Swimmer's Daily

  • #OurTeam had an inspiring and educational day exploring the Great Barrier Reef with Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef.
    Let’s all play our part to protect our beautiful reef.

  • Bayan Jumah is Syria’s only female Olympic swimmer. After six years of war, she’s determined to inspire a new generation of Syrian athletes.

  • Swimmers have been warned to take care when taking a dip in the water during the UK’s heatwave, following a spate of drowningdeaths in recent weeks.

    Council leaders said the public needs to be vigilant to the dangers of drowning, especially parents with children, with more people likely to be out near water during one of the longest spells of hot weather for many years.

    The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents 370 councils in England and Wales, said casual swimmers particularly need to be aware of the risk of cold water shock – one of the biggest causes of drowning.

    Read The Telegraph

    Photo by Tomas Sobek

  • In Rio, Simone Manuel became the first African-American woman to win gold in an individual swimming event.

  • Netherlands, Spain finish atop, can set eyes on semi-finals

    The Netherlands and Spain clinched the top spot in the respective groups and with an easy quarter-final match in sight both can be ready to the semis. The Dutch prevailed in a highly tactical game against Greece while the hosts won a sparkling 23-goal encounter over Russia.

    2 TSOUKALA Christina GRE, 4 VAN DER SLOOT Catharina NED GRE – NED Greece (white caps) vs Netherlands (blue caps) Barcelona 21/07/18 Piscines Bernat Picornell Women qualification 33rd LEN European Water Polo Championships – Barcelona 2018 Photo Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    LEN_WP_EC_BCN2018/Deepbluemedia
    LEN_WP_EC_BCN2018/Deepbluemedia
    7 STRUGO Shunit ISR, 5 LORDAN Dina CRO ISR – CRO Israel (white caps) vs Croatia (blue caps) Barcelona 21/07/18 Piscines Bernat Picornell Women qualification 33rd LEN European Water Polo Championships – Barcelona 2018 Photo Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    LEN_WP_EC_BCN2018/Deepbluemedia
    ESP – Team Spain ESP – RUS Spain (white caps) vs. Russia (blue caps) Barcelona 21/07/18 Piscines Bernat Picornell Women qualification 33rd LEN European Water Polo Championships – Barcelona 2018 Photo Pasquale Mesiano/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    12 LEITON ARRONES Paula CF ESP 8 SIMANOVICH Anastasia CF RUS ESP – RUS Spain (white caps) vs. Russia (blue caps) Barcelona 21/07/18 Piscines Bernat Picornell Women qualification 33rd LEN European Water Polo Championships – Barcelona 2018 Photo Pasquale Mesiano/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    7 SERZHANTOVA Alena FP RUS 11 IVANOVA Evgeniya W RUS 12 RYZHKOVA Daria FP RUS ESP – RUS Spain (white caps) vs. Russia (blue caps) Barcelona 21/07/18 Piscines Bernat Picornell Women qualification 33rd LEN European Water Polo Championships – Barcelona 2018 Photo Pasquale Mesiano/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    13 KARNAUKH Anna GK RUS ESP – RUS Spain (white caps) vs. Russia (blue caps) Barcelona 21/07/18 Piscines Bernat Picornell Women qualification 33rd LEN European Water Polo Championships – Barcelona 2018 Photo Pasquale Mesiano/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    4 GURISATTI Greta FP HUN HUN – GER Hungary (white caps) vs. Germany (blue caps) Barcelona 21/07/18 Piscines Bernat Picornell Women qualification 33rd LEN European Water Polo Championships – Barcelona 2018 Photo Pasquale Mesiano/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    Teams Presentation ISR – CRO Israel (white caps) vs. Croatia (blue caps) Barcelona 21/07/2018 Piscines Bernat Picornell Women qualification 33rd LEN European Water Polo Championships – Barcelona 2018 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    ITALY Team FRA – ITA France (white caps) vs. Italy (blue caps) Barcelona 21/07/2018 Piscines Bernat Picornell Women qualification 33rd LEN European Water Polo Championships – Barcelona 2018 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    8 BIANCONI Roberta ITA 2 MILLOT Estelle FRA FRA – ITA France (white caps) vs. Italy (blue caps) Barcelona 21/07/2018 Piscines Bernat Picornell Women qualification 33rd LEN European Water Polo Championships – Barcelona 2018 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    GER Coach SKIBBA Anja HUN – GER Hungary (white caps) vs. Germany (blue caps) Barcelona 21/07/2018 Piscines Bernat Picornell Women qualification 33rd LEN European Water Polo Championships – Barcelona 2018 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    Team Turkey SRB – TUR Serbia (white caps) vs. Turkey (blue caps) Barcelona 21/07/2018 Piscines Bernat Picornell Women qualification 33rd LEN European Water Polo Championships – Barcelona 2018 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    10 KUS Kubra TUR SRB – TUR Serbia (white caps) vs. Turkey (blue caps) Barcelona 21/07/2018 Piscines Bernat Picornell Women qualification 33rd LEN European Water Polo Championships – Barcelona 2018 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto

    The clash for the top spot in Group A was more like a chess game, the gap between the Greeks and the Dutch never exceed one goal. Scoring itself was a challenge as the defensive tactics worked really well, at half-time it stood 2-2, then Greece got a bit closer with a penalty 0.9sec from time before the last period (5-4). Though the first three periods saw great action goals, the decision – as usual – came down to the 6 on 5s in the fourth period. And the Dutch did an amazing job since they could put away 4 in a row. Ilse Koolhas was outstanding, she netted a hat-trick in 1:26 minutes, while the Greeks missed their man-up at 6-7 and that proved to be crucial. Later a nice centre-goal from Alexandra Asimaki brought back some hope with 84 seconds to go (7-8) but the Greeks could hit only the bar from their last possession. Thus they slipped back to the 2nd place and had to wait for a tough rival (turned out to be Russia) while the Dutch virtually made the semis already as their quarter-final against the Germans is to be an easy ride.

