Swimmer's Daily

  • In a new television spot for activewear company Under Armour, billion-time gold medalist Michael Phelps preps for his final trip to the Olympics. He swims! He carbo-loads! He sleeps in a tube! He lifts his legs while hanging from a pull-up bar! He swims some more! He remains completely still during a cupping therapy session! As if this Rio de Janeiro training montage wasn’t enough to get me all sorts of psyched for this summer’s games, the commercial threw in a tune that’s so good, it deserves a gold medal of its very own. The song in the Under Armour ad where Phelps prepares to say his last goodbye to the Olympics is “The Last Goodbye” by the Kills, the indie rock duo of Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince. This record was the fourth single off of the band’s 2011 full length album Blood Pressures.

    See Bustle

    https://youtu.be/Xh9jAD1ofm4

  • At 6 years old, Chloe Sutton knew she wanted to be an Olympic swimmer.

    The next 10 years — which were full of travel, sacrifice and hard work — that dream came true.

    Sutton reached her first Summer Olympics as a 16-year-old in 2008 in Beijing and repeated the feat four years later in London.

    However, after retiring from competition, the 24-year-old discovered a passion that she enjoys more than competition — imparting knowledge to younger swimmers across the country. Sutton made her first journey to West Texas where she is hosting a swimming clinic at Permian High School for the Odessa Aquatic Club.

    “I feel so much more joy helping a kid to find confidence or believe in themselves,” Sutton said teary-eyed. “Having that kind of impact on somebody and making a change on their life in such a positive way. A lot my swimmers’ parents tell me they get bullied at school, and they don’t have any confidence when they are swimming. They feel like they want to give up, and I help them through that. They become not only better swimmers, but better people all around. It means a lot to me to have that kind of impact.”

    Sutton is no stranger to traveling around the country. Her father, David, was in the Air Force with space and missile defense and retired from the military as a colonel. Her father was also in the Pentagon during Sept. 11. Sutton, who was born at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, said their family moved up and down the east and west coast.

    Moving around often, Sutton had to adapt at making friends quickly. That adaptation to meeting new people and experience different surroundings helped when Sutton became a professional swimmer.

    Read Stars and Stripes

  • The Yucatan Peninsula is rife with deep, sometimes creepy and hauntingly beautiful underwater caves called cenotes. Some have multiple layers of fresh water, seawater, stalagmites and stalactites and even trees. Many remain undiscovered and their depths unexplored. Freediver and scuba instructor Julien Borde, of Playa Del Carmen, explores this subterranean world for a living. Dive deep, hold your breath and don’t forget to open your eyes.

  • Olympic Silver Medallist, Double World Champion and Great Swim ambassador Keri-anne Payne shares her top suggestions to help you take on your first Great Swim in 2016.

  • Courtesy of The Australian Dolphins Swim Team

  • Members of a Northern York County YMCA swim team are looking for answers after their head coach was abruptly fired.

    Swimmers and their parents protested outside of the YMCA in Biddeford with signs that said “Bring Back Zach.”

    Zach Gray was head coach of the Manta Ray swim team for two years, but was let go on Tuesday. Those protesting say they believe Zach was fired for petty reasons, and say he has been nothing but an asset to the team.

    In a statement, the officials from the YMCA thanked Zach for his two years of service to the organization, but said they could not comment any further because personnel matters are confidential by law.

    See WCSH6

  • A 2010 study conducted in Denmark and published in the journal Epidemiology aimed to answer the question “Is Swimming During Pregnancy a Safe Exercise? by comparing swimming, bicycling and no exercise. Swimming is considered an ideal activity for pregnant women, the study found. There was no indication that swimming in pool water “is associated with adverse reproductive outcomes.”

    Read The New York Times

    Photo by Yachichurova

  • A California tech executive died Sunday after he jumped into a swimming pool to save his daughter, who was being electrocuted and turning blue in the water, PEOPLE confirms.

    Jim Tramel, 43, of Burlingame, California, saw his daughter, 9, struggling in the pool at a home in Palm Springs during a family gathering and leaped in to save her, police said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.

    Tramel was electrocuted as well, and both father and daughter had to be pulled from the pool by others at the gathering. The electrocutions likely occurred “as a result of faulty pool wires,” police said.

    When paramedics arrived, father and daughter were receiving CPR, police said. Tramel was pronounced dead at Desert Regional Medical Center a short time later. His daughter was said to be in critical condition at Loma Linda Medical University.

    Read People