Author: rokur

The FINA Doping Panel has suspended Brazilia’s Rebeca Gusmao for two years, ack to a doping test from July 13, 2007 at the Pan American Games held in Rio de Janeiro.

Sources: SwimNews and SwimInfo

According to the Los Angeles Times, TYR has decided to sue Speedo, USA Swimming and Mark Schubert for having “combined to engage in a campaign of falsely disparaging the products of Speedo’s competitors, including TYR, for the purpose of inducing competitive swimmers to refrain from doing business with Speedo’s competitors”. And American swimmer Eric Vendt for breach of contract. See also SwimNews

It is whether you use them and push their limits of endurance and strength. Build and maintain endurance by engaging in exercises that pump blood to the muscles, and strength by lifting weights, focusing on antigravity muscles (back, legs) and arms. Swimming can help with at least endurance and arm strength :-)

Source: The New York Times

Flash news on SwimInfo: Arizona State University has cut men’s swimming according to a press release sent out by the University.

37 year old Jason Cull saw a dark shape approaching as he swam about 80 meters off the popular Middleton beach in Western Australia on Saturday. “I just remember being dragged backwards underwater. I felt along it, I found its eye and I poked it in the eye, and that’s when it let go.”

Source: AFP. Photo courtesy of Spojeni

There is not a single 2008 entry in the official lists, even though 41 world records have fallen so far this year and these new better times are listed in the official FINA ranking lists. It cannot be because the records are pending FINA approval, since the individual FINA record pages state that an asterisk (*) would be used for this purpose.

Brazilian Rebeca Gusmao has been cleared on first of three charges of doping, but the next two cases are expected to be more tricky for her.

Read: SwimNews

Unflattering post-race pictures of Hackett had people guessing about his form last Sunday, but already on Wednesday he turned up in fine form again at the pool in Melbourne. Turns out that his pot belly was only because of distance swimming in saline waters.

See also: SwimInfo

Dutchman Maarten van der Weijden won the men’s 25km open water world title today with the time of 5 hours 4 minutes 1.1 seconds, just 5 tenths of a second ahead of USA’s Mark Warkentin. Great swimming by the 27 year old, who in March 2001 was diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukaemia, and given only a slight chance of survival.

Source: SwimNews

The International Olympic Committee has decided to ban any kind of political protest at the upcoming Olympic Games in Bejing, including waving the Tibet flag, paying tribute to the Dalai Lama, or any other kind of “look, external appearance, clothing, gestures, and written or oral statements.”

Source: The Associated Press