Swimmer's Daily

  • Rescuers said it may take up to four days for the entire team to reach safety, depending on conditions inside the cave

    Elite divers have rescued the first two of 12 young soccer players and their coach who have been trapped in a flooded cave complex in northern Thailand for more than two weeks, according to Kyodo news agency quoting Thai media reports.

    The boys separately emerged from Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai province between 5:30pm and 6pm local time, Kyodo said.

    The boys, two of the “Wild Boars” team that has been stuck in a cramped chamber several kilometres inside the Tham Luang cave complex since June 23, emerged Sunday night after a dangerous mission to extract the group began earlier in the day.

    Read South China Morning Post

  • A white shark swims in close to the shoreline off New Brighton State Beach, Monterey Bay as swimmers look on.

  • Jonathan, Todd and Zach explain some of the technical issues regarding the soccer team stranded in a cave in Thailand, and answer some viewer questions about the situation.

    https://youtu.be/CIRC68Cv6eM

  • The “exact moment” that rescue personnel have been waiting for has arrived, as they begin their mission to extract the 12 Thai schoolboys and their football coach from the Tham Luang cave.

  • In the United States, “drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death in children aged 1–14 years,” according to the World Health Organization.

    Being a child, male or a member of a minority group and lack of swimming ability are the major factors in drowning deaths. Whereas we strive to instruct our children to protect themselves via health classes, elaborate fire and perceived-threat drills, we provide insufficient education and practice to prevent this perfectly preventable tragedy.

    [pullquote]To my knowledge, no one ever died from not playing football, tennis or hockey[/pullquote]Swimming is treated as a luxury whereas other sports are not. To my knowledge, no one ever died from not playing football, tennis or hockey, all very expensive sports in terms of training and facilities. The ability to swim, aside from saving lives, provides children with a refreshing and joyful activity and is a confidence builder. Many of us who have little prowess in sports thrive in the water.

    Recently, I looked at the Santa Fe public pools’ schedules and saw a preference for lap swimmers. I am one, but I feel strongly that teens and children should have priority in the daytime. I found that Fort Marcy Recreation Complex is under construction (“Rec center work limits access,” June 12) and was directed to the Salvador Perez Recreation Complex pool, where I had the privilege of swimming in a full lane while all the children were confined to a corner of about 20 feet by 20 feet.

    Read Santa Fe New Mexican

  • The temperature in Winston-Salem, N.C., crested at 90 degrees on July 4 — the same day Jasmine Edwards and her son, both African Americans, sought the cool waters of the pool in their private community.

    Adam Bloom was there, too, confident in his charge of helping enforce neighborhood rules as the ‘pool chair’ of the Glenridge Homeowners Association. He asked Edwards to show identification to prove she belonged. Then he called the police.

    And the four of them — two officers, Edwards and Bloom — stood outside the pool gate, unsure how the latest incident of police response to public blackness would unfold.

    Read for instance The New York Times and The Washington Post

    https://youtu.be/L6dvG5RKOf0

  • Charges have been laid against Ports of Auckland Ltd and one of its staff after the death of ocean swimmer Leslie Gelberger.

    Gelberger died on April 20 last year after going for a swim on Auckland’s North Shore.

    A passing ferry found his body, which was missing a leg, about 4pm the next day.

    Gelberger – a husband, father, teacher and keen ocean swimmer – was believed to have been hit by a boat, and his body was found floating off Mairangi Bay.

    Read NZ Herald
    Photo by russellstreet

  • James Cameron has provided an update on the status of his numerous Avatar sequels – and revealed the extent to which cast addition Kate Winslet went to pull off her new role.

    The filmmaker, who is currently filming the first and second of the four planned follow-ups, teased that his forthcoming return to the world of Pandora will explore “never before seen parts” which will primarily be set underwater.

    Considering this aspect of the next two films – Cameron attributed the sequels’ delay to spending over a year-and-a-half working out how to pull off underwater motion-capture technology – one scene required Winslet to be able to hold her breath for a staggering seven minutes, something the Oscar-winner nailed.

    Read the Independent

    https://youtu.be/iP5KuFxfAn0

  • How to become a mermaid? We provide insights behind the scenes of the set and show you scenes that nobody else sees. Totally exciting, let’s see, how such a spin works!