Australian record in the 50m Fly and silver in the 100m Free and a place in the World Champs Team.

Other Australian athletes to qualify in the nero suit include breastroker's Christian Sprenger who claimed his first Australian Champsionship win in the 100m breatroke and Sarah Katsoulis who won the 50m Breastroke on night two.
Day Four Finals are just about to unfold and no doubt swimmers in blueseventy will continue to pull out amazing swims!

The cold is no excuse!

Barry Davis loves to swim so much that not even the chilly temperatures stop him - including swimming amongst ICE! Luckily he has a blueseventy synergie wetsuit to help keep him warm. Here a local news TV crew follows Barry for a morning swim in Quadra Island in Canada...

Spotted! Double Olympic medalist wearing the nero!

blueseventy's nero comp has just made a splash in 2009 at the British Gas Swimming Championships, held at Ponds Forge Aquatic Centre, Sheffield.  The five day event has seen British and World records broken and has featured our ever popular blueseventy nero comp swimskin.  David Davies (pictured above) double Olympic medalist, winning bronze for 1500m in Athens 2004, and Silver in Beijing for his strong effort in the new marathon 10km Open Water event, (unknowing to us at blueseventy) chose to wear the blueseventy nero at the Ponds Forge event.  He has had great success so far in this week's Championships with his nero comp bodyskin, winning Gold in the Mens Open 400m Freestyle and Bronze in the Mens Open 200m Freestyle.  The 1500m final, Davies' specialty event, takes place tonight so all eyes will be on him.

Heather Frederikson, who was once an endurance specialist, winning both the British 10km Open Water Championship and 4.5km Grand Prix on the same day in 2004, proved her strength and determination at the Beijing Paralympics when she fought her way back to pool competition after an accident left her with limited use of her right arm and leg.  She won 4 medals, including gold in the 100m Backstroke and has set numerous records.  Heather, with her bubbly personality and contagious smile is another great ambassador for blueseventy.  She broke the S8 World Record this week in the 100m Backstoke and gained the S8 British Record and another Gold medal in the 50m Freestyle all in her nero comp bodyskin.  

The feedback about the nero comp on pool-side has been fantastic!  Both coaches and athletes are keen to get on board with blueseventy and make waves in pool against our rival suits.  For this reason the Nero is in high demand, which is fantastic for the year ahead with plenty more meets to come as well as the British Nationals in 18 weeks time.

Update of NSCA Junior Swimming National Champs; Day 3

Day 3 at Junior Nationals in Orlando showcased some of the top sprinters in the meet in the 50 meter fly and 50 meter breaststroke races.  One third of the evening's finalists in these events competed in blueseventy!
Athletes also competed in the fan's favorite - the 200 meter freestyle.   Nearly half of the races were swum in blueseventy including an exciting 1st, 2nd, and 3rd finish on the women’s side with a World Championships Trials qualifying whilst the 1st and 3rd place athletes on the men’s side both qualified for World Champs Trials in the blueseventy nero.
The final individual event of the evening was the 400 IM where the 4th and 5th place finishers both qualified for World Champs on the women’s side in blueseventy and the winner of the mens 400 IM also qualified for the Trials in a nero.

Overall stats - about 1/3 of athletes last night competed in the blueseventy nero swimskin.
For blueseventy, the high point of evening was the 1st, 2nd,and 3rd finish in the Women's 200 Freestyle; all qualifying for World Champs!
Congratulations to all blueseventy athletes!

Brian Stover's helix wetsuit review

Brian Stover wanted to find the fastest wetsuit for himself to last the next few triathlon seasons. He borrowed a whole pile of suits from Trisports.com to trial - one of them was the blueseventy helix.
To ensure unbiased results as possible and make the test as fair as possible, he did two rounds of testing for each suit. Each day's testing consisted of 2×400 on the 6:00. Then he changed suits, swam 200 to make sure the suit was on properly and swam another set of 2×400 on 6:00. Two suits got tested per day. He did not know which suits in round one were being tested until that morning. During the second round he swam the suits in the reverse order of the first round to hopefully eliminate fitness gains.

He wrote about his review of the helix:
"Four swim times were 4:25, 4:27, 4:24, 4:28. Average time 4:26.
This suit stands in stark contrast to the Xterra. That suit [helix] feels like you’ve been shot from cannon. This suit swims fast but feels slow. I kept checking the clock every 50 and thinking no way is this suit this fast..."

For Brian's entire review please go to
http://accelerate3.wordpress.com/

It's blueseventy & Goliath at the 2009 NCAA Swimming Championships

Macalester College was proud to host the 2009 NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving Championships at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis over the weekend, which has provided some interesting statistics for us here at blueseventy...

This meet has been a benchmark for blueseventy, with team after team appearing in the brand. Among those teams whom donned the nero were:

Harvard
Wisconson
Nevada
Indiana
Virginia
Minnesota
Stanford
Virgina Tech
North Carolina
Arizona
UC Davis
Colgate
Arkansas
US Navy
William and Mary
Georgia
Kentucky
Penn State
Missouri
UC Santa Barbara

Our VP of swimming, Roque Santos was stationed in Minneapolis for the meet and counted over 20% of swimmers in the blueseventy nero!

blueseventy makes bold statement at the US 2009 NCSA Junior National Championships

Down in Florida, we've had our swimming staff on the ground at the NCSA Junior Swimming National Championships following and providing nero swimskins for the super quick. Megan from our Seattle office updates us on who's wearing the nero and how well they're doing...

