Swimmer's Daily

  • Filmmaker Taiyo Masuda was kayaking with his friend Kyle Mulinder when he captured an unusual wildlife encounter on camera: a seal swam right up to Mulinder and slapped him viciously in the face with a large octopus.

    See PetaPixel

  • While the use of polychlorinated biphenyls, more commonly known as PCBs, has been banned for more than a decade, the chemical pollutants continue to threaten animals at the top of the food chain. A new study published in the journal Science predicts that current concentrations of PCBs can lead to the disappearance of about half the world’s population of killer whales within the next three to five decades.

    PCBs have been used around the globe in electrical components and plastics since the 1930s. More than one million tons of the pollutants have been produced. Previous research has shown that PCBs are toxic to animals, shown to impair reproduction, disrupt the endocrine and immune systems, and increase cancer risk.

    Several countries began banning the use of PCBs in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2004, more than 90 countries committed themselves to phase out and dispose of the large stocks of PCBs through the Stockholm Convention.

    However, PCBs are slowly decomposed in the environment and continue to have detrimental effects on a number of animals.

    Read CBS News

  • On Saturday, Sept. 29, 17 Coloradans will attempt to escape from Alcatraz in their own way.

  • FINA SWIMMING WORLD CUP 2018
    Vladimir Morozov (RUS) was the brightest star of the third leg of the 2018 FINA Swimming World Cup, held in Eindhoven (NED), from September 28-30. The Russian great established the first World Record of the series, by swimming the men’s 100m IM in 50.26. Besides this performance, Morozov won another six medals during the competition (in 25m-pool) and is the new provisional leader of the men’s ranking.

    The Russian’s result was an improvement of his own global mark of 50.30, clocked in August 2016 in Berlin (GER). Morozov was also the best this weekend in the 50m and 100m free, getting the silver in the 50m back and the 4x50m medley mixed relay. Finally, he earned bronze in the 50m fly and the 4x50m free mixed relay.

    Still on the men’s side, Mitch Larkin (AUS) won gold in the three backstroke events, while Chad Le Clos (RSA) triumphed in the 100m and 200m fly, and was the runner-up in the 50m fly and 200m free. Kirill Prigoda (RUS) also amassed six medals in Eindhoven (including victories in the 100m and 200m breast). Daiya Seto, from Japan, dominated the 200m and 400m IM (both in new World Cup record time), and was silver medallist behind Morozov in the 100m IM.

    In the women’s field, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) and Katinka Hosszu (HUN) were the most prolific gold winners in the Netherlands, with four titles each. The Swedish leader of the ranking was the best in the 100m and 200m free, and 50m and 100m fly, while the Hungarian star triumphed in the 200m fly, and the three medley events.

    Local hero Ranomi Kromowidjojo collected six medals in Eindhoven (including three gold), and Yulia Efimova (RUS) touched first in the 100m and 200m breast.

    The revelation of the meet was China’s Wang Jianjiahe, who comfortably won the 400m and 800m free, both inside the Junior World Record. Her 400m free performance of 3:54.63 was the best female performance of the competition.

    The fourth meet of the 2018 FINA Swimming World Cup will take place in Budapest (HUN), on October 4-6, and will conclude the second cluster of the competition.

    Winners in Eindhoven (NED):

    50m free: Men – Vladimir Morozov (RUS) 20.69; Women – Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) 23.26
    100m free: Men – Vladimir Morozov (RUS) 45.69; Women – Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) 51.21
    200m free: Men – Blake Pieroni (USA) 1:41.83; Women – Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) 1:52.25
    400m free: Men – Mack Horton (AUS) 3:39.52; Women – Wang Jianjiahe (CHN) 3:54.63 (WJR)
    800m free: Women – Wang Jianjiahe (CHN) 8:03.86 (WJR)
    1500m free: Men – Maksym Shemberev (AZE) 14:45.17
    50m back: Men – Mitch Larkin (AUS) 23.34; Women – Etiene Medeiros (BRA) 26.07
    100m back: Men – Mitch Larkin (AUS) 50.08; Women – Kathleen Baker (USA) 55.91
    200m back: Men – Mitch Larkin (AUS) 1:49.75; Women – Kathleen Baker (USA) 2:00.85
    50m breast: Men – Felipe Lima (BRA) 25.92; Women – Alia Atkinson (JAM) 29.18
    100m breast: Men – Kirill Prigoda (RUS) 56.88; Women – Yulia Efimova (RUS) 1:03.41
    200m breast: Men – Kirill Prigoda (RUS) 2:01.59; Women – Yulia Efimova (RUS) 2:15.62
    50m fly: Men – Nicholas Santos (BRA) 22.08; Women – Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) 24.61
    100m fly: Men – Chad Le Clos (RSA) 49.56; Women – Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) 54.91 (WCR)
    200m fly: Men – Chad Le Clos (RSA) 1:51.09; Women – Katinka Hosszu (HUN) 2:02.87
    100m IM: Men – Vladimir Morozov (RUS) 50.26 (WR); Women – Katinka Hosszu (HUN) 57.44
    200m IM: Men – Daiya Seto (JPN) 1:51.09 (WCR); Women – Katinka Hosszu (HUN) 2:05.06
    400m IM: Men – Daiya Seto (JPN) 3:57.25 (WCR); 4:20.68; Women – Katinka Hosszu (HUN) 4:25.15

