Swimmer's Daily

  • Queen of Europe, Tania Cagnotto captures 19th gold

    Italy’s Tania Cagnotto took a 28-27 ‘lead’ on the all-time medal table at the Europeans over Germany’s Patrick Hausding by clinching the 3m title with ease on Saturday. Ukraine added another gold to their impressive tally in diving (3-2-3) by winning the mixed 10m synchro ahead of the Brits and that puts them atop in the diving medal table (GB has 2-4-3) with one day to go.

    TIMOSHININA Yulia SHLEIKHER Nikita RUS bronze medal, WARD Georgia LEE Matthew GBR silver medal, PROKOPCHUK Iuliia DOLGOV Maksym UKR gold medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Mixed synchronised platform final Day 06 14-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    WARD Georgia LEE Matthew GBR silver medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Mixed synchronised platform final Day 06 14-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    PROKOPCHUK Iuliia DOLGOV Maksym UKR gold medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Mixed synchronised platform final Day 06 14-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    Tania CAGNOTTO ITA Italy Gold Medal Women’s 3m Springboard Final London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Day 06 14-05-2016 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    Tania CAGNOTTO ITA Italy Gold Medal Women’s 3m Springboard Final London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Day 06 14-05-2016 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    Usci FREITAG NED Netherlands Silver Medal, Tania CAGNOTTO ITA Italy Gold Medal, Grace REID GBR Great Britain Bronze Medal Women’s 3m Springboard Final London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Day 06 14-05-2016 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto

    Tania Cagnotto has become the most decorated diver in the history of the Europeans by clinching her 28th medal in the event’s history, 19 of them are gold. It’s interesting that among the 19 titles Cagnotto has amassed, this is only her 3rd gold in the 3m event – she had 2 from 10m (her first two titles, indeed), 7 from 1m and further 7 from 3m synchro. The previous two 3m wins came in 2009 and in 2015 at the stand-alone diving Europeans so this was the first time that Cagnotto was able to win this individual event at the ‘big’ Europeans.

    She came up with a balanced performance, began with two 70+ pointers and didn’t make any big mistake thereafter. Ukraine’s Anastasiia Nedobiga, winner of the prelims, was ahead of her after two rounds but bowed out of contention in the third through a disastrous attempt. Other rivals also had smaller errors here and there while Cagnotto didn’t succumb to the pressure and saved her best to the last round by showing the best dive of the final, the only one gaining over 80 points with 9.0s and 9.5s in the mix. Her winning margin (30 points) mirrored the difference between the respective performances, Cagnotto was the only one in the field with three out of five dives over 70 points (one over 80), while in the top six only two other 70+ attempts were recorded altogether.

    Uschi Freitag brought some joy to her ‘new’ but native country, the Netherlands, the former German athlete clinching the silver, the first diving medal for the Dutch in almost 30 years. The hosts also had a fine day, the hunt for the bronze turned into an in-house competition between Grace Reid and Rebecca Gallantree. Reid edged out her British team-mate by 5.30 points (and was really close to the second place, she trailed only 2.05 points to Freitag).

    The mixed 10m event’s premiere couldn’t have been any more thrilling and tighter. After the penultimate round the top three stood within 5.16 points, with the Ukrainians leading the race. And Iuliia Prokopchuk and Maksym Dolgov kept their calm and the top position in the last round as they managed to produce their best dive upon the last attempt, indeed the best of the final for 77.76 points. This was Prokopchuk’s second gold after coming first in the 10m individual event, while Dolgov had a bronze from the men’s 10m synchro.

    The Brits, Georgia Ward and Matthew Lee did the second best (75.84) in the fifth round and earned the silver, while the Russians managed to overtake the Italian pair in the very last round, so Yulia Timoshinina and Nikita Shleikher captured the bronze, ahead of Noemi Batki and Maicol Verzotto – it was quite tight, the duos were separated by 3.07 points.

    For detailed results please visit LEN’s renewed website: www.len.eu

    Direct link: http://len.eu/?p=4378

    Press release from LEN, photos courtesy of Deepbluemedia

  • Russia, Ukraine on the roll, happy end for the Brits

    Russia finished the synchro events with eight gold medals. They earned them in as many starts, the remaining one went to the Ukrainians in the team free event which the Russians skipped this time. Ukraine had a fine evening in the diving pool as well with Iuliia Prokopchuk clinching the title in the women’s platform. A thrilling competition closed the day and at the end the pool erupted as Jack Laugher and Christopher Mears captured a gold for Great Britain.