Day 2 of Junior Nationals 2009 Orlando, FL

Finals of Day 2 showcased sprint events and middle distance stroke races. Nearly half of the men swimming in the 100 meter freestyle finals session were wearing blueseventy swimskins, 5 of which were in the final heat.
Nero swimskins were a very popular choice in both the mens and womens 100 meter breastroke events as well. A quarter of the women and half of the men in the evening heats of the breastroke were competing in blueseventy. The first and second place finishers in the womens 100 breaststroke not only scored big points for their teams but achieved qualifying times for the World Championship Trials to be held in Indianapolis this July - all in blueseventy. The winner of the men's 100 breast wore a Nero swimskin when he swam to victory while also achieving a World Champs Trials cut.
The women's 200m backstroke saw a 1,2,3 finish by blueseventy with 3 World Champs cuts while the 3rd place male finisher in the event also qualified for the meet in a Nero.
The final individual event of the evening was the 200 meter fly where 2 women and 1 man qualified for World Champs in blueseventy.

Overall, 30% of Day 2's top 8 finalists in each event wore blueseventy and 10 of those swimmers will be racing at the World Championship Trials this summer, hoping to earn a spot on the team headed to the World Championships in Rome.

blueseventy introduces Lucy!

This year we welcome Lucy Chatfield who is the latest member to join the blueseventy staff as UK Sales Manager. Lucy has worked in the fitness industry prior to her joining us and brings a great wealth of experience and swimming talent.
Lucy just recently placed a stellar 3rd in her age group in her first race of the year which was the pool-based NUTS Aquathlon (hosted by the Nottingham University Tri & Swim Club) in February. Her first triathlon for the 2009 season will be East Leake sprint on March 29th; a helix will certainly be required in the chilly temperature!
Lucy took up triathlon last year and completed 3 x sprints, 1 x olympic and 2 x aquathlons (pictured above in action).

Welcome Lucy!

Rob Matthews; blind aspirations..

Here is the remarkable story of New Zealander Rob Matthews, a blind athlete who doesn't let anything get in the way of doing what he loves. Watch how his coach, Spencer Vickers (who happens to be our model in our blog heading picture and image above) works with Rob to achieve amazing results.

http://tvnz.co.nz/breakfast-news/breakfast-thursday-march-12-2537699/video?vid=2537939

Ferguson revokes Lawn's crown at Bonita Ironman New Zealand

Above, Stephen Bayliss powers through the swim course at Ironman New Zealand

Bonita Ironman New Zealand delivered the familiar and the new in Taupo on the weekend as Cameron Brown won his eighth title while blueseventy's Gina Ferguson ended the six-year reign of Jo Lawn.

The women’s race hinted that an historical change was afoot when 29-year-old Ferguson stopped Lawn’s record run of six consecutive victories.

For the majority of the bike leg there was never more than seconds separating Denmark’s former world champion Lisbeth Kristensen, Lawn and Ferguson, before the Danish mother of one pulled away to open up a three and a half minute advantage on to the marathon run.

It was Ferguson who responded strongest on the run, though, moving first past Lawn and then a tiring Kristensen before the halfway mark. Ferguson held strong to win in 9:18.26, more than four minutes ahead of Lawn with Australia’s Charlotte Paul passing Kristensen for third.

The Christchurch athlete had no doubts as to the importance of the occasion.

“Yeah, this is my biggest win, the race was really competitive with Jo and Charlotte and earlier Lisbeth and it is here in New Zealand so yes, this is definitely the most important win of my career so far,” Ferguson said.

Lawn was gracious in defeat.

“That was an incredible experience, the crowd was amazing again, I just wish I could have finished first, but Gina had a great day today and was too good. We pushed each other, I think, and that’s what makes champions.”

Ferguson pinpointed one aspect of her race and training that she felt made the difference today.

“I’ve been working hard on my cycling, and I’m pleased it is coming along nicely. I came off the bike six or seven minutes down on Jo last year, but his year was a 1:45. So I think that was the difference today, I didn’t have to chase her down so much on the run.”

In the men’s race all eyes were on seven-time winner Brown or fellow kiwi debutant and Foster Grant Ironman World 70.3 Champion, Terenzo Bozzone. Brown answered that question in emphatic style, putting together a near perfect race to set a new race record of 8:18:05. For Bozzone there was no disgrace in second today, an amazing result on debut at the ultimate triathlon distance.

The swim did little to separate the contenders and for much of the bike it was a tight group of six riders at the head of the field, with Brown, blueseventy's Dirk Bockel, Bozzone, Stephen Bayliss (also a blueseventy athlete) and Jan Raphael (GER) to the fore. Bockel worked hardest over the final 40km to open up a three minute lead, a move the Ironman debutant would suffer for later in the run.

Brown was his usual metronomic self on the run, cutting out the marathon in an amazing 2:44:08 as he wore down Bockel and left Bozzone running for second. The 36-year-old Brown appeared invigorated by today's challenge and was delighted with his eighth Taupo title.

2009 Bonita Ironman New Zealand (3.8k swim, 180km bike, 42km run)

Professional male: Cameron Brown, AUCK, 8.18.05,1 (new race record); Terenzo Bozzone, AUCK, 8.25.37 2; Dirk Bockel, LUXEMBOURG, 8.27.12, 3; Jan Raphael, GERMANY, 8.32.32, 4; Richard Ussher, AUCK, 8.35.56, 5

Pro Women: Gina Ferguson, CHRISTCHURCH, 9.18.26, 1; Jo Lawn, AUCK, 9.23.08, 2; Charlotte Paul, AUS, 9.30.25, 3; Lisbeth Kristensen, DEN, 9.32.51, 4; Bella Bayliss, UK, 9.41.04, 5.

Ferguson wins in NZ

Congrats Gina on a fantastic win in NZ. :-)



Top 5 women Ironman NZ 2009

1. Gina Ferguson (NZL) 9:18:26
2. Joanna Lawn (NZL) 9:23:07
3. Charlotte Paul (AUS) 9:30:24
4. Lisbeth Kristensen (DEN) 9:32:50
5. Bella Bayliss (SCO) 9:41:03

Dealing with it; the incredible story of Dave McGuire

Dave McGuire has an amazing story about not letting ANYTHING get in the way of a high aspiration - especially things like doing an ironman. Dave shared his incredible journey with us and sent us a picture of himslef in his brand new blueseventy reaction wetsuit. Best of luck Dave, from the team at blueseventy.

