Swimmer's Daily

  • Spanish swimmer Miguel Ortiz joined a number of top sportsmen and women around the world who have looked to gain a competitive edge by having laser eye surgery at Optical Express. Miguel talks about his experience of Optical Express in Japan and the effect laser eye surgery has had on his performance in the pool as he strives for the next Olympics in Rio.

  • Craig Hummer and Rowdy Gaines interview Michael Phelps at the conclusion of the Arena Pro Swim Series at Charlotte.

  • An outbreak of a stomach bug that was tied to swimming in one Oregon lake highlights a perhaps less obvious hazard of summer fun.

    Last July, 70 people became ill with norovirus — a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea — after visiting a lake near Portland, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than half of those who got sick were kids ages 4 to 10.

    The researchers determined that the lake was likely the source of the infection after they found that people who swam in the lake were about two times more likely to develop vomiting or diarrhea, compared to people who visited the park but didn’t swim, the report said. People typically developed symptoms about a day after they were exposed to the virus.

    Read LiveScience

    Photo by Jem Hologram.

  • The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have acknowledged that a French television documentary which saw eight athletes undergo a month-long period of micro-dosing did “raise questions” about the ability of athletes to avoid testing positive by taking minimal amounts of performance enhancing substances.

    Athletes participating in the study, documented by France 2’s sports magazine show Stade 2, underwent a VO2 max test, a time trial on a static bike and a 3,000 metre run before repeating the tests after a month-long process of micro-dosing, using prohibited substances such as erythropoietin (EPO).

    The study attempted to demonstrate how athletes could avoid detection from the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) through the process of micro-dosing, whilst they athletes displayed an average improvement of 6.1 per cent in the VO2 max test, as well as 2.3 and 2.8 per cent gains in the time trial and runs respectively.

    WADA have now confirmed that they are now aware of the five completed profiles produced by the study and in a statement outlined that the ABP would have flagged up the profiles as possible doping cases.

    “Of those five, two would have been considered “positive” cases under the ABP model if properly used, and three would have been “suspicious” cases leading to targeted testing,” the statement read.

    The ABP system has been credited as a key tool in the fight against doping, by developing a blood profile of athletes and flagging abnormalities but micro-dosing has been suggested as a way of bypassing the system and avoiding detection.

    Read Inside the Games

    Photo by CiclismoItalia

  • The Netherlands will take the torch of Baku 2015 European Games, as the country’s bid won the European Games 2019.

    The decision was taken at the meeting of the Extraordinary General Assembly of the European Olympic Committee in Turkey on May 16. The representatives of 50 National Olympic Committees of Europe gathered in Belek for their annual seminar.

    Invited by the Turkish NOC and its President Ugur Erdener, 180 delegates addressed the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and Agenda 2020.

    The second day of the event discussed the inaugural European Games in Baku. Following, a workshop was transformed into an Extraordinary General Assembly, which decided on the venue for the second European Games.

    The Dutch were the only bidders for the European Games 2019, an exciting and innovative new multi-sport event for the continent.

    EOC president Patrick Hickey said the Dutch proposition “prioritizes flexibility, sustainability and world-class quality.”

    The country is expected to hold the Games in different cities – which are not defined yet. Amsterdam, The Hague and Eindhoven are expected to be the main host cities though, while Rotterdam and Utrecht withdrew in view of the cost.

    Read Azernews

    According to DutchNews, there might be a financial issue remaining, before the 2019 European Games are set to be in the Netherlands:

    The organisation of the 2019 games has a price tag of €125m which the sports body hopes to raise from national, local and provincial government as well as commercial sponsorship.

    A number of sports associations are known to be concerned about the finances and have criticised the government for not coming forward with a substantial part of the budget. Rotterdam and Utrecht have also pulled out of the organising process because of the costs.

    The sports ministry says it will take a decision on whether or not to support the event by the end of June.

    According to Around the Rings, swimming might have a bigger presence at the 2019 European Games than now at the Baku 2015 Games:

    Swimming will also only have a minor presence at Baku 2015.

    But Hickey says meetings are being planned with the European swimming federation to ensure the 2019 Games offers a much bigger aquatics program.

    Photo by John-Morgan

  • Twenty-five beaches in England may fail to meet tough new EU standards for bathing water quality that come into force on Friday.

    Water at the 417 bathing spots monitored by the Environment Agency (EA) in 2014 was cleaner than ever recorded, with 99.5% meeting standards for intestinal enterococci and E. coli, faecal bacteria that cause eye and ear infections and gastroenteritis. In 1988, a third of swimming spots failed the tests.

    But the data published by the EA on Friday show that authorities will have to redouble efforts to make all public swimming areas safe under the revised EU Bathing Water Directive, which comes into force this summer bathing season.

    Beaches including Blackpool Central and North, Clacton, Ilfracombe Wildersmouth, Hastings, Lyme Regis Church Cliff Beach, Morecambe South, Lancing and Walpole Bay at Margate are among those predicted to fall foul of the stricter rules this summer.

    The new European standards will cut acceptable levels of harmful bacteria in half. The change will bring the UK’ standards, which have stayed the same since the late 1970s, in line with advice from the World Heath Organisation.

    Read The Guardian

    Photo by michael_d_beckwith

  • The second part of Christophe Luxereau’s web series about 16-year-old French swimmer Anna is now ready. In French, but with possibility for YouTube translation.

  • Floodwaters may have shut down Wellington’s train stations, but a group of thrillseekers have found a fun but unsanitary way to take advantage.

    Heavy rain on Wednesday meant the stairwell at Porirua Train Station had completely filled up with water, prompting young locals to strip down and go for a swim.

    The footage shows a group of young people clinging onto the fence above before bombing into the brown water.

    “Awww, gross,” the woman filming the stunt says.

    Her concerns are well-established, given fears of potential sewage contamination.

    Local mayor Nick Leggett initially posted the video to his Facebook page, labelling it a “harmless bit of fun”.

    But he has since changed his tune.

    See ninemsn

    https://youtu.be/K2oEVmaSapU

  • Providing free swimming to children was a flagship policy by the Welsh Government designed at encouraging children to get fit and healthy at a time when levels of obesity are soaring.

    But as devastating cuts are handed down to local authorities, including the reduction of its National Free Swimming Initiative funding in February, children across Wales are the latest victims of austerity.

    It seems some authorities have pledged to maintain the provision, while others struggle to meet the costs themselves, prompting concerns that, while the Welsh Government is bound to protect frontline services, the long term health of some communities will be affected.

    Every authority in Wales has been affected by massive funding cuts and has had to adapt their budgets to mitigate the loss of provision, many of which have offered free swimming for under 16s in the summer holidays for more than ten years.

    Read WalesOnline

    Photo by Katelyn Fay