Swimmer's Daily

  • On his fourth attempt, Romanian endurance athlete Avram Iancu completed a 17 hour 54 minute crossing of the English Channel.

    Iancu will need that same depth of commitment and passion for open water swimming as he just set off on a 60-day stage swim of 2,860 km in the Danube River yesterday.

    The 41-year-old librarian from Petrosani, Transylvania started his stage swim from Donaueschingen in the Black Forest in Germany. His finish is in Sulina on the Black Sea in Romania, planning to cross through ten countries and pass four capital cities without any fins or a wetsuit. His plans include swimming an average of ten hours a day with the goal to cover 50 km on each stage as he swims through dams, whirlpools, eddies and unpredictable weather accompanied by two kayakers.

    See The Daily News of Open Water Swimming

  • See rare video of a swimming great horned owl. Hikers walking through a canyon in Lake Powell between Arizona and Utah stumbled upon the rare sight. It’s likely a young great horned owl and still has some of its nestling feathers. Great horned owls often roost on cliff ledges, so it’s possible the young owl fell into the water from its nest. Seeing an owl swim is unusual, and they have no way to defend themselves while in the water. Owls are unable to take flight while swimming, so they must leave the water and dry their feathers before flying.

  • Today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, in the southern hemisphere.

    And in Antarctica, 15 Australian expeditioners at Davis station are celebrating with an icy dip in freezing waters, a now traditional midwinter swim.

    The air temperature is hovering at -33.5°C and the water temperature about -1.8°C.

    See Business Insider

  • Water safety is an important issue this time of year, and a recent study claims only 54 percent of Americans know how to swim.

    On the Great Lakes alone 30 people have died so far in 2017, and more than half of those deaths took place on Lake Michigan.

    Different community centers and city parks are offering affordable or free swimming lesson. One of those community centers is focused on the African American community in particular.

    “I’ve had swimming classes in school and I never learned completely how to swim,” said Desiree Washington.

    Washington may not be able to swim, but she wanted to make sure her son could, so she signed him up for swim lessons at the Salvation Army’s Kroc Center.

    “In this day and age, I really believe that a lot of things that we as adults don’t do, or the skills we don’t possess, I think it’s important that our children have those skills,” Washington said.

    See ABC 7 Chicago

    Photo by romanboed

  • James Taylor was trying to be a good citizen of the Earth and help out an injured squid, but the squid just seemed interested in his board.

    Via Digg

  • A Catskill Mountain swimming hole is so crowded that state officials are encouraging people to swim elsewhere.

    The area known as the Peekamoose Blue Hole, in Ulster County, has always been popular. But New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation says crowds of people started coming in 2015 after social media and websites touted it as a top swimming hole in the nation.

    The state agency is encouraging users to enjoy nearby state lands in the area about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of New York City.

    Read NY Daily News

    Photo by Hanna_Elise

  • Top 10 best pools hidden around the world

  • An 11-year-old girl died after police say she was electrocuted while swimming in a lagoon behind a home in Toms River, New Jersey this weekend.

    As CBS2’s Erin Logan reported, neighbors were mourning Sunday night for the little girl whose life was cut so short. It was supposed to be a fun night for the girl and her friends, but the water turned tragic, 1010 WINS’ Samantha Liebman reported.

    Family friends identified the victim as Kayla Matos, of Newark.

    Toms River police say they responded to 45 Tobago Ave. at 8:12 p.m. for reports of a possible electrocution of a young girl.

    Police said Kayla was swimming and using an inflatable raft with two of her friends when two of the girls touched the rail to a metal boat lift, sending an electric current through their equipment and causing the fatal injury.

    Within minutes, Toms River police and EMS arrived and took over CPR that was begun by adults at the home.

    First responders then utilized an automated external defibrillator before rushing the little girl to Community Medical Center, where was later pronounced dead.

    See CBS New York