timtufuga's Journal in March 2007
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March 2007
Cullen Jones loses world crown by 4 hundrenth of a second and comes second.The top three podium finishers in the fifty metre freestyle sprint did a sub 22 second dash. More importantly Cullen Jones records 21.94 seconds and is pipped to the line to come second in the world championship swimming. He becomes the runner-up to the world champion and fellow American sprinter for the fifty metre freestyle.
 Although, Cullen Jones has already earned a gold medal for the 4x100 metres, it is the individual glory that matters most, this would only come through the fifty metre freestyle sprint. The title of world champion would elude Cullen Jones this time denying this Afro-American the glory and honour of being the first ever coloured world champion in an individual event for yet another world championship. This honour will, perhaps, be given to someone else and not to Cullen Jones.
There is a coloured world champion lurking somewhere in the Bronx and, perhaps, he or she is playing basketball, and yet this person will be denied his or her opportunity due to socio-economic circumstances, and, aboveall, due to the colour of their skin.
Inspite, Cullen Jones' s failure to become the world champion in the fifty metre freestyle, Cullen Jones has already earned the R.E.S.P.E.C.T from the swimming fraternity throughout the world.
Well done, Mr. Cullen Jones, and congratulations on becoming runner-up world champion in the freestyle sprint.
Tim Tufuga
A cross-cultural swimming fan from Brisbane.
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Cullen Jones an inspiration for cultural diversity in swimming. I can only see one standout swimmer in the 12th FINA World Swimming Champioship being held in the Susie O'Neil Swimming complex within the Rod Laver tennis Arena, in Melbourne, during this week. He is, of course, the only AFRO-AMERICAN competing in the 50 metre sprint freestye event, Cullen Jones, he has just bet the worlds best sprinters in the 50 metre dash in a 22 second flat time for his Semi-final qualifier into tonights final. Included in his wake were Australia's best sprinters both Eamon Sullivan and Callas who made it into tonights final and are not likely to beat Cullen Jones.
Tonights 50 metres freestyle final, scheduled for 7pm AEST on the 31st March, 2007, will see Cullen Jones versus the worlds very best 50 metre sprinters, Cullen Jones will most likely become the first ever coloured swimmer to stand in a podium finish. More importantly, Cullen Jones, will most likely become the very first of many coloured swimmers who have yet to come and to challenge the world in swimming and one day will become a world champion in the pool in the near future. As for Polynesians and Melanesians who will one day afford Olympic size swimming pools, and the nutritional and technical suppport and the coaching expertise, they too will one day realise their own home grown Cullen Jones in the making. Samoan and other Polynesian triathletes may be inspired by this racial glass ceiling finally being irretrievably shattered by the likes of Cullen Jones. Be watching the World Championship swimming tonight on Channel Nine, Brisbane time, at 1610, and 1900, AEST time. PS. The Australian Ironman is on tomorrow without me participating because I was doing the Mooloolaba Triathlon, wasn't that a blowout, pun intended!!! No Samoans will be competing because I was the only one. Many Maoris though too many to mention. Go CULLEN JONES!!!!! |
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I am presently on hiatus from triathlons, since my season is now over. Other triathletes have the Australian Ironman to do and the Raby Bay sprint series to complete their seasons in April, 2007. I might feel the motivated to return to ironman qualification by November in Port Macquarie in order to qualify for the Australian Ironman, in 2008. Unfortunately, equipment costs and applying cost benefit analysis for this sport seems to me to be very regressive indeed. Especially considering the value of competing in this sport that does not give a promising investment financial return for most age groupers, who are at the middle to tailenders in their respective categories. What seems even more disconcerting is the inadvertant foul players who may acquire selective targets doing this sport by doing their bikes, and disrupting pre-race preps for various triathletes, in order to deter them from competing well and fairly, which I would personally consider as a very low blow and an overt display of very poor sportsmanship. I do not represent any country in this sport of triathlons since I entered this sport out of my own volition and it is a sport of choice. I paid for everything involved in competing in this sport without any sponsorship apart from any assistance my sister can offer me or through discounts as offered from my triathlon club for triathlon related equiment. I paid for everything out of my own personal expense. It is therefore considered an outrage when someone disables my bike computer and tampers with my bike through my wheels, brakes (calipers) and tyres and tyre tubes which has pobviously hampered the effectiveness of my performance during the Mooloolaba triathlon last weekend. As a consequence I was adequately deterred from doing future triathlons since I can not see who the enemy is and for what reason I was being taught a lesson. Since the triathlon I have not had a single PUNCTURE in either of my tyres which is really strange indeed. It is a miracle!!!! what is even more of a miracle is how on earth did my tyre tubes puncture??? My bike computer