    4x50m free mixed: Netherlands 1:29.90
    4x50m medley mixed: Netherlands 1:38.64

    WR – World Record
    WCR – World Cup Record
    WJR – World Junior Record

    Best performers in Eindhoven (NED):

    MEN

    1. MOROZOV Vladimir (RUS) 2002 points, 50.26, 100m IM
    2. SETO Daiya (JPN) 978 points, 3:57.25, 400m IM
    3. PRIGODA Kirill (RUS) 971 points, 2:01.59, 200m breast

    WOMEN

    1. WANG Jianjiahe (CHN) 998 points, 3:54.63, 400m Free
    2. SJOSTROM Sarah (SWE) 983 points, 54.91, 100m fly
    3. EFIMOVA Yulia (RUS) 976 points, 2:15.62, 200m breast

    Top-3 overall ranking after Eindhoven (NED):

    MEN

    1. MOROZOV Vladimir (RUS) 164 points
    2. CHUPKOV Anton (RUS) 108 pts
    3. LARKIN Mitchell (AUS) 108 pts

    WOMEN

    1. SJOSTROM Sarah (SWE) 174 points
    2. HOSSZU Katinka (HUN) 126 pts
    3. EFIMOVA Yulia (RUS) 123 pts

    Complete calendar of the 2018 FINA Swimming World Cup:

    Cluster 1 (50m-pool)

    1. Kazan (RUS) – September 7-9
    2. Doha (QAT) – September 13-15

    Cluster 2 (25m-pool)

    1. Eindhoven (NED) – September 28-30
    2. Budapest (HUN) – October 4-6

    Cluster 3 (25m-pool)

    1. Beijing (CHN) – November 2-4
    2. Tokyo (JPN) – November 9-11
    3. Singapore (SGP) – November 15-17

    Press release from FINA

    https://youtu.be/GhgxflvWwO8

  • Hundreds of swimmers have been taking part in a race between the Senegalese capital, Dakar and Goree Island.

    But it’s no ordinary competition. It involves swimming five kilometres to a former slave port, where Africans were once sold and shipped off to slavery in the Americas. The race is a tribute to slavery’s victims who remained defiant and tried to swim, often in chains, for freedom.

    Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque reports from Dakar.

    https://youtu.be/WkRzModL_B0

  • Vivian Stancil never thought she’d become a swimmer, much less a competitive one with a wall full of medals.

    “When I was younger, for a woman of color, swim was a taboo,” the 71-year-old says poolside in Riverside, California.

    Stancil’s hazel eyes light up when she talks about what swimming means to her. “The water is my best friend.”

    Read Channel3000.com

  • A 13-year-old boy skin diving for lobsters was attacked by a shark Saturday along the Southern California coast but was quickly pulled from the water by other divers and flown to a trauma center, authorities said.

    The boy was in critical but stable condition more than nine hours later at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, spokesman Carlos Delgado said.

    The boy underwent surgery but no other information about him, including his name, was released.

    The boy suffered traumatic upper torso injuries, city Lifeguard Capt. Larry Giles told reporters earlier at Beacon’s Beach in Encinitas, about 27 miles (43 kilometers) north of downtown San Diego.

    Read San Antonio Express-News

  • On this episode of the #AskASwimPro show, we’re in downtown Detroit with MySwimPro Co-Founder Michael Allon talking about his incredible 100 lbs weight loss story.

    Mike is the Co-Founder of MySwimPro and primarily works on the Android App, Garmin integrations and a lot of the behind the scenes functionality of the platform. Mike really ramped up his swimming in 2018, training 3-5x/week and watching his diet through meal planning.

    See MySwimPro