Shanghai Roundup: Iran Withdraws, Targett Lashes Out in Cielo's Defense

Universal Sports is reporting that an Iranian competitor withdrew from a 100 breaststroke sprelims heat against Israel’s Gal Nevo this morning. The Iranian, Mohammed Alirezaei, was officially reported by the Iranian federation as ill, which is the same explanation that they gave in 2008 when the same swimmer withdrew from the 100 breaststroke prelim against another Iranian at the Olympics. Though there’s no steadfast proof that the decades-old conflict between Iran and Israel was the catalyst for this, it’s not the first time that Iran has used sport as a political foundation to make a political protest against Israel, who it does not recognize. At the 2004 Olympics, an Iranian Judo competitor infamously withdrew from a match against an Israeli opponent. That Iranian, who was a two-time World Champion, came in overweight but indicated that he did so on purpose to intentionally disqualify himself. The Israelis took the high road and proclaimed that they weren’t seeking any punishment, and that “if someone wants to behave like a child, they don’t care.” As they say, where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire…

…Matt Targett has lashed out against 50 fly competitor Jason Dunford’s reaction to Cesar Cielo’s winning the 50 fly on day 2 in Shanghai. Targett told Australian media that he was happy for Cielo. More Targett quotes from the Australian Associated Press:

“I’m not going to speak for my friend, but I lived with the guy and I know exactly what he’s going through. Times like this you find out who your real friends are…I’m really happy for him. If I was ever going to be beaten by anybody, I’m glad it was a friend…Tools like Dunford, that doesn’t make things any better.”

Cielo’s post race comments:

“This gold has definitely a different taste than the other ones. That was probably the hardest medal in my life; I knew I was going to race against the world’s best, and to be able to compete after what I have been through this last month is really a blessing…With what happened, it was a time to test how much I could take and if I would be able to stand up again, and I am really proud of myself for doing this. Medals are important but I cannot imagine my life without the environment of swimming and the friends I have made.”

Have to love Geoff Huegill’s reaction through it all. He just rises above the fray with an absolute positivity. Though without Cielo he might have been the favorite for gold, Huegill said that he was “stoked about the bronze” and thought that it was “awesome.” Huegill’s pure class, leadership, and maturity through several situations over the past year has definitely lifted him on my list of favorite swimmers…

…With the swimming starting, almost overlooked was China’s completion of the diving sweep in the outdoor Crescent Bay pool. When China’s Qiu Bo took gold on the men’s 10-meter platform, it completed the second-ever diving sweep, after the 1982 event where the Americans took all four golds. This 10-event win, however, shows an incredible depth and versatility by the Chinese team. The crowning win by Qiu Bo was a real “no doubter”. Five of his six dives scored over 90 points, which included a maximum of 7 perfect-10’s on his 3rd dive. Overall in this final, Bo received a total of fifteen “10’s”, with nobody else in the field earning even one. The USA’s David Boudia, however, had arguably the best overall dive of the competition when he earned straight-9.5’s on his 5th dive, with a high 3.6 DD. That rocketed him from 4th to 2nd, which is a position that he would hold onto for the duration and take the USA’s only diving medal of the competition. The bronze would go to Germany’s Sascha Klein. Defending champion Tom Daley of Britain would finish 5th.

The Chinese’s run in the diving events was absolutely spectacular. Besides going 10-for-10 on golds, they were also 4-for-6 on silver medals that were available to them. They may have had a slight advantage in getting to practice on the outdoor platforms, whereas most divers are used to spotting the pool in indoor natatoriums. Regardless, few of the competitions were really all that close…

…Fan-favorite Dominik Meichtry officially qualified for the 2012 Olympics with his semi-final swim of 1:47.30 in the men’s 200 free. Meichtry, long-time beau of American Jessica Hardy, trains in Southern California with Dave Salo. Switzerland, like many smaller swimming nations, awards Olympic berths automatically upon achievement of a valid Olympic Qualifying Standard…

…Ricky Berens, via Twitter, has announced that he will swim a 200 free time trial for a chance to earn a top 16 time and therefore make himself eligible for the Athlete Partnership Agreement, which would include a yearly stipedn worth $36,000 a year. That makes his goal time Ross Davenport’s 1:47.59. At US Nationals last year, he swam a best of 1:47.09.