    The same was at stake in the prelims’ closing match between Spain and Russia: the top spot and a nice cruising against France in the quarters or a game against Greece or Italy. Russia had a mount to climb though, as they would have needed a three-goal win to finish atop. Though the hosts led for most of the time in the first half, Russia managed to stay close with a couple of spectacular shots in the mix. In the third they caught a better spell and at 7-8 they had a 6 on 5 to earn a two-goal lead but a blocking hand saved Spain and soon Beatriz Ortiz put the sides back to 8-8 before the last break.

    In the fourth the ladies got tougher, a flood of 6 on 5s had to be called, credit to the attacking units that they put away the first three apiece – Maica Garcia netted a hat-trick in the rush –, but the Russians missed their last one and that gave the win the hosts. The Spaniard finished the prelims as the only team in the women’s tournament with 5 out of 5 wins, just as the men, they also came first and can also set their eyes on the semi-finals.

    In the earlier matches Italy found it hard to improve its goal-difference significantly against France, stayed 9 goals behind the Netherlands, thus had to settle for the third place before the Greek v Dutch game began (though it didn’t count, as it turned out). Hungary warmed up for the quarters by thrashing the Germans.

    In the two matches featuring the pointless teams, the Serbs beat Turkey with ease so they can play for the 9th place. In the other duel Israel managed to earn its historical first point at the Europeans. The first half saw one goal apiece, the last one four at both ends but nothing separated the sides, it ended 7-7. This favoured Israel as they had a better goal-difference so they avoided playing for the last two places, a fine feat from the newcomer.

    European Water Polo Championships, Day 8
    Women’s Round 5

    Group A
    Israel v Croatia 7-7
    France v Italy 3-11
    Greece v Netherlands 7-8

    Final rankings
    1. Netherlands 13, 2. Greece 12, 3. Italy 10, 4. France 6, 5. Israel 1 (18-73), 6. Croatia 1 (19-90)

    Group B
    Serbia v Turkey 9-6
    Hungary v Germany 26-1
    Spain v Russia 12-11

    Final rankings
    1. Spain 15, 2. Hungary 12, 3. Russia 9, 4. Germany 6, 5. Serbia 3, 6. Turkey 0

    Quarter-finals on 23 July
    17.00 Greece v Russia
    18.30 Italy v Hungary
    20.30 Netherlands v Germany
    22.00 France v Spain

    For places 9-10th
    15.00 Israel v Serbia

    For places 11-12th
    13.30 Croatia v Turkey

    Fixtures, Day 9

    Men’s Eight-finals
    17.00 Hungary v Netherlands
    18.30 Germany v Greece
    20.30 Montenegro v Romania
    22.00 France v Russia

    For places 13-16th
    13.30 Georgia v Turkey
    15.00 Malta v Slovakia

    Press release from LEN, photos courtesy of Deepbluemedia/Giorgio Scala

  • Community members in Mora, Minn. are responding after two women were asked to cover up while breastfeeding at the Mora Aquatic Center.

    “For a woman to make a big deal about a woman feeding her child is beyond me, it’s crazy,” said Niki Roeschlein, who supports breastfeeding.

    The Kanabec County Sheriff says two women breastfeeding Wednesday were first confronted by another woman at the pool, and later a staff member. Both asked the women to either cover up or get out of the pool. That’s when things got heated.

    See FOX9

  • The Japanese Swimming Federation (JSF) has expressed disappointment that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics schedule is likely to cater for U.S. audiences, depriving local television viewers a chance to watch finals in a prime-time slot.

    The programme for the swimming sessions was approved by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) on Thursday but the exact timings for events at the Aquatics Centre were not released.

    Media reports have suggested that the delay was due to American broadcaster NBC’s desire for swimming finals to be held in the morning to enable peak viewership in the United States.

    Although the complete swimming schedule has yet to be ratified by the IOC and Tokyo organisers, the JSF conceded defeat in its attempts to hold the finals — one of the most popular Olympic events in Japan — later in the day.

    “Even though finals will be held in morning time, we will continue to make efforts to achieve the result that can fulfil expectations of Japanese nationals.”

    At the 2008 Beijing Games, the last Summer Olympics held in Asia, the swimming finals were held in the morning and a repeat of that scheduling is fully expected in Tokyo.

    Read The Star

    Photo by wuestenigel

  • #OurTeam train in Cairns en route to Tokyo for #PanPacs2018.

  • FINA is celebrating its 110th Birthday! Thanks to all swimmers, divers, water polo players, members, athletes, sponsors, and to everyone who loves aquatic sports!