Swimmer's Daily

  • FINA OPEN WATER SWIMMING GRAND PRIX 2014

    The seventh and final race of the 2014 circuit of the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix was staged on September 7 between Capri and Napoli (36km), in Italy, with the presence of 30 athletes (20 men and 10 women). After more than six hours of effort, Vitalij Khudyakov (KAZ) was the best among men in 6h11m27s, while Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA) got the gold in the women’s field in 6h24m47s.

    Besides the victory, this last leg of the series in Italy was also important to determine the overall ranking of the competition. In the men’s race, the minor medals were decisive for Evgenij Pop Acev (MKD, silver in 6h12m39s) and Joanes Hedel (FRA, bronze in 6h12m45s); thanks to these results, Hedel was the overall winner in the men’s category, with 59 points, while Pop Acev (second in 2013 and third in 2011) is the second of the ranking with 51, tied with his compatriot Tomi Stefanovski (9th in Capri-Napoli).

    Among women, the Brazilian win did not have much impact on the rankings, but the subsequent athletes finishing the race until the fourth place were fighting for the top honours in the overall ranking. Pilar Geijo, from Argentina, the second in Italy (6h34m31s) is the 2014 winner of the series, with the same number of points (102) than Silvie Rybarova (CZE, and fourth in Capri-Napoli). With her bronze medal in this last race, Spain’s Esther Nunez Morera ensured the second place of the women’s classification, with a total of 61 points, behind Rybarova and Geijo. Nunez Morera had already been first in 2012, and second in 2010, 2011 and 2013, while Geijo was the winner in 2010 and 2011 and second in 2012.

    Medallists in Capri-Napoli (ITA, 36km):
    Men: 1. Vitalij Khudyakov (KAZ), 6h11m27s; 2. Evgenij Pop Acev (MKD), 6h12m39s; 3. Joanes Hedel (FRA), 6h12m45s
    Women: 1. Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA), 6h24m47s; 2. Pilar Geijo (ARG), 6h34m31s; 3. Esther Nunez Morera (ESP), 6h36m59s

    Top-3 finishers of the overall ranking of the FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix:

    MEN
    1. Joanes Hedel (FRA), 59 points
    2. Tomi Stefanovski (MKD), 51 pts
    2. Evgenij Pop Acev (MKD), 51 pts

    WOMEN
    1. Silvie Rybarova (CZE), 102 points
    1. Pilar Geijo (ARG), 102 pts
    3. Esther Nunez Morera (ESP), 61 pts

    FINA Open Water Swimming Grand Prix 2014 calendar:
    Race 1: February 2 in Santa Fe-Coronda (ARG, 57km)
    Race 2: February 9 in Hernandarias-Parana (ARG, 88km)
    Race 3: March 29 in Cancun (MEX, 15km)
    Race 4: July 26 in Lac St-Jean (CAN, 32km)
    Race 5: August 2 in Lac Magog (CAN, 34km)
    Race 6: August 23 in Ohrid Lake (MKD, 33km)
    Race 7: September 7 in Capri-Napoli (ITA, 36km)

    Press release from FINA

    Hotlinks

    – Results
    – Rankings
    – Rules & Regulations

    http://youtu.be/Tbtsr8XeRs8

  • Olympic Silver medallist and double World Champion Keri-Anne Payne and Olympic Gold medalist Duncan Goodhew joined hundreds of swimmers as they took part in British Gas SwimBritain in the Great Lake at Blenheim Palace on Sunday 7th September.

    Now in its second year, British Gas SwimBritain encourages more people to swim regularly and sees the decorated stars of British Swimming plus celebrities including David Walliams joining the public in the water at 11 locations nationwide between 30th August and 4th October.

    Participants compete as teams of four to complete relay challenges of 500m and 1,000m before receiving their hard-earned medals, with some swimmers using the event to raise funds for charity.

