Day 6
Yesterday Tasha swam the 50m freestyle and 4x100m freestyle heats in the morning. She qualified for the 50m fs semi-final, and the team qualified for the final (no semis). Last night she swam the 50m freestyle semi-final in 26.00″ and was placed 16th. It was an exciting yet exhausting day so your American correspondent went to bed early.
It was quite a relief to be watch the swimming at the pool today with less emotional attachment to the outcome. Our team members were in action in both sessions morning and afternoon. The boys 4×100 medley relay team narrowly missed out on a podium finish. The parent support crew went out as a group for dinner tonight.
Now it’s over. Finished. The end. We are packing our bags and heading home. The team are leaving very early but have a day out planned in LA whilst they await their trans-Pacific flights. We are flying via Dallas, weather permitting.
Thank you again for all the best wishes from home. As a spectator it has been an incredible experience being at this meet. I’m sure that Natasha and Amanda will have learned heaps from competing on the other side of the world against some of the world’s best.
See you again poolside soon!
Day 3
Tasha swam a pretty good time in her 50 fly this morning although it wasn’t quite good enough to make the semis. Her time of 27.69 was only 0.17 over her PB and positioned her as first reserve for the semi finals that took place earlier this evening.
For the first time since our arrival, Livvy and I caught up with her at lunchtime. She’s clearly enjoying the entire experience, including opportunities for both retail and dog therapy. Yes there was a ‘bring a dog’ day at the meet yesterday! Maybe it’s an American thing. The dogs did not swim (not even doggy paddle) and instead were available for stroking a playing with.
This evening we had the pleasure of watching more top class swimming. One highlight was the Aussie mixed 4 x 100 freestyle relay team taking bronze. There are some outstanding swimmers here evidenced by the number of new world junior and championship records set each day.
Us Mums and Dads have been coping with life in Indianapolis. We’ve tracked down a place that sells half-decent coffee and arranged a bulk delivery to the pool every morning. This evening we’ve been ‘watching’ NSW State on Meet Mobile. Go Abbotsleigh!
Tasha’s next swim is on day 5.
Day 1 (from Ben Ramsden)
The people in the ticket queue ahead of us had come from Botswana. Apparently there’s only one 50m pool in the country. I chose not to boast about how many we have in our local area, but it makes you think.
There are swimmers from 93 nations represented here. I am finding it rather breath taking that people from all around the planet have converged on this particular stretch of chlorinated water. Despite the enormity of it all, it’s got a bit of a cosy feel. The pool ‘only’ has 8 lanes. The crowd is large but not massive. And as for the coffee…. I will never ever ever complain about the SOPAC variety (ever)!
Maybe it’s separation anxiety, but we hardly have any contact with Tasha. She and Amanda are part of the team. Completely separate accommodation, transport, schedule, etc. Parents are very welcome but deliberately kept at arms length. We’ve seen her at a distance on the pool deck. I bumped into her on the way to the bathroom this morning.
Tasha’s first event will be on day 3 so for us today was all about meeting the other parents, supporting the team, and watching some magnificent swimming. Australia seemed to be represented in most events. Local boy Leon McAlister was in action in the 100m backstroke. The Aussie boys 4×100 freestyle relay took bronze which was so exciting.
Thank you for all the messages and best wishes from home. Back for more tomorrow.
Intro by Jo Cox
Our very own Natasha Ramsden is all set to compete at the World Junior Swimming Championships held at Indiana University Natatorium, Indianapolis, USA
Results for the FINA swimming junior world championships can be found at: http://www.fina.org/event/6th-fina-world-junior-swimming-championships. The schedule contains heats, semi finals and finals. There is a link to FINA TV which is live streaming of the semi-finals and finals only (i.e. Indianapolis evening session). A 3 day free trial is available.
Indianapolis date/time: Tasha is swimming 50m Butterfly (heats: Fri 25th), 50m Freestyle and 4x100m Freestyle (heats Sun 27th). Sydney is 14 hours ahead of Indianapolis so the heats can be viewed very early morning the following day.
I am sure Ben and Livvy Ramsden will keep us all updated 🙂 Go Tash!!
