Swimmer's Daily

  • Olivia Smoliga delivered another gold for the US at the FINA World Championships 2019 in Gwangju, as she won the 50m backstroke dash in a fine race, out-touching the reigning champion Etiene Medeiros (BRA) 0.11sec.

  • Well, if one considered Michael Phelps’s shiny World Record in the 200m fly untouchable, then what about Cesar Cielo’s blast from Rome 2009, 46.91 in a full-body rubber suit which was a premium aide for the sprinters?

    Yesterday, Phelps’ mark was gone, while today Caeleb Dressel rocketed to an amazing win in the 100m free at the FINA World Championships 2019 in Gwangju and almost chased down the WR, clocking 46.96 – just 0.05 shy of the all-time best effort.

  • Matthew Wilson achieved a World Record at the FINA World Championships 2019 in Gwangju – though it was ‘just’ equalling one in the 200m breast semis. The Australian clocked the same time of Ippei Watanabe (JPN) from 2017, 2:06.67, but title-holder Anton Chupkov (RUS) was also close (0.16sec away) so a real showdown is due in the final on Friday.

  • Japan got its first gold at the FINA World Championships 2019 in Gwangju thanks to Daya Seto who staged a thrilling duel with European champion Jeremy Desplanches of Switzerland.

    The Japanese led from the 100m turn and managed to withstand the pressure from the Swiss while title-holder Chase Kalisz tried to gear up in the second half after having turned 7th but his late surge earned him only the bronze this time.

  • World Record Alert! Australia sets a new WR for the Women’s 4×200 Free Relay at the FINA World Championships 2019 in Gwangju with a time of 7:41:50.

  • Enjoy the highlights of day 13 at the FINA World Championships 2019 in Gwangju! #FINAGwangju2019

  • Jae Hyun Shim is a member of Minnesota’s Subversive Sirens synchronized swim team, which promotes black liberation, equity in swimming, queer visibility and “body positivity.” The team won the gold medal at the Gay Games in Paris last year and performed last month in New York for the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics Championships. Shim, a Korean American adoptee, identifies as queer and non-binary and prefers they/them pronouns. They spoke of how the group helped Shim feel proud of their identity and included in the sport.

    During water month, MPR News is bringing you the voices of three competitive swimmers of color. This is a project in collaboration with the Water Main.

  • The Tour de France is again embroiled in a debate over what cyclists put in their bodies after Dutch team Jumbo acknowledged they were using a dietary aid believed to boost stamina.

    The team responded to questions from Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf by saying they were using drinks based on a substance called ketones, which occur naturally in the body.

    Jumbo team manager Richard Plugge says the use of ketones is nothing unusual and is widespread among Tour de France riders.

    “It’s a food supplement, like vitamins,” he told De Telegraaf. […]

    Ketones are produced by the liver during intense dieting, but a laboratory version is now cheaply and easily available.

    Ketones are classified as a food supplement rather than a drug and are not on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of doping products.

    Two of three WADA criteria would have to be met before they are added — namely, if it enhances, or potentially enhances, performance, if it violates the spirit of sport or if it is an actual or potential health risk.

    For the moment, ketones do not appear to be harmful.

    “They naturally occur when the liver turns lipids (fats) into glucid (sugar),” Menuet, the Arkea-Samsic team doctor, told AFP, adding that this would happen during an extreme diet.

    Artificial ketones, first created in laboratory conditions in the English city of Oxford, have the same effect.

    “At first it cost thousands of euros for one bottle, but now you can get a bottle on the internet for between 30 euros and 90 euros,” Menuet said.

    Read France 24