A slip of the finger from fire

So, you know those flames shooting off after a Finals heat? I learned something tonight - when you're close enough to hear the pilot lights start and begin to feel the heat you're within the slip of a finger from fire. And this is not stop, drop and roll. This is dive into the pool! I don't care how many fire extinguishers are available.


It was quite an experience tonight walking stroke on the lane 9 side inbetween the NBC camera and the flame boxes. I will be getting some photos of everything so you can see how close it is but let's just say I was a little nervous about my backside while standing at the 15 meter mark, especially when I heard the "click" of the pilot lights during the men's 50 free final.


The first night, if you were watching, the button pusher had a major fail. He set off the flames during the finals of the 400 IM. Accidentally. Thank goodness no one was in the line of fire.


Sad news - the Olympic Trials chairs are for the coaches of the Olympians. They get one chair for every athlete on the team. RATS! But good for them.


It's late and I'm tired. Here are some more pictures from tonight:

 Just some of the piping underneath the stands. 

The pools are filled with over 2 million gallons of water.

 This is looking toward the medal stand that rises from the floor.

It's somewhere down there.