FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Day Four - Friday, March 16

The rest of the team arrived today, so all 14 divers are here in Melbourne now. They got in a little before noon, just in time to have lunch and unpack before heading over to the pool at 2 p.m. for the first workout of the day (the divers who have been here all week had the morning off).

Our team liaison, Monica, gave the first group of divers little stuffed koalas the first day we got here, and she did the same for the newcomers today. Monica has been a big help all week, and everyone absolutely loved the koalas. But, Jevon and Chris found out Thursday night that they can be rather dangerous animals. A few people heard some screams coming from their room, and when they went to find out what was going on, they discovered the koalas were attacking Chris and Jevon. It was caught on tape, and Laura and Mitch have downloaded the footage to their websites, so if you’re interested in seeing it, click here or here.

After hearing of the dangers of the koalas, the new arrivals were also advised to try to stay up until 9 or 10, if at all possible, in order to help ease the jet lag. Even though you're extremely tired after traveling for so long, staying up really did help that second day here.

Meanwhile, Laura, Troy and Mitch (who were elected team captains today) went back to the pool for an evening workout on Friday. Since the finals will be held at night, they wanted to get a chance to experience the pool after dark (there are windows behind some of the stands, so it’s a little darker in the pool at night).

By the time the six of us (Kenny, Bob and I also went to the workout) got back to the hotel, they had closed down the room where we’ve been eating all week. We went downstairs and had dinner there. Laura decided Mitch, Bob and I had to try some vegemite since we’d never had it before and you can’t go to Australia and not try it. But, I highly doubt any of us will ever have any again … it was not a pleasant taste at all!

- Jen Lowery