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!

Slater Trout adding another victory to the list.

Another busy weekend for team H2O Audio, with great performances and first place finishes.

Starting with the swimmers, Michael Phelps was competing close to home in the NBAC Mid Summer Classic where he nearly cleared his seasons best time in the 200 fly.  Natalie Coughlin also wasn’t far from home taking first place in the 100 back at the LA Grand Prix of Swimming.

In the Triathlon world, Craig Alexander took third a mere second behind the top two finishers, while Greg Bennett wasn’t far behind finishing 8th at the second event of the Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series in Minneapolis.

Also, paddling phenom Slater Trout, took a break from learning to drive with his new learners permit to grab a first place finish at the Hennessey’s US Championships in Redondo Beach California.  Aside from taking to the roads and winning trophies, he’s been spending his summer participating in Junior Lifeguards and working on his outrigger canoe paddling skills.

Find more pictures from Michael Phelps trip to Paris on his Facebook page.

H2O Audio’s own Michael Phelps competed in Paris over the weekend.  Although he won two out of the four events he entered, he as quoted as saying he was “furious” over his poor performance in the 200m and 100m freestyle.  About coming in 6th in the 100m freestyle Phelps said, “I’m disappointed but I know as well that it’s my fault.  I didn’t train exactly when I should have. We see the result this weekend. I hoped to be faster this weekend. There are a lot of things which could have been better.”  Michael is not discouraged however, and said he will use his anger over this performance as a motivator.

Also, recently posted to waterman Laird Hamilton’s site, more video footage from his trip to the gulf coast.  He and Gabby saw first hand the damage the oil spill has caused, and discusses the impact it’s had on marine life.

The women will be representing at the Molokai to Oahu Paddle Race

The swimmers and surfers have been dominating the Friday News for a while now, so this week, we’re starting off with Kiteboarding.

On the heels of the final day of the PKRA Kiteboarding World Cup in Cabarete, The KB4 Girls World Tour gathered the top female kiteboarders from the West Coast on Sherman Island for a day of impressive competition.  Gorgeous sunny weather and consistent wind made for great competition conditions.

In the Stand Up Paddle World, the Molokai to Oahu paddle race has closed registration.  The event is a month away, but already the contest is full.  Among the female competitors who will take on the grueling channel crossing is Jenny Kalmbach who recently crossed all of the channels of the Hawaiian islands with the help of her H2O Audio gear.  With so many H2O Audio athletes including Slater Trout, and past champion Mikey Cote competing in the M2O race, we’ll be sure to keep you up to date at the race approaches.

Natalie Coughlin did what she set out to do in Santa Clara.

Natalie Coughlin did what she came to do this past weekend at the Santa Clara Grand Prix of swimming.  Although her time for the 100 freestyle put her last in the field of 189 swimmers, her 50 split of 25.63 was what she was after.  That time will qualify her to compete in the upcoming U.S. National Championships.  Read more on the Santa Clara Grand Prix on Swimnetwork.com

H2O Audio Triathletes, Greg and Laura Bennett, were scheduled to compete this weekend in Philadelphia in the first of the Lifetime Fitness Series events, but have had to withdraw due to illness.  Just a pestering sinus infection, the Bennetts are planning on resting up and being back in top form to continue with their competition schedule.  Also, Ironman Craig Alexander is in the midst of competition season, check out a recent interview about his career future Ironman plans.

Waterman Laird Hamilton has always been vocal about ocean conservation and recently took a trip to the Gulf Coast to further aid efforts related to the BP Oil Spill and posted photos and videos on his blog.