One day I passed out at work. I was working as a collections officer for a really big bank. I collected personal products, overdrafts, mortgages, credit cards and student loans. When I passed out at work, I was sent home.
 
Before I could return to work I had to get clearance from my employer's insurance company. I had to see their doctor's, specialists etc. This took about two months. While waiting to go back to work, I went onto a disability income from our insurance company. This sounds great but the issue with this is that there is a two month delay from short term disability (that is fast and it's when you need a week or two off work) to long term disability (when you unable to return to work within a couple of weeks). So my employer no longer paid me my salary, the insurance company did.
 
So here I was going two months with no paycheck. I had prescriptions to pay for, x-rays, MRI's etc. All of this I get reimbursed for, but I have to pay for it upfront. During this time I have rent to pay, groceries, Internet, cell phone, and home phone bills. Not to mention being with my new love.
 
All I wanted was to go back to work. One day while at home I was watching Judge Judy!! I do remember this, and my TV decided to stop working. The screen crackled and sparked and then went dead. This was the straw that broke the camels back.
 
I phoned my now wife, then fiance, and was very whiny. "I can't work, I have no money, I can't afford my prescriptions and now my TV explodes" Mandy (then girlfriend now wife) is a very calm individual. She suggests that I calm down and go have a bath. This is the last thing I remember.

 
If you would like to read more on what happened to Dave and his amazing journey, he also keeps a blog of his own; http://davidsjourneytoironman.blogspot.com/ 

Win with Flo Swimming and blueseventy!

In conjunction with Flo Swimming, blueseventy are giving you the chance to win blueseventy gear!!

Upload your rawest Swimming Photos to the blueseventy Swim Shot page on Flo Swimming (http://www.floswimming.org/blueseventy/swim_shot), to win blueseventy gear each week during a ten week contest.

The uploading/voting period will be from Tuesday 12am to Monday 11:59pm each week starting 3/2.

So get your friends, family, and teammates to give you some love. Begin voting as soon as your photo is uploaded. All college, HS, and former swimmers are invited to participate. You can upload photos from old swimming seasons too...show us that 80's retro suit!!

Check out the fantastic shots sent in already - some of them are pretty funny!

Throwing The Hammer Down, Thompson Sets National Record

Matt Thompson sets national record after a day where he felt horrible finishing his 200 Yard IM with a 1:45.75. On February 14th, he set the National all time record and he wasnt even tapered....

For Matt's take on his race in his blueseventy nero swimskin check out the following video...

Tim's take on swimskins

Below is an excerpt from an article written by Tim Warsinskey, a US high school sport reporter.

"During the finals, I kept track of the 80 individual and relay champs, 23 wore the controversial Speedo LZR bodysuit, which retails for $550, and 10 wore other LZR products. The most popular was the BlueSeventy bodyskin ($395), worn by 34 state champs. The rest wore a variety of styles from the same or other manufacturers, the cheapest of which is about $200. The LZRs are good for about five to 10 swims. Many of the cheaper suits last longer."

for the full article please find it at:
http://www.cleveland.com/timstake/index.ssf/2009/03/tim_warsinskey_swim_skins.html

Another win for Luke McKenzie

blueseventy athlete Luke McKenzie just rocked to another Ironman title with his win at the 2009 Ironman Malaysia. Congrats Luke. Bryan Rhodes was the runner up. Go Rhodesy.

Top 5 men:

1. Luke McKenzie (AUS) 8:26:48
2. Bryan Rhodes (NZL) 8:32:52
3. Brian Fuller (AUS) 8:38:06
4. Hiroyuki Nishiuchi (JAP) 8:48:23
5. Petr Vabrousek (CZE) 8:50:48


Top 5 women:

1. Belinda Granger (AUS) 9:21:10
2. Nicole Leder (GER) 9:36:40
3. Maki Nishiuchi (JAP) 9:57:13
4. Donna Phelan (USA) 10:03:18
5. Christine Waitz (GER) 10:05:32

Timo Bracht looking good

The German site Magic Sport has a very nice 360 view feature and recently invited Timo Bracht to try out/show off new CEP items and while he was there they also wanted a nice 360 view of the blueseventy Helix wetsuit. Timo is looking fit and ready for 2009.

blueseventy hydra-vision goggles; pre-release review

Hi Guy,

Thanks for the opportunity to test the new hydra-vision goggles you kindly supplied with my recent goggles order. I’ve raced with them for two of our Thursday night weekly races here in Nelson.
http://www.nelsonseaswims.co.nz/. I do all the ocean sea swims around the country and would like to thank blueseventy for their sponsorship in making these swims possible.
First impressions where what a cool looking pair of goggles and I wasn’t the only one impressed as evidence by the small group of swimmers gathering around me at the local Thursday night sea swim to check out the fancy sunglasses I was strapping to my eyes.
I always feel that a pair of goggles without an adjustable nose bridge is a risky investment but having used the Blueseventy element goggles before I was confident that this wasn’t going to be a problem. In fact this is why I buy Blueseventy goggles as I can reliably pull a new set out of their case and without hardly adjusting the strap confidently race with them without having to worry about leakage problems. The same can be said for the hydra-vision, and because of the bigger eyepiece they seem to have an even better fitting for me and resulting In more eye suck producing the most comfortable pair of goggles I’ve worn.

I don’t usually go for the larger or bulkier sized goggle as I feel they just add to water resistance but the hydra-vision seems to have a low profile so it’s increased bulk just aids in visibility. On the Nelson sea swim nights, there is always at least one marker buoy that’s in a direct line with the sun making it very difficult to be seen but the Blueseventy hydra-vision has exceptional glare resistance and I have a wee chuckle to myself as I can swim directly to these buoys whilst the other swimmers are floundering around trying to see which way to go in the glaring sun. with the larger lens I thought that they might get fogged up more easily but this was never an issue.