    Manila FLAMINI Giorgio MINISINI ITA Silver Medal Mixed Duet Final London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchronized Swimming Day 05 13-05-2016 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    MALTSEV Aleksandr KALANCHA Mikhaela RUS RUSSIA Gold Medal Mixed Duet Final London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchronized Swimming Day 05 13-05-2016 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    FLAMINI Manila / MINISINI Giorgio ITA Silver Medal MALTSEV Aleksandr / KALANCHA Mikhaela RUS Gold RIBES Pau / FERRERAS Berta ESP Bronze Mixed Duet Final London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchronized Swimming Day 05 13-05-2016 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    UKRAINE UKR Gold Medal ANANASOVA Lolita / VOLOSHYNA Anna IUSHKO Daria / GRECHYKHINA Olena SAVCHUK Anastasiya / SYDORENKO Kseniya SABADA Oleksandra / SADURSKA Kateryna Team Free Final London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchronized Swimming Day 05 13-05-2016 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    from left Ukraine UKR, Russia RUS, Italy ITA London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchronised Swimming Synchro Duet Tech Day 06 13-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    ISHCHENKO Natalia ROMASHINA Svetlana RUS London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchronised Swimming Synchro Duet Tech Day 06 13-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    from left ITA silver medal, UKR gold medal, ESP bronze medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchronised Swimming Synchro Team Free Final Day 06 13-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    PROKOPCHUK Iuliia UKR gold medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Women’s 10m platform final Day 05 13-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    LAUGHER Jack MEARS Christopher GBR gold medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Men’s 3m springboard final Day 05 13-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    3m. Synchro men Podium (L to R) RUS ZAKHAROV Ilia, KUZNETSOV Evgenii Silver; GBR LAUGHER Jack, MEARS Christopher Gold; UKR KVASHA Ilyia, GORSHKOVOZOV Oleksandr London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships 3m. Synchro men Podium Day 05 13-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    10 m. Women Podium (L to R) Tonia COUCH GBR silver; Yulyia PROKOPCHUK UKR Gold; Georgia WARD GBR Bronze London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving 10 m. women Day 06 13-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    Ukraina UKR London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchronised swimming synchro Team Free Final Day 05 13-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto

    Two more golds for Russia in the morning: the ruling synchro nation swept all the titles in the events they entered. In the duet technical final Svetlana Romashina and Natalia Ishchenko enchanted the fans once more – and maybe for the last time at the Europeans as Ishchenko might retire after the Olympics. With a dozen titles under her belt and 34 golds in Natalia’s treasury from the three major international events, the London Aquatics Centre bade farewell to the most decorated synchro swimmer of all time.

    In the mixed duet technical final the Russian pair’s dominance was even more visible, Aleksandr Maltsev, dressed as a soldier, performed the same routine as last year in Kazan, this time with his new partner, Mikhaela Kalancha. This time they received higher marks and came one step closer to the 90-point barrier which has never been crossed in the mixed technical so far (not even the world champion US duet of Bill May and Christina Jones in Kazan).

    The team free event’s final saw the first huge turnout at the synchro competitions, seats were filled for the most spectacular show of the discipline and the customers weren’t disappointed. Even though they couldn’t see the Russians’ miracle as the top nation skipped this part, as usual in the Olympic year when they opt to show the usually brand-new choreography only at the Games in order to create the maximum astonishment in the most important competition. Still, the others produced some thrills and magic, the powerful lifts and jumps of the Ukrainians, the vibrant water dances of the Italians and the Spaniards all pleased the crowd. With the Russians away, Ukraine got its first gold ahead of Italy and Spain and since Ukraine entered all events, they amassed enough points to finish ahead of Russia and clinch the Team Trophy.

    The Ukrainian march continued in the diving pool as Iuliia Prokopchuk won the women’s platform for the fifth time her career. Nearing her 30th birthday this was a really balanced performance from one of the most dedicated divers of the Old Continent who won her first title 10 years ago. While her rivals had some ups and downs during the final, her lowest mark was 7.5, a rarity, while loads of 8.5s and 9.0s secured her win. The Brits chased her but even if Tonia Couch produced the best dive of the event, two weaker attempts prevented her from really challenging Prokopchuk. The bronze also stays in London, thanks to Georgia Ward.