    The event at Blenheim was a fun-packed day for spectators as well as those competing, with a range of indoor and outdoor activities to keep families entertained, including arts and craft activities, a Wii Sports station, a 9 hole crazy golf course, table tennis and performances from a live Jazz Band.

    There’s still time to get involved. Go to swimbritain.co.uk to find out how you can take part.

    Press release from DNA

  • With the rise of green living, it seems like gardens are popping up everywhere: in backyards and abandoned lots and on rooftops. However, when the McClung family moved into their Mesa, Ariz. home in 2009, they took one look at the empty swimming pool in their backyard and saw an opportunity for something completely unique.

    They turned their swimming hole into something they’ve dubbed the Garden Pool, and over the past five years, it’s changed the McClung’s life, as well as foster a whole new sustainability movement.

    Read NationSwell

  • Although they have long been a treasured part of every Vermonters’ summer, as Vermont becomes less rural and more suburban, swimming holes are closed. More riverbanks get posted, more land gets developed, and more old swimming holes become newly private property — and inaccessible.

    The Vermont River Conservancy (VRC), a small organization that specializes in conserving rivers and the land alongside them, has taken note of those losses.

    “We’ve noticed that many of these really spectacular places that were used by local people were being purchased or posted,” says Stephan Syz, founding board member and guiding light of the River Conservancy.

    Assistant Director Lydia Menendez adds: “We receive calls frequently stating that a swimming hole that people used to visit has been closed.”

    Fortunately, the conservancy has not only noticed the trend but it has a plan, and a bold one, to solve the problem: to conserve for public use a swimming hole in every town in Vermont.

    “It could take us 10 years,” says Executive Director Steven Libby, “but every town should have its own swimming hole – it should just be part of that town’s public amenities.”

    Read VTDigger

  • Swimming lowers stress levels, increases muscle tone and strength, increases flexibility, and improves heart and lung health, not to mention it is low impact and great on your joints. Swimming burns 500-600 calories for every hour of swimming (depending on the intensity of your workout). Swimming is a sport for both novice swimmers and top notch athletes. Whether you’re looking to recover from an injury or preparing for an event, there is a place in the pool for you.

    Read St George News

  • Champion swimmer Amy Van Dyken-Rouen says she’s a more spiritual person since the June ATV accident that severed her spine and left her paralyzed.

    “You’re like, you know what, there’s something bigger and better than me,” the Olympic gold medalist told TODAY’s Matt Lauer in an exclusive interview Friday. “Maybe you should focus on it a little bit — because I’d like to meet that person later rather than sooner.”

    See Today

    Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

    http://youtu.be/wNamZFCRZS4

  • Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte reportedly celebrated his birthday among male strippers while in Las Vegas.

    The American sportsman is believed to have been having dinner at the Andiamo Steakhouse inside the D Casino Hotel in Sin City this week.

    According to TMZ, Lochte was dragged next door to where male strippers were performing to receive a birthday song, as well as a cake, which bore icing-filled Olympic rings.

    During the celebrations, the crowd urged Lochte to take off his shirt and he happily did so before taking a bite out of his cake.

    See SportsMole and TMZ

  • A man who was hospitalized after nearly drowning in the 45th annual Waikiki Roughwater Swim event has died.

    Race director Kaia Hedlund tells KHON a lifeguard spotted the 49-year-old unresponsive in the water at Kaimana Beach just before 10 a.m. Monday. He was brought back to shore where CPR was administered until paramedics arrived.

    Hedlund says it’s the first death in the race’s history.

    About an hour later, a 50-year-old man collapsed near the race and was hospitalized in critical condition.

    Race officials say the man wasn’t a swimmer but was assisted by private lifeguards hired for the event.

    See SFGate and KHON2

  • A teenage boy was killed and another boy was injured by lightning strikes in Pennsylvania on Sunday night, according to officials. The boys were swimming with a third boy in a creek in Lancaster County when they were struck, according to LancasterOnline. The boys were transferred to the hospital, but one did not survive.

    Source NBC, September 1st 2014