The only apprehension I had about using these goggles was that the adjusting strap didn’t look to be as secure and firm fitting as the element goggle but after a few swims became familiar with the easy adjusting mechanism and have now found them to be perfectly reliable. However I still wasn’t confident enough to use them in the Wellington harbor swim as conditions were rough
and as yet I haven’t tired the goggles in rough seas so used the old reliable element goggles which I’d only just received from you and had only one previous swim with them. They certainly gave me no problems but with the limited visibility from the rough conditions can’t help wondering how much better the hydra-vision would have been? The Nelson sea swims have a 3.8km swim coming up on the 6th Feb so I’ll certainly be using the hydra-visions for this simply for their comfort value on the longer swim.

In conclusion I would not recommend the Blueseventy Hydra-vision to my fellow competitor as I want to be the only swimmer in the race with a competitive advantage.

Denis Cooper, Nelson, New Zealand

New VW pickup spy shots

Check out these new images of the new VW pickup truck. That is a very cool looking vehicle with lots of outdoorsy features including neoprene seats. We also approve that they used blueseventy pointzero 3 swimskins for the photo shoot.

Stunning videography

Martin Sundberg is working on an interesting video project with Chris and Matt Lieto. On his blog Martin has a few stunningly beautiful teasers from the project. How can you not want to go swim, bike and run when you watch these clips?

blueseventy; made for the cold!

Barry Davis sent us this picture of himself finishing his daily swim on the east side of Quadra Island, BC, Canada, wearing his trusty blueseventy wetsuit. The temperature at this time of the year is a chilly 5.5 C!

blueseventy Named As Sponsor of UK Open Water Training Facility

blueseventy has announced its sponsorship of the blueseventy Open Water Swim Centre in Reading, Berkshire. The facility, the venue for the swim in the first ever triathlon to be held in Britain in 1983, is popular with swimmers from the South Coast to Oxfordshire, offering a true club atmosphere for everyone - from those just starting out to some of the most experienced triathletes in the UK.

Open from March to October, the blueseventy Open Water Swim Centre, will be the first to open its doors this year on the 21st March 2009 and it is expecting a busy year as the interest in both open water and triathlon continue to grow in the UK.

“It’s great to officially welcome blueseventy as our sponsor and officially name our facility after the brand. It’s obviously a natural synergy as many of our customers choose blueseventy product and it’s great to secure the investment in what we hope will be a year of considerable growth in open water and triathlon. Everyone is welcome here so if you’re thinking of taking the plunge or just want to find out more about it, come and see us and we’ll give you a tour!”




Set in beautiful surroundings but conveniently located just off the M4, the Centre which prides itself on its friendly atmosphere, offers expert guidance and advice, personal training sessions, swimming equipment to hire, full changing and shower facilities and refreshments. The 2009 calendar will include special women only sessions and a focus on junior swimmers. For those planning on competing in events this year – whether for the first time or as seasoned athletes – the lake has a well marked out 800+ metre swim loop and a straight up and down course.

Commenting on the sponsorship, Dean Jackson, Global Sales and Marketing Manager at blueseventy, said: “We’re really pleased to come on board as an official sponsor. Facilities as good as this make a real difference to the thousands of people who like to swim outdoors in the UK, whether they’re training for events or simply keen to enjoy the great outdoors. It’s the perfect match for blueseventy as we now have a venue for our on-going research and development where we can test and trial product and get valuable customer feedback, as well as a facility for media briefings and launches.”

About blueseventy Open Water Swim Centre
o The Centre officially opens on the 21st March 2009
o Sessions are held every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday morning (7am to 9.30/10am) and on Tuesday and Thursday evenings (5.30pm to dusk)
o Single tickets (£5), in addition to multi swim and season tickets (10 for £40, unlimited for £300), are available, in addition to special women only and junior sessions
o For further information and the current water temperature, visit www.mysportingtimes.com

Team blueseventy UK are go!

**NEWS FLASH!**

It has been discovered that blueseventy's UK Operations Manager, Sharon Bates, has quietly signed up for the Timex Women's Triathlon to be held in Eton on the 4th of July. Sharon will be competing in the sprint distance of a 400m Swim, a 20km Bike, and a 5km Run and this will be her first triathlon.
Best of luck Sharon, and we will be looking forward to a full race report! :-)
BOOOM!

blueseventy crosses finishline first in Brazilian FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup

The first race of the FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup 2009, which was held in Santos (BRA) on January 24, has been hailed as a resounding success by organisers and in global open water swimming circles. The competition doubled as the widely popular Maratona Aquatica Internacional de Santos / Travessia Renata Agondi and the event included festive amateur races in the distances of 1km, 2km and 4km in addition to the premier 10km. More than 1000 athletes participated in front of thousands of spectators.
To the delight of the crowds, the winner of the women’s 10km race was home favourite Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA, 2h09:49), in her blueseventy nero swimskin; the 16 year old who finished fifth in the Beijing Olympic Games 10km, while her compatriot Poliana Okimoto (seventh in Beijing) took silver in 2h09:58. Third among women was Nadine Pastor (GER, 2h10:00), while Olympian Martina Grimaldi (ITA) took fourth just one second later. Among men the medals went to three Italian swimmers. Gold was reserved for Simone Ercoli (2h05:44), silver for Luca Ferretti (2h05:49) and bronze for Valerio Cleri, defending 10km MSWC champion from 2008 (2h05:54). Finishing seconds later in fourth and fifth were Olympians Allan do Carmo (BRA) and Luis Escobar (MEX). As a result of their top local finishes, Cunha, Okimoto, do Carmo and Marcelo Romanelli Soares (15th, BRA) have earned berths to the 13th FINA World Championships in Rome this July.

Above, blueseventy's VP swimming sales Roque Santos with Ana Marcela Cunha after she won the women's event in her nero swimskin.

The official FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup event shirt (with blueseventy as a sponsor).

blueseventy partners with TBB

Top swim and triathlon brand, blueseventy, is delighted to announce a new sponsorship deal with TeamTBB. From 2009, the brand will supply wetsuits and swimskins for all team members as well as being the official supplier of wetsuits and swimskins to TBB stores.

blueseventy is the world leader in triathlon and open water wetsuits and swimskins. Since 1993, the global brand has designed, tested, refined and crafted products that have instilled confidence in swimmers of all levels and carried world-class athletes to victory.

