Swimmer's Daily

  • John Lewis intended only to say hello to Amy Van Dyken and get his picture taken with the six-time Olympic swimming gold medalist when he saw her at the UCLA-USC women’s swim meet last week.

    A former competitive swimmer and the father of swimmers, Lewis had followed Van Dyken’s career from afar — especially her 1996 and 2000 Olympic triumphs — and rooted for her as a fellow Coloradan.

    But when he approached Van Dyken, who is paralyzed from the waist down since she severed her spinal cord in a near-fatal ATV accident last June, his poise crumbled. “It was so emotional,” he said. “I started crying and said, ‘I’m so sorry.’”

    Van Dyken, preparing for her role as a commentator on the Pac-12 Networks’ telecast of the meet, comforted him and told him not to be sorry. “I was crying like crazy and she was smiling at me,” Lewis said.

    Van Dyken has learned to handle such occasions gracefully.

    “I understand that people are sorry that the accident happened. I’m sorry that it happened, too, but it’s an accident. Accidents happen,” she said. “And the things I’ve gotten to do since I’ve been sitting have been pretty cool. I’ve met some really fun people. I’m back at work, I’m back doing what I love, so don’t feel sorry for me.”

    Read LA Times

  • How long can you hold your breath for? Some free divers, who swim without a snorkel or scuba gear, can hold their breath for more than 10 minutes. For some, it’s a recreation while for others it’s a competitive sport. Amanda Smith (who can only hold her breath for one minute) takes a look.

    Read ABC

    [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/192695751″ params=”color=ba0000″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

  • Last year saw something of a revolution take place in the world of synchronized swimming. On November 29, 2014, a congress of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) in Doha voted to include mixed-gender events in its world championships.

    The decision met with mixed reaction, with three-time Olympic champion Natalya Ishchenko going so far as to say that she was “embarrassed to imagine what it will look like with men in.”

    However, male synchronized swimmer Alexander Maltsev is undaunted by this scepticism. The Russian will become the first man from his nation to compete in the synchronised swimming World Championships, to be held in Kazan from July 29-August 9, 2015.

    Read The Telegraph

  • The coach of Mumbai’s state-level women’s swimming team was arrested on Monday for allegedly making a hoax call in an attempt to stop an Air India flight when he and his team of six girls failed to reach the Ranchi airport on time.

    By the time coach Narendra Achrekar made the call claiming there was a bomb on AI flight IC-810, the aircraft had already taken off and the team was left stranded at the Birsa Munda airport. […]

    “Achrekar made the hoax call to the Mumbai call centre… When it landed in the national capital, it was taxied to an isolation bay where Delhi authorities checked flight, passengers and baggage for explosives”, said Birsa Munda Airport director Raju Ragvendra Kumar, adding that the aircraft was eventually cleared but passengers had to face a significant delay.

    Airport officials said finding the hoax caller was easy since Achrekar and his team were the only passengers stranded at the airport. “Achrekar’s phone was tracked. The same number was also in the passenger database,” said Raju.

    Read Hindustan Times

    Photo by Aero Icarus

  • A short comedy and funny video about a professional swimmer, who swims in the streets of the Philippines. Featuring the improv comedians Maui Manalo and Miko Pepito of the Cardio Boys and Wow Mali. Shot in the streets of Marikina Philippines

    http://youtu.be/KBkVKS-A3O0

  • Budapest could fill in for Guadalajara, Mexico as a host for the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, Around the Rings is told by sources familiar with swimming.

    Following Guadalajara’s withdrawal this week, the International Swimming Federation faces an urgent need to find a venue for the event. Typically, FINA selects a host city at least four years in advance.

    Budapest is already slated to host the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in 2017 and the World Aquatics Championships in 2021.

    The Hungarian capital is also considering a bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

    Organizers in Guadalajara withdrew from hosting the 2017 World Aquatics Championships this week, saying they could not afford the $100 million price tag.

    The money to host the 2017 World Aquatics Championships was to come from Mexican federal funds, according to Swim Magazine, but budget cuts and falling oil prices have left funds for the event depleted.

    Mexico now has to pay a $5 million penalty for the withdrawal, and had reportedly spent $9.5 million of the $100 million budget.

    Read Around The Rings

  • The Fremantle Sea Rescue Community TAB jet skis were out all day assisting people throughout the Rottnest Swim and here is what their GoPros filmed in the process!

  • See Channel V India on Facebook

    Post by Channel [v] India.

  • Learn how to improve butterfly technique with Olympic Gold Medalist and World Record Holder Roland Schoeman and Coach Gary Hall. Butterfly is a challenging swimming stroke because it requires tremendous upper body strength and a strong kick. In order to perform great butterfly technique a swimmer not only needs great conditioning but also perfect timing. Good swimming technique for fly also requires minimizing the frontal drag forces that are so overpowering to all swimmers.

    Courtesy of theraceclub on YouTube