Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Nose Clips and Swim Caps

Thanks for all the book suggestions! I've got a lot of reading to do. However, at present my reading has slowed considerably now that the Olympics are happening. How can you NOT get pumped up watching Michael Phelps do his thing every single time?! I mean seriously, the man is a machine.

Speaking of swimming, did you happen to notice that swimmer (I think he might be German) that wears a nose clip? I find it extremely weird that someone who swims well enough to make the Olympics still needs to wear a nose clip.

And another thing ... can anyone tell me why the swimmers wear two swim caps? When I was on swim team, just wearing one cap gave me a headache. I can't imagine what wearing two would do. Of course with their bodies smooshed so tightly into those tiny little suits they probably aren't worrying much about their head.

Go U.S.A.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Michael Phelps wears two swim caps for two reasons:
1. In case one of them rips off in the water.
2. It is tighter and it keeps his goggles on better.

Voila!

Becky said...

Oooh thanks Juli! Interesting. I thought goggles/cap coming off was a rookie mistake.

Anonymous said...

LOL! I think even champions can make the same kinds of mistakes (and have the same kinds of mishaps) that Rookies have. Interesting concept, huh?

Anonymous said...

I wondered the same thing about two caps!

We have really been enjoying watching the swimming.And the gymnastics. My girls are loving it :)

About the clothes, what I don't get is why the girls who do beach volley ball have to wear those little triangle bikini things? Would some clothing REALLY make them not play their game at their best? Really? *rolleyes*

Suzanne said...

Speaking of Olympic trivia, according to the New York Post this is Phelps' daily diet:

Phelps lends a new spin to the phrase "Breakfast of Champions" by starting off his day by eating three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise.

He follows that up with two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes.

At lunch, Phelps gobbles up a pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo on white bread - capping off the meal by chugging about 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

For dinner, Phelps really loads up on the carbs - what he needs to give him plenty of energy for his five-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week regimen - with a pound of pasta and an entire pizza.

He washes all that down with another 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

That's 12,000 calories a day--six times what the average man should have.

Becky said...

Oh my gosh - all that and the man is RIPPED. That makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about all that food.

Suzanne said...

And we think WE eat a lot. ;)

Anonymous said...

Wow, I wonder if that is true?! LOL

Mike10567 said...

Were you watching a backstroke event when you saw a German swimmer wearing a nose clip? Many backstrokers now are wearing nose clips because it allows backstrokers with strong leg kicks to stay underwater longer and take full advantage of their legs. During some backstroke events, I've actually seen more swimmers wearing nose clips than swimmers that don't. Nose clips were widely used during the 1940s and 1950s in all swimming events because back then swimmers were taught to breathe through their mouth only. Now this latest nose clip trend with backstrokers is really taking off. All Australian backstrokers are wearing them as are many U.S. backstrokers (Google: Hayley McGregory). As you can probably tell, I'm a backstrokers who wears a nose clip too!

Becky said...

Wow! Interesting! Thanks, Mike10567. Seriously, I had no idea.

So a nose clip allows you to say underwater longer?

I was a breastroker so I don't think a clip would have helped much. :)