Dean Jackson, Global Sales and Marketing Manager at blueseventy, comments; “We’re thrilled to be associated with one of the best triathlon teams in the world and one which is genuinely committed to improving the lives of young people through sport.”

TeamTBB is a development squad that provides hope and opportunity to many young athletes and struggling pros that would have had no opportunity or pathway to being able to become an earning professional athlete. TeamTBB provides physical, psychological and mechanical information to all of its athletes and more importantly its current leading athletes are the role models to the rookie and development athletes.

In addition to its professional and amateur athlete programs, TeamTBB also works to ensure that youth around the globe can participate in multi-sport events through its social development projects and its franchise, The Bike Boutique. The Bike Boutique provides unique lifestyle services through its bike lifestyle stores and encourages cycling as a means of transportation supported by its bikeLodging™ services.

Alex Bok, Managing Director of The Bike Boutique Holding and teamTBB comments; "We’re delighted to be able to team up with the industry’s leading wetsuit and swimskin brand. We want the absolute best for our athletes - in all aspects of life – and blueseventy are proof of this commitment.”

A focused Chris McDonald at Challenge Wanaka...

Above is a great shot that our Sponsorhsip Manager, Guy Crawford took of winner Chris McDonald preparing for the start at this year's Challenge Wanaka, held in New Zealand. Congrats on another win Chris!

blueseventy athletes storm Challenge Wanaka

Blitzing the course record, blueseventy's Aussie Chris McDonald powered home to win the third Challenge Wanaka long-distance triathlon in 8hrs 37.41secs yesterday, nearly seven minutes clear of New Zealander Keegan Williams. Czech Petr Vabrousek rounded out the podium just 30 seconds in arrears in what turned out to be a close-fought battle on the run.

The race takes place on a scenic course through the Southern Lakes region and along the Clutha River in the South Island of New Zealand.

McDonald exited Lake Wanaka two and a half minutes down on the race leaders but by 30km into the cycle had moved to the front. "I got on the bike and hammered the bejeezus out of the first 80km," he said, noting he'd clocked 1.55 over the distance. "I thought I better slow down."

McDonald came into the transition area with four minutes on training partner Justin Daerr, a young American triathlete who finished fourth on the day. He went through the first 21km of the run in 1.23 and at 32km learned he had seven minutes in hand and settled into a steady pace. Behind him, though, it was all change as Daerr dropped back under the withering pace of the veteran Czech campaigner and the young Williams, who was off the bike third more than six minutes adrift of McDonald.

The win makes a great start to McDonald's 2009 campaign, one that follows on a win at Ironman Wisconsin one week after a second at Ironman Kentucky and a fourth place in the Quelle Challenge Roth. "I couldn't be happier. What a way to start the year," he said.

Defending champion and fellow blueseventy athlete Gina Ferguson exited the water first and was never headed to break her own course record by some five minutes and finish in 9.28.27.

"The swim was hard," she said at the finish. "I had a great ride."

In her helix tst wetsuit, she exited the lake with the top male swimmers in 54.34, then set a new bike course record of 5.14, breaking the 2007 mark set by Aussie Belinda Granger.

Ferguson (right) said she struggled from 20km to 30km on the run then came right. "You just have to keep pushing," said the Christchurch-based athlete, who was a winner at December's Ironman Western Australia after an eighth at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. She arrived in Wanaka with only three weeks of training after a bit of a break after the Australian event.

"It was tough to do it yourself all day long-mentally tough," she said. "I hope that will stand me in good stead when I go to race in Hawaii."

Wanaka's own and Merryn Johnston (also wearing blueseventy), fourth here last year in her professional debut, improved to second in 10.03.56. Third spot went to American Hillary Biscay, who was second here last year, in 10.16.39.

Challenge Wanaka is part of the global TEAMChallenge series that features six events in France, Germany and Spain, as well as New Zealand. Now in its third year, it drew more than 470 athletes from 21 countries for a weeklong festival of sport that also included short distance events in the Contract Tri Series on Friday evening.

Results

Challenge Wanaka

MEN

1) Chris McDonald (AUS) 8.37.41 (57.12/4.45.34/2.51.33)

2) Keegan Williams (NZL) 8.44.08 (54.41/4.55.04/2.50.41)

3) Petr Vabrousek (CZE) 8.44.38 (57.09/4.55.42/2.48.25)

WOMEN

1) Gina Ferguson (NZL) 9.28.27 (54.34/5.14.28/3.15.19)

2) Merryn Johnston (NZL) 10.03.56

3) Hillary Biscay (USA) 10.16.39

The 'Hottest Couple in Triathlon'; sponsored by blueseventy

The American National Examiner has dubbed blueseventy's Michael and Amanda Lovato the "hottest couple in triathlon". Below is what Roman Mica wrote about the couple;

"It can be somewhat unusual when professional athletes meet, fall in love, and get married.

The first couple of triathlon has to be Michael and Amanda Lavoto. While both have seen their fair share of success in their chosen profession of triathlon, the two share a distinction that is very unusual and unique in the world of chiseled and ultra fit professional triathlets.

According a story published today in the triathlon web site xtri.com they met as age group triathletes competing at the World Championship in Montreal, Canada.

"No one knows me better than my husband. I am number one in his life and he is number one in my life, with or without triathlon. And our marriage comes first...ALWAYS," said Amanda Lovato.

On New Year's eve they celebrated their 4th wedding anniversary which Amanda chronicled in her popular blog: "Hear me Roar!"

"The day that ML became my husband, was the day my life changed...for the better. I never thought I would meet someone who I thought could be my perfect match...," Amanda Lovato writes in her Blog.

But the couple also shares another very unique distinction that is very unusual even for professional athletes.

