Swimmer's Daily

  • A Laguna Beach man took a chance on a tip and ended up paddle boarding with a pod of orcas as they made their way along the coast.

    Rich German heard the orcas were heading south off the coast of Long Beach. The next day, he got on his paddle board and went out into the ocean. Within two miles, he hit jackpot.

    “It was one of the most magical experiences of my life. It was absolutely amazing,” German said. “They came up right next to me. They came onto my board a couple of times and were very friendly and interactive.”

    See ABC7

  • Six months after Frenchman Remi Camus ended his six-month, 4,400-kilometre swim down the Mekong River in Vietnam’s Tien Giang province last year, he has returned to seek partners for his initiative to collect rubbish dumped in the world’s 10th-longest river.

    While in Ho Chi Minh City, the 30-year-old former restaurant manager attended the VietWater exhibition, looking for “someone crazy like me” who would support his initiative to collect pieces of plastic and aluminium cans in the river.

    Remi also showed students at local schools and universities pictures he’d taken during his long journey. “Asia is beautiful and people are nice, but the river is so dirty!” he says before giving a lecture at the American International School.

    If Camus’ initiative gets off the ground, he plans to pay locals for the rubbish they collect and sell it to recyclers. He’s already lined up some sponsors for his non-profit foundation, Expedition Terre Inconnue, whose aim is “to provide clean and safe drinking water to every person on earth”.

    Camus wants to start in Vietnam and then expand the clean-up effort to countries upstream. “I had heard a lot about the Mekong before my journey, but I was not aware that the problem was so serious,” he says.

    “During my trip I thought a lot about the environment, the people, the culture and the tradition of people living near the river. Throwing rubbish in the river has become a habit for them.”

    Read The Nation

    Xieng Kok, Garbage after flood

  • More than four years after the death of open-water star Fran Crippen, swimmingโ€™s international governing body plans to hold a World Cup race in the UAE.

    But USA Swimming has opposed the March 13 event in Abu Dhabi, saying it was โ€œdisappointedโ€ that Fina, swimmingโ€™s world governing body, decided to return to the country where Crippen died during a Fujairah race in October 2010.

    American swimmers could still choose to compete in the 10-kilometre race but their national organisation will not provide any financial assistance or support staff, making it highly unlikely that any US athlete will make the trip.

    โ€œThe US swimming family is still mourning the death of Fran Crippen,โ€ said Chuck Wielgus, the executive director of USA Swimming.

    The organisation said it had โ€œno plans to support or send athletes to the UAE for this eventโ€.

    A post-mortem examination found that 26-year-old Crippen died from drowning and heat exhaustion, although it did not exclude other factors.

    As a result of organisational shortcomings, no one noticed initially when the Philadelphia swimmer disappeared. His body was found by divers two hours later.

    Fina defended the decision to put Abu Dhabi on the World Cup calendar, saying it would be unfair to bar the UAE from ever hosting another open-water race.

    โ€œWe cannot banish a federation for life,โ€ executive director Cornel Marculescu said on Thursday.

    Read The National

  • Retired Serbian swimming star Milorad ฤŒaviฤ‡ has fired a warning to world record holder Arkady Vyatchanin after it was announced the Russian wants to compete for the Balkan nation, claiming the Serbian Swimming Federation is “plagued with corruption”.

    Vyatchanin announced his intention to leave the Russian national team in April 2013 and to begin competing for another country following a fallout with the Russian Swimming Federation.

    But ฤŒaviฤ‡, who was just one one-hundredth of a second behind the formidable Michael Phelps in the 100 metres butterfly final at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, tried to persuade the 30-year old to opt for a country other than Serbia.”

    Read Inside The Games

  • No surprises, as boxer Nicholas ‘The Axeman’ Walters and swimming star Alia Atkinson, were last night added to the hallowed corridors of Jamaican sporting heritage, after coming out on top at the 54th RJR Sports Foundation National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards ceremony at The Jamaica Pegasus last night.

    The pair, who a day earlier had received special Gleaner Honour Awards for their competitive representation in their respective disciplines, entered the grandiose ballroom as the overwhelming favourites and duly left a few hours later, clutching the island’s top sporting accolade, ending a run of 40 years since a track and field athlete didn’t win either of the top awards.

    Kaliese Spencer, the 400m hurdling standout, fresh from what has been one of the most dominating seasons by an athlete, along with history-maker O’Dayne Richards, ensured that the ‘oval office’ had its say, after being named as runners-up for the national sportswoman and sportsman of the year awards respectively.

    Female boxer Alicia Ashley’s receiving of the Chairman’s Award delivered the knockout on what was a big night for the sport – clearly on the up, with legendary sprinter Donald Quarrie being this year’s recipient for the Sagicor Iconic Award.

    Atkinson is only the third swimmer to win the sportswoman of the year award after Frances Noble (1968) and Belinda Phillip (1974).

    Read The Gleaner

  • Jennifer Lawrenceย is reportedly setย to star in “The Dive,” the James Cameron-producedย freedivingย drama that revolves around a husband and wife team, their record-breaking dives, and the tragedy that ended it all.

    Lawrence, who once again teams with director Francis Lawrence (“Hunger Games), will star as Audrey Mestre, a French marine biologist and freediver. A scuba diving enthusiast, Mestre became interested in the sport of free-diving (which involves diving to the greatest depths on a single breath of air) in the mid-90’s; training under, and later marrying, the legendary freediver Francisco “Pipรญn” Ferreras. In November 2002, while attempting to breakย the world record dive of 531 feet setย earlier by her husband, Mestre encountered an issue with a lift balloon. Pulled from the water nine minutes later, efforts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful. She was 28.

    Two books have since emerged in the wake of the tragedy – one by dive co-organizer Carlos Serra called “The Last Attempt” (which faults Ferreras with Mestre’s death) and another by Ferreras himself called “The Dive: A Story of Love and Obsession” which details Mestre’s life. While it’s unclear which story the film will adapt,ย as WeGotThisCovered.com mentions, the fact that James Cameronย shot Ferreras’ record-breaking tribute diveย to Mestre in 2003 favors the latter.

    You can watch the ESPN documentary “No Limits” on Mestre, Ferreras, and the tragic dive below. Shooting on “The Dive” is expected to start later this year.

    Apnea – La veritร  su Audrey Mestre – Apnee Freediving Apnoe

    Read MNN

    Photo by Gage Skidmore

  • MrLiftHogย was flying his camera-equipped RC plane one afternoon when he became disoriented by the glare of the sun and accidentally crashed his plane into the waters below. The plane was supposed to capture some aerial imagery, but it ended up seeing beautiful sights as an underwater camera.

    See PetaPixel

    R/C Plane Crashes into the Sea. Underwater Scenes.

  • A Los Angeles County Fire Department lifeguard died during a swimming exercise Thursday morning, the first on-duty department death in recent memory.

    Brian K. Kutil, 42, began struggling during the lifeguardsโ€™ annual 500-meter swim recertification exercise at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach and was pulled from the water about 7 a.m., said Lifeguard Section Chief Chris Linkletter.

    About 25 lifeguards were swimming with Kutil and they unsuccessfully tried to revive him outside of the pool, Linkletter said. Kutil was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

    โ€œHe was a 20-year veteran, an oustanding lifeguard,โ€ Linkletter said. โ€œHeโ€™s going to be sorely missed.โ€

    See LA Times

  • Courtesy of Swedish YouTube user Nils Bremer. For science!

    Via Laughing Squid

    meanwhile in Sweden, fishing with fireworks