The Week That Was: Queens Wins Fifth Straight NCAA Division II Championship

Photo Courtesy: Queens Athletics

This was another big week, with a few high level doping cases evolving, an indictment of one of water polo’s biggest coaches, and records dropping at the Division II national championships. Catch up on the biggest stories of the week below in the week that was!

The Week That Was #5 – Kira Toussaint Has FINA Doping Case Dropped

Photo Courtesy: David Farr

Dutch swimmer Kira Toussaint has her FINA suspension overturned this week. Toussaint had been suspended since November, after testing positive for Tulobuterol during the FINA World Cup in Beijing. That caused her to missing the FINA Short Course World Championships in China. The test result was declared a false positive due to a medication that the swimmer used that was permissible. Toussaint steadfastly denied any wrongdoing throughout the process, saying she had never used Tulobuterol. In a statement, Toussaint said she was disappointed in how the process played out given the fact that WADA and FINA knew of the medication that caused the false positive, but that she is excited to be able to put the episode behind her.

The Week That Was #4 – WADA Will Challenge FINA Decision To Let Sun Yang Compete

Photo Courtesy: David E. Klutho-USA TODAY Sports

Three-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder Sun Yang will be facing a possible lifetime ban again after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has elected to challenge FINA’s ruling to let Sun compete after an incident during a drug test back in September. Sun allegedly smashed a vial of blood with a hammer during the incident, threatening the drug testers. While FINA cleared Sun of any wrongdoing, WADA “ didn’t feel a warning was sufficient for Sun after the bizarre incident during a routine out-of-competition test at his home in China in November. The case will now go to the Court for Arbitration of Sport (CAS) and could lead to a possible competition ban.

The Week That Was #3 – Olympic Gold Medalist Kosuke Hagino Withdraws From Japanese Nationals

Photo Courtesy: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

2016 Olympic gold medalist Kosuke Hagino of Japan revealed last Friday that he will be pulling out of the upcoming Japanese National Championships in April. In a post on his social media accounts, Hagino acknowledged a “lack of hunger” and “concerns about his appetite for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.” Hagino cited his lack of top-level performances since winning the 400 IM at the Rio Olympics as a reason for waning motivation. Since winning gold in 2016, Hagino has finished sixth at the 2017 World Championships and was the silver medalist at the 2018 Asian Games. While he has not officially retired, missing the National Championships means he will not be able to earn a spot on the 2019 World Championships roster for Japan.

The Week That Was #2 – Jovan Vavic Fired From USC Following “Operation Varsity Blues”

Photo Courtesy: USC Athletics

One of water polo’s most well-known figures, USC Water Polo Coach Jovan Vavic, was fired this week after his involvement in a nation-wide college admissions scandal. Vavic was arrested as part of a massive indictment known as “Operation Varsity Blues” that involved more than 60 federal agents and as many as 50 defendants. Vavic was arrested in Hawaii, as the No. 1 USC Water Polo team was scheduled to play the University of Hawaii. The 15-time coach of the year was subsequently fired by USC along with Associate Athletic Director Donna Heinel. It is alleged that Vavic received over $250,000 to fabricate admissions materials for potential applicants, in coordination with Heinel, to aid in the admissions process. You can read the full indictment from the US Attorney’s office here.

The Week That Was #1 – Queens Dominates NCAA Division II Championships, Wins Fifth Straight Championship

Photo Courtesy: Queens Athletics

Queens absolutely dominated the Division II NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, with both the men and women winning their fifth straight championship title. The women won by more than double the points of runner-up Drury, with the men nearly doing the same thing to runner-up Delta State. A total of 11 NCAA records came down the week. Queens senior Marius Kusch was responsible for four of those records, taking down record in the 100 fly (44.32), 100 back (45.09), 100 free (41.73), and as part of the 400 free relay (2:49.98). Fellow Queens senior Polina Lapshina also had a record-breaking weekend, taking down four NCAA record in the 100 fly (52.16), 100 back (52.07), and 100 free (48.16) as well as part of Queens 400 medley relay. At the conclusion of the meet Kusch won his third straight swimmer of the meet honor, while Lapshina won the same award on the women’s side, the first for a Queens female since 2016. You can see the full results and recaps of the meet here.

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Pat Bains

5 years ago

I was there at the meet. And yes my daughter swims for Queen’s. But in all my years of both participating and watching sports, (over 45 years) I have NEVER seen such domination against other teams. I have seen blowouts of course where one team slaughters another team in a game or match. But I have never seen it day in and out for four straight days of swimming! In almost every event, both men’s and women’s swimmers crushed the competition. In the women’s 200 back Queens placed the top 5 Swimmers out of eight places! Jeff has built a TEAM to the truest sense. They support and cheer and cry and battle for each other and I really think that is a huge difference! We were just awed in disbelief as they won one event after another and set so many National and school records and best swims! GREAT JOB Queen’s! GREAT JOB!!!