Swimmer's Daily

  • Children with disabilities often can’t participate in team sports. A new documentary called “Swim Team” chronicles the Jersey Hammerheads, a swim team for kids with autism.

  • Swimming is the #funnestsport because of…Teamwork. Olympians Jessica Hardy and Brendan Hansen, rising swimmer Kendall Shields, and swim club parent Pat Forde talk about why they believe teamwork makes swimming so much fun.

  • The Court of Arbitration for Sport has dismissed an appeal by Indian swimmer Amar Muralidharan over a 2010 positive doping test for the banned stimulant methylhexaneamine.

    The decision announced Thursday was the first case conducted at the CAS Alternative Hearing Centre in Abu Dhabi. CAS is based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

    Muralidharan, a butterfly and freestyle swimmer who held six national titles, appealed to CAS over his two-year ban following his positive test at the Indian national championships in 2010, saying his doping test had not been handled properly by a New Delhi testing laboratory.

    CAS found that although there were “unfortunate and avoidable” typographical errors associated with the test, they had “no impact on the reliability or integrity of the sample.”

    Read The Times of India

  • The former coach of Michigan Lakeshore Aquatics told police he was sexting his wife when he was caught exposing himself at a hotel pool, police said.

    Troy Emmons, 53, was “completely naked” when Saugatuck-Douglas police showed up after being dispatched on a lewdness complaint at AmericInn in Douglas, Police Chief Ken Giles told a judge.

    “He said he was at that time, sending text messages along with pictures to his wife, who was out of town in Idaho,” Giles said, according to a recording obtained by MLive and The Grand Rapids Press.

    See MLive

  • Myles Brown held on for dear life to claim the 200m freestyle title from Olympic star Chad Le Clos at the SA championships in Durban on Wednesday night.

    Le Clos failed to win either of his two races‚ including his favourite 200m butterfly‚ on a night he described as one of his worst.

    Brown had the lead coming out of the final turn and he powered home to touch first in 1:47.44; Le Clos‚ unable to produce his trademark strong finish‚ clocked 1:47.89.

    Both times beat the qualifying mark for the world championships in Kazan‚ Russia‚ in August.

    “It was a nice race to win‚ especially racing against Chad in the 200m free‚” said Brown‚ who has also qualified in the 400m freestyle.

    “All I was doing in that last lap was to hold on for dear life. I managed to hold on and hold him off. I was‚ of course‚ expecting more from him in that last 50m.”

    Brown laughed off a suggestion that he had out-psyched Le Clos. “It’s very hard to get into Chad’s head‚ so I had to be alert at all times‚ especially when making that final turn.”

    Brown was not entirely pleased with his time‚ which was outside the top 10 in the world rankings.

    Le Clos agreed: “I was disappointed because of the time. If it was a 1:46 then it would be different. I think we (including Brown) were both slow.

    “In a final there was pressure on both of us. I think we were focused on beating each other – which is something [coach] Graham Hill warned. I should have been more confident.”

    Read Times Live

    Photo by Doha Stadium Plus

  • It’s July 28, 2012. What turns out to be the night of the most scrutinized 100 meters of swimming at the London Olympics.

    China’s Ye Shiwen, 16, covers the final two lengths of the eight-length 400m individual medley in 58.68 seconds, a time that didn’t seem possible for a woman.

    Ye destroyed those closing 100 meters of freestyle 2.9 seconds faster than the next swiftest finalist and .03 slower than men’s 400m individual medley gold medalist Ryan Lochte. She shattered the women’s 400m IM world record by 1.03 seconds.

    The last 100 meters were watched again and again, the eye-popping, dubious Ye flying past American Elizabeth Beisel for gold.

    Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu says she remembers everything about that race. Ye was in lane five. Hosszu was in lane three.

    “In my mind,” said Hosszu, the 2009 World 400m IM champion, “I was going there for the gold.”

