I admin, a lame maybe even misleading title, but not entirely wrong. Sir Richard Branson has announced he will make five dives to the deepest parts of the Earth’s ocean using the specially designed DeepFlight Challenger submersible, able to endure the pressure of 1,000 atmospheres at depth, utilizing unique wings to “fly” underwater. And it is even in collaboration with Google, using their mapping system to chronicle the dives. The first dive, to the Mariana Trench, is scheduled for late 2011. Via Geekosystem, boingboing and Laughing Squid.
Author: rokur
rokur
Production engineer and certified swim coach. Full-time IT consultant, spare-time swimming aficionado. 2 sons, 2 daughters and a wife. President of the Faroe Islands Aquatics Federation. Likes to run :-)
The French-designed Platypus is a new and immensely practical two-person electric underwater exploration concept designed to travel for eight hours above the water at 10-12 knots (18.5-22.2 km/h), or below the water at 3-4 knots (5.5-7.5 km/h). Most importantly, it offers a safe and stable below-water platform that requires no operating equipment to be worn by the pilot or passenger other than masks because the pontoons contain an integrated compressor which supplies air via hoses. Read more here on gizmag.com
Fourth day of China nationals produced one Asian record and two more Chinese records, when Wang Chengxiang set an Asian and Chinese record with 4:11.89 in the men’s 400 IM, Sun Yang set a Chinese record with 1:44.99 in the men’s 200 freestyle, and Li Xuanxu set a Chinese record with 16:09.56 in the women’s 1500 freestyle. Read more on SwimNews.com and SwimmingWorld Magazine.
The director of the World Anti-Doping Agency David Howman suggests that the collection and testing of backup “B” samples should be scrapped in order to save time and money in the fight against performance-enhancing drugs. “People can go to jail on the basis of one bodily sample being collected, and sport really is on its own in collecting two samples.”
China’s Sun Yang swam an impressive 3:41.48 in the 400 freestyle, today at the Chinese national championships in Wuhan. Only Thorpe has ever been faster in textile, from when he back in 2002 swam 3:40.08 in his trademark long-sleeved suit. And Sun is now only 0.13 seconds from Zhang Lin’s Chinese and Asian record of 3:41.35, from the days of the supersuits in 2009. Read more here on SwimNews.com. And by the way, exciting prediction here on the Speed Endurance Swimming Blog: The big question now is how close Sun Yang can get to Grant Hackett’s iconic World Record in…
Even the small ones have teeth :-)
The story yesterday was accordingly to Gold Medal Mel, that “Aussie Swimmers set to rewrite history in sprint freestyle”, describing how scary fast the 100 meter semi final was at the Australian Championships, with Matt Target posting best time 48.66, and Matthew Abood following in 48.69. Teenagers outshine swimming favourite by tvnportal Well, today two 19-year-olds whipped the older guys in the final, James Magnussen winning in 48.29, and James Roberts coming second with a 48.72. Magnussen’s time is the second fastest ever by an Australian in textile. If I’m not mistaken, they get to swim the 100 freestyle individual…
Opinion on The ROAR … In case you might have not known, a huge event that will determine our national squad for a world championship has begun. Some of the best athletes in the world in this sport will take to a Sydney Sports Centre and most Australians wouldn’t have a clue. In case you don’t know what I’m talking about (you can be forgiven), the Australian Swimming Championships have begun. But thanks to the incompetence of Swimming Australia a few years ago, this event, once a huge part of Aussie sporting life, is off the radar. Read more here…
FINA has updated its Rules and Regulations for the FINA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup 2011 – 2013, drawing in particular attention to point 5.1 of Participation / Entries & Competition Format: 5.1 Entries: Entries will be accepted only from National FINA Member Federations which must also enter a coach for each respective swimmer. The role of the coach is to represent the swimmer at the Technical Meeting, coach the swimmer during the practice, and most importantly, feed the swimmer during the event. The FINA Technical Delegate together with the Chief Referee will accept entries and register only swimmers accompanied…
Kylie Palmer knocked out the national record in the women’s 200 free today at the Australian Long Course Nationals, in a touch-out triumph over now-former record holder Bronte Barratt, 1:55.73 to 1:55.74. Both swimmers eclipsed Barratt’s 2008 record of 1:56.60 also matched by Stephanie Rice in 2008. The quality was sky-high in Sydney, with Palmer and Barratt posting best and second best time this year, 4 other Aussies under 1:58, and all 8 finalists under 2 minutes. Via SwimmingWorld Magazine, results here.