In a recent online poll they were both selected as the Hottest Triathletes of 2008.

With thousands of votes cast Amanda Lovato was just edged off the Hottest Podium, and was voted the 4th Hottest triathlete in the world.

While her husband Michale Lovato took the second place on the Hottest Podium just below the famous bachelor triathlete Andy Baldwin.

Which means that when combined as husband and wife, Amanda and Michael are certainly the hottest couple of triathlon."

Aussies sink results at the Junior Pan Pacific Games in nero

Australian blueseventy nero swimskins fans recently came out on top at the Junior Pan Pacific Games in Guam, Jan 09, with amazing results.

Ryan Nepolean (pictured above just after one race) ended up with 4 Gold and one Bronze and a time in the 800m free that makes it onto the 'all time fastest top 8 ' list of any Australian in history, touching the wall in 7:58.66! In the 400m free he also claimed a meet record of 3:51.12 and a gold medal win.


Amy Smith (above, seen stepping onto the side of the pool) just missed out winning the 200m fly behind USA swimmer Camille Adams in 2:10.55 and was part of the Australian Bronze winnning team in the 4 x 100m medley relay. USA and Canada came 1st and 2nd respectively.

Ned McKendry is only 16 and ended up with a silver behind Ryan in the 400m freestyle clocking a 3:54.70 and third in the 800m freestyle in a time of 8:07.90.That's not too bad considering this was the first time Ned had given this event a go.

Heddi checks in; learning how to swim with one arm....

I had my second session with Paralympic coach, Kiko VanZandt, and was really excited to see my progress.

Since my car accident, I've taught myself to swim one-handed but am really happy to find a coach that understands the ways I need to compensate for the injury. I need to rely on my rotation even more than most swimmers, so I don't injure my good shoulder.

I am rotating a lot more, since Kiko had me work on the timing of my stroke. I'm leading less with my shoulder, and more with the hip rotation. She had me practice turning my hip as my hand pulls next to it under the water. She calls this "opening the door to the garage" :)

It's amazing how much less effort this takes, when the timing is right. She also noticed that I was dropping my elbow a bit as my arm came out of the water. Kiko had me work on rounding my arm, to scoop the water with my hand and whole arm as it enters the water.

I also did some work with a swim paddle to find the right hand position. I was amazed to feel the difference, depending on which angle my hand enters the water. This is going to be a great tool to find both the best pull
position, but also to feel when I use my shoulder more than I should. It really hurts if I get the angle wrong!

Kiko also noticed that my left leg gets a bit lazy when I'm going for air on the left side. Since I only have one arm working, it's more important to keep a good strong kick going. I'm definitely going to have to concentrate on that, since I caught myself doing it a number of times in the session.

I talked to Kiko about mentioning her name in this blog, and she said she loves blueseventy! She sends thanks to Roque for providing her paralympic swimmers with skinsuits--they really loved them, and the records they set with them. I just tried mine out in the pool, and it was a blast slipping through the water:)

Heddi

Racing Kiwis in Cromwell

Pictured above are Tony Dodds and Aaron Barclay, having a laugh just before they raced the Lake Dunstan Triathlon, in Central Otago in New Zealand over the christmas period. It was a chilly day, so their blueseventy helix wetties came in handy! Dodds went on to win the event.

Gina Ferguson interview on Slowtwitch

ST: How did your Ironman Hawaii race go for you? What were your expectations?

Gina: It was my first time racing Hawaii so I didn’t know what to expect but I was really excited to be there and saw it as a great learning experience for the years to come. I knew the conditions would probably be the toughest I have ever faced in a race so far and in this it lived up to my expectations. I had a good swim coming out with the lead women. I wasn’t very happy with how I cycled. I felt very flat during the race and I struggled with the cross winds. The run was mixed. I felt very, very good for the first ¾ of the run and was able to run my way from about 15th off the bike to 7th. The last stage was agony for me however as I got very bad cramps in my stomach and lost one place and finished in 8th. I was a little bit disappointed as I have always been very strong in the last 10km and so I was saving myself for this part of the race. However my goal had been a top 10 finish and so 8th was great. The best part is I learned so much from the race and I am now very determined and motivated to improve upon those things.


For the complete interview go to slowtwitch

blueseventy becomes U.S. Masters Swimming Sponsor

December 21, 2008 - U.S. Masters Swimming is pleased to announce that starting January 1, 2009 blueseventy will become an Official Gold Medal Partner of U.S. Masters Swimming. The multi-year partnership will see blueseventy become the official swim skin of U.S. Masters Swimming which will feature event signage, presence on www.usms.org, a special member discount purchase program, co-branding promotion at blueseventy triathlon supported events and a season long print advertising sponsor in SWIMMER magazine.

"We're very pleased to be able to put something back into Masters swimming - investing in swimming is something that blueseventy is very serious about. The U.S. Masters Swimming community is tremendously loyal and we look forward to helping each member meet his or her objectives," commented Roque Santos, blueseventy V.P. Swimming and a USA Olympian. Roque, a U.S. Masters Swimming member and Masters competitor continues, "the Masters swimming community has been a big supporter of blueseventy for several years, helping us to launch our 'Nero' suit, so we're excited to support their workouts, competitions, clinics and workshops."

Rob Butcher, U.S. Masters Swimming executive director commented "blueseventy has become a commonly seen brand at many of our competitions. We are thrilled to have their global brand committed to giving back to our membership. Their member incentive program we are developing extended exclusively to U.S. Masters Swimming members will more than pay for ones entire year membership. In addition, their desire to promote U.S. Masters Swimming at open water and triathlon events they sponsor will really help extend, grow and strengthen our brand."


About U.S. Masters Swimming

U.S. Masters Swimming, founded in 1971, is a membership operated national governing body that promotes adult health, fitness and wellness through aquatics. It does so by partnering with more than 700-adult swim clubs across the country that offer swim/fitness programs, promotes information via a bi-monthly member magazine and www.usms.org, and sanctions and promotes pool, open water and virtual competitions. Nearly 50,000-adults are registered members of U.S. Masters Swimming.

go team blueseventy!