    Still, the Brits earned a full set of medals adding a gold to the girls’ silver and bronze. Jack Laugher left the scene with sadness on his face a day ago after he won the prelims with a huge margin but had to settle for the silver after a couple of errors in the final. This time, however, he was up to the task with Chris Mears. It was a thrilling ride with the Brits, the Russians and the Ukrainians chasing each other, after four rounds the Brits held a 5.88 points lead while the other two were separated by 0.06 points…

    Still, the margin grew in the last two rounds as all three pairs came up with tremendous dives: at the peak of the battle they were able to show their very best. Both the Brits and the Russians performed 90+ pointers on their last two attempts, while the Ukrainians offered the highest scoring dive in the penultimate round for 98.04 but their last one was only enough for the bronze, while the somersault-battle (4 and half for both) favoured the Brits this time, much to joy of the enthusiastic crowd. And perhaps Laugher could leave the pool with a smile on his face: good things can also happen on Friday the 13th.

    For detailed results please visit LEN’s renewed website: www.len.eu

    Direct link: http://len.eu/?p=4378

    Press release from LEN, photos courtesy of Deepbluemedia

  • Hausding and Klein on Cloud 9

    Russia made it 6 out of 6 in synchro so far. Again, no one could match the level of their performance, either with only one swimmer in the pool– as in the solo technical – or with 10, as in the free combination final. The Russian march continued in the diving pool, courtesy of Evgeny Kuznetsov while the day’s last title went to Germany as Patrick Hausding and Sascha Klein edged out the Brits in the men’s 10m synchro by 0.96 points and wrote history by winning their 9th title in a row.

    RUSSIA RUS Gold Medal KOLESNICHENKO Svetlana VALITOVA Darina PATSKEVICH Aleksandra SHISHKINA Alla SHUROCHKINA Maria CHIGIREVA Vlada TOPILINA Gelena PROKOFYEVA Elena NIZAMOVA Liliia GOLIADKINA Marina Free Combination Final London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchronized Swimming Day 04 12-05-2016 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    KUZNETSOV Evgenii RUS gold medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Men’s 3m springboard final Day 04 12-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    ROMASHINA Svetlana RUS RUSSIA gold medal, VOLOSHYNA Anna UKR UKRAINE silver medal, CERRUTI Linda ITA ITALY bronze medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchro Solo Technical final Day 04 12-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    KUZNETSOV Evgenii RUS gold medal, LAUGHER Jack GBR silver medal, KVASHA Illya UKR bronze medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Men’s 3m springboard final Day 04 12-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    KLEIN Sascha HAUSDING Patrick GER gold medal, DALEY Tom GOODFELLOW Daniel GBR silver medal, GORSHKOVOZOV Oleksandr DOLGOV Maksym UKR bronze medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Men’s synchronized 10m platform final Day 04 12-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    ROMASHINA Svetlana RUS RUSSIA gold medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchro Solo Technical final Day 04 12-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    KLEIN Sascha HAUSDING Patrick GER gold medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Men’s synchronized 10m platform final Day 04 12-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    Jack LAUGHER GBR Silver Medal Men’s 3m Springboard Final London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Day 04 12-05-2016 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    RUSSIA RUS Gold Medal KOLESNICHENKO Svetlana VALITOVA Darina PATSKEVICH Aleksandra SHISHKINA Alla SHUROCHKINA Maria CHIGIREVA Vlada TOPILINA Gelena PROKOFYEVA Elena NIZAMOVA Liliia GOLIADKINA Marina Free Combination Final London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchronized Swimming Day 04 12-05-2016 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto

    Svetlana Romashina won the first solo technical final ever held at the Europeans (previously the technical routine was part of the combined result of the respective events). With the compulsory elements in the focus, Romashina’s brilliance couldn’t shine that much. Still, she was the only one to receive points equal or above 9.0 from all judges. Just for comparison: bronze medallist Linda Cerruti of Italy had only three marks above 9, all the rest remained in the field of 8s. As expected, Anna Volosyhna brought another silver for Ukraine.

    The same three nations took the medals in the free combination and in the same order. The Russian team offered another spectacular show, with plenty of beautiful and surprising moves, with no relaxation for any swimmer during the performance. Even a 9.9 flashed on the scoreboard while high 9s were flying all over the place, securing another gold for the Russians.

