Swimmer's Daily

  • An estimated 400 hardy swimmers braved a freezing and drizzly morning to take part in the 44th Tenby Boxing Day Swim

    On the stroke of 11am before a crowd of thousands, the swimmers – many dressed as pirates – braved horrible weather to take a dip on the Pembrokeshire town’s North Beach.

    Local hotelier Chris Osborne, chairman of the Tenby Sea Swimming Association, which organises the Boxing Day Swim and also President of Tenby’s Chamber of Trade, said he was extremely pleased with the turn out.

    He said: “The weather was not kind to us this year but we still had a large group of swimmers and the usual big crowd of onlookers. This has become one of the big social events of the year in Pembrokeshire, sometimes people don’t see each for the whole year then meet up at the swim.

    “We’ve had swimmers not only from North and South Pembrokeshire and surrounding counties but Cardiff and Swansea as well.

    Read WalesOnline

  • China’s top sport star Sun Yang hit the headline again. Only this time, he was involved in doping. The Olympic and world swimming champion was banned for three months after being tested positive for the stimulant trimetazidine in May. Sun said he used the prescription drug Vasorel to treat chronic heart palpitations but failed to file the therapeutic use exemption.

    The 23-year-old had his explanation accepted but the timing of revealing his case went under fire. Sun’s ban finished in August and he went on to win three gold medals in the Incheon Asian Games before the doping news was released in November.

    Chinese sports authorities admitted that they should give more consideration to famous athletes’ doping cases in the future. ”In anti-doping, we want to treat everyone equally. That’s why we don’t announce some single case just because he or she is famous,” said Jiang Zhixue, head of governmental anti-doping department.

    “Now I am wondering if it is necessary to make important cases known earlier than others,” he said. In athletics, China’s top hammer thrower Zhang Wenxiu was stripped of Asian Games gold after anabolic agent Zeranol was found in her sample.

    Read india.com

  • For a group of hardy Berliners, Christmas Day is a time to sing seasonal songs, don festive wear – and take a plunge in a cold lake.

    Dozens of swimmers from the Berlin Seals club came to the German capital’s Oranke lake Thursday for their annual Christmas dip, complete with red Christmas hats.

    The air was relatively mild this year at around 5 C (41 F) but still bracing enough for the swimmers to warm up by singing Christmas carols before taking the plunge.

    Via Fox LA

  • According to the United States Swim School Association, bathtime is the perfect time for teaching infants and toddlers beginner swimming techniques.

    And although a bathtub is smaller than a pool or lake, adults should be supervising children 100 percent of the time, said Sue Mackie, executive director of the United States Swim School Association.

    “If kids are taught at a young age how to swim, they have the ability to be active in the water their entire life,” Mackie said. “The water is a great source of activity for kids, and it goes throughout old age.”

    Read candgnews.com

    Photo by greezer.ch

  • The Founder of Nottinghamshire’s latest synchronised swimming club is hoping to catapult the sport into the spotlight by starring in a new television advert.

    Lenka Tanner, of The Meadows, was flown out to the Maldives by luxury travel agency Kuoni to run on water for their latest advert.

    See Nottingham Post

  • Swimming strengthens the body while the water buoys it up and protects against exercise-related injury, making it a popular and frequently recommended therapy for people recovering from an injury, operation or chronic illness.

    The benefits of this are certainly likely to outweigh the potential health dangers associated with public pools.

    But it’s not silly to be concerned about the risks, even if they are low – especially if you’re in a physically vulnerable state.

    Read health24

  • Andre Hartman struggles to walk. But every day he dreams of going back to the ocean.

    For decades, he made an impressive career out of freediving with great white sharks. The South African daredevil survived numerous encounters with these ocean predators. And when he needed to get closer to the animals, taking the cage out of cage diving was a risk the pioneering diver was willing to take.

    But a debilitating stroke three years ago tragically left the ex-fisherman unable to get close to the sharks he came to love. Today, the closest he can get is through the tours of a local shark diving firm, Supreme Sharks, where he provides his expert knowledge for eager tourists.

    “It’s been 11 years since I last swam with a shark, and I’ve love to get back into it again at a later stage,” Hartman says. “I’m not ready yet — but I’m sure once I can swim properly, I’ll be there again.”

    See CNN

  • A 13-year old Boston Terrier is recovering after falling off a 15th floor balcony, straight into a hot tub.

    The dog’s owner, Bill McCourt, was in tears when he recalled the accident: “You just can’t imagine a dog going through that kind of trauma”.

    See 11alive.com

  • We didn’t get snow like in 2010, but at least it is not storming right now ! :-)

    happy-holidays