Here we have blueseventy's Events Manager, Shawn Lucas, from Seattle competing in the Harbor Lights Spring Triathlon, just north of Chicago.

blueseventy's Roque'n Rollin'

Roque Santos (right), our ex-Olympic swimmer and nero VP of sales, takes a dip in his helix wetsuit with his ex- College roommate, Todd Robinson under the monumental Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Ute Muckel in action

Thanks to Benjamin in Germany, he's sent us this cool picture of our athlete Ute Muckel in the pointzero3+. Superb!

blueseventy nero's torture test!

by Glenn Mills; Dec 15, 2008

When I first took hold of my BlueSeventy, I didn't anticipate how the swimming world was going to be turned upside down by these suits. A day doesn't go by without someone high up in the swimming profession writing, or talking about, how these suits have changed the sport...and hardly any have talked about how they've changed the sport for GOOD.

The most recent comments about the suits express the opinion that they're enabling too many records to be set. The swimming "purists,"as they've labeled themselves, are totally against them, stating that they're going to bankrupt teams and be the end of the sport. Well, as of today, they're legal, being used, and people continue to purchase them. While any article written about these suits is sure to generate controversy, and while we can start a conversation in the forum about the pros and cons of the suits, what I'm giving here is merely a report for those who are going to purchase one of these suits, and what they can expect.

Whenever you spend $400 on ANY swim-related item, you want to make sure it will do certain things.
1) Make you feel better in the water.
2) Make you go FASTER in the water.
3) Last for more than a few swims.

Again, PURISTS BEWARE!!! SPOILER ALERT!!! The BlueSeventy will absolutely accomplish the first two items on my short list of three considerations. Should that be legal? Forum posts, please. :)

Item #3... "last for more than a few swims"... is a big one for many people, and I'm here to give you a report on what my BlueSeventy has been through over the past 8 months. I can hear someone already... 8 months... and the suit looks like THAT?!?!?! Read on...

I took hold of my suit back in May for a Masters meet. I've written about my swims, and I can tell you, the swims were eye opening. I had SUCH a good time swimming that fast again. It was fun... and fun is good... right? I mean, I'm a Masters swimmer now. It's not as if I was going to make any money, or get a scholarship. It was just fun.

Shortly after that meet, I had an assignment that required me to spend 4-5 hours a day in the water filming. The water was competitive-level cold, and I wasn't going to be moving a lot. I needed to be able to stay under for extended periods without SCUBA gear, so I couldn't be too buoyant but really was looking for some additional insulation. BLUESEVENTY to the rescue.

I was in and out of the suit all day... and in and out of hot showers. I knew the suit was supposed to be used just for swimming fast, but the athletes I was filming were pretty fast, and I had to do something to keep up, so I figured that counted. Overall the suit was pretty saturated with water from day to day, but dried out well and was ready to go back in service the next day, or later the same day. What I discovered about this suit is that I'm able to take it off easily, and put it back on wet. This meant I didn't have to sit around in it all day at a Masters meet... unless I just wanted to look GOOD (i.e., slimmer).

Since then, the suit has been brought out of storage for multiple drills and video shoots, ESPECIALLY those in which I wanted to be in front of the camera. I've even worn it for a few practices to see if my current training has been effective. I love swimming practices in the suit because I have a better shot of keeping up with my younger swimmers.

One of my high school-aged swimmers has tried multiple full-body suits, and has found none that he likes. He feels too constricted, like he can't breathe, so no matter how much convincing I've tried to do, he simply wouldn't swim in one. A couple months ago, he sent me a text and asked if I had a set of "pants" he could try at practice. I figured it was a good opportunity to get him to try my BlueSeventy. Besides, I wanted to see if it had the same impact on him that it had on me. I designed a set for him for morning practice in which he'd do
part of the set in his drag suit... then get out, change into the "pants" he'd requested, and repeat the set. When he got out after the second round, I surprised him and pulled out the BlueSeventy and told him to wear it for the 3rd time through. It took only one 100 for him to finish with a smile on his face. He wore it for the rest of
practice, then at his meet that night. This swimmer is 6'1", while I'm 5'10"... so he was STRETCHING my suit as well.

I wore it a few more times at college practice, and for more filming. One of the college swimmers asked for help on his breaststroke, and through the course of working together, I decided to have him try my BlueSeventy. He put on the suit and proceeded not only to swim faster in practice, but also to make the stroke changes we had worked on.

When it came time to order suits for the college team, everyone was wondering which to order. While I didn't have access to any other suit than the BlueSeventy, I at least wanted to allow as many of them to try it as possible. While I avoid recommending suits to my swimmers, I do try to give them the opportunity to test something. On one day at practice, approximately ten different swimmers put on, swam in, and took off my BlueSeventy. These are BIG guys! The suit was starting to show some wear... the ankles were becoming a bit looser, and were starting to fray. Man... some of them have HUGE feet!

Test after test, swim after swim, there wasn't ONE swimmer who returned after his first 50 without a smile on his face. While the BlueSeventy was being tortured, it was still effective. Through the stretching, twisting, and arranging of the material, finally, a tear started to appear in the neck. Now the question was... do I allow them to TRASH my suit, or save it for myself? That question was answered very quickly because the swimmers are ALWAYS more important than the coach. Put it on another swimmer until it finally disintigrates.

I continued to wear the BlueSeventy occasionally for filming and practice. I figured that, at this point, its usefullness for competition had passed.

A few weeks ago, the college team traveled to a meet with its arch rival. One of our swimmers was going for a very lofty goal, and decided he was going to try the BlueSeventy. Since this was a special occasion, an order for a single suit was placed. As sometimes occurs, a mistake in shipping from the company we ordered it from happened, and as the bus was leaving the station, we were without his suit. Good thing I had Old Faithful in my bag.

