The Long Course National Championships are being held in Woodlands, Texas from Aug 10-13 with almost 1000 competitors.  Our lone teammate Jim Matysek is competing each of 4 Days.

Day 1 began with the 400 m Free, one of Jim's signature events.  His finish time was 4:54.97, less than 0.6 seconds off his seed time; he placed 12th.  His second event, in contrast, was the 50 m Breast, an event he swims faster than my freestyle.  Jim's time was :34.78, less than 0.4 seconds off his seed time and placing 3rd.  Hopefully this doesn't mean he is becoming a sprinter!

Day 2 Jim only had one event the 100 Breast.  This is a long sprint, although 'sprint' and 'breaststroke' are terms that do not go together in my world.  Jim had another pinpoint time of 1:16.86, placing 2nd and missing his seed time by only .55 seconds.

Day 3 was a busy day for Jim with both the 400 IM and the 200 Breast.  The 400 IM is a grueling event which is supposed to favor swimmers with a strong breaststroke.  The thoughts of that third breaststroke hundred, however, doesn't make that first 100 fly easy.  Jim again had a great time of 5:46.50, placing 6th.  Jim's second event, the 200 Breast, may be his best.  I bet he was breathless at the end of this one!  Jim swam another pinpoint time of 2:50.47 for another excellent 2nd place finish.  Rest up for tomorrow, Jim!

Monday was Jim's final event, the 1500 Free.  The 1500 was preceeded by 30 heats of 800 Free, with the slowest heat lasting almost 30 minutes.  Then there were 15 heats of 1500, the first lasting almost 45 minutes.  This event was seeded slow to fast, Jim was in heat 13 of 15.  Jim could have slept all day and still made his race. He must have swum about 6 pm,  dinner time.  Hmmmm... burger/fries/beer(s) or swim a 1500?  You could write a novel during a 1500; well, a short story anyway.  Jim swam his race in 20:24.75 and placed 9th.  Overall, Jim had a great meet with two 2nd and a 3rd place finish with his remaining events scoring in the top 12.  Hopefully he did not set off any 'medal' detectors on the way home! Congratulations Jim!

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