Michael Phelps To Appear In ‘Curtain of Distraction’…..Since moving to Tempe, Arizona to continue training under long-time coach Bob Bowman, now Head Coach at Arizona State University, Michael Phelps has been seen on the Sun Devil sporting scene, including home basketball games. Now, he’ll take his ASU support one step further by being part of the students’ famed ‘Curtain of Distraction’ at the January 28th home basketball game against rival Arizona. The ‘Curtain of Distraction’ is a well-known diversion tactic by the Sun Devil fans situated along the baseline of the Wells Fargo Arena, whose goal is to distract the opposing free-throw shooters. Previous antics include a flamboyant Elvis impersonator, a shirtless air guitar player and, yes, unicorns. Guessing the GOAT will sport his new Aqua Sphere racing kit, or maybe he’ll be pumping iron behind the basket, a la his Instagram posts. We shall see.
We r excited to announce that 18X Gold Medalist @MichaelPhelps will be making an appearance in the Curtain Thursday! pic.twitter.com/gGdS4nKvQ0
— 942 Crew (@942Crew) January 26, 2016
Dubai International Aquatic Championships Updates…..We reported that the recently-announced Dubai International Aquatic Championships meet was approved by FINA as a 2016 Olympic Games-qualifying meet. Now, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Swimming Federation has announced that the discipline of Diving will now be part of the meet. Diving, Swimming and Water Polo will take place at the Hamdan Sports Complex, with Open Water being conducted off Dubai’s shore.The competitive event will offer contests in water polo, open water swimming and pool swimming, with the following dates assigned to each discipline:
Diving – March 29th-March 31st
Water Polo – March 29th-April 1st
Open Water Swimming – April 2nd
Swimming – April 4th-April 7th
Qatar Officially Hands Over Worlds Bid…..Last week, the Qatar Swimming Association formally submitted its bid to host either the 2021 or 2023 FINA World Championships. The bid was handed over to FINA Executive Director Cornel Marculescu and will be considered among the other potential host cities of Nanjing, China and Fukuoka, Japan. The final determination will be announced on January 31st at the World Aquatics Gala and Award dinner.