is permanently out of action which really did do me during the bike leg because I had no idea of what cadence and cruising speed I was suppossed to go and I lost my rythym and, I suppose, the plot, during the bike leg which really enraged me to no end!!!! I was cursing myself to the end of the bike leg as I saw people riding past me so easily with my legs going to jelly nearing the dismount. I did over 1 hour 17 minutes on my bike leg, I had anticipated seventeen minutes faster with just a tad over 60 minutes for the 40km. I was bitterly disappointed with my bike ride. My swim was 27minutes for 1.5km, which is a little faster than stunned jelly fish washed to shore, but, I am a lot faster than most casual swimmers but perhaps not for a seasoned triathlete. My swimming shorts had a tear and I had collected water and sand in my thigh which I found out later when inspecting my cycling shorts, when I was sitting at the Greyhound bus terminal, in Maroochydore, and waiting for my coach ride back to Brisbane. I wondered how this collection of water and sand would have affected my speed in the water? I probably only lost a couple of minutes only at most. Still, I would have swam faster still. Doing over an hour on the 10km road run is the biggest joke of all. When I was training, I would have done the 10km in less than 40 minutes. I had anticipated doing around 42minutes, or faster, for an easy run course in Mooloolaba but after a very hard bike ride, my legs were shot to bits and it took me an hour to run 10km. This is definately not a racial issue because the stereotypes would suggest that running would be my best event. NOPE!!! It is hiatus for a week or so then it is running and some more swimming and some more bike rides for an off season and off peak maintenance regime. Watch out for high cholesterol foods and more fibre for the off season diet. The marathons and 10km road runs just around the corner folks. Check out the best running shoes for best fit otherwise you will suffer severely on the road as I have. Triathlon season will be on again in August onwards. |
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Oops!! The washing machine had triggered the safety switch which only turned off the electric section of part of the house which included the power point where the machine was connected to. I just simply had to swtich the fuse switch back on after the laundry room was dry. My sister's computer has a virus or a trojan which disabled her internet connections. I had to simply go into the internet connections and tinkered with the 'thinga-a-bob', and 'Bobs-your-uncle', it is up and running again. Mr. Murphy and his laws can call again some other time, not this evening at least. Reprieve from the stress!!!! This is by far worse then coming last in the triathlon, at least, I had finished the damn event, when a week ago I could not even walk out of my bedroom due to my knee injury. Humbled Tim Tufuga |
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All quiet in the homefront I have just decided to quit triathlons when I did absolutely abysmally at the Mooloolaba Triathlon. what I found even more enraging was when I arrived at home safely I might add after cycling 12km after the triathlon event, I had carried all my gears on my back pack and cycled from Mooloolaba to the bus terminal in Maroochydore, I then boarded my Greyhound coach for Brisbane tired and completely depleted. I arrived in Roma Street and boarded my train southbound. I disembarked at Loganlea train station and cycled the rest of the way back to Crestmead, via Loganlea, Marsden and Browns Plains road, with all my triathlon gears on my back. Strangely enough I did not have a single puncture even though I was heavy ladened. The following day I had compiled my youtube video and published over the internet on http://youtube.com/timtufuga have a looksie. I had to upload it in the Marsden Library since both the home computer and the laptop have trojans and viruses kicking my butt. Now, today, Tuesday, 27th March, 2007, when I did my laundry my washing machine malfunctioned severely, like it is now completely stuffed. It is also strange as well that a Qbuild contractor would happen to knock on the door as I was wringing the wet washing and hanging it out on the line. I caught the white Australian service man as he was at my front door uninvited since it is customary for the Queensland government department to send a letter in advance prior to anyone being deployed to my house. There was water all over the floor from my washing machine and it was a prime danger zone for electrical misadventures at home to occur. It is a warzone here and everything is being set up to fail, malfunction and to cause some serious accidents around the household. Faulty electrical appliances always signals overt accidents to inadvertantly occur around the home. Luckily, it is all quiet in the homefront, no electrial faults and fire causing, or electrocution misadventures around the home for now, even if I did do so badly in the Mooloolaba Triathlon, in truth I was being vigilent since the threat made to me by a Jujitsu marial artist who had said that he would expect to meet me at the end of my triathlon. I arrived at the finishline and he was not there. By the way I will still be here for years to come, and I will pay for my washing machine repairs as well. I had bought this washing machine years ago, I just wondered why the back of my washing machine was already unscrewed when I went to inspect it. Danggg, conspiracy theories, let it roam, let it roam wild!!!! Ia manuia fo'i tatou mo lenei aso!!! Soifua Tim Tufuga
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