HUMAN-POWERD SUB SETS SPEED RECORD

The Olympics may be in London, but in Gosport, some 80 miles away on the south coast of England, another international competition unfolded for the fastest human-powered submarine.

The inaugural European International Submarine Races (eISR) were held on June 25-39 at Qinetiq, the former Royal Navy's testing facility in Gosport. Teams of students from around the world showed off their designs for a submarine powered entirely by human muscle. No energy storage was allowed -- no batteries, flywheels or motor assists.

The winner was the Omer 8 (above), from the Ecole de Technologie Superieure of Montreal, Quebec. It hit a speed of 7.03 knots (8.08 mph) over a 13-meter section of the course. In second place was the Talon 1, from Florida Atlantic University, and the University of Bath's Minerva was in third.