Swimmer's Daily

  • The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on Sunday (27 January) stripped Malaysia of the right to host the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships, which were due to be held in Kuching between 29 July and 4 August.

    The decision was taken by the IPC Governing Board at its meeting in London, Great Britain, after the Home Ministry of Malaysia failed to provide the necessary guarantees that Israeli Para swimmers could participate, free from discrimination, and safely in the Championships. This includes full compliance with the IPC protocols related to anthems and flags, and where required the provision of relevant visas.

    Andrew Parsons, IPC President, said: “All World Championships must be open to all eligible athletes and nations to compete safely and free from discrimination. When a host country excludes athletes from a particular nation, for political reasons, then we have absolutely no alternative but to look for a new Championships host.

    “The Paralympic Movement has, and always will be, motivated by a desire to drive inclusion, not exclusion. Regardless of the countries involved in this matter, the IPC would take the same decision again if it was to face a similar situation involving different countries.

    “In September 2017 when the IPC signed the contract with the Paralympic Council of Malaysia (NPC Malaysia) to host the World Para Swimming Championships, we had assurances that all eligible athletes and countries would be allowed to participate in the event with their safety assured.

    “Since then, there has been a change of political leadership and the new Malaysian government has different ideas. Politics and sport are never a good mix and we are disappointed that Israeli athletes would not have been allowed to compete in Malaysia.

    “As a result of the Board’s decision today, we are now looking for a new host for this vital World Championships, which acts as a qualifier for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. We will strive to maintain the same dates and conditions for the Championships as to not upset the training schedules of athletes who aim to peak for the end of July and early August. However, we may need to be flexible in this area bearing in mind the circumstances we face.”

    Read paralympic.org

  • Chinese Olympic champion Sun Yang is considering to file a lawsuit against British newspaper the Sunday Times over a report claiming the swimmer violated anti-doping rules.

    In a statement sent to Xinhua by Sun’s lawyer Zhang Qihuai on Sunday, Zhang said the newspaper reported the incident with “a malign intention” which “severely damaged Sun Yang’s reputation and violated his privacy.”

    “We reserve the right to file a lawsuit against the relevant international media which reports the incident,” the statement said.

    Sun rejected an out-of-competition doping test at his home in Zhejiang on Sept. 4, 2018 as doping testers from IDTM, the organisation to conduct out-of-competition doping tests, failed to show adequate identification proofs, Zhang said.

    Sun and the doping control team had a dispute which later was referred to world swimming governing body FINA who ruled in favor of Sun after a 13-hour hearing on Jan. 3, Zhang said.

    In the report titled “Olympic champion Sun Yang abuses drug testers”, the newspaper reported Sun “faces a lifetime ban after a clash with anti-doping testers ended in him and his security guard using a hammer to smash a sealed vial containing the swimmer’s blood.”

    It said Sun “objected to the identification card of the chaperone, there to observe him passing urine, claiming it was insufficient proof he was an official member of the testing team.”

    Zhang denounced the report as “untruthful”.

    “FINA has ruled on Jan. 3, 2019 that Sun Yang did not violate the World Anti-Doping Code,” Zhang said.

    Read New China

    Photo by jdlasica

  • Olympic gold medallist Sun Yang faces a lifetime ban from swimming after a bizarre clash with anti-doping testers ended in the destruction of a sealed vial containing a blood sample.

    According to The Times, the Chinese swimmer had a run-in with testers from IDTM (organisation responsible for conducting out-of-competition dope tests around the world), which resulted in his security guard using a hammer to smash a sealed vial containing the swimmer’s blood.

    Read Sporting News and The Sunday Times

    Read also Sun Yang threatens to sue Sunday Times over defamation 

    Photo by jdlasica

  • Colin Hill has a look around the swimming facilities at Club la Santa.

    Jan 2019, after taking my beach lifeguard course in Puerto-del-Carmen, I spend a week in Club La Santa. I’ve not been here for around 10 years, so it was interesting to see how it has changed in that time.

  • Have you ever wanted to photograph swimming? Peter Read Miller offers invaluable tips on shooting the sport, from showing up to the individual breast, free, back and butterfly strokes. He’ll cover what to bring to where to stand, who to talk to and how to plan

  • Dozens of swimmers plunged into the icy waters of the Danube river in Belgrade on Saturday, taking part in the traditional cross retrieval race that marks Epiphany in the Julian Calendar.

  • French actor-turned-director Gilles Lellouche’s “Sink or Swim” and Xavier Legrand’s feature debut “Custody” lead the race for this year’s Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent of the Oscars, with 10 nominations each, including best picture and best director.

    “Sink or Swim” (“Le Grand Bain” in France), a star-driven dramedy about a men’s synchronized swimming team, world-premiered at Cannes out of competition and was released by Studiocanal. The ensemble film, which was one of the highest-grossing French films in 2018, picked up multiple nominations in the best supporting actor and actress categories, for Jean-Hugues Anglade, Philippe Katerine, Leila Bekhti and Virginie Efira.

    “Custody” follows a boy named Julien (Thomas Gioria), who is forced by a court ruling to split his time between his mother (Léa Drucker) and estranged father (Denis Ménochet), whom he regards as a violent monster, amid his parents’ bitter divorce. “Custody” world-premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival, where it won two awards, and went on to play at Toronto in the competitive Platform section. Drucker and Menochet were nominated for best actress and actor, respectively.

    Read Variety

  • Hidden through a door at a local swimming baths is this stunning 100 year old seemingly abandoned swimming pool. The pool is part of a swimming centre which is open to the public however this particular pool remains un-renovated and decaying.

  • Is it bad for you to stay in swimming pool water for too long? Imagine being stuck in a public pool, unable to get out of the water. “Eh, no biggie,” you say? Well, you might have a change of heart after watching this video!