Aussie Skimmers

Last night we went to see the men of the Australian swimming team ploughing effortlessly up and down our local pool. They’re going to be training here for the next month.

We were lucky to see them in Townsville. Not just cos it was really convenient for us, but because they had a real Townsville sense of security and paranoia going on – basically, the guy at the pool gate just waved us and our camera through, plus anyone else who wanted to go and have a gander.

However it did seem to me like they have been mucking around with the water. They seem to have replaced all the regular pool water with some scientifically formulated substance that has no more resistance than air. It was amazing to watch. They swam at the same speed that we were walking beside the pool. When they dived in they travelled exactly the same speed over the water as under it, and even after they had stopped their strokes towards the end of each lap, they would still be propelled towards the wall at full pace.