Swimmer's Daily

  • See NBC24

    The Josh Project is back in the pool offering swim lessons to young kids, and it’s making a bigger splash than ever.

    Enrollment in the non-profit organization’s swimming lessons program is higher than ever before. The Josh Project’s founder Wanda Butts says the program’s impact is reaching new depths as the 2014 classes begin at St. Francis de Sales High School.

    That makes me so happy, that means that the word is getting out there, the importance of children learning how to swim and being water safe,” said Butts. She continued, “This is the time of year that they need to be here.”

  • Read Classicalite and CBS

    Six-Time Olympic gold medalist Amy Van Dyken is in a hospital after an ATV accident last weekend. She is paralyzed after suffering a severed spinal cord. The former Olympic swimmer has put on a brave face for news and social media, although it has been obviously a difficult time for her as well as her friends and family.

    Friend and fellow swimmer Dave Denniston, who is also paralyzed, has no doubt that Van Dyken will forge ahead and overcome this event. Denniston ran into a tree in a sledding accident years ago but kept swimming and is now a coach. He says Amy has what it takes to thrive despite the circumstances (via Fox News):

    “‘When you’re in that situation … you clearly see two different types of people: One is sitting in their room, feeling sorry, asking, “Why me?” And they’ll get through it, but it won’t be pretty. And then there’s a much smaller group, and Amy falls in this category of, “All right, there are a lot of opportunities here, this is a different way than I planned on living my life, but I can make the most of this.” Those are the ones who … tend to progress the furthest after the injury.’”

  • Including Michael Phelps. And phew, we dodged the Bacon / Chicken McNugget / 2 Boiled Cabbages menus.

  • Read for instance CNN via Neatorama

    A mystery revolving around the death of a nine-foot-long great white shark off the coast of Western Australia is the subject of a documentary to air June 25th and 26th on The Smithsonian Channel. Remains of the great white washed up on shore months after the shark was killed. A satellite tracking tag that the shark had been fitted with surfaced as well.

    Information retrieved from the tracking device showed the shark was subjected to depths and conditions consistent with a larger predator, possibly another great white shark. The sensor on the tracking device was deprived of light for three weeks before it washed onto shore. The remains of the shark also showed signs of bleaching, possibly from exposure to stomach acid.

    Yup, that’s right, a Great Great White. A Greater White. A Mega-shark. Jaws.

    http://youtu.be/Z_QyGANCUJI

    Photo by lwpkommunikacio

  • See KTLA

    There are more than 40 locations where children and adults can learn to swim for free. Gayle Anderson has the details on a summer program known as “Operation Splash”.

    Gayle Anderson was at one of the many pools participating in this summer’s ninth annual Kaiser Permanente’s Operation Splash, a FREE summer program offered with the help of the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, that teaches children and adults in low-income areas to swim.

    (video autoplays, therefore pushed below the break)

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  • Includes scenes from Keris’s 2013 Lake Tahoe swim.

    Keris Dahlkamp talks about Congo Swim from LOPC on Vimeo.

  • See also Animal Planet

    The Man Who Swims With Crocodiles from CRLC on Vimeo.

  • A short video made with GoPro Hero 3

    Pool party from Jake on Vimeo.

  • See wtxltv

    A Suncoast man got a rare ride while boating in the Gulf of Mexico last week.

    It happened off the coast of Venice. James Bostwick posted this video to his Facebook page. He saw a whale shark swimming by and decided to jump into the water and catch a ride.

    Here is the Facebook video

    Post by James Robert Bostwick.