Heading into the holidays, things are understandably quiet with Team H2O Audio.

Michael Phelps was scheduled to compete this past weekend in the Minnesota Grand Prix, but scratched siting no specific reason.

Natalie Coughlin is back from Italy and back to her training regiment.

Greg and Laura Bennett are chasing an endless summer and head back to Noosa, Australia in a few days.

And youngest team member Slater Trout continues to go to school, work on his driving skills and of course, paddle, paddle, paddle!

So now you’re up-to-date!  Keep checking back every Tuesday for the latest news from H2O Audio Ambassador athletes.

The Natalie-Coughlin-Eye-View of the competition pool in Bolzano, Italy.

It’s Tuesday, so it’s time to check in on what Team H2O Audio is up to:

Michael Phelps is gearing up to jump back into the competition pool this weekend at the kick-off event to the USA Swimming Grand Prix Meet Series in Minneapolis.  This is the first meet in a series of seven that runs into June, 2011.

Natalie Coughlin has been on the road and in the pool abroad.  Currently she is finishing up an International meet in Bolzano, Italy.  In between spending time with the Speedo Italy team, she posted good times in the 100 free, 100 IM and 100 fly.

Greg and Laura Bennett are getting back into training after a short break and Greg will soon be an official US citizen!  Today he tweeted that this afternoon will be his official swearing in ceremony.  Watch out US men, Greg Bennett is going for the 2012 Olympic USA triathlon team!

And last but certainly not least, Slater Trout and his family are settling back into home on Maui, Hawaii.  Nearly 16 years old, Slater recently used some of his prize winnings to buy himself a truck and also posted about helping to raise money for his old elementary school.

Dana Vollmer, Rebecca Soni, Jessica Hardy, and Natalie Coughlin, from left, pose after winning the women's 4x100-meter medley relay final at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships

It was another HUGE weekend for H2O Audio swimmers!

The Pan Pacific Championships brought the best swimmers from Australia, Japan, Canada, the US and more to Irvine, California to compete.  Both Natalie Coughlin and Michael Phelps turned in amazing swims with Natalie taking first in the 100 back and 100 free, while sharing first place finishes with fellow Team USA swimmers in the 100 free relay and 100 medley relay.  Michael Phelps took his usual first place spot in the 100 and 200 fly, and also shared victory with his Team USA counterparts in the 100 and 200 free relays and the 100 medley relay.  So, a very successful event for Team H2O Audio swimmers!  You can find full results and coverage of the meet here.

Also this past weekend, Team H2O Audio triathletes Greg and Laura Bennett continue their month of competing in Europe with the Lausanne ITU Elite Sprint Triathlon World Championships. The Bennetts were not expecting this to be one of their bigger races this season and Greg was happy with his 25th place finish.  While Laura woke up on competition day not feeling well and much to her disappointment, had to skip the race.

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.

Natalie Coughlin attacking the backstroke.

There’s been so much coverage of the US Nationals swim meet this past week, that it’s hard to pull it all together, but one thing is for certain, both H2O Audio Ambassador Swimmers Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin turned in great performances.  Both swimmers were named to the team that will represent the US at the Pan Pac Swim Meet at the end of the month.

Natalie finished first in the 100 back and was overall very happy with how the meet went.  This was the most important meet she’s competed in since Beijing and she was glad to find out her training has put her right on track for the Olympics in London, 2012.

Michael, while finishing first in the 100 free and 100 and 200 fly, wasn’t as happy with his performances.  He’s qualified for the Pan Pac team, but admits that he’s not racing the way he’d hoped at this point in his training.  However, he’s always said that he uses, what he considers poor performance, to motivate his training.

All in all, a successful meet for Team H2O Audio, and we loved seeing so much coverage of the swimming world!