Boring vs Dramatic (Gator Swimmers of the Week, #1)

There are races. And then there are RACES. If you've been a consumer of this Gator Blog for the past few years, then you may know that I like DRAMA in my swim races. I love to see a come from behind victory in a relay, especially at divisional or all-stars...remember this little bit of dramatic magic last year... Donovan Kovalsky's amazing anchor leg in the 11-12 Medley Relay at the Divisional Relay Carnival. You can't watch this thing enough:

I am also thrilled by the "outside smoke" of a lower seeded swimmer in lane 1 or 6 pulling out a victory. Or similarly, I am amazed by a swimmer from an early heat at All-Stars going so fast that no one in the final heat can top it and she wins the whole enchilada! (For those who don't read the blog all the way through until All-Stars, Sheridan Phalen did that last season... bam! All-Star Champion.)

What's the point of this introduction you may be asking? Well, as someone who thrives on the drama, I was decidedly disappointed by this week's Gator Swimmers of the Week. Their races really turned out downright boring to be honest with you.

Let's be honest, even Sam looks a little bored here, too.

Take, for example, Sam Bruce.  In the 9-10 Freestyle, he won by 3 full seconds. And then he topped that, and made the result even less dramatic in the Backstroke... which he won by 6 seconds! How did his 9-10 Medley Relay team do? Oh, they just won by 15 seconds. Okay, I'm sure he didn't have a cakewalk in the Mixed Age Relay, did he? They won by 8 seconds. In case you are slow on the math... let me help. That's four races and four wins for young Sam... winning by a combined total of 32 seconds. Boring.

And don't even get me started on Natalie Crowther with her 10 second victory in the 8 and under Breaststroke or her 11 second victory in the Fly. Really? That's a 25m Fly meter Fly we're talking about... and she won by 11! Her Medley Relay team? Oh, they also happened to win their race by 11 seconds. It should be noted that 8 & unders don't participate in the mixed age relays, so she couldn't add any further to her total victory margin. So, even without a fourth event, she ALSO had a total combined margin of victory of 32 seconds! Yawn.

Come on you two... I need drama! Maybe we should make these two swim up in a higher age group next week? Hmmmm.

Okay, okay... in all seriousness, what a great couple of performances in the pool by Sam and Natalie.  They each ended up undefeated on the day and were our top point earners, and accordingly named as Gator Swimmers of the Week.

Congrats you two and keep up the good work!

Bonus: Getting the Swimmer of the Week IN the Butterfly
Picture of the Week. #Winning