Swimmer's Daily

  • Relive Ian Thorpe’s victory in the Men’s 400m freestyle final from Sydney 2000 with the full race replay.

    Watch the moment Ian Thorpe became an Olympic champion for the first time as he beats Massimiliano Rosolino and Klete Keller in the Men’s 400m freestyle at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

  • Swimming’s world governing body FINA has strongly criticized the organizers of next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro over what it says are substandard facilities and “disrespect” for aquatic events.

    FINA, which oversees some of the Olympics’ most-watched events, attacked the organizers and Rio mayor Eduardo Paes on various grounds including slashing the seating capacity at the main pool, according to a FINA letter obtained by The Associated Press.

    Athletes’ health and safety could be at risk over viruses in the area of sea used for open water swimming events and organizers’ decision to use an open-air venue for diving, water polo and synchronized swimming, FINA warns.

    The letter, dated Monday and addressed by FINA president Julio Maglione to Paes and the organizing committee, was circulated among leading swimming figures.

    It suggests relations are at breaking point.

    “The recent decisions of Mr. Eduardo Paes … are seriously damaging the image and value of FINA and its disciplines,” the letter states. “This situation is in clear disrespect for the FINA requirements concerning aquatic venues, and will negatively affect the safety conditions and the level of performances of our athletes.”

    Read ABC News and USA Today

  • The water has always been home for Ayrton Kasemets. It’s always been his safe place.

    “The pool is somewhere where I escape to be with my friends, and to relax,” he tells me.

    And maybe it’s been that place for him, because outside of the pool, the Oakland University sophomore swimmer felt like a fish out of water for too long.

    Ayrton is gay, and for years he felt nervous to tell his father.

    “It was just something that I would worry about constantly.”

    See WXYZ

  • A fearless daredevil diver came face-to-face with a four metre long American crocodile in an extraordinary photo-shoot.

    Italian thrill-seeker Roberta Mancino fulfilled a long-held dream by swimming with the reptiles in the Gulf of Mexico.

    Travelling 30 miles from the coast to a lagoon in the middle of the Banco Chinchorro – home to roughly 700 of the reptiles – Mancino was keen to learn about their behaviour.

    See for instance Daily Mail

  • A magician who was handcuffed, chained and locked inside a water-filled tank needed help to get out of the box alive Tuesday, according to reports.

    Spotters freed Spencer Horsman, who calls himself “The escape artist,” when he couldn’t undo one of the last bars holding him inside the tank after around three minutes, according to a video of the performance posted by New Jersey Advance Media.

    He was conscious when he emerged in front of a cheering midday audience outside New Brunswick’s State Theatre. Paramedics took him to a nearby hospital as a precaution, the news outlet reported. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the rescue was a planned promotional stunt or a near-death experience.

    See for instance New York Post and FultonPost News

  • Triathlon, yes, but still also open water, and an awesome video !

  • Two British holidaymakers have told of the moment they narrowly escaped death when a 40-ton humpback whale crash-landed on their kayak.

    Tom Mustill and Charlotte Kinloch were paddling off Monterey Bay in California when the whale suddenly breached and dragged them under water.

    Onlookers feared the worst as the pair disappeared from view. Yet, remarkably, they were left without a scratch and the only damage was a small dent to the kayak’s bow. The extraordinary incident was captured on film by a passenger on a whale-watching boat.

    Speaking to the Telegraph, Ms Kinloch, 30, described the moment the whale hit as “terrifying” and likened it to a building falling on them.

    “It felt like being in an avalanche, like a bus landing on us,” she said.

    See The Telegraph

  • Hesham Modamani looked out at the sea separating him and his dream of getting to Europe, the continent that could finally free him from the horrors back at home in Syria. The 24-year old felt nervous.

    Modamani couldn’t afford to pay the $1,350 ticket for a smuggler to ferry him across the channel between the coast of Turkey and the nearest Greek island.

    Swimming, he decided, was his best chance. The one-time college student had traveled all the way from the Damascus suburb of Daraya to Turkey’s west coast. He couldn’t give up now.

    Modamani turned to his new friend and accomplice Feras Abukhalil, a fellow Syrian. They strapped on their blue life vests and packed away their passports and cell phones in waterproof bags.

    Then they jumped.

    See CNN

    https://youtu.be/B5HSAR84EYo

  • Words from the translator:

    I don’t know if you know about Sun Yang
    I don’t know if you have read about him on the news
    But if you would like to take some time to watch this video, I’m sure he will leave you an impression

    He is a big boy, he is very simple
    His emotions are very straightforward
    He laughs when he is happy
    He cries when he is sad, when he is too happy, when he is winning or when he is losing (yes he cries a lot)

    Somehow the media made him seem very…‘evil’
    Yes he had made mistakes, I’m sure everybody does, and he’s got his punishment and sanction
    But he is trying every effort to correct them