Swimmer's Daily

  • Some fishermen in Washington state can be forgiven for their very frazzled reactions after a pod of killer whales swam right under their rowboat.

    A Facebook video of the close encounter near Anderson Island in Puget Sound is making the rounds on social media after it was initially posted in December.

    The first few seconds of the footage show a distant pod of orcas leaping out of the water.

    The crab fisherman sitting in the rowboat, including cameraman Steven Sloan, seem pretty exhilarated to have stumbled on the animals.

    Then, the killer whales get closer. And closer. And then they disappear.

    See Huffington Post

  • Housework, gardening or ambling around the golf course are not enough to stay fit and people must work up sweat if they want to avoid an early death, a new study suggests.

    Taking part in vigorous exercise for at least 45 minutes a week is essential for health and guidelines should be changed to help people realise they must work harder, say researchers.

    The government’s Change4Life campaign advises people that housework, washing the car or taking the dog for a walk can be beneficial for health.

    But unless those activities are combined with more intense work outs, they are unlikely to ward off illnesses like heart disease or diabetes.

    Likewise gentle swimming, social tennis or household chores are not beneficial unless they are coupled with more strenuous exercise.

    Researchers from James Cook University in Australia, studied more than 200,000 middle aged people for six years.

    They discovered that those who did more than 45 minutes of vigorous physical exercise, which left them out of breath and sweaty, were 13 per cent less likely to have died of any cause during that period.

    “The benefits of vigorous activity applied to men and women of all ages, and were independent of the total amount of time spent being active,” said lead author Dr Klaus Gebel from James Cook University’s Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention.

    “The results indicate that whether or not you are obese, and whether or not you have heart disease or diabetes, if you can manage some vigorous activity it could offer significant benefits for longevity.”

    Read Telegraph

    Photo by SuperFantastic

  • What a shame short-sighted young gun Mack Horton can’t see the scoreboard at the national swimming titles in Sydney.

    It seems he is the last to know about his world-beating performances.

    And the stage is set for him to be initially oblivious of a doozy in the 1500m freestyle final on Friday night.

    At just 18, Horton has toasted 400m and 800m freestyle success at the 2015 world titles trials – once being told.

    Horton revealed an awkward moment where he had to ask Grant Hackett how he had fared in the 400m freestyle final earlier this week.

    Hackett – who had just picked up a shock 400m bronze in his first meet in six years – mistakenly told Horton second-placed David McKeon’s time.

    But Horton had actually clocked the fifth fastest time in history to claim a maiden 400m title – a fact not revealed until later by his coach Craig Jackson.

    Horton again had to squint hard before giving up and being told he had sealed a maiden 800m win in 7:51.85 on Monday night – seven seconds faster than his nearest rival. […]

    Horton almost apologised for swimming so fast in the 800m final, admitting he had plenty more left in the tank.

    But asked how much faster he could go to defend his national 1500m title, a guarded Horton said: “That’s a secret”.

    Read ninemsn

  • James Magnussen is pissed off, giant killer Cameron McEvoy is now the hunted and 16-year-old wunderkind Kyle Chalmers is the new hunter.

    Welcome to the new world order of Australian sprinting.

    McEvoy extended his recent dominance over the two-times world champion Magnussen by gunning down the sprint king in the final strokes of the 100m freestyle on Wednesday night.

    It is the third time in their last four bouts that McEvoy has delivered the knockout blow, but interestingly it was the first time the younger 200m specialist had done so by coming from behind.

    McEvoy hit the wall in 48.06s to just overhaul Magnussen who had led by 0.19s at the turn but finished in a disappointing 48.18s ahead of Tommaso D’Orsogna (48.54s) and 16-year-old rookie Chalmers (48.69s). […]

    “That’s pretty disappointing. I shouldn’t be swimming 48s,” Magnussen said.

    “I’m really happy with the way I swam it I just died in the end.

    “(Losing and the time) both equally pissed me off. Losing is probably worse.

    Read The Courier Mail

  • Swim.com, the world’s most advanced swim workout and training platform, launched its mobile app today, allowing swimmers to access advanced feedback and analytics for their swims without needing to access a computer.

