back ... in olympic style

i'm back - after an extended hiatus ... been busy lately, and then took a weekend off to cool off on the white sand beaches of the Florida panhandle, enjoying the Gulf shore, while Hurricane Charley ravaged the Florida mainland. thankfully, there was not a cloud in sight or a drop of rain on the gulf coast.

in the meantime, the olympics are on in full swing, some incredible performances so far - thorpe winning the 200 freestyle, ahead of van den hoogenband (who won the 100 freestyle) and phelps (who won the 200 IM). the US mens' team won a superb race to win the 800m freestyle relay. and yesterday, the american women's relay team smashed the oldest standing record in swimming (800m relay) by more than 2 seconds. a record that has stood for more than 15 years, blown to smithereens just like that .....

one important reason for these achienvement is new and improved swimsuits that are more than just a necessary. they are designed to aid the swimmer in ways that his body alone cannot provide for. drag reduction, and streamliining are more important than ever before, in today;s ultra competitive swimming events. progress in swimsuit design has been achieved through the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for minimizing drag. Speedo has showcased the latest FASTSKIN FSII suits that mimic the tiny toothlike scales in shark skin, called dermal denticles, that are slanted toward the tail of the shark and help force water flow around its body, thus reducing friction[Courtesy: Christian Science Monitor]. CFD simulations were used to test the suit's drag reduction capabilities. the suits compress the body, and are so tight, that it takes about 10 minutes just to get into one of them. the sport's governing body has ruled that these long-john bodysuits are still aceprable accessories. a prominent example of these new body suits is the 6'5" aussie giant with size-17 shoes: ian thorpe.

with these advances in swimwear, track and field is not far behind ... with new body suits designed for increased support, ventilation, freedom of movement, and muscle control and guidance. other sports such as rowing are not behind. adidas is also added the clima-cool technology to take the summer heat in greece, and nike's dri-fit technology for removing moisture faster. technology certainly seems to be propeling these athletes to better world records and more frequently at that .....

and in the mean time, major rajyavardhan rathore has won a silver medal .. india's first of the games, while paes and bhupathi just went out in the semifinals - hopefully, they will atleast be able to get a bronze ....

i will signoff for today with this quote about the olympic spirit from melville dmello's book about the olympics:

when one great scorer comes ... to write against your name
he writes not whether you won or lost, but how you played the game ....