Category Archives: Swimming

April 16, 2011 · 11:17 pm

Escaping from Fort DeSoto

By Pete Williams

ST. PETERSBURG – For all of the growth in triathlon over the last decade, there are a number of races that have been around for more than two decades – and not just a little October gathering in Kona.

Here in the Tampa Bay area, the Escape from Fort DeSoto Triathlon marked its 25th running this morning with more than 1,000 athletes competing. Most opted to forgo the wetsuits. Water temperatures were 74.5 degrees but seemed warmer. They also were surprisingly choppy, at least by our standards. We filed this report:

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April 13, 2011 · 2:57 pm

Leave the Wetsuit at Home?

By Pete Williams

No wetsuits needed?

Nice piece in The Tampa Tribune today previewing the start of triathlon season, which kicks off with this weekend’s Escape from Fort De Soto Triathlon in St. Petersburg and continues two weeks from now with the St. Anthony’s Triathlon, also in St. Pete, which serves as the national season opener.

The story focuses on how swimming is the barrier for most would-be triathletes. The Escape from Fort De Soto Tri usually is wetsuit legal, which means that athletes can wear a wetsuit for the swim since water is typically below 78 degrees. Actually, you can always wear a wetsuit anyway but if the temperature is 78.1 or higher, you’re ineligible for age-group awards.

With balmy weather in the Tampa Bay area in recent weeks, water temperatures are approaching the 78.1 mark; Bay News 9 reports 77 degrees at the moment. Either way, I’m ditching the wetsuit this year. I’m a weak swimmer and the extra buoyancy speeds me along, but I don’t like the feel of wetsuits. Plus you can make up any time lost by not wearing a suit in transition, where you don’t have to squirm out of the rubber.

Another reason to love triathlon in Florida. Where else can a triathlete entertain the idea of racing from mid-April through the end of the year without a wetsuit?

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February 16, 2011 · 6:36 pm

Healing Waters

By Pete Williams

Fran Crippen

Ever since Fran Crippen died during an open-water 10K swimming race in the United Arab Emirates in October, his two younger sisters have managed to balance grief with swimming for their respective Division I programs.

Fran Crippen, a former University of Virginia star, had become a standout in the world of U.S. distance swimming at the age of 26. Older sister Maddy starred at Villanova and swam at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Claire Crippen, 22, followed Fran to the University of Virginia. Now a senior (or fourth-year as we Wahoos like to say), she’s a team captain and two-time ACC champion in the 400 IM who will lead her team at the ACC championships in Atlanta this weekend. As Jeff White chronicled on the University of Virginia Web site recently, Claire was very close to her brother, who though four years older rarely missed one of her meets in Charlottesville.

Teresa Crippen, a 20-year-old junior, is an All-American at Florida. Like Claire, she dominates the 400 IM. The two squared off during a dual meet between the Cavaliers and Gators in Gainesville in October, with Teresa finishing ahead of her older sister in the 200 butterfly and 200 IM. The Gators host the SEC championships this weekend and as Antoya English writes in today’s St. Petersburg Times, Teresa swims to honor her brother’s memory.

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