    Hosszu led Ye, Beisel and the field after 100 meters of butterfly and at the 200-meter mark, after the backstroke leg. But she fell behind Beisel and Ye on the breaststroke and trailed by 1.89 seconds going into those final 100 meters.

    “A lot of people tell you before the race, stay positive, and you cannot think about what happens if you lose,” Hosszu said in a phone interview Tuesday. “I was so focused on winning. The last 100, I’m not winning anymore. I kind of gave up.”

    Hosszu turned at the 300-meter mark, looked ahead, breathed to her right and saw the feet of Beisel and Ye pulling away. The gold was gone. Battling for bronze didn’t enter her mind.

    “I kind of took a couple of easy strokes,” Hosszu said, “and I actually didn’t even make it to the podium.”

    Hosszu trailed by 3.06 seconds after 350 meters, still clinging to third place, but was passed by China’s Li Xuanxu for bronze in the final stretch. She finished fourth, 5.06 seconds behind Ye and .58 of a second behind Li.

    It was the first night of swimming at the London Games. Hosszu, then 23, had two more individual events left, plus a relay.

    “My Olympics was pretty much done,” she said. “I wanted to go home.”

    Read NBC OlympicTalk

    Photo by Doha Stadium Plus

  • After a months-long investigation into a hazing scandal Western Kentucky University was rocked by the announcement that the swim and dive program had been suspended for five years.

    Pictures on the swim and dive team’s Facebook page shows members huddled together during a match. But now, the team is torn apart in the wake of a hazing scandal.

    “I was kind of surprised, but you never really know what’s going on behind closed doors sometimes,” said Marcus Ward, a member of the WKU football team.

    The university, the NCAA and Bowling Green Police joined forces after a swim team member filed a complaint. In it the all-star athlete claims that he was assaulted, threatened, forced to drink alcohol and was humiliated for months. Police found evidence of marijuana, alcohol and poster boards with pictures of naked team members at a fraternity house. One of the pictures was marked with a racial slur.

    See WAVE3

    wave3.com-Louisville News, Weather

  • An emotional and rejuvenated Michael Phelps confirmed Wednesday what the swimming world had long assumed — he’ll try to add to his record total of 22 Olympic medals at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

    Phelps made his Olympic intentions plain the day before his return to competition after a six-month suspension for drunk driving. He’ll swim the 100-meter butterfly at the Mesa Arena Pro Swim Series meet on Thursday.

    His presence promises a festive atmosphere here and greater attention for the sport as eyes turn toward the 2016 Olympics.

    “I’m really excited,” fellow Olympic gold medalist Breeja Larson said of Phelps’ Rio announcement. “I think he brings a lot of excitement to the sport and a lot of spectators. The more spectators there are, the more fun it is for us. And it’s really cool to be part of a team with veterans who’ve gone through a lot and to see his example of how he handles different situations with media and crowds.”

    Phelps, who grew up in Rodgers Forge and lives and trains in Baltimore, described a period of “brutal” self-examination in the wake of his arrest last September but said he’s emerged as a happier person and a more dedicated swimmer.

    “In workouts, I feel like a kid again, I really do,” Phelps, 29, said in his most extensive public remarks since the arrest .

    Read The Baltimore Sun

  • This morning, President Ransdell and Athletic Director Todd Stewart informed coaches and swimmers about their decision to suspend the team for five years. We reached out to President Ransdell for additional comments, but did not receive a reply.

    However, an e-mail was addressed to WKU faculty and staff, saying the action is both prudent and necessary following the conclusions obtained by Bowling Green Police and Title IX Office.

    The final police report includes the full complaint filed by former swimmer, Collin Craig. In his complaint to police he says quote: “I was singled out, belittled, threatened, intimidated and shunned.”

    But, the ill-defined accusation doesn’t end there.

    In one portion of the complaint, regarding sexual assault, Collin refers to a situation where a female was passed out and a male was touching her inappropriately while others watched.

    See WBKO