Swimmer's Daily

  • Hungarian police have arrested an executive at world swimming’s governing body for the murder of a media tycoon in Budapest 20 years ago but suspect Tamas Gyarfas is innocent, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

    Police have never resolved who ordered the murder of Hungarian mogul Janos Fenyo who was sprayed with submachine gun bullets at a stop light in Budapest in February 1998. The killing shocked Hungary, which was emerging from Communist rule.

    Gyarfas, 69, has for decades been a driving force behind Hungary’s position as a power in world swimming and he is a member of the Lausanne-based International Swimming Federation’s (FINA) eight-person executive, according to FINA’s website.

    In the 1990s, he and Fenyo vied for control of a Hungarian television production company, according to public records.

    Police on Tuesday said they had detained and questioned a man they named only as Tamas Gy. They said in a separate statement Gy had been formally arrested.

    “Tamas Gyarfas has announced a complaint against the accusation and denies the act attributed to him in the strongest terms,” his lawyer Janos Banati said in a statement that confirmed that police arrested Gyarfas.

    Read Reuters

  • Rio 2016 gold medal winner Sarah Sjöström from Sweden is in Malta till tomorrow as an ambassador for the Bettson Group.

    Apart from having won the Olympic medal in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Sarah Sjostrom is a multi-medal world champion and holder of no fewer than 6 world records.

    Speaking to her yesterday at the ASA offices, she said she had started competitive swimming at age nine. “That is when I started feeling a big love for the sport, especially when I started clocking good times. Overall, I think I had a very good 2017. Personally, I think it was my best ever year in swimming,” she said.

    Asked what her most cherished medal was, she immediately pointed out that it was the Olympic medal. “It was my third Olympics and I was proud I was a winner,” she added.

    She went on to say that she has been inspired to success by several top performers in the sport. In Sweden, despite the cold, swimming is more popular than waterpolo and there are a lot of world class swimmers. But one has to undergo sacrifices to reach the top. You have to follow a vast training plan – five hours a day – which is part and parcel of the secret to success.

    “My visit here in Malta is sort of a short holiday, but at present I am already training for the 2020 Olympics, even if the first competition is the European Championship,” she said.

    Read Independent

  • In news that will make you go, “wah??”, Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice has been hired by the Kardashians.

    If you’re sitting there thinking, ‘that name seems familiar but I’m not exactly sure who they are’ it’s probably because Rice’s hey-day has somewhat passed. She won Australia Olympic Gold in 2008 and at the time was dating fellow hotshot Olympic swimmer Eamon Sullivan. They were a big deal, okay?

    But back to Stephanie.

    Since winning becoming an Olympic gold medalist, she’s retired and, as many athletes do, has gone through the rigmarole of readjusting to life as a normal human who doesn’t train 12 hours a day. She’s battled eating disorders and life outside the pool, before finding peace as a b-grade celeb and vegan.

    But she’s reclaiming relevance, with the news that she is partnering with Khloe Kardashian’s brand Good American. Girl has come a long way from her days as Davenport ambassador, that’s for sure!

    Read Whimn

    https://youtu.be/QN82meCwe-A

  • A former Fishers High School swim coach previously sentenced to federal prison for stealing from Nashville, Tenn.-area churches is now facing a new set of federal charges on allegations of passing bad bills at a minor league baseball game in Ohio.

    Kenneth J. Stopkotte, 52, is being held in the Montgomery County Jail in Ohio after being arrested at Dayton Dragons minor league baseball game on suspicion of forgery, theft and receiving stolen property, according to court documents.

    Read USA Today

  • Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps will splash down Saturday at the Crystal Lagoon in Wesley Chapel’s Epperson development.

    Phelps, a global ambassador for Crystal Lagoons, will appear at the grand opening of the first Crystal Lagoon built in the U.S. It is located at Metro Development Group’s 2,000-home Epperson development, about three miles north of State Road 54 at the corner of Curley and Overpass roads.

    Phelps’ appearance is part of a tropical-themed celebration featuring water ski shows, fly-boarding performances and mermaids in the lagoon. The event is noon to 6 p.m. Free parking and free admission is provided. Event planners said attendance is near capacity, but people can register online to join a waiting list at LagoonEvent.com.

    Read Tampa Bay Times

    https://youtu.be/kMsBjGoDXs4

  • After the success of the FINA World Championships 2017, where the water polo final between Hungary and Croatia brought together 8000 fans to the cradle of the sport, FINA is back in Budapest, Hungary.

    This week, from April 26-28, the International Water Polo Community gathers in the Magyar capital for the FINA World Water Polo Conference.

    Over 250 participants, including 163 National Federation delegates, will discuss the future of the oldest Olympic team sport.

    The Conference will feature more than 40 speakers who will address 19 different topics. A key component of the conference will be to discuss the sports’ rules and competition formats. Thanks to the extensive and comprehensive programme, the Conference will offer a unique platform to exchange ideas and best practice.

    Experts will also weigh in on what it takes to succeed in areas such as development, media, broadcasting and events, helping Water Polo strive for more success in the future, on a global scale.

    Key statistics for the conference include:

    • More than 250 participants, including experts and FINA Family members (27 from Africa; 26 from Americas; 29 from Asia; 141 from Europe; 7 from Oceania)
    • 163 national federations’ representatives (27 from Africa, 26 from America, 29 from Asia, 73 from Europe, 7 from Oceania)
    • Participants hail from 111 different countries (24 countries from Africa, 24 countries from America, 23 countries from Asia, 34 countries from Europe, 6 countries from Oceania)

    A press conference is scheduled on Saturday, April 28, at 12:30 upon the conclusion of the conference.

    You can follow the Conference LIVE on FINA Youtube channel as of Thursday April 26.

    For more details, please refer to the full programme or follow this link.

  • Today marks 100 days to go until sporting history is made through Glasgow and Berlin’s co-hosting of the first-ever combined European Championships.

     

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  • If you hold your breath and plunge your face into a tub of water, your body automatically triggers what’s called the diving response. Your heart rate slows, your blood vessels constrict, and your spleen contracts, all reactions that help you save energy when you’re low on oxygen.

    Most people can hold their breath underwater for a few seconds, some for a few minutes. But a group of people called the Bajau takes free diving to the extreme, staying underwater for as long as 13 minutes at depths of around 200 feet. These nomadic people live in waters winding through the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, where they dive to hunt for fish or search for natural elements that can be used in crafts.

    Now, a study in the journal Cell offers the first clues that a DNA mutation for larger spleens gives the Bajau a genetic advantage for life in the deep.

    Read National Geographic

  • Michael Phelps, “Save Water” ambassador and Olympic gold medalist, talks about his hope to inspire people to turn off the faucet and save water, and dealing with the mental pressure after participating in extreme competition.