After months of speculation about her future, Jodie Henry announced her decision to retire from competitive swimming on September 30.

Henry, who is 25 years old, enjoyed a relatively brief but fruitful career and will be fondly remembered as one of the most gifted and successful female athletes Australia has produced in the past ten years.

Henry began her competitive swimming career when she was 14.

Competing in the 1997 Commonwealth Youth Games held in Edinburgh, Henry won a total of five gold medals.

Her career continued to blossom at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games where she won the women’s 100 metre freestyle event.

Henry was also a member of the team who won both the 4×100m freestyle relay and the 4×100m medley relay.

Her greatest achievement in the pool was at the 2004 Athens Olympics, where she won a total of three gold medals in the 100m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay.

Henry won each of these three events in world record time.

In recognition of her astonishing accomplishments in 2004 she was named Australian Swimmer of the Year and is one of only three women to receive such an honour.

Remarkably, Henry once held the Olympic, Commonwealth and World Championship crowns in the 100m freestyle.

She performed spectacularly at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, winning one gold and two silver medals.

And at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships in Melbourne, Henry’s star once again shone brightly as she won gold medals in the 4x100m freestyle and medley relay

Unfortunately, her career was halted by a pelvic injury which left her unable to represent Australia at the 2008 Beijing Olympics or the 2009 FINA World Championships.

Henry’s decision to retire comes hot on the heels of comments made by another Australian swimming starlet Libby Trickett indicating that she is considering retiring after she did not win a gold medal at the 2009 FINA Word Championships.

Article: © BLK1 2008-2009. All Rights Reserved.

The Queensland state swim team has carved out a piece of history by winning the inaugural State Team Short Course Championships in a decisive fashion.

Queensland came in at first place with a total of 2505 points, while New South Wales won second place, scoring 2346 points.

Third place was won by Victoria, with a total of 1515 points.

The 2009 State Team Short Course Championships took place at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra from the 19^th to the 21^st of September.

The Short Course Championships consisted of four sessions held over three days, with two session held on the 20^th of September.

A number of skins races were held as well as timed finals during this competition.

Queensland put in a commanding performance throughout all four sessions of the championships, and by the end of the first day of competition they had established a 56 point lead over New South Wales, who finished the first day in second place.

As well as winning the championships, Queensland won best performing female team for girls aged between 13-14 and 15-16.

Additionally, Queensland received awards for the best performing male team overall and the best performing female team overall.

Queensland was also presented with awards for best team performance based on points per swimmer and best team performance outright.

New South Wales received awards for best performing male team for boys aged between 14-15 and 16-17.

Kenneth To, a 17 year old from New South Wales, was one of the stars of the championships, accomplishing the remarkable feat of winning four events in a row on the last day of competition.

To won the 50 metre freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly in the boy’s 16-17 group on the 21^st of September.

To’s win in the 50 metre breaststroke was particularly thrilling, as he managed to defeat Queensland’s Nicholas Schafer by just 0.02 seconds.

More than 200 athletes aged between 13 to 17 from across the country took part in championships, which consisted of 76 races held in the short course format.

BLK1 Article:  JUSTIN MACDONALD  

> > SUBSCRIBE TO BLK1 ONLINE SWIMSUIT MAGAZINE TODAY AND VIEW LARGER IMAGES FROM PARTICULAR ARTICLES, READ MORE INFORMATION AND ENJOY OTHER BENEFITS FROM THIS MONTHS EDITION. PLEASE NOTE, IF NOTED IN THE ARTICLE THAT THIS ARTICLE IS A “PAY-PER-VIEW”, THEN YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A MONTHLY BLK1 SUBSCRIBER TO PAY AND ACCESS IMAGES.

Images and Article: © BLK1 2008-2009. All Rights Reserved.

The big news in swimming this week was sparked by the dwindling numbers of professional swimming coaches. On the back of a string of high profile retirements, the number of elite coaches in Brisbane has dropped from 13 to nine. Scott Volkers, the coach responsible for the swimming legends like Susie O’Neill and current head coach at the Queensland Academy of sport believes it all boils down to the leasing of public pools to large leisure companies. The poor funding and lack of resources available to coaches is resulting in fewer new faces emerging and aging coaches are either retiring or being snapped up by international programs. Previously, councils would lease pools to coaches who would earn revenue from swimming lessons, gate takings and the kiosk while devoting large amounts of time to the less-profitable art of coaching. Now companies like leisure operator Belgravia, which runs 11 aquatic centres in Queensland’s south east, are taking up the rights to pools. Volkers says high-performance coaching, which reaps rewards on an international scale but does little for the bottom line of pool operators, is often the first activity tobe pared back. As a result, professional swimming could become a sport of yester year, because without the high quality coaches, there will be no swimmers.

Actor Steve McFadden has credited swimming as his secret weapon in his war against weight. Steve, 50, will don a wetsuit to take part in the British Gas Great North Swim on Sunday, September 13. The challenge will see him making waves in Lake Windermere, Britain’s largest natural lake, with depths of up to 220ft. He is doing all this to raise money charity.

Erin McNaught takes the catwalk during the Miss Universe 2006 Preliminary Competition in Los Angeles

On a more social note, Erin McNaught isn’t letting her recent break-up with Braith Anasta cramp her style. Last weekend she was spotted with yet another sportsman – Eamon Sullivan. Confidential spies said the good looking pair were dominating the dance floor at Kings Cross nightclub Kit and Kaboodle on Friday night.

BLK1 Article: ALEX SHLEIBS Photographer HECTOR MATA

Images and Article: © BLK1 2008-2009. All Rights Reserved.

