The Week That Was: Top Swimming Headlines From In and Out the Pool

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Breaking news of a scandal involving cellphones recording video in a locker room, and more information about the venue for the Olympic 10K swim in Rio de Janeiro are just two of the five headlines reviewed on this edition of The Week That Was.

The Week That was is supported by AgonSwim.com

The Week That Was #5: Kristin Day becomes eighth aquatic sports athlete to win NCAA Woman of the Year

Photo Courtesy: Clarion Athletics

With three aquatic sports athletes among the nine finalists for the NCAA Woman of the Year award, the odds were good that one of them would be selected for the prestigious honor. That came true Sunday night in Indianapolis, where diver Kristin Day was picked among a very elite field. Day was a record-setting diver for Clarion University of Pennsylvania, winning three NCAA Division II titles on the springboard. She’s now working to enter the biochemistry field to continue the long history of winners who have made a major impact outside of their sport once they graduate.

The Week That Was #4: Tony Azevedo named Pac 12 Conference Water Polo Player of the Century

Photo Courtesy: Bob Donnan/USA Today Sports

It was probably not an easy task picking the best male water polo player in the past 100 years of the Pac 12 Conference. Thousands of very talented men have played the sport at the conference member schools over the years, and the Pac 12 sifted through all the names to pick Tony Azevdeo as the Player of the Century. Azevedo is certainly one of the most popular American water polo players, having played on four Olympic teams. He was a star at Stanford, helping the team win two NCAA titles in 2001 and 2002 and holds records for most points scored as a freshman, and for most career goals with 332. Azevedo is now looking to make it five Olympics as team captain of the U.S. water polo team.

The Week That Was #3: Four-day U.S. Olympic Trials ticket packages now available

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Tickets for next year’s U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials are selling fast, and will continue to do so now that the four-day ticket packages are now for sale. These packages allow people to attend prelims and finals for either the first four days or the last four days of the meet. It’s hard to say which half of the meet is best, as each day will feature plenty of swim stars racing for coveted spots on the Olympic roster. USA Swimming and meet organizers are certain that tickets will sell out the closer we get to the meet, and most of the prime seats are already gone.

The Week That Was #2: Rio Olympics open water venue will not have regular testing for viruses

Photo Courtesy: Roberto Tietzmann

For the past eight months, the world has been keeping an eye on the organizers of the Rio Olympics as they deal with the issues of water safety at the venues for the open water swim and sailing. Since outside organizations began declaring the waters off the coast of Rio de Janeiro unsafe for athletes, there have been demands for more rigorous testing to make sure athletes will not be at risk when they compete next August.

Though there have been some reports that human feces and toxic waste have been found in the ocean, athletes who participated in the 10K test event recently have not experienced any physical issues. Recently, the Rio Olympic Organizing Committee has said it will continue doing tests, but will not test for viruses in the water. The World Health Organization backs this claim, citing “a lack of standardized methods and difficulty interpreting results.” That seems to be the final word regarding testing the water in Rio, but it might not be the end of this discussion.

The Week That Was #1: Towson swimming under fire after allegations surface of recording in women’s locker room

KNOXVILLE, TN - December 5, 2013 - Towson University cheers on Kaitlin Burke in the 500 Yard Freestyle during the USA Swimming AT&T Winter National Championships at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee

Photo Courtesy: Tia Patron/Tennessee Athletics

Towson University staff and administration are in the spotlight this week as claims of a cell phone recording female swimmers undressing in the locker room are surfacing. A Towson spokesperson has confirmed that a smartphone was recording audio and video inside the locker room on October 16, but the person or persons responsible have not been made officially named. This is not the first time such a thing has been investigated, and typically those responsible face jail time.

The Maryland school competed against Georgetown in a dual meet the day after the alleged recording took place, losing to the Hoyas by 20 points.

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