    PR_Platform Banner 1

    With the new Swim.com app, swimmers will be able to instantly view workouts they have swum with compatible wearable devices from manufacturers such as Garmin and that have automatically synced to the Swim.com platform. It will also allow Pebble smartwatch users to swim with the waterproof Pebble, sync and view their workouts through a single app, right from the pool deck.

    “The biggest feedback we’ve gotten from users during our beta-phase is that they want instant feedback about their workout,” said Davis Wuolle, VP, Product for Swim.com. “Swimmers are busy, highly driven athletes. They want feedback in the water and on the pool deck, and not just when they get the chance sit down in front of a computer.”

    PR_Track Your Workouts

    The Swim.com app, on mobile devices and on the web, allows users to easily track distance, pace, times, strokes, efficiency and other key swim workout information. With the mobile app, that data access is now seamless and quick. The app is completely free and available now on both iOS and Android smartphones.

    “In just six short months, Swim.com for Pebble has become the most downloaded swimming app for smartwatches,” added Wuolle. “This is the next step in the evolution and development of Swim.com, as users increasingly look for mobile-first solutions.”

    Last year, Swim.com became the first-ever swim activity platform compatible with all the major swim wearables including Garmin, FINIS, Swimovate and Pebble – the first smartwatch to feature smart swimming functionality. More product enhancements and smartwatch compatibility for Swim.com will be unveiled throughout the summer of 2015.

    Compete With Friends

    “It’s great to see swimmers adopting wearable technologies that can enhance their experience of the sport,” Wuolle said. “With the launch of the Apple Watch and Pebble Time, and waterproof Android Wear solutions like the Sony Smartwatch 3, the future of technology in the pool looks very bright.”

    To download Swim.com App for Android, visit https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spiraledge.swimapp

    To download Swim.com App for iOS, visit https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swim.com/id956030704

    To learn more about Swim.com, visit http://www.swim.com/

    To stay up-to-date on Swim.com’s progress, follow Swim.com on Facebook or Twitter: http://www.facebook.com/swimdotcom, http://www.twitter.com/swimdotcom

    Press release from swim.com

  • Floyd Mayweather Jr. took his training for his upcoming megafight against Manny Pacquiao to the pool.

    Mayweather posted an Instagram video of himself doing boxing exercises in the pool before going for laps to swim with his strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, a former member of Pacquiao’s corner, overseeing his training.

    The WBA and WBC welterweight titleholder has been trying different training methods as part of his preparations for the May 2 showdown. Just last month Mayweather made news after he showed another video of himself chopping wood as part of his training.

    See Inquirer

    #SwimTraining Follow @moneyyaya www.themoneyteam.com

    A video posted by Floyd Mayweather (@floydmayweather) on

    https://youtu.be/9yjHKbt7IbY

  • It’s a life-saving skill many people learn as kids, but an alarming number of Americans say they don’t know how to swim. CBS2’s Alex Denis speaks with some people who are overcoming their fears and finding out the water is just fine.

  • A man posing for a picture Sunday while holding his “trophy fish” was attacked by a sea lion which hauled him over the side of a boat into the water, a San Diego Fire-Rescue official said.

    The 62-year-old victim, who was not identified, was holding a fish posing for a picture near the Hyatt Mission Bay Marina at 2:40 p.m. being taken by a friend when the marine mammal attacked.

    “The man was bitten by a sea lion and pulled into the water,” San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesman Lee Swanson said.

    A 300-pound sea lion grabbed the fish and pulled the man over the side into the water and dragged him 20 feet through the water.

    “We estimated that he was in the water for 15 to 20 seconds. At that point, the sea lion let go and he was able to jump back into his boat,” said San Diego lifeguard Lt. John Sandmeyer.

    See FOX5

  • Pool deck? Or dance floor? You be the judge… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRN0XHv0yuY #AusChamps15 #TeamGreenAndGold

    Posted by Australian Dolphins Swim Team on Monday, April 6, 2015