    And one more arrived in the diving pool in the evening. Whenever a Russian wins the men’s 3m springboard it cannot be labelled a surprise (unless you do it at the Olympics and beat the Chinese, like Ilia Zakharov did four years ago in this venue) – though this time Evgeniy Kuznetsov’s victory was a bit unexpected after Jack Laugher had come up with a hell of a performance in the prelims. All but one of his dives was worth 80+ points, he finished atop by 61.85 points – so the scene seemed to be set for a British triumph in the evening.

    For two rounds it went as expected, Laugher even got a 10 for his second dive, much to the joy of the crowd filling the stands at the diving pool. The blow came in the following round when the home hero missed his entry, got 4.5s, while Kuznetsov produced an average one for 6-7s, gaining 30 points on Laugher. In the meantime Ukraine’s Illya Kvasha – bronze medallist in Berlin 2014 – offered a balanced though not outstanding series of attempts, his best in the fourth (91.20) put him atop. However, next came Kuznetsov with a 89.25 pointer in the fifth while Kvasha couldn’t hold on, and Laugher was also off his best, after hitting 91.65 in the fourth, a modest fifth followed so the Russian took the lead.

    And he saved his best to the last, a 100-point beauty, which secured his win as Kvasha and Laugher did their job in the last round but far from perfection. In fact it was Ilia Zakharov who got closest to that dimension: after an embarrassingly bad dive in the second round, when former European title-holder Patrick Hausding also wrote off his own chances, the Olympic champion almost achieved a miracle but the dive of the evening (for 102.60, with 9.0s and a 9.5 in the mix) was not enough for him to make the podium this time.

    The home fans left the scene slightly disappointed at the end of the day as the second final of the evening also brought a silver for the Brits. Just as in the women’s 10m synchro event, the host duo led before the last round, but again an error prevented them from staying atop. In fact, all credit goes to the Germans, Patrick Hausding and Sascha Klein, who completed an unparalleled success story by clinching their 9th title in succession, a feat which can hardly be matched in the future. Their winning margin was pretty tiny, 0.96 points, still it brought a well-deserved win for the two veterans who clinched their first gold in 2008 and have won each European ever since. The perfect 10 might not happen as a farewell is also in the cards – if it should come, we witnessed a great finish from two fantastic athletes.

    For detailed results please visit LEN’s renewed website: www.len.eu

    Direct link: http://len.eu/?p=4378

    Press release from LEN, photos courtesy of Deepbluemedia

  • James Derek Lovelace was attempting to do an exercise called ‘drown proofing’

    An underwater training course for Navy SEALs that the Washington Post calls “legendarily difficult” proved fatal Friday for one student at a California naval station. James Derek Lovelace, 21, who had just joined the Navy six months ago and completed basic training in January, was wrapping up the last day of his first week of training in basic underwater demolition/SEAL training, aka BUD/S, when class instructors noticed he was having issues and took him out of the pool, the Virginian-Pilot reports. He lost consciousness and couldn’t be revived at the scene at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado; he was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The training exercise Lovelace was attempting is part of what’s called “drown proofing,” where participants don a camouflage utility uniform and diving masks and then have to tread water and swim, Navy spokesman Lt. Trevor Davids explains. He adds that the cause of Lovelace’s death is still being investigated, per the AP.

    Via Newser

     

  • Magic of the mermaids

    Russia doubled up synchro golds and Natalia Ishchenko and Svetlana Romashina produced a women’s duet which was truly a class above the rest. In diving, Tania Cagnotto clinched her 18th European title and the 7th in the 1m, while Tom Daley and Grace Reid delivered the first gold for the hosts in the historic first mixed 3m event.

