Swimmer's Daily

  • Olympic Swimmer Dara Torres on not coming out of retirement and how she feels about her quickly approaching 50th birthday.

  • Olympic swimming legend Mark Spitz was nearly in the movie “Jaws,” as he revealed on the “Today” show this week.

    The seven-time gold medal winner said he met with director Steven Spielberg, took acting lessons and screen-tested for a role in the popular shark thriller. Unfortunately for him, the part he tested for eventually went to Richard Dreyfuss.

    “Everything was great, but it was so close to the Olympics they couldn’t get over the idea that I was still going to be Mark Spitz, that the transcending of who I was as an athlete into the movies was too great,” he said.

    By the time the movie premiered, the role had changed. When Spitz read for the part, his character was supposed to be eaten by the shark.

    Read Sporting News

    Jaws Official Trailer #1 – Richard Dreyfuss, Steven Spielberg Movie (1975) HD

  • Students at Finnsnes School in Troms will be allowed to take part in swimming lessons wearing full-body covering swimsuits – also known as burkinis.

    The arrangement was the result of dialogue between parents and teachers at the school, who held meetings with representatives from Norway’s Refugee Board (flyktningetjenesten) and interpretors, according to Nordlys.

    “If [parents] wish for their daughters to wear burkinis, bought with their own money, then that is okay, but they must having swimming lessons in the same way and together with all the others,” Espen Hay, head teacher of Finnsnes School, told Nordlys.

    “We made it clear to parents that religion does not provide exemption for participation in swimming lessons. It is important for us that no students miss out on the opportunities everyone else has,” Hay continued.

    The school hopes that the agreement will boost attendance of swimming classes.

    “The Education Act [Opplæringsloven] sets out requirements for what must be learnt at school. Subjects or activities can not be rejected by children or parents or even by me as head teacher.

    “Just as you can’t not show up to mathematics because you don’t like it, you must take part in swimming lessons,” the Finnsnes School head continued.

    Read The Local

    Photo by Giorgio Montersino

  • Catriona Barr was wild swimming in the sea near Lerwick when she spotted the bull orca underneath her.

    Her attention was drawn to the mammal after she noticed people on the shore were watching her.

    Erik Isbister, who was watching from the shoreline, believed the orca may have mistaken Ms Barr for a seal.

    The encounter happened at Da Sletts at Breiwick on Wednesday and was filmed from shore.

    Ms Barr swims in the sea almost every day and said she was used to seeing people walking along the nearby shore.

    She also said she was aware of the risks of swimming in the sea, but had never before come across orcas on her swims.

    Read BBC

    https://youtu.be/JLf3c4IMqGo

    https://youtu.be/HcCGlEg2xis

  • GoPro Awards: Ocean Ramsey and a Whale Shark

  • Many have tried to keep a white shark in captivity. Here’s why that’s so difficult.

  • The headlines are terrifying, and the story details are even worse as you read about a child who goes for a swim in a lake or river and then falls prey to a “brain-eating amoeba.”

    The brain infection brought on by Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba that flourishes in warm open waters, can quickly prove fatal, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    As disturbing as these reports are, parents don’t need to bar their kids from the local swimming spot due to fear of Naegleria, infectious disease experts say.

    These cases make headlines because they are so unexpected and devastating, but the infection itself is “very, very uncommon,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior associate with the University of Pittsburgh’s UPMC Center For Health Security.

    “You have to think about how many times people have exposure to water that has Naegleria in it, and how few cases we actually see every year,” said Adalja, who’s also a spokesman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

    “Each case grabs the headlines because it is so rare but so severe. I don’t think you should restrict a child’s activities because of this,” he said.

    Read UPI

    Photo by vastateparksstaff

  • Mark Foster, 8x Swimming World Record Holder, talks about the advantages of using a pull buoy in your swim workout.

    #GetSpeedoFit: Mark Foster on Using a Pull Buoy

  • More than half of British mums say they won’t teach their children how to swim because they worry about being seen in a swimming costume, a new survey claims.

    A further 38 percent say they have avoided all water related activities with their children because they involve being in swimwear.

    Their apparent lack of confidence left the same number delegating swimming duties to their other half.

    A further 40 percent claim they don’t feel confident getting into the water and a quarter (27 percent) said they can’t remember the last time they went for a swim.

    The knock on effect left 38 percent of those surveyed, expressing concerns that their child lacks confidence in the water.

    An astounding one in ten revealed their child cannot swim and over a third (38 percent) couldn’t describe their child as a ‘strong swimmer’.

    Read The Mirror

    Photo by tom@hk