Oceana's blog

The second and final night of the Classic @ SMU wrapped up much the same way it began: with the Texas All-Stars shattering meet and pool records, one after the other. The Mustangs had another great outing, winning second place in five events and qualifying for NCAA consideration in four events.

The 200 medley relay team of Pontus Renholm, Alex Hetland, Luka Vrtovec and Thomas Fadnes picked up a second-place finish and an NCAA consideration time of 1:28.18, kicking off the night for SMU. The Texas All-Stars finished the event in 1:26.77, setting a new meet and pool record. Renholm then turned around and swam the 200 back in 1:46.98, taking second-place and picking up NCAA consideration. Olympic gold medalist and Texas All-Star Aaron Peirsol picked up the win in the 200 back, setting a new pool and meet record of 1:39.78. Vrtovec won second in the 100 free, clocking a time of 44.32, just one second behind TAS Garrett Weber-Gale, but good for NCAA consideration. Wrapping up the evening, the Mustangs (Vrtovec, Fadnes, Shane Milu and Renholm) took second in the 200 free relay, touching in at 1:20.51, over three-tenths of a second inside the NCAA consideration cut. Meanwhile, the All-Stars set yet another pool and meet record, shaving three one-hundredths of a second off the previous record, finishing in 1:19.71.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Michael Phelps won a leading three Golden Goggles awards including male athlete of the year Sunday night when USA Swimming honored the year’s top American performers.

Phelps was nominated in three individual categories and for two relays in connection with his historic performance in March at the world championships in Melbourne, Australia. He won seven gold medals and broke four individual world records.

Phelps beat out Ryan Lochte and backstroker Aaron Peirsol for male athlete of the year. That trio was also nominated for male performance of the year, which Phelps won for his world-record 200-meter butterfly race in Melbourne. He lowered his own mark by 1.62 seconds, and finished in 1 minute, 52.09 seconds.

Aaron Peirsol, a Newport Harbor High product, will be on hand at a red-carpet event Sunday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

It’s the Golden Goggle awards, and Peirsol, the decorated U.S. Olympian swimmer, will be walking on that red carpet from 5-6 p.m., posing for photos and conducting interviews.

The event, hosted by Carson Daly, celebrates the accomplishments of the top American swimmers in 2007.

Peirsol, the world record holder in the 200-meter backstroke, is a nominee for Male Athlete of the Year.

Newport Harbor High product Aaron Peirsol is among the nominees for the 2007 Golden Goggle Awards, an event celebrating the accomplishments of top American swimmers.

Peirsol is nominated for 2007 Male Athlete of the Year, where he will be up against fellow world record-holders Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte. All three set individual world records this summer at the FINA World Championships.

Peirsol won the 100-meter backstroke at the world championships in Australia in March, lowering his own world-record time to finish in 52.98 seconds. It was his third straight time winning the event at Worlds and his eighth individual gold.

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- When Olympic champion Aaron Peirsol is swimming in the pool, he's thinking about the declining health of the world's oceans.

The 24-year-old backstroke champion is back home to raise awareness about the importance of saving the oceans at Saturday's Green Port Fest in Long Beach.
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"The oceans are more or less in disrepair," Peirsol told The Associated Press on Friday. "Long Beach really is making an effort to acknowledge this and that's a great place to start. I'm trying to spread at least the knowledge that it's never too early to take care of our oceans and our environment."

LONG BEACH - Over the years, Olympic swimmer Aaron Peirsol has noticed a major decline in Southern California's ocean water.

"We've started to see more red tides and closed beaches," said Peirsol, who got his start swimming and surfing near his hometown of Newport Beach. "The oceans today are in serious disrepair."

Peirsol won three gold medals in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and now holds the world record in the 100 backstroke and the 4x100 medley relay.

An advocate for ocean conservation, the swimmer spoke about ways to improve the world's oceans on Saturday at the Port of Long Beach's Green Port Fest.

Growing up in Newport Beach as a surfer, swimmer, and water polo player, Aaron Peirsol was certainly no stranger to the water. And while swimming pools never bothered him (he owns three Olympic gold medals and two world records), what he saw at some Southern California beaches left him a bit queasy.

“I remember going to Belmont Pool (in Long Beach) for swimming competitions, and it’s one of the nicest pools in the state,” says Peirsol, now 24 and training for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. “But the beach outside was polluted — brown water, garbage — and I thought there was something wrong with that. I thought that someday I might be in a position to make a change.”

Those interested in 21st century dockside operations, trains, ships, trucking, maritime culture or the environment are invited to visit the Port of Long Beach on Saturday for an annual festival showcasing the ins and outs of a working seaport.

The free event, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at port headquarters, 925 Harbor Plaza, includes field trips aboard boats and trains at locations around the harbor.

Billed as the "Green Port Fest," the event gives visitors an up-close look at port operations in the nation's busiest port complex, which, with neighboring L.A., handles nearly half of the country's foreign trade.

Newport Harbor alum Aaron Peirsol is using his fame as a three-time swimming Olympic gold medalist and world-record holder to bring attention to a different kind of water, one with no chlorine.

Peirsol will be at the Port of Long Beach’s Green Port Fest Saturday to adress ocean pollution. He’s hoping to recruit advocates and raise awareness about saving the ocean.

Peirsol is a spokesman for Oceana, the largest international organization dedicated to advocationg for ocean conservation. He launched a fundraising campaign for the cause on his website, www.racefortheoceans.org.

So far, Peirsol’s site has raised $45 towards its $10,000 goal.

The Port of Long Beach is hosting its annual "Green Port Festival" on Oct. 13 with an offer of freebies galore - including free boat tours, free train rides and, yes, free food.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the public gets a first-hand taste of how the massive seaport complex operates through a series of exhibits and hands-on experiences.

Boat tours of the harbor will be offered hourly, and attendees will also be offered a train ride aboard a cargo rail carrier.

Tours are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The port will also have cranes, trucks, containers, tractors and other heavy-duty equipment at dozens of interactive displays.