Is that Thorpe they show for a brief moment in the stands at the end?

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Too f@ckin depressed from various injuries to care about having a signature line.

Sponsored by Blue Shield PPO.

Interesting piece on the swimsuits here


http://scienceofsport.blogspot.com/

I know what steroid use looks like and something is fishy unless this guy has some superhuman amounts of natural testosterone on board. Did anyone notice how small his head looks in that first pic? Aren't the French always the first to cry about performance enhancing drug use?

I must have gone to a different Spain, Italy and France than you.


.

in UK, where they speak only English?
in France, where they only speak French?
in Spain, where the they only speak Spanish?
in Italy, where they only speak Italian?

This is nonsense, they just won't speak to you in English because they don't like you if you're obviously American...

Even in the UK which is likely the wrost for languages in Europe you have to take 5 years of another language. Doesn't always stick too well because the teaching is generally poor but it's an improvement on the US.

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Forget speedwork. Speedwork is the icing on the cake and you don't have a cake yet. - MattinSF

Basically they have 9 tenants, live life to the fullest, do not turn the cheak, and embrace the 7 deadly since. - TheForge (on satanists)

Are you sure he's not from Oz?
I think he's Ian Thorpe's cousin. ;-)

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Dick

Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I know nothing.

I am not American, even though I lived in the US for 7 years, I am now living in Canada.
I have been fortunate enough to meet folks from various coutries since I have lived in the USA and Canada and understand a bit more their culture.
I am French (and Canadian) and I travelled enough through Europe for business and pleasure to notice than the average European with the exception of the Nordic countries speak mostly one language.

Now, learning in school a language and speaking a language are two different things and for example in France, you are learning English for 7 years (as first foreign language, and sometimes students chose German over English) and then pick between Spanish or German as second language for 5 years and if you are "crazy enough" can learn Latin or Greek (I took Latin).
The thing is once University and then real life kicks in, folks lose the ability to speak the language they studied and they only reason they can stammer several words is because of the English influence in every day life (use of English words, US shows, English based music).

Fred.

 You may have gone to a different Spain, Italy and France than I went to, but being French and therefore having family and friends living in France and visiting France on a regular basis, having been to Italy (business for several months, pleasure), Portugal (business), Germany (business), UK (business), Sweden (business), Denmark (pleasure), and Austria (business) on several occasions, the average European does not speak a second language.
We can argue who the average European is, and what speak implies but you take the average French person and you drop that person in the middle of the US and she/he will not go very far.

Fred.

Um... Hey... can someone pass me a can of ripped please?



Thanks...

and he's 6'5"

Thats why I switched to tri's.

He looks kinda like Champion from the Triplets of Belleville. Small head, long limbs, crazy muscular proportions.

But, hey, many of the swimming sprinters are built huge. Gary Hall looked pretty similar.

um, sorry taking a serious look at that picture, how can you say his physique is normal looking? Dude is using for sure.

+1

My Greek friends (living in Greece!) routinely remark how other Europeans don't speak English. Spain more so than others.

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Gnothi Seauton.

There was a thread in the USMS forums that was discussing the large range of testosterone levels for "normal" males. I can't remember if there was a remark about what his was measured at or if it was just a hunch.

But, speaking of USMS, is anyone else having problems getting to that site's forums? Was on there earlier today, but it seems to have gone down and not come back...yet...

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Gnothi Seauton.

He is the PERFECT French soldier. There is no way he would get tired arms waving a white flag. Nuh Uh.

I just saw a vid which said popov only swam 55 or so for 100 free at 15...pretty awesome improvement

http://www.youtube.com/...&feature=related

some awesome vids of popov here...

You probably heard it in Dutch where at one point the guy shouts "het is een nieuw wereldrecord", and that sounds like "it is a new world record". Still, you're right that the Euros (at least some of them, mainly north of Europe) are quite educated with regard to languages, if I'm aloud to says so myself.

You can't judge from that picture. He's slightly hunched over, and he's clenching every muscle he has in jubilation. Take a look at other photos of him, and he has a solid, ripped physique that is in proportion (for a swimmer, anyway). He's got a HUGE barrel chest, which makes that angle shot really look weird.

I'm of the opinion that he is on something as well, but that's more from the drastic improvement in his time than anything else. He dropped a second from his time in about a year, although some of that is due to the suit. Since Feb 16, there have been 11 new records set, and every single one was with the new Speedo LZR suit.

Watch the podium when AB gets his gold, neither of his competitors look too happy, and they barely shake his hand.

John

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Top notch coaching: Francois and Accelerate3 | Follow on Twitter: LifetimeAthlete |

That might be the single funniest line ever on ST.

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**************
Too f@ckin depressed from various injuries to care about having a signature line.

Sponsored by Blue Shield PPO.

Read Francois' original post: "As for those here who think, the French are only after American bike riders, whether AB is clean
or not is the main topic of discussion over there... "

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**************
Too f@ckin depressed from various injuries to care about having a signature line.

Sponsored by Blue Shield PPO.

that is a real smart comment...we're talking about a guy just breaking a world record...which is precisely something completely abnormal...

want a normal physique, then ask people in 2min per 100m or more to swim on TV...

want a normal physique, then ask people in 2min per 100m or more to swim on TV...

That's what the NBC Kona coverage is for...

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Forget speedwork. Speedwork is the icing on the cake and you don't have a cake yet. - MattinSF

Basically they have 9 tenants, live life to the fullest, do not turn the cheak, and embrace the 7 deadly since. - TheForge (on satanists)

that is a real smart comment...we're talking about a guy just breaking a world record...which is precisely something completely abnormal...

want a normal physique, then ask people in 2min per 100m or more to swim on TV...[/reply]
I think we have to also look at statistics. How many swimming world records have come out of France's swimming program in the last 30 years? Last 50 years?

I also find it very hard to believe that a physique like that can be built in just 3 weight lifting sessions per week. What is even more amazing is that he swims 12K per day and his body naturally wants to hang on to that muscle mass.

There's Laure, and Fred Bousquet who had a SC world record for a while back and ... Laure again. Never heard a word of doping allegations against either Fred or Laure.