The Swimming Finals!

I was lucky enough to get a ticket to the swimming finals on Monday - including the 4 x 100 men's relay. It seems George Bush was also given a ticket. Here he is en route! He had a motorcade of about 30 cars with secret service men leaning out the window. The road from the Broadcast Centre to the Water Cube was lined with volunteers keeping people moving while George W dropped into the NBC studios and then made his way to the swimming. Laura Bush came in separate entourage. A little bit of overkill perhaps!



Once inside, the amazing construction of the cube is evident. It honestly looks like glad wrap but I'm assuming it isn't.



Libby Trickett streaming ahead in the 100 m butterfly - she took Gold, Jessica Schipper, Bronze. It was great to sing the national anthem and see the Australian flag being raised but it is times like these that remind me how average our anthem is compared to others. We were surrounded by Japanese and Americans and they were belting it out. Ours is very hard to sing and I think even the athletes struggle with the words. I still gave it my best!



As you can see, I was sitting just opposite George. He's second tier, third row up, fifth from the right.



And then there was the climax for me.. the 4 x 100 men's relay. It was incredible. The French and US were in a dead heat right at the end and the US took it away. Everyone was on their feet, screaming and waving flags. I had goose bumps. The top six teams all broke the world record which just shows the power of these suits and the pool. Instead of eight lanes, there are ten which apparently makes the water 'tighter'. I myself am not a fan because the suits cover up the extraordinary bodies of the swimmers but I guess my say doesn't count with FINA.