Slater Trout, paddling his way towards a 2nd place finish at the SEA NY event.

It’s another big week for the swimming world!  The Pan Pacific Swim meet starts tomorrow and runs through the weekend.  Both Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin are representing the US and are using this meet and an important step in training for the 2012 Olympics.  Portions of the meet will be televised on Universal Sports if you want to cheer on Natalie and Michael from your living room.

H2O Audio Triathletes, Greg and Laura Bennett kicked off a month of racing in Europe with the ITU Kitzbuehel race this past weekend.  Laura turned in a very strong performance finishing 8th while Greg finished 25th, not bad for his first race post illness.  We’re always so proud of our favorite triathlete couple!

And finally, H2O Audio paddler Slater Trout finished the 28 mile paddle around Manhattan last weekend in 2nd place.  High winds, crazy tides and boat traffic were just a few obstacles in the S.E.A Paddle NYC fund raising race for Autism.  Always the competitor, Slater blames his second place finish on a “tactical error”.  You can read more about the race in his blog.  Over-all more than $260,000 was raised for Autism through this event.

Check out this amazing video from Team H2O Audio Stand Up Paddler Chuck Patterson!  In his own words:

“The day before I shot this video, I was SUP surfing with a couple friends and 2 sharks circled us for about 15 minutes.  The next day, I decided to go back out at around the same time and take my GO PRO HD camera mounted on a 10 ft pole and do some exploring.  Sure enough within 5 minutes a 9 ft shark came out of no where and circled twice and slapped his tail on my board before disappearing. Then a minute later a 7 ft young juvenile Great White swam circles around me for 12 minutes.”

Typical of Chuck to speak of this indecent so nonchalantly.   Do ya think he was listening to the Jaws soundtrack on his H2O Audio waterproof headphones when this happened?  Maybe something calming would be a better option…but regardless, we’re glad you’re safe and have all your limbs Chuck!

After a busy month for Team H2O Audio, things are amazingly quiet on the competition circuit this weekend.  Hopefully everyone well get some much needed rest and downtime.

But while H2O Audio athletes will be resting, the surfing world is gearing up for one of the biggest events of the year.  The U.S. Open of Surfing hits Huntington Beach, California this weekend.  Because of the structure of this event, one of the only surfing completions with a full set of spectator bleachers on the beach and pier, it’s known as the “Super Bowl” of surfing.  For a surf fan it’s just about the closest you can get to live surfing action without being in the water.  With various concerts, fashion shows and BMX and skateboarding exhibitions throughout the weekend, the US Open of Surfing is definitely one of the flagship action sports events in the world.

And speaking of surfing, the Natural Resources Defense Council released this week the results of it’s ocean quality survey of America’s beaches.   With a full report and interactive map, you can find out if you’re swimming in sludge or clear waters.

Looking ahead to next week, it’s a big one for swimmers.  The US Nationals of Swimming starts Tuesday in Irvine, California.  This meet is an important part of training for Olympic bound swimmers like Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin, so you can be sure we’ll keep you up-to-date on the action.

Have a good weekend and we’ll see you in the water!

Laura Bennett crosses the finish line for a 5th place finish in London

Big competitions this weekend for Team H2O Audio!

Starting last Friday, we got the pleasure of seeing Slater Trout race live in our backyard.  He took first place in the Junior Lifeguards Regionals in the Paddle Rescue and Paddle Relay race.  It was great to be able to see him do his thing in person!

Then over to London where Laura Bennett battled against the top female triathletes in the world to finish 5th at the Dextro Energy World Championship Triathlon Series in Hyde Park.

And finally in Hawaii, the legendary Molokai to Oahu paddle race took place on Sunday.  Dave Kalama took first in the Stand Up Paddle division while Jamie Mitchell was the winner in prone paddle.  Also, Team H2O Audio member Mikey Cote finished strong in 4th in the standard paddleboard division.

Job well done Team H2O!  Keep up the good work.

Craig Alexander crosses the finish line at Racine with his daughter.

This past weekend was big for H2O Audio Triathletes!

Craig Alexander added another first place finish to his list of accomplishments at the Racine Tri in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Laura Bennett finished in the top 10 at the ITU event in Hamburg, Germany.  The top of the pack was separated by mere seconds, with Laura finishing 7th.  And sadly, Greg Bennett is still not back to fully healthy, mentioning on Twitter that he spent time in a New York City hospital this weekend.   We’re sending healing thoughts your way Greg!