Because of the rules in college swimming, we had to make sure the BlueSeventy logos were blacked out. I was following the swimmer around before and after his warm-ups, swims, and warm-downs... with a black marker doing my best to cover the logo each time. Permanent isn't always permanent on these suits... but for the short time he was racing, the logo was blacked out.

JUST before the meet started, the new suit was delivered to the pool and my "marked up" suit was now a backup. Since the suit was there, and since it was already advertising-legal, one of our other swimmers asked if he could try it. Now, this particular swimmer is one of the bigger individuals on the team. While making sure he could fit in the suit, which was now stretched beyond its original size, his warm-up went without a hitch. In his individual event, he swam a fantastic time, placed 3rd, and achieved a very high personal goal. It was
great to see the smile on his face as it always is.

Since I never know when I'm going to need my BlueSeventy, it's become a permanant fixture in my swim bag. It holds no special place on the drying rack; it's just another piece of equipment. Because of that, when a Masters friend asked me last week about his interest in the BlueSeventy, and which size he should get, and if it was worth it, I pulled the suit out of my bag and said... give it a try. This particular swimmer is 6'3". He wore it for his entire practice, smiled when he handed it back to me, and as far as I know has placed his order.

The last time the suit has been out of my bag, may have been the last time it's going to be fully functional. In our most recent college meet, the same swimmer asked if I had the suit. I pulled it out of my bag and he wore it for one of his races. He walked around in the suit the rest of the meet, until he came up to me for his final event
asking if I'd be so kind as to zip him up. As I reached for the zipper, it finally happened. After what's been estimated at nearly 70 swims by individuals of many varied sizes, a tooth broke on the zipper, and we were stuck. So we thought. Through some tugging and pulling by teammates, we were able to line up the tooth, zip up the zipper, and get him to the blocks on time. The zipper held through his 50 free, and the suit made it back into the bag.

With some nylon thread, the zipper is somewhat functional again, and the suit LIVES ON!

In my opinion, for those saying that these suits will have a negative impact on the sport because they cost too much... I say it's not the case. While I would RARELY get this many swims out of any suit I've ever used at a championship level, I found this suit to be as, if not MORE, durable than any that I've ever had. Its performance advantages aside, this thing is a great value.

I know there will be people who don't like hearing positive things about these suits. I'm not one of them. Their impact on our sport, positive or negative, will be measured in the long term. As of today,
they are legal and people are wearing them.

We can all put our feelings into the forum about the impact of these suits. As for this article, it's a thank-you letter to my BlueSeventy for hanging in there for so long. I've definitely gotten my money's
worth out of it and... with the zipper fixed... it's not dead yet.

The Moxey man diaries

Tim Moxey was interviewed on XTRI.com in a 3 part interview.



XTRI: When Ironman Wetsuits changed to blueseventy, was that just a change in name, or did things change too as a company?

Tim: Basically, as a company, we were constrained. When you looked at our competitors which were Zoot, Orca, QR, they had all broadened their range. Orca and QR were doing clothing in addition to wetsuits, and I was like ‘I’d love to do that, but I can’t,’ because we had a license for Ironman Wetsuits. And that’s not a label to put on clothing cause it sounds stupid – you can’t have an “Ironman Wetsuits” track suit – sounds a bit silly. So I felt constrained. So rather than expand into adjacent markets, I wanted to go deeper into the channel we were in, which was swim, specifically “openwater” since we made brilliant wetsuits and had a chance to really lead within that area. I wanted to make goggles, swimskins and other products for openwater…but I couldn’t expand given the licensing. By changing the name to blueseventy, it signaled that we’re not just about “Ironman”. Or “Wetsuits”. We make products that make that experience better. And for any distance triathlon. And even if you’re just a swimmer.”


Part 1 of the xtri interview: http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=5207&CAT=21&xref=xx

Part 2 of the xtri interview: http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=5213&CAT=3&xref=xx

Part 3 of the xtri interview: http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=5216&CAT=23&xref=xx

2008 Ironman World Championships on NBC

NBC will broadcast the recap of the 2008 Ironman World Championships on Saturday, December 13 at 2:30 Eastern. Watch Chrissie Wellington and Craig Alexander again as they storm to their titles and endless other stories take place.

Introducing Mr & Mrs Bayliss

Britain’s Ironcouple and blueseventy triathletes Stephen Bayliss and Bella Comerford were married recently in the beautiful grounds of Murrayshall House in the United Kingdom. The couple married in a civil service in front of family and friends and shared a pic with us, below.

We love the cake!
Congratulations to Bella and Stephen on their marriage and also on a very remarkable year of solid results. We wish you all the best for 2009 and onwards!

The Mo results are in!

Well after a crazy month of Movember, the blueseventy-nuun team (called Rubbery Tablets) managed to raise a fantastic $1.870.00 that went to the US Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Here is a photo of some of the blueseventy team towards the end of Movember showing just how far some of them went...

L-R (back) John, Guy, Steve, Trevor, Dean, Shawn, Roque and Seth...and Sharon and Meline in the front not wanting to miss out on the fun! Not bad attempts, ladies!

Thanks to everyone for taking part and also thanks to all who donated and encouraged them!

6th World Record for blueseventy!

American swimmer Randall Bal broke the men's 50 metres backstroke world record at a meeting in Eindhoven, Netherlands last Saturday, while wearing the blueseventy nero comp.

Bal timed 24.33 seconds to break the old mark of 24.47sec set by Briton Liam Tancock at the British Olympic trials last April.

Bal, 28, last month also broke the men's short course 50 metres backstroke world record, timing 22.87 seconds to break the old mark of 23.05sec set by compatriot Peter Marshall. Bal's first world record was taken in the nero comp swimskin also.

Congrats Gina and Luke

Gina Ferguson won the 2008 Ironman Western Australia in a record time of 8:59:24, after having had the fastest swim in her blueseventy Helix wetsuit. Luke McKenzie led all the men out of the water in his blueseventy Helix wetsuit and after dealing with some technical issues during the bike segment, Luke eventually finished third.

Congrats Gina and Luke.