The pavilion at Rosemount Sydney Fashion Festival was standing room only. The crowd had been kept waiting a little under half an hour, and were welcomed by a cheeky television personality grabbing voice pops from the designers seated in the front row. Usually when the lights go out at a catwalk show, the tone in the room is very serious. This was not the case at the Summer Holiday session. Jokes about mankinis and male-kaftans were made and the crowd that had been kept waiting in the claustrophobic pavilion had been brought back down to earth.

Jets By Jessika Allen was the debut parade for the Summer holiday series. It was a surprise to see a shift away from the usual strong cuts and nautical looks of this swimwear label. Usually, Jets By Jessika Allen is famous for the classic nostalgia it brings back to swimwear- but this time on the catwalk, the Modern Muse Collection all but did away with this tradition. The cuts were a lot softer this season, many of the costumes featured frills and (very puzzlingly) some of the models were seen to carry clutches that were traditional to evening wear. After a few minutes of seeing what could be purchased at David Jones the room slid into silent darkness. Clever light-sound technology stimulated the feeling of a aeroplane landing just outside the hangar. This signalled the new arrival of the Jets Menswear collection, which had never been seen on runways before. The Jets Menswear collection was a bipolar opposite to Borat’s Mankini. The Jets Menswear is a collective of boy leg trunks and patterns which complimented this seasons women’s wear. In the end, the Jets range was all about the women. The clutches suddenly made sense when the kaftans were unveiled. The Kaftans of Jets by Jessika Allen could be easily mistaken as glamorous cocktail-wear, reminding the audience that while the label has grown to take monopoly of the hi-fashion swimwear market in Australia it is still focussed on feminine summertime splendour.

Flamingo Sands followed Jets. While Jets can be worn by all ages, Flamingo Sands is definitely a young label because of it’s bright and busy prints. The thin string bikini’s brought about memories of hot, humid days spent on the beach in Surfer’s Paradise.

As always, Camilla was the Kaftan Queen. Models were marched down the catwalk in flowing fabrics, posing just at the end in a flutter of colourful fabric, the likes of which drew a direct parallel to a butterfly. Prints on the fabrics were blended between palm leaves, tropical flowers and animal prints- with every kaftan showing a mixture of all these Summer conventions.

Kooey is a very Australian name for a swimwear label and the didgeridoo instrumental that started the display made it clear that they are damn proud of it. The Australian pride was carried strongly in the colours of the one-piece costumes which reflected the desert climate. A closer look on their website showed that they also stock the all-aussie rashie and female boardies. However, what was seen tonight on the Rosemount Sydney Fashion Festival was definitely glamorous and with the frills and hugging cuts, showed an influence taken from the Jets design.

For all of the five minutes White Sands were on the catwalk, the label showed that they were
able to re-invent themselves and the typical expectancies of swimwear to create a delightful collection for Summer 2009. The highlight of the White Sands show was the Southern Summer bikini print which displayed an embossed palm leaf against a solid-cut bikini and one-piece design. When palm leafs are thought of in the world of swimwear, they resemble a tacky plastic image that people try to look away from. White Sands managed to recreate this symbol to be something of intrigue and style.

Lenny was the last swimwear designer to showcase their wears on the Summer Holiday runway. It could be said that they were the most original. Instead of drawing inspiration from Goddess-like forms and divine Summer settings, the Lenny designers decided to focus on the Serpent and the colours of the earth and the water. Soft browns and cool blues showed the meeting of the water and the earth, while the scattered scales of the prints kept the serpent motif slithering strongly.

The Summer Holiday Display finished in a confusing manner. Models plodded to the end of the catwalk, to brief applause and then a Rosemount advertisement began to flood the aural atmosphere- but it was cut- the houselights then turned on and the crowed tent was left unsure whether to stand and leave the pavilion or whether each designer would send models out to gain a round of applause. Perhaps there was some kind of technical difficulty with the audio-visual order of things or perhaps the one-time showcases of each designer was all that was needed to leave the spectators in awe.

BLK1 Article: ELLEN CROSLEY BLK1 Photographer: www.petersollner.com

THIS ARTICLE IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO CURRENT BLK1 SUBSCRIBERS. CONTACT US FOR A QUOTE ON RELEASE OF IMAGES.

Images and Article: © BLK1 2008-2009. All Rights Reserved.

The Balmain Tigers competing on home soil

This week in Australian Waterpolo saw Australia bow out in the quarter final stages of the FINA junior women’s championship but the young-guns of the team lead from the front.

Australia qualified for the quarter-finals after a seven goal haul from Balmain Tigers player, Kayle Leathem, leading to a 28-4 victory over Kazakhstan, however the USA took the crown from the reigning champions winning 9-4.

Australian head coach Peter Szilagyi was unhappy with the poor start and said “The mentally, better-prepared American team deserved to win.”

Leathem wasn’t the only youngster to when earlier in the week, 16 year-old Ash Southern, dominated Australia’s opening game scoring four goals for an 11-9 win over Spain.
Australia will now face off against Canada for fifth spot.

BLK1 Article: ELIZABETH MCPHERSON BLK1 Photographer:ANTHONY PEARSE

> > SUBSCRIBE TO BLK1 ONLINE SWIMSUIT MAGAZINE TODAY AND VIEW LARGER IMAGES FROM PARTICULAR ARTICLES, READ MORE INFORMATION AND ENJOY OTHER BENEFITS FROM THIS MONTHS EDITION. PLEASE NOTE, IF NOTED IN THE ARTICLE THAT THIS ARTICLE IS A “PAY-PER-VIEW”, THEN YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A MONTHLY BLK1 SUBSCRIBER TO PAY AND ACCESS IMAGES.

Images and Article: © BLK1 2008-2009. All Rights Reserved.