Swimmer's Daily

  • A dark, comic tale that jumps between a psychiatrist’s office and the fast lane of a public swimming pool, Beneath the Surface is the story of Michael, a young man undergoing long-term psychiatric evaluation.

    During the film we see how perceived infringements of etiquette spiral out of control in a delusional mind and conclude with a startling self-realisation on the behalf of our silent narrator.

    Thematically Beneath the Surface explores how Apophenia (seeing patterns and making connections in random or meaningless data) can effect memory and behaviour whilst observing some humorous truths about lane swimming in public pools.

    Written and directed by filmmaker Alexander Osman, the story is beautifully captured by acclaimed cinematographer Shaun Harley Lee and scored by Prix Italia-nominated composer, Jon Nicholls.

    A talented cast is led by Stephen McLeod, Lucy Roselyn and Tommie Grabiec.

  • Members of the Aarhus City Council voted overwhelmingly to end women-only swimming lessons at a popular pool in Denmark’s second-largest city, local media reports.

    Every Saturday over the past ten years, Gellerupbadet swimming hall in Aarhus has offered female-only swimming lessons, popular among immigrant women from nearby Gellerupparken, an area with a large Muslim population. However, that offering came to an ubrupt end on Wednesday when the council, led by the ruling Venstre party, voted to stop the lessons by a majority of 26-5, with the only opposition coming from left-wing councilors affiliated with two small parties.

    “Children and adults need to learn that it is completely natural to swim together regardless of religious belief,” read a statement from Venstre, as quoted by TV2. “Therefore it is a disservice and not an integration initiative when special offers are made.”

    However, even before the decision on Wednesday, the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) signaled its desire to appeal, arguing that the women who attended the lessons were being deprived of a service they themselves had sought.

    “When you take away the opportunity you make it more difficult for ethnic minority women to use the swimming pool and participate in society. I believe that is problematic,” spokeswoman Maria Ventegodt Liisberg told the Ritzau news agency.

    “It is very important to work toward eliminating social controls, but there is nothing to indicate that the women use this program because they are forced to by their husbands or fathers. On the contrary, surveys indicate that strong women who work and who speak Danish are the ones who choose to take advantage of this offer.”

    Read RT

    Photo by brianc

  • Swimmers from Italy controlled operations in the first leg of the 2017 circuit of the FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup, held in Patagones-Viedma (ARG), by taking gold and silver in both the men’s and women’s race. On February 4, Federico Vanelli was the best among men, winning in 1h57m02s42, while Arianna Bridi was the fastest in the women’s field, touching home in 2h11m30s42.

    While Vanelli’s best result in 2016 had been a bronze medal (precisely in the inaugural race of the season, also in Viedma), his teammate Simone Ruffini was the winner of the overall series. This time in Argentina, he was second in a time of 1h57m32s30. The bronze medal went to France’s David Aubry, in 1h58m25s36. It is the first medal at this level for the French athlete, who had made a single appearance in the 2016 circuit, at the Abu Dhabi race.

    Still in the men’s race, the best Argentinean of the field was Guillermo Bertola, fourth in 1h58m28s45, while well-known Allan do Carmo, from Brazil, had to content with the sixth place (1h58m33s67).

    The women’s race was definitively harder to decide. If the triumph of Bridi – who made a brilliant end of the season in 2016 with gold in Lac Megantic (CAN), silver in Hong Kong and bronze in Chun’An (CHN) – was clear, the fight for the silver was outstanding between her teammate Rachele Bruni and Brazil’s Poliana Okimoto. At the end, and after checking the photo finish data, the two swimmers were declared second, in a time of 2h12m13s54. Curiously, the Italian star had been second at the Rio 2016 Olympics, while Okimoto was third in the Copacabana waters. Moreover, Bruni was the overall winner of the FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup in 2016, while the Brazilian was the runner-up of the competition.

    Ana Marcela Cunha, also from Brazil, finished fifth (2h12m18s11), while local star Cecilia Biagioli was only ninth (2h12m34m48).

    38 swimmers (equalled distributed between men and women) took part in this initial leg in Argentina. The next stop of the FINA/HOSA 10km Marathon Swimming World Cup will be in Abu Dhabi (UAE), on March 11, 2017.

    Medallists in Patagones-Viedma (ARG):

    Men

    1. Federico Vanelli (ITA), 1h57m02s42; 2. Simone Ruffini (ITA), 1h57m32s30; 3. David Aubry (FRA), 1h58m25s36

    Women

    1. Arianna Bridi (ITA), 2h11m30s42; 2. Rachele Bruni (ITA), 2h12m13s54; 2. Poliana Okimoto (BRA), 2h12m13s54

    Read FINA

  • A trip back to Baltimore to see a young Michael Phelps reveal his brutal training regime shows why the swimming legend won 23 Olympic gold medals and became the greatest swimmer of all time.

  • A young boy has been flown by helicopter to the Royal Children’s Hospital after being pulled from a pool during school swimming lessons.

    The child, believed to be six years old, is in a serious but stable condition after he was dragged from the water in Victoria’s east.

    Paramedics were called to the Swifts Creek School pool on the Great Alpine Road about 1pm.

    The child was with his classmates having swimming lessons during the first week of the school year when the incident happened.

    It is understood the class was from a nearby primary school, which uses the pool at Swifts Creek School.

    Teachers, parents and bush nurses treated the boy before paramedics arrived.

    Read The Age

  • Denmark will be the host of this year LEN European Short Course Championships 2017 in the newly opened Royal Arena, Copenhagen. It will be the first sports event in Royal Arena and will take place from 13th until 17th December 2017.

  • Video showcases many stars from the 2017 Ice Swimming Aqua Sphere World Championships in Wöhrsee, see The Daily News of Open Water Swimming

  • Wen Xu, a senior on the Drury University swimming team, died Thursday after collapsing at practice.

    According to a statement released by the university, Wen experienced a medical emergency in practice Thursday afternoon, and paramedics were called to Breech Pool.

    Wen was taken to Mercy Hospital and pronounced dead shortly thereafter.

    Read News-Leader

    https://youtu.be/4z_Qnmc_IJI