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.

Team H2O Audio was on the competition circuit this weekend!

Ironman Craig Alexander repeated as the Boise 70.3 champ in a close victory just 10 seconds in front of second place finisher Ben Hoffman.  And while both Greg and Laura Bennett were scheduled to race at the Hy-vee triathlon in Iowa, Greg had to withdraw due to illness.  But, Laura still raced strong finishing 6th amongst the tough female competitors.

For the swimmers, while Natalie Coughlin was making the trip home from the Mare Nostrum swim series in Europe, Michael Phelps was racing close to home in the North Baltimore Long Course Championships.  Just coming off three weeks of training at altitude in Colorado, Phelps took 1st in both the 100 breast and 100 fly.

An important race in the Stand Up Paddle world, the Gerry Lopez Battle of the Paddle hosted over 600 of the worlds top competitors in Honolulu over the weekend.  Our own Slater Trout put up a solid fight to finish 7th.  He details the play-by-play of the big race in his latest blog posting.

This is just the start of the competition season for team H2O Audio, keep checking back every Tuesday for the latest standings.

Win these headphones today!

Team H2O Audio Triathlete Craig Alexander cruised to victory at the Rev3 Triathlon in Quassy this weekend.  Known as a hilly and tough course, Crowie said he was up for the challenge, and he delivered amongst a field of tough competitors.  Also, recently Crowie talked to TriZone about training, diet and his focus for this racing season.

Natalie Coughlin has been twittering updates from her travels to the Mare Nostrum event in Monte Carlo this week.  The series moves to Barcelona starting tomorrow and Swimming World.com has all the coverage.

Today on Michael Phelps Facebook page, suggest new songs to keep him motivated at training camp, and have a change at a free pair of Surge Waterproof Sport Headphones!

Natalie and Michael on their performances in Charlotte, Greg Bennett’s big announcement and outstanding performances from Team H2O Audio members.

After a second place finish in the 100 back at Charlotte, Phelps has announced that he will compete in the Paris Open in June, marking the first time he’s competed in France in nearly a decade.

H2O Audio Ambassador Triathlete, Greg Bennett made a big announcement yesterday.  He is officially released from racing for Triathlon Australia which means he’ll be working towards the Olympic games in London to compete for team USA.

“This is something that both Laura and I have discussed for many years and is not something we take lightly. It is a choice we have made together with the support of both our families and close friends. I still love Australia and would consider myself an “Australian- American”. The reason this decision has been made now is that Laura and I decided that one last journey towards the London 2012 Olympic Games would be a greater experience if we could do it along side each other. I will continue to focus my energies on the major races in the USA with the LTF series and the Ironman 70.3 World title but would love nothing more to make another Olympic Games along side Laura.” Said Greg in his press release yesterday.

In other competition news, over the weekend, Team H2O Audio Stand Up Paddler Slater Trout won the Elite Men’s Division of the Gulf Coast Stand Up Paddle Championships in St. Petersburg, and Team H2O Audio Surfer Dustin Fernandez was named Mens Longobard Hawaii State Champion.

All good news!  Looks like Team H2O Audio is ramping up to be a strong force this competition season.

Steve Bird and Jesse Phillips, Team H2O Audio Paddlers and members of the Australian Senior Sprint Kayak Team.

There’s tons to report this week, so lets get to it!

The Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix was this past weekend with both H2O Audio Ambassador swimmers taking to the pool.  Michael Phelps won the mens 200IM and Natalie Coughlin grabbed 1st in the 100 free.  With multiple Olympians in the water, it was a tough meet, you can check out a full report of the final results here.

SUP phenom Slater Trout traveled from Maui to Texas last week for the Austin Paddle Jam and a quick lesson in SUP 101 at the REI store in Austin.  Read his blog post for more details and photos from his travels.

In more paddle news, Chip Bock took 2nd place at the Key West Classic 12 miler on Saturday despite 30mph hour winds and bumpy conditions.  Also, Australian Olympic Team hopefuls Steve Bird and Jesse Phillips took 1st at the National Championships, earning them a place on the Australian Senior Sprint Kayak Team.  See Jesse and Steve in their final race here.