Swimmer's Daily

  • Hyde Park presents the Egyptian swimmer Farida Osman supporting her in Tokyo Olympics 2020.

  • As Thrillist reports, Swimply is an Airbnb-like service that lets property owners rent out their empty pools by the hour to people desperate to take a dip in peace. Hourly rates are higher than what a day pass at your local public pool might cost you and most places have a one-hour minimum, but depending on what you’re looking for, you can find a pool that fit your needs. A quick search of the Los Angeles area brings up pools ranging from $25 to $150 an hour. The more luxurious options include hot tubs and saltwater pools, and some homeowners even offer backyard amenities like grills and fire pits. And if you don’t mind sharing the space, you can always invite some friends to tag along and split the cost.

    Read Mental Floss

  • This is a video from the researchers aboard the very cramped OceanX deep-sea submersible when they have a run-in with a large female bluntnose sixgill shark. Hey — it’s all fun and games until a shark starts gnawing through oxygen hoses and the rest of your life support system. Apparently bluntnose sixgill sharks can grow up to a very respectable 20-feet.

    See Geekologie

  • When she was a child, Jazmin Delfi and her family visited the Swann Memorial Fountain at Logan Square to swim.

    On Tuesday, she watched her son swim in the fountain, reflecting on her own childhood memories as a 6-year-old playing in the water.

    “That’s what [the fountain] is just known for,” said Delfi, a 25-year-old South Philadelphia resident.

    Despite the small crowd swimming on Tuesday, that activity is banned at the fountain, according to the city’s Parks and Recreation Department. A small sign hung near the fountain lists no swimming, in small letters, among a handful of other prohibited activities.

    Read The Philadelphia Inquirer

    Photo by ConspiracyofHappiness

  • Although the exact origins are unknown, it is widely believed that the unidentified young woman whose death mask fascinated hundreds and saved thousands, was likely a victim of suicide. The story says that her body was pulled out of the River Seine in the late 1880s and showed no signs of violence, thus the suicide claim. Considering the state of her skin and features, some specialists have estimated the girl’s age to be no greater than 16 years. The pathologist at the Paris Morgue was reportedly so fascinated by the female’s beauty, he made a wax death mask.

    The pathologist wasn’t the only person charmed by her calmness and beauty as numerous copies of the death mask were created, to the point where many Parisians kept it at home as a fashionable morbid fixture. Some people dwelled on the expression on the girl’s face. Famously, Albert Camus compared the girl’s smile to that of Mona Lisa’s, inviting many speculations about her status, circumstances, and death.

    The image spread widely through history, inspiring many art pieces, stories, and novels. Some historians and scholars even note that “The Unknown Woman of the Seine” was a fashion icon with women trying to model their looks on her.

    Peter Safar and Asmund Laerdal, the creators of the first aid mannequin Resusci Anne, chose the Seine woman’s death mask as the face of the CPR doll. As the mannequin was used for many CPR courses, “L’Inconnue de la Seine” has been dubbed “the most kissed face” of all time.

    Read Bored Panda

    https://youtu.be/cM52J_cM2AU

  • A 9-year-old Florida boy drowned in a creek Wednesday after he fell into deep water while on an outing with his mother, uncle and three other kids.

    Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister told Fox 13 the unidentified child was sitting on an embankment at Bullfrog Creek in Gibsonton, south of Tampa, when the adults swam across the creek, leaving the boy on the other side.

    “The nine-year-old child is on the side of the embankment, decides he wants to get in the water a little further,” Chronsiter told the station. “His mom begs him, ‘please, stay where you’re at, stay where you’re at, stay where you’re at.’”

    Investigators say the boy did not listen and fell into a part of the creek where the water is estimated to be between 10 and 12 feet deep.

    Source: Fox News

     

  • The Tokyo 2020 Olympics is only one year away and the organizing committee has unveiled the design of the medals. To produce these, a campaign was launched to get citizens in Japan to donate 78,985 tons of old electronic devices from which 66.8 pounds of gold, 9,039 pounds of silver, and 5,952 pounds of bronze were extracted. The medals will not be the only Tokyo 2020 gear that will be made from recycled materials. The victory ceremony podiums will be made from recycled plastic and the torchbearer uniforms will be partially made from plastic bottles.

    See Mashable

  • Now, we’ve all heard the stereotype that black folks can’t swim. But, unfortunately, that cliché is based in haunting truths.

    The numbers speak for themselves: 64 percent of black kids have no or low swimming ability, versus 45 percent of Latinx children and 40 percent of white kids.

    A 2014 study also found that black children between the ages of 5 and 19 were five and a half times more likely to drown in swimming pools than white kids of the same age.

    Here’s the thing: Black folks weren’t always thought to be non-swimmers.

    More on The Root

  • Although Allison Schmitt never officially retired, she decided to step away from competitive swimming for more than a year following the Olympic Games Rio 2016. A comeback didn’t seem likely for the four-time Olympic gold medalist as she adjusted to life away from the pool.

    Now 29 years old, Schmitt is back, and the three-time Olympian has more to prove.

    Schmitt continued her return from semi-retirement and made a strong case Thursday for why she could qualify for her fourth Olympics next summer. The Canton, Michigan, native held on to win the women’s 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:56.97 as the 2019 Phillips 66 National Championships continued in Stanford, California.

    See USA Swimming