Swimmer's Daily

  • The drowning deaths of two decorated Navy SEALs in a training pool in Virginia Beach likely happened as the pair practiced holding their breath underwater.

    SO1 Brett Allen Marihugh and SO1 Seth Cody Lewis died after being found unresponsive at the bottom of the pool on Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in late April.

    The Navy’s investigation into their deaths was provided to NewsChannel 3 in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

    No video of the training facility shows exactly what happened to Marihugh and Lewis, nor were there any eyewitnesses to the actual drownings.

    However, investigators said the most likely scenario was that the drownings happened as result of breath-holding, based on witnesses who saw the pair before they were found at the bottom of the Combat Swimmer Training Facility and by those who attempted to rescue them.

    See NewsChannel 3

  • Twenty-year-old Deon Warren gets 30 years in prison for killing a 39-year-old father of two who was trying to break up a fist fight involving his son at the Bel Air Swim Club in Bowie in September of 2014.

    “He brought a gun to a fist fight that he had nothing to do with,” said Prince George’s County State’s Attorney spokesman John Erzen.

    Video of the incident released after sentencing shows Warren running toward the fight while brandishing a handgun. He then racks a shell into the chamber and points the gun toward the individuals involved in the fight. A gunshot is heard as the person shooting the video runs for cover.

    Victim Mitchell White III was an Amtrak ticket agent regarded as the patriarch of his large extended family. White was breaking up a fight between his teenage son and another teen that was occurring the parking lot of the swim club.

    See wusa9

  • You might not be able to swim in her path, but you can follow in Sarah’s footsteps to her favorite places in Stockholm.

    Boulebar Surbrunn
    Does a great brunch, and once you’ve finished eating you can enjoy a game of boules with your friends.

    Surbrunnsgatan 46
    boulebar.se

    Hornsbergs strand
    Take an afternoon walk here during the summer. Have dinner and a glass of wine at Piren or one of the other nearby restaurants. You might also want to bring a picnic, have a BBQ or go for a swim.

    Piren Restaurang & Bar
    Kristinebergs strand 2
    piren-bar.se

    Drottningholm Palace

    Taking a walk near Drottningholm Palace is a lovely experience, especially during the summer.

    kungahuset.se

    Read Scandinavian Traveler
    Drottningholm photo

    Photo by Tobias Lindman

    Featured photo by Tommie Hansen

  • Lyon, Rome and Dubrovnik is on the list when swimmer Sarah Sjöström make her top list of destinations in the world.

    Lyon
    One of the gastronomic capitals of the world with an excellent culinary offering. It’s also a lovely city that’s easy to get around. Every year, La Fête de Lumières sets Lyon awash with light, and it’s well worth seeing.

    Read Scandinavian Traveler

  • TrueSport Ambassador and Olympic Swimmer, Elizabeth Beisel shares some training tips.

    https://youtu.be/mIYU5KQIUWw

  • Go behind the scenes with Team Speedo to meet Ye Shiwen, the woman who stormed into the swimming record books aged 16, when she smashed the Olympic and world records. We meet the Chinese swimmer and get to know the double Olympic gold medallist.

  • A Towson University diving coach was indicted on criminal charges Monday in connection with a cellphone that was recording in the team’s locker room last month.

    Maureen Mead of Lutherville, 43, is charged in Baltimore County Circuit Court with interception of communication, peeping Tom and altering evidence, according to the university and online court records.

    On Oct. 16, members of the women’s swimming and diving team reported finding a smartphone that was recording them in their locker room in Burdick Hall.

    A message left at Mead’s home was not immediately returned Monday night and she does not have an attorney listed in court records.

    Mead is no longer listed on the team’s website as a member of the coaching staff. She previously had been listed as the diving coach.

    Read The Baltimore Sun and see CBS Baltimore

  • A sexual allegation against a local swim coach cost him his job and his future in the sport.

    Jack Maddan, the Head Coach of FLEET, the competitive swim team at Cy-Fair Swim Club on Spring Cypress Rd. has been banned for life from USA Swimming, the national governing body of competitive swimming in the United States. […]

    Parents of swimmers have jumped to Maddan’s defense telling Eyewitness News the ban is “tragic” and that their experience with Maddan has been only “positive.” One parent said when swimmers learned of the ban Wednesday night, one punched a wall so hard, he broke his hand.

    “There’s not an ounce of truth. There is no substance to the allegations. There is not evidence to the allegations,” Maddan told Eyewitness News. He wouldn’t discuss what he’s accused of citing a USA Swimming confidentiality policy but we’ve learned it’s from 16 years ago, made by a former swimmer who recently came forward alleging sexual misconduct.

    See ABC 13

  • Olympic champions and world-record holders Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md.) and Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.) claimed top honors as repeat Athlete of the Year winners Sunday at the 2015 USA Swimming Golden Goggle Awards at the JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE.

    Ledecky was the night’s big winner, claiming three awards – Female Athlete of the Year, Female Race of the Year for the 200-meter freestyle at the 2015 FINA World Championships and Relay Performance of the Year for anchoring the women’s 4x200m free relay to gold at the FINA World Championships – for the second straight year. […]

    The 18-year-old Ledecky earned Female Athlete of the Year honors for the third straight year with five gold medals, four of them in individual events, at the FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia. With victories in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events, Ledecky became the first swimmer to win gold in all four events at the same FINA World Championships. She also eclipsed her own world records in the 800m and 1500m free.

    “I’m very honored to be up here,” Ledecky said. “Everybody brings something special to the team – the coaches, the swimmers, the support staff. Everybody really deserves a lot of credit. I could thank so many people in this room for your support of USA Swimming and the USA Swimming Foundation.”

    Phelps won Male Athlete of the Year honors for the second straight year and the sixth time in his career. He was dominant at the Phillips 66 National Championships in San Antonio, posting world-best times for 2015 in a trio of events – the 100m fly, 200m fly and 200m IM. Equally as impressive was that each swim also cracked the top-eight performances of all-time.

    “Thank you for nominating me for this, and I look forward to big things next summer for all of us,” Phelps said.

    Read USA Swimming