Swimmer's Daily

  • WKYT News at 5:30 PM 05-22-2015

  • “My friends jumped and I jumped with them and I almost…” 10-year-old Gabriela tried to explain the time she almost drowned. “It was deep and I didn’t know how to swim.”

    It was just a few years ago she jumped into a river with her friends. The only problem? She didn’t know how to swim. Her mother remembers running into the river to rescue her.

    “She started freaking out and I just had to jump,” said Holyoke resident Dailly Martinez. “She almost drowned so I said wait this is not for fun anymore this is serious stuff.”

    Right after that, Dailly signed her daughter up for swimming lessons at the Holyoke YMCA. Swimming instructors recommend parents start getting their kids in the water as early as three months.

    “We teach them how to float, how to just walk around the water and be comfortable with it so they’re not freaking out because that’s really how they can hurt themselves in the water,” said swim coach Kevin Morton, who also instructs swim lessons at the Holyoke YMCA.

    See WWLP

  • A Memorial Day outing on the water turned tragic in Butte County. A young man drowned on his 21st birthday after reportedly trying to swim across a pond while carrying a ten pound rock.

    According to the Oroville CHP, 21-year-old Austin Harr of Gridley drowned while swimming at the Gridley Plunge, in the Oroville Wildlife Area. The area is at the dredger ponds off Palm Avenue.

    Witnesses told officials Harr was holding a the large rock while trying to swim across the pond.

    He disappeared in the water and did not emerge.

    His body was found about 40 minutes later, around 5:50 p.m.

    Read KRCR and see Action News Now

  • Park Tae-hwan, Olympic swimming champ currently on a doping suspension, will resume training at a public pool in Seoul, officials said Wednesday.

    Park will train with his old coach Roh Min-sang at the Olympic Swimming Pool starting June 1, the arena’s operators said.

    In March, Park, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the men’s 400-meter freestyle, received an 18-month ban from FINA, the international swimming governing body, after testing positive for testosterone the previous fall.

    Under FINA’s anti-doping policy, Park isn’t permitted to train at facilities operated by the government or the Korea Swimming Federation (KSF).

    However, he is free to train on his own at other public pools, and the swimmer had been trying to join Roh’s class at the Olympic Swimming Pool since earlier this month.

    Read The Korea Observer

    Photo by KOREA.NET – Official page of the Republic of Korea

  • A bet that I could beat Missy in a 25 yd swim race. She won best 2 out of 3.

  • Hours after divers recovered the body of a missing 18-year-old swimmer from a lake near Lillington, his classmates honored the soon-to-be graduate.

    Around 5:45 p.m. Monday, the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office said Justice Clark and three friends were swinging on a rope swing at the lake when they began calling for help.

    “A group of kids standing over there screaming help! Help!” said witness Serena Brown.

    ocals say the lake is an old gravel pit on Flyway Drive off Joe Collins Road near Hwy 421 that’s now filled with water. Swimming and fishing is prohibited, but many still do. The lake is shallow in some areas and deep in others.

    “From my understanding he really couldn’t swim that well. They was swinging off a rope, cause they swing off the rope, then jump in,” said Taricka NeSmith.

    Emergency crews recovered Clark’s body about two hours later.

    See ABC 11

  • It was a full house at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary this weekend, but the event was no ordinary swim competition.

    The National Black Heritage Championship swim meet celebrates the culture of African Americans and other groups in swimming.

    The meet attracts swim teams from all over the country, including teams from as far away as California and Texas.

    Underneath the splashing and diving, there is an important message. Organizers want to reduce the number of drownings by getting more people to learn how to swim.

    This year, U.S. Olympian and N.C. State alumnus Cullen Jones and Olympian Maritza McClendon were special guests.

    “It’s awesome to be here and to have some any different race team here… racing and loving swimming and getting kids active,” Cullen said.

    See ABC 11

  • The death of a swimmer this Memorial Day weekend in Florida has drawn new attention to the dangers of rip currents.

    One person drowned Sunday after he was pulled from the surf in Daytona Beach, in front of an unguarded lifeguard tower. Beach-goers nearby tried to revive him.

    “We tried to keep his head up, and then we got him out and I started doing chest compressions,” Marissa Purvis said.

    See ABC News


    ABC News Videos | ABC Entertainment News

    Photo by Ricymar Photography

  • Memorial Day weekend means many of the outdoor pools are open for the summer. But according to the Red Cross, more than half of all kids can’t perform basic safety skills in the water. So how do you keep your child safe at the pool?

    Nicole Braun always keeps an eye on her daughter Ronnie when they go to the pool.

    “I taught her how to swim last summer. She learned a lot. So she’s getting ready to take the swim test pretty soon. If she passes it, she’ll be able to go down the slides today,” said Braun, of Youngstown.

    The Davis YMCA puts wristbands on children 12 and under based on their height. Kids are limited to the shallow areas until they can pass a swim test.

    “The children have to swim 25 yards, which is the length of the lap pool. They have to tread water for 20 seconds. and then they have to level off and float on their back, showing that they can bring their chest up to the surface of the water,” said Chris Hughes, the YMCA Aquatic Director.

    “You can see that their main concern is the safety of the kids, which is a very good thing,” said Braun.

    See WKBN