Swimmer's Daily

  • Thank you to all the athletes and teams who were there at the International Swim Meeting Berlin 2017! Can you find yourself in our video? ;)

  • A tree crashed onto a group of people enjoying a swim at the base of a large waterfall in Ghana, and local authorities tell wire services that at least 17 people were killed in the freak accident.

    The revelers got caught in a rainstorm on Sunday, according to a statement from the Minister of Tourism. She added that “many” were killed and injured, and that they were mostly student groups visiting the area.

    The waterfall, outside the town of Kintampo in central Ghana, is a popular tourist destination. It stands some 70 meters high, according to the Guardian, and is “surrounded by mahogany trees and sunbirds.”

    Read NPR

    https://youtu.be/PN7Hzx1kwj0

    Photo by benketaro

  • Pedro Ordenes, beloved founder of Water World Swim, is known worldwide for his record-breaking swims. Pedro holds the world record for Alcatraz swim crossings – over 900.

  • Shamita UN can’t tell a gold medal from a bronze. She can’t write or count. But she finds the will to wake up at daybreak and head to the pool for swimming sessions each morning without the lure of reward.

    Shamita, 16, has intellectual disabilities: She’s diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), typically characterized by inattentive, restless and impulsive behaviour particularly in new or challenging social and emotional situations.

    At a recent “swimathon” in Bengaluru, Shamita is strikingly calm. It’s an unfamiliar setting; the people milling around, schoolchildren roughly her age, are unknown to her and she’s the only specially-abled athlete in the fray. She adjusts her pink swimming cap and matching goggles with practiced ease before plunging headlong into the pool. And she’s completely at home.

    “If she’s in water, we know there’s no need to worry,” says her father Adarsh, watching from the sidelines.

    See ESPN

  • At its meeting in Gothenburg (SWE), the LEN Bureau has voted on the hosts of several LEN Events. Glasgow (GBR) will stage another major continental showcase, the European Short-Course Swimming Championships in 2019. Genova (ITA) and Hannover (GER) are the next hosts of the men’s water polo Champions League Final Six tournaments between 2018 and 2021. LEN extended its partnership with pool equipment manufacturer company Malmsten.

    Glasgow will welcome back the continent’s top swimmers in 2019 for the short-course European Championships, just a year after the city is about to stage an outstanding long-course event (the 2018 Europeans in diving, synchro and open water swimming will also be held there).

    In water polo, the climax of this year’s top women club competitions, the Final Four tournaments are to be staged in Kirishi (RUS) where the top four sides will clash for the Euro League crown – while the contest for the LEN Trophy will be held in Budapest (HUN) this April.

    A new approach was applied while deciding on the hosts of the Champions League Final Six tournaments in the next four years. Unlike in the past when the same city hosted the event on two consecutive occasions, Genova (ITA) and Hannover (GER) will follow each other year by year, the F6 tourney will visit Italy in 2018 and 2020 (host team: Pro Recco), and Germany in 2019 and 2021 (host team: Waspo 98 Hannover).

    The Bureau also allocated a handful of major junior events. The U19 water polo European Championships in 2018 will be held in Minsk (BLR) for the men and in Madeira (POR) for the women. In 2019 the best junior boys will play in Tbilisi (GEO), while the girls in Volos (GRE).

    The following two editions of the junior open water swimming European Championships will be held in Malta in 2018 and Prague (CZE) in 2019 respectively.

    On the occasion of the LEN Bureau meeting taking place in Gothenburg, LEN renewed its partnership with Sweden based company Malmsten. “This new 6-year contract marks the extension of one of LEN’s longest lasting partnerships” LEN President Paolo Barelli said. “It’s good to know that we have the best pool equipment manufacturer on our side. LEN is proud to provide the highest quality for the athletes on the field of play in all our events, thanks to this contract with Malmsten.”

    Press release from LEN

  • A British film company has agreed to buy the rights to the story of a teenage refugee who fled Syria and swam at the Olympics a year later.

    Yusra Mardini and her sister Sara were forced to swim for hours alongside their overloaded boat to reach Greece from Turkey in 2015.

    The International Olympic Committee picked Yusra for its first ever refugee team at the Summer Games in Rio.

    Eventually they reached the German capital Berlin and joined a local swimming club, quickly gaining international attention.

    Working Title Films said Friday that award-winning filmmaker Stephen Daldry, who made “Billy Elliot” and “Trash,” has been tipped to direct the film.

    Read The Washington Times

  • Michael Phelps briefly returned to the spotlight last month when he testified about anti-doping before a congressional subcommittee.

    Phelps detailed the extensive testing process he subjected himself to for 16 years in order to compete in the pool in and for the U.S. But during a Facebook Live on Friday — while touching on a variety of topics — he proved that he will continue to defend himself against those who question if he was a clean swimmer.

    Phelps responded to a Facebook Live comment — which was, according to Swimming World magazine, regarding a tweet from former swimming rival Milorad Cavic, who called Phelps’ push for anti-doping reform “convenient” — that clearly pushed his buttons.

    Read USA Today

    https://youtu.be/BJiO7detXNo

  • The first half of Ian Thorpe’s boundary-pushing documentary Bullied has been met with substantial praise online from viewers, media figures and even a former Australian Prime Minister after its airing on Tuesday night.

    See Sydney Morning Herald

    https://youtu.be/MthNiJvpKOM

    https://youtu.be/pBgu1lXIRzQ