    Grace REID Thomas DALEY GBR Great Britain Gold Medal 3M Synchro Mixed Final London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Day 03 11-05-2016 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    CAGNOTTO Tania ITA gold medal BERTOCCHI Elena ITA silver medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Women’s 1m springboard final Day 03 11-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    CAGNOTTO Tania ITA gold medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Women’s 1m springboard final Day 03 11-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    MINISINI Giorgio PERRUPATO Mariangela ITA silver medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchro Duet free final Day 03 11-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    MALTSEV Aleksandr KALANCHA Mikhaela RUS gold medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchro Mixed duet free final Day 03 11-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    Maicol VERZOTTO Tania CAGNOTTO ITA Silver Medal Thomas DALEY Grace REID GBR Gold Medal Nadezhda BAZHINA Nikita SHLEIKHER RUS Bronze Medal 3M Synchro Mixed Final London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Day 03 11-05-2016 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    Natalia ISHCHENKO Svetlana ROMASHINA RUS Gold Medal Duet Free Final London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchronized Swimming Day 03 11-05-2016 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    Lolita AFANASOVA Anna VOLOSHYNA UKR Ukraine Silver Medal Natalia ISHCHENKO Svetlana ROMASHINA RUS Gold Medal Linda CERRUTI Costanza FERRO ITA Italy Bronze Medal Duet Free Final London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchronized Swimming Day 03 11-05-2016 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    Giorgio MINISINI Mariangela PERRUPATO ITA ITALY Silver Medal Aleksandr MALTSEV Mikhaela KALANCHA RUS Gold Medal Pau RIBES Berta FERRERAS ESP SPAIN Bronze Medal Mixed Duet Free Final London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchronized Swimming Day 03 11-05-2016 Photo Andrea Staccioli/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto

    (more…)

  • With the Olympics set to begin in less than three months in Rio de Janeiro, one of Brazil’s most successful soccer players has a surprisingly ominous message for international visitors: Stay away.

    Brazil is getting “more ugly,” said Rivaldo, who was on the country’s 2002 World Cup-winning squad, forming part of a lethal attacking trio with Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.

    Rivaldo warned people on social media about the violence plaguing the city, citing the killing of a 17-year-old girl over the weekend.
    The message is likely to frustrate the country’s leaders, who have been trying to dispel the notion that Brazil is not ready for the games and Rio is not safe for tourists.

    See video on CNN

    https://youtu.be/1H7azzJJCY0

  • You don’t need other people to swim, but a Microsoft Research project can spice up your swimming routine by putting you in or pitting you against virtual teams. Redmond’s research division is working with a team of researchers from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) to develop SwimTrain. It’s a system consisting of an app, a waterproof case for your smartphone and a pair of underwater headphones that provides sensory/auditory feedback. SwimTrain puts you in a team of three swimmers — if you’re competing, it tells you how you’re doing against your two virtual opponents. If you’re in the same team, it helps you maintain your strokes so you can keep up with your virtual teammates.

    See Engadget

  • Ischenko’s reign goes on, Kvasha and the Germans shine in the diving pool

    Natalia Ishchenko proved that she is still the queen of synchro, pulling out a clean win once more in the solo free. The first non-Russian gold in London went to Ukraine’s Illya Kvasha, who clinched the 1m title in diving, while Germany’s Maria Kurjo and My Phan won the women’s 10m synchro amidst dramatic circumstances.

    (L to R) Giovanni TOCCI ITA silver; Ilya Kvasha UKR gold; Kostantin BLAHA AUT bronze London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships DIVING 1M. SPRINGBOARD MEN FINAL Day 02 10-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    (L to R) Ukraina UKR KRASNOSHLYK – TATSENKO silver ; Germany GER KURJO – PHAN Gold ; HUN Hungary KORMOS – REISINGER bronze London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships DIVING 10M. Synchro Platform Women FINAL Day 02 10-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Scala/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    ISCHENKO Natalia RUS gold medal, VOLOSHYNA Anna UKR silver medal, CERRUTI Linda ITA bronze medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchro Solo free final Day 02 10-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    ISCHENKO Natalia RUS gold medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Synchro Solo free final Day 02 10-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    KVASHA Ilyia UKR London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Men’s 1m springboard final Day 02 10-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    KVASHA Ilyia UKR London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Men’s 1m springboard final Day 02 10-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    Team GER KURJO Maria PHAN My gold medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Women’s 10m synchronised platform final Day 02 10-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto
    TOCCI Giovanni ITA silver medal London, Queen Elizabeth II Olympic Park Pool LEN 2016 European Aquatics Elite Championships Diving Men’s 1m springboard final Day 02 10-05-2016 Photo Giorgio Perottino/Deepbluemedia/Insidefoto

    (more…)

  • Fiona Doyle is a swimmer from Limerick, who lives, works and trains on a Sports scholarship at the University of Calgary. Travelling across the globe in pursuit of the Olympic qualifying time isn’t easy, but it is even tougher for Fiona, as she is to live so far from her family.