Swimmer's Daily

  • It was gray and cloudy today with wisps of rain that would likely ruin your typical wedding – except maybe this one.

    Deep inside a 6.3 million gallon tank at the Georgia Aquarium, two love birds took the plunge – quite literally.

    The special event happened on Sunday in the Ocean Voyager tank built by Home Depot at the local aquarium where these newlyweds made a commitment almost as large as the whale sharks that surrounded them. That last part wasn’t just a pun – the tank housed the largest species of shark currently in existence.

    https://youtu.be/i3wm5-8dA48

    See 11Alive and Fox5

    via GIPHY

  • It only takes a little more than a hundred bucks and some creativity to create The Next Big Thing in college hoops.

    Look no further than the front row of the student section at Arizona State basketball games for proof.

    That’s where you’ll find the Curtain of Distraction, a gallery of absurdity that’s taken distracting opposing free-throw shooters and turned it into a signature for the university and earned international renown.

    Tim Schodt, a senior political science major, boasts one of the signature distractions, routinely stripping down to his skivvies and dragging a giant, homemade wrecking ball and chain behind the curtain for a demented tribute to Miley Cyrus’ iconic “Wrecking Ball” music video from 2013. Two attendants on both sides of the goal man the black curtain, which is simply strung up on a frame of PVC pipe painted yellow. Once the free-throw shooter gets the ball, they slide the curtain back, dramatically revealing a customized distraction meant to draw the shooter’s eyes from the rim.

    There’s the Unicorn Love Story, where two students wearing unicorn masks wait behind the curtain. When they’re revealed, one jumps into the other’s arms and a vigorous makeout session begins. In another, two students hold a third in a kayak. He rows, while the rest of the student section simultaneously reflects his strokes.

    The Curtain of Distraction made its debut during the 2013-14 season, and over time the costumes and props have piled up in a small storage room inside the tunnel at Wells Fargo Arena. In total, the curtain boasts more than 100 possible distractions. It’s had an on-floor impact, too. A New York Times study last year found the curtain’s presence “appears to give Arizona State an additional one- to two-point advantage per home game.”

    No distraction gained the student section more attention than when future assistant swimming coach Michael Phelps, who also happens to be the most successful Olympian of all time, showed up behind the curtain last month.

    Read Sports on Earth

    https://youtu.be/WvHdwH1wHsM

  • Come down to the ocean depths with freediver Karsten Moeller as he takes one breath to explore the Chrisoula K shipwreck.

  • A unifying and vibrant brand has been launched by the participating sports to promote the new European Championships which will be staged for the first time in Glasgow and Berlin in 2018.

    The dynamic Mark of a Champion is the star-like logo representing the vision at the heart of the multi-sport championships brand – to create a must-attend, must-watch experience that elevates the status of European Champions.

    The inspiring shapes and colours of the logo – created in partnership by the sports, Host Cities Glasgow and Berlin and broadcast partner the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) – come together to represent the defining moments that create champions.

    The logo was revealed today at an event in Glasgow attended by Great Britain swimmer Ross Murdoch. Ross spoke of his “golden moment” when he won Commonwealth Games gold in the pool in 2014 in Glasgow and said he couldn’t wait for the prospect of another chance to be a champion as part of a multi-sport event in front of a home crowd.

    Read len.eu and see europeansportschampionships.com

  • The sport of freediving is nothing new – divers in ancient Greece used to descend 30m for sponges, and the Ama divers in Japan would go to similar deaths in search of pearls. But it’s safe to say the sport has reached new depths in the last few years, as experts like Will Trubridge regularly hit 100m or more. So what does a freedive feel like?

    See RedBull

    Photo by Ben eBaker

  • This is a point that was recently printed in Australia’s ABC online news by writer Cathy Johnson who says that some believe that you are better off walking around a pool than swimming in it if you hope to lose weight. Part of the problem is that if you are overweight, then you are more buoyant and thereby will expend less energy to stay afloat than if you were relatively leaner.

    While such doubts that swimming is not as effective as walking toward weight loss may have some merit, Ms. Johnson points to a 2010 study that pitted swimmers against walkers with respect to weight loss as a measure.

    The study, published in the journal Metabolism―Clinical and Experimental, compared two groups of women who stuck to a year-long exercise regime of either walking or swimming at equal levels of intensity three times per week. At the end of the study, the data showed that the swimmers had lost more weight (about 2 and one-half pounds) and more off their waistlines (just under an inch) than those on the walking program.

    The lead author, Dr. Kay Cox― School of Medicine and Pharmacology (Royal Perth Hospital Unit), University of Western Australia―noted that part of the reason why the swimmers may have lost more weight had to do with exercising under cooler conditions in the water can result in an elevated metabolism to keep the body’s inner core warm. This concurs with a NASA scientist and inventor of The Cold Shoulder Vest, who says that swimming in cold water can be a major contributor to the amount of daily calories burned.

    However, the other side of the coin of this cool conditioning phenomenon is that it can also lead to a tendency of increased eating to help warm the body after swimming, which unlike exercising under warm conditions, leads to decreased appetite. Hence, here is an important swimming secret to weight loss―be sure to not allow yourself to turn to food after a swimming workout to warm your body advises the ABC news article.

    Read Emaxhealth

  • After months of speculation, Olympic swimming gold medallist Michael Klim and wife Lindy have announced their separation.

    The Polish-born Australian sportsman and the Balinese princess, who were married two months shy of a decade, have three children together – two daughters, Stella, 10, and Frankie, three, and son, Rocco, seven.

    On Thursday, their management issued a statement regarding their marriage split, saying their children are their main focus.

    “It is with much respect for each other that Michael and Lindy Klim have agreed to formally separate, believing that this decision is best for their family,” a spokesperson said.

    “Michael and Lindy’s children will always remain their highest priority, and their happiness will be Michael and Lindy’s primary focus.”

    Read The Sydney Morning Herald

    (A video of the couple, not related to the story …)

  • The 30-old-year Dutchwoman admitted she was shocked when she was told she was ill.

    “It is obviously very scary when you hear this news,” Dekker said in a statement posted on the website of the Dutch Swimming Federation.

    “For three years, I’ve been preoccupied with getting ready for the Rio Olympics, and then I heard this.

    “Suddenly, my life became very quiet and I could see that everything was relative.

    “I took a few days to get used to the news, but now I am looking with confidence towards the future.

    “I am focusing on being positive and giving my all to recover well.

    “I can only focus on the things I can influence, but I have certainly not put the Rio Olympics out of my head.”

    Read insidethegames.biz

  • When Munro was found, he was malnourished after an epic 2000-kilometre swim across sub-Antarctic waters.

    But now he weighs a healthy 3.3 kilograms and has a new home and a legion of fans at Taronga Zoo.

    This week, the zoo’s Fiordland crested penguin ran up to the scales, hopped on and then waited for his fishy treat.

    Read Sydney Morning Herald