Swimmer's Daily

  • Video from July 2nd, 2013

    http://youtu.be/BpVvJFFcxCg

  • Read Advocate and YLE

    Finnish Olympic swimmer Ari-Pekka Liukkonen has come out of the closet as a gay man, reports YLE.

    The winner of the bronze medal in the 4x50m mixed freestyle relay at the 2012 European Championships, Liukkonen said he chose to publicly reveal his own sexuality in hopes of raising awareness of the antigay legislation passed in Russia – the host county of the 2014 Winter Games.

    “I wanted to start a broader discussion in connection with Sochi, because it’s sad that the legislation in Russia restricts the human rights of young people and others,” Liukkonen told Yle, noting that he hoped the sports world would soon no longer “find homosexuality to be any kind of news.”

    Read the entire interview here on YLE

  • jacco-verhaerenRead news.com.au

    Head coach Jacco Verhaeren has predicted an immediate Olympic bounce back by Australia at Rio in 2016 with the new team boss impressed by the existing stars and emerging teenage talent in the pool.

    Charged with making Australia the world No.1 swimming nation by the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Verhaeren is confident the swim team can make significant steps forward in the next two years as they rebound from the London disaster.

    “I think we definitely should see it in the long term, but I see at the same time that we have enough potential for Rio. Not to become No.1 in the world as a country, but to do very good,” Verhaeren said.

  • Read The Telegraph

    Swimming legend Ian Thorpe is preparing to flee Australia to escape public scrutiny over his health.

    His mother Margaret Thorpe said her son was now considering cutting short his visit to Sydney and returning to his home in Switzerland.

    “That’s why he loves living in Switzerland – he’s left alone,” Ms Thorpe said.

  • See fox4kc.com

    “Our FOX 4 Hy-Vee Team of the Week jumps in the pool before the sun goes up and dries off just long enough to go to class. It’s the Bishop Miege Boys Swimming team, watch Jason Lamb’s full report on the squad.”

  • Read ABC

    Australian marathon swimmer Chloe McCardel has set a world record swimming non-stop for 16 hours in a spa in Melbourne.

    It is a special moment for McCardel, who was forced to abandon a swim from Cuba to Florida last year when jellyfish stings left her in excruciating pain.

    “I’m not tired yet; I want to go out and party,” McCardel said after completing the swim.

    http://youtu.be/I5GeO4d9Ip0

  • Ian ThorpeRead Herald Sun

    The Mercury yesterday revealed Thorpe had been in hospital since Wednesday for shoulder surgery and was being treated for depression and alcohol issues.

    Thorpe’s management released a statement claiming the swimming great was in hospital for treatment on his injured shoulder.

    “Ian is not in rehab,” a SEL spokesperson said.

    “Ian was in hospital for an operation on his shoulder and is pleased to let his friends and fans know that he is now out of hospital and on the mend.”

    SEL was always likely to deny the former Olympic champion was battling depression and alcohol abuse. […]

    Grant Hackett said he was taken aback.

    “I was only with Ian a few weeks ago,” Hackett said.

    “I knew because he’d spoken openly in the past there was some demons he was confronting and battling, but to hear it to this extent did surprise me.

    (more…)

  • “River otter mother Tilly teaches her second pup Ziggy to swim at the Oregon Zoo’s Cascade Stream and Pond habitat. As Ziggy demonstrates, the second child tends to be wild.”

  • sean-conwayRead southafrica.info

    Sean Conway, the first and only man in history to swim the length of Great Britain, was in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa on Wednesday to attend the official press launch of the 2014 aQuelle Midmar Mile, and to lend his support to Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife‘s efforts to save the rhino.

    Conway’s love of endurance events began with his participation as a schoolboy in the Midmar Mile and he has since gone on to cycle around the world and climb Mount Kilimanjaro in a penguin suit for charity.