Surfers on TV, swimmers back in the pool and kiteboarder magazine spreads, Team H2O Audio has been busy, so lets get to it!

H2O Audio Ambassadors Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama were recently featured on ABC’s Nightline, highlighting what they do best, surfing big El Nino swell.  Also, the big wave surfing team recently announced their involvement in the Third Annual Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Pipeline to a Cure event.  Hamilton and Kalama have been involved with this event since its inception and serve as honorary co-chairmen dedicated to spreading awareness of the benefits of surfing and saline for Cystic Fibrosis suffers.  This years event will be held on July 31st in Huntington Beach, California.

H2O Audio Swimmers Natalie Coughlin and Michael Phelps were both back in the competition pool this past weekend.  In Natalie’s first race since the Beijing Olympics, she finished 1st  in the 100 meter back at the Austin Grand Prix of Swimming.   A few states away, Michael set a personal best time in the 200 yard IM at the Maryland State Swimming Championships.  Both swimmers named these meets as an integral part of their training for the 2012 summer Olympics.

And finally, congratulations to Team H2O Audio kiteboarder Grant Hasselbach who grabbed a full page “Close Up” feature in The Kiteboarder Magazine.  Look for his article in newsstands now.

This Friday, the biggest news comes from the ocean and pool.

Surf: This El Nino season has brought no shortage of swell for big wave surfers.  Starting with The Eddie, then Mavericks and now massive surf for the Todos Santos big wave event in Mexico.  Hawaiian Mark Healey won the event by paddling into some of the biggest bombs this winter.  On to the ASP world tour, Taj Burrow defeated Kelly Slater and Jordy Smith to take home the first place prize at the Quicksilver Pro Gold Coast.  It was a tight final heat between Smith and Burrow, but Taj edged out a well deserved win.

Swim: Two of H2O Audio’s Ambassadors will be in the competition pool this weekend.  Natalie Coughlin already swam one of her qualifying events at the Austin Grand Prix of Swimming.  She finished first in the 100 fly, saying she was happy with her first competition swim since Beijing.  Michael Phelps will also be swimming for time this weekend at a local meet in Annapolis.  He is scheduled to swim the 400-meter individual medley, the 200 IM, the 200 butterfly and the 500 freestyle at the Maryland Swimming Championships.  Best of luck to them both!

Michael Phelps and Freestyle Skier Alexandre Bilodeau in Vancouver

If you haven’t already heard, H2O Audio Ambassador Craig Alexander was competing over the weekend and walked away with a first place finish at the Australian Long Course Triathlon Championships.  See what he had to say about the race and what’s next for him this competition season.

If you’ve been keeping up with Olympic coverage, then you probably know that H2O Audio Ambassador Michael Phelps has been enjoying his time in Vancouver.  He posted pictures from his visit on his Facebook page and also sat down with Bob Costas for a quick interview about his Olympic experience as a spectator and his plans for the 2010 Summer Olympic Games.

The snow storms that have been sweeping the country kept Michael Phelps from competing in the Missouri Grand Prix of swimming this past weekend.  He was forced to resign from the race due to being snowed in at home and posted this Friday on his Facebook page, “I can’t believe how much snow Baltimore is getting. Two of my trips have been canceled. It’s crazy, we are all stuck at home.”  The meet did continue on in Missouri without Phelps on hand, find race coverage and results here.

Also over the presidents day weekend, H2O Audio was happy to support the first Kiteboarding contest to take place in San Diego.  The first stop of the Collegiate Kiteboarding Association West Coast Tour landed in Mission Beach, just a few feet down the road from our offices on Saturday.  And, widely followed blogger, The Fat Cyclist, added some H2O Audio to his triathlon training, see what he had to say about swimming with the Interval on Sunday.

Team H2O Audio has been busy this past week!  With two first place wins and a series of videos, lets dive right in…

Triathlon: H2O Audio Ambassador Craig Alexander started his competition season early this year with a win in the Ironman 70.3 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia.  In a close race, he finished first with a time of 3:53:15.  Amazing!  Congratulations to Craig!

Stand Up Paddle: Young paddler and H2O Audio Ambassador Slater Trout also performed well this week as he sits in first place after the trials of the Stand Up World Tour Sunset Beach Pro in Hawaii.  The contest will continue this week, and we’ll be sure to update you on his progress.  Also, Slater joins fellow paddlers Dave Kalama and Chuck Patterson, each with their own SUP video shorts filled with tips and tricks for being the best paddler in the water.

Swim: H2O Audio Swimmer Michael Phelps will be back in the competition pool at the third stop of the USA Grand Prix, February 12 – 15th in Columbia, Missouri.  Fifteen of the members of 2008 U.S. National team will race with Phelps along with a host of international competitors from Japan, Austria, Britain, Mexico and more.  We wish him the best as he works his way towards the 2010 National Championships.