Swimmer's Daily

  • At the one-year-out mark from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Team USA gold medalists Ricky Berens, Missy Franklin, Conor Dwyer, Katie Ledecky and Natalie Coughlin reflect on their Olympic memories.

  • World record-breaking free dive champion Natalia Molchanova never resurfaced Sunday during a dive off the coast of Spain’s Formentera island and is feared dead, her family said.
    Molchanova, 53, was diving with a group of three other divers for fun when she disappeared during what would have a dive of a modest depth for her — about 98 to 131 feet. Private and coast guard searchers scoured the area for the Russian diver for two days, but her son, Alexey, said Tuesday she is not expected to be found alive.

    International diving federation AIDA issued a joint statement with Molchanova’s family Tuesday.
    “The cause of Natalia’s disappearance is unknown, but she was doing what she loved,” the statement said. “Natalia has a passion for freediving that burned so deep inside of her that she dedicated her life to it.”
    Molchanova is widely regarded as the greatest free diver in history, The New York Times reported, holding 41 world records and winning 23 world championships. She could hold her breath for nine minutes and dive up to a depth of 331 feet.

    Read UPI

  • At the end of the third day of competition, the 16th FINA World Championships in Kazan (RUS) already register more new World Records (seven) than in the eight sessions of this discipline in Barcelona 2013. In the Catalonian capital, the number of new best global marks had not exceeded six, but thanks to the courtesy of Cameron van der Burgh, Adam Peaty and Katie Ledecky, the Russian rendezvous had another exciting day at the Kazan Arena.

    The men’s WR were set in the 50m breaststroke: in the morning prelims, Van der Burgh (RSA) clocked 56.62, but Peaty (GBR), already winner of the 100m here in Kazan, qualified first for the final in 56.42. The fight between the best two swimmers of the moment in this event should provide a supersonic final.

    Katie Ledecky (USA), Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) and Katinka Hosszu (HUN), by this order, marked the second day of the swimming competition at the 16th FINA World Championships Kazan 2015, by setting new World Records in the 1500m free, 100m butterfly, and 200m IM, respectively.

    On the first day of the 16th FINA World Championships in Kazan (RUS), the best performance appeared in a semi-final, when Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) qualified first for the decisive race in a World Record of 55.74 in the women’s 100m butterfly. The Swedish star improved the previous best global mark from Dana Vollmer (USA), who had raced for gold at the London 2012 Olympics in a time of 55.98.

    Read more on fina.org here, here and here

  • AUSTRALIA’S teen superfish Kyle Chalmers almost ruined his Dolphins swim team debut this year after his desire to play just one First XVIII AFL game for his South Australian school left him with a broken wrist and torn ankle ligaments.

    Chalmers, 17, revealed from Australia’s staging camp in Doha before the world titles starting August 2 that he has only just conquered a pair of injuries sustained making his first team debut for Immanuel College last May.

    The dual sporting champion desperately wanted to play just one senior game this year, his dad former AFL star Brett was the coach, but chipped a bone in his wrist after just five minutes but played on only to roll his ankle later in a horror afternoon of footy.

    Embarrassed by the situation, Chalmers tried to conceal his ankle injury for a few weeks from his swim coaches before finally getting the issue treated with cortisone injections to ease the swelling.

    His coaches have since banned Chalmers from playing football again as he pursues his Olympic swim dreams starting at the world titles in the 4x100m freestyle relay.

    “I would’ve been pretty upset (to miss the world titles), but I think I had to play a game of First XVIIIs at school,” Chalmers said.

    Read Courier Mail

  • China’s controversial Olympic swimming champion Sun Yang will probably compete in four events at the world championships starting in Russia this week, a report said Monday, a year after a secret three-month doping ban.

    Sun, a triple gold medalist at the 2013 Barcelona worlds, is expected to line up in the 200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter and 1,500-meter freestyle at the Kazan World Championships, the official Xinhua news agency said.

    Despite being a national sporting hero, Sun has had several brushes with authority and earned a wild reputation.

    China belatedly revealed in November that Sun served a three-month doping ban before last year’s Asian Games.

    The 1,500 meter world record-holder won three gold medals in Incheon in September after serving the previously unannounced ban. The failure was blamed on medicine for heart palpitations.

    The 23-year-old was also banned from swimming for six months and briefly jailed for driving without a license in 2013, which was discovered after his Porsche was hit by a bus.

    Read The China PostPhoto by KOREA.NET – Official page of the Republic of Korea

  • Swimming South Africa (SSA) announced a five-member squad on Tuesday, revealing a significant cut from the 17-member team that competed at the 2013 showpiece in Barcelona.

    The South African contingent would be spearheaded by defending 100m and 200m champion Chad le Clos and fellow Olympic gold medallist Cameron van der Burgh, who earned gold and silver in the 50m and 100m breaststroke finals at the previous global spectacle.

    Van der Burgh would compete in both his specialist distances, the federation confirmed, and Le Clos was geared up for three events, including the 50m fly.

    They would be joined by another breaststroke speedster, Ayrton Sweeney, rising middle-distance star Myles Brown and the versatile Sebastien Rousseau.

    While the indoor swimmers were limited in numbers, however, a 44-member squad was named to represent the country across five codes.

    The squad also included a six-member open water swimming team led by former 5km bronze medallist Chad Ho, men’s and women’s water polo sides, and synchro and diving representatives.

    Read The Citizen

  • The body of a 21-year-old man was found in the swimming pool at the Los Angeles home of actress Demi Moore, a spokeswoman for the film star and police said on Sunday.

    “I am in absolute shock,” Moore said in a statement through a representative. “I was out of the country traveling to meet my daughters for a birthday celebration when I got the devastating news.”

    “The loss of a child is an unthinkable tragedy and my heart goes out to this young man‘s family and friends,” Moore added.

    The Los Angeles Times newspaper cited the county coroner‘s office as saying the man drowned and was found early Sunday morning floating in the deep end of the pool at the Beverly Crest residence.

    Friends and family told authorities he did not know how to swim.

    Read Las Vegas Review-Journal

    https://youtu.be/BYUvhRM7yr0