Swimmer's Daily

  • Jimmy Feigen, a U.S. Olympic swimmer apparently connected to the scandal involving Ryan Lochte, has reportedly agreed to donate $11,000 to a charity in Brazil in return for being allowed to leave the country. Two other swimmers, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz, have already been allowed to return to the United States. The USOC is apologizing to Brazil, saying surveillance video confirms that Lochte’s story of being robbed in Rio was fabricated. NBC’s Keir Simmons reports for TODAY from Rio.

  • It’s a marriage that is literally 24/7. One of swimming’s biggest stars of Rio 2016 is coached by her husband and it’s a relationship that prompted much debate as she stormed to three gold medals.

    Many have questioned whether it’s possible to navigate the complications involved in a dynamic involving athlete and coach as well as wife and husband. Katinka Hosszu, though, wouldn’t have things any other way.

    “It’s amazing to share it [success] with someone that you really love,” Katinka told CNN’s Don Riddell, as she reflected on her marriage and partnership with husband and coach Shane Tusup. “So it’s been really special for us.”

    See CNN

  • The Paralympic Games will take place as planned next month, but face major budget cuts, the International Paralympic Committee has announced.

    The cuts will be made to venues, the workforce and transport.

    Delayed travel grants will now be paid to athletes, but 10 countries may struggle to get teams to Rio.

    “Never before in the 56-year history of the Paralympic Games have we faced circumstances like this,” said IPC president Sir Philip Craven.

    With 19 days to the start of the Games, the IPC says Rio’s organising committee has not raised enough money to fund the Paralympics.

    This is due to Brazil’s struggling economy and the fact that only 12% of available tickets have so far been sold for the Games, which start on 7 September.

    It meant organisers were three weeks late in paying 8m euros (£7m) of travel grants to help athletes get to Rio.

    But Rio’s mayor Eduardo Paes has secured an additional £36m of funding and £24m in sponsorship from state-run companies after an injunction was lifted that had blocked further state aid for the Games.

    What’s being cut?

    • Downsizing of Rio 2016’s workforce for the Paralympics
    • Changes to the transport services for athletes and their teams
    • The closure of a number of venue media centres
    • Moving events to other venues to enable Deodoro Park to be dismantled, allowing the other venues to have dedicated transport hubs
    • Security forces currently in place for the Olympics will remain for the Paralympics.

     

    Craven added: “These cuts are on top of the ones we, together with the International Olympic Committee, have already made in the last 12 months and are likely to impact nearly every stakeholder attending the Games.”

    Organisers were meant to pay travel grants to all 165 participating countries by the end of July. The grants, paid to national Paralympic bodies, cover the travel costs for athletes and officials.

    Read BBC and Paralympic.org

    https://youtu.be/1mPu7hcfG58

  • The 71-year-old, who temporarily stood down as president of the Olympics Council of Ireland (OCI) after his arrest on Wednesday, is now being detained at the Bangu 10 facility in West Rio de Janeiro.

    Fellow Irishman Kevin Mallon (36) is currently being detained at the adjoining Bangu 8 in the same complex.

    Mr Hickey was wheeled from a hospital in Rio de Janeiro last night and taken by car to a police station to be quizzed about the accusations.

    After four hours, he hid in the back of a car as he was taken to be medically examined once more before being finally brought to a detention facility pending further investigations.

    Mr Hickey stood aside temporarily as Olympics Council of Ireland (OCI) president after his arrest in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

    The alleged ticket scam came to light after fellow Irishman Kevin James Mallon (36) was arrested on the day of the opening ceremony.

    Mr Hickey is potentially facing three charges of facilitating ticket touting, formation of a cartel and ambush or illicit marketing. Brazilian detectives say the offences carry a sentence of up to seven years in prison.

    Last night, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that it had stopped Mr Hickey’s daily expenses of €800 a day, paid to him every day he was in Rio. But IOC officials condemned Rio police for allowing a TV crew to accompany them as a naked Hickey was arrested in a hotel, describing it as “theatre”.

    IOC member Dick Pound said: “It makes it look like all sports administrators are corrupt. They’re not.”

    Read Belfast Telegraph

    https://youtu.be/Agqw3gLsDz8

  • Ryan Lochte has publicly apologized through his Instagram account for his “behavior” in Rio, in which he claimed that he and three other U.S. swimmers were robbed at gunpoint. NBC’s Ron Mott reports.

  • Our pools are full of disinfectant chemicals that keep then free of microorganisms, but what you might not realize is that those same chemicals are interacting with, well, you. Today we’re talking poolchem, and we’re going to answer that age old question that’s been pondered in the back of every deep end swimmer’s mind – is it really okay to pee in the pool?

  • Divers hit the water at around 60 km/h.

  • Gold Coast swimmer Dan Smith’s journey to Rio is unlike anyone else’s on the Australian team. He overcame drug and alcohol addiction with help from the figure forever watching over Rio.