Swimmer's Daily

  • Read for instance Times Live and iol

    The loved ones of missing Midmar Mile swimmer, Herman “Thabo” van Straten, are struggling to come to terms with his disappearance during the race at the weekend.

    “It doesn’t feel real,” his fiancée, Shené Jones, told The Mercury on Monday. “I’m trying to make myself believe that he’s in a hospital somewhere.”

    According to sport24, a police dog appears to have identified the general area where the 43-year-old businessman went missing on Saturday.

    Udain led the police to an area near the finish line at around 16:00 on Monday.

    The dog uses its sense of smell to pick up gases released by bodies underwater. It then swims in a circle to mark the area for divers to search.

    According to City Presse, Van Straten’s fiancée is upset with how the organisers handled the situation on Saturday.

    Shane Jones said she was “pushed around from pillar to post” when trying to report that Van Straten was missing.

    According to for instance Times Live, her sister took to Twitter on Sunday to dispute reports that the organisers were concerned by the fate of her sister’s fiancée.

    “It’s disgusting u have a swimmer missing & done nothing to locate him. Not one rep from u have come to update the family. [sic]”

    According to The Citizen, police said yesterday that the search for Van Straten would be called off today, if he was not found.

  • Read Yucatán For 91 Days

    Floating on our bellies in the waters of Akumal Bay, while massive turtles grazed on the sea grass just a couple meters below us, was an experience so unique, so moving, that it instantly joined the ranks of my favorite memories of all time.

  • Not the most graceful of swimmers, but he gets there

  • See 9NEWS

    When she is not on the snow, Team USA Alpine Skier Julia Mancuso is under the water in Hawaii

    She cross trains by free diving and carrying rocks under the ocean.

    She told 9NEWS it has made her a better, faster racer.

    “I get to train hard and be outside,” Mancuso said. “It’s a great environment to be in if you’re on the water or training on the beach. It’s easy to train with your friends, and it’s easy to push yourself to be in better shape ’cause it’s just a great environment for that.”

  • Guest post by Mark Tomich

    Pools are a fantastic asset to any home – who doesn’t dream of taking a cool dip in the middle of a hot summer day, or enjoying a refreshing workout first thing in the morning? Despite the advantages, owning a pool also comes with responsibility.

    Image courtesy of Sharon Loxton, CC BY-SA 2.0
    Image courtesy of Sharon Loxton, CC BY-SA 2.0

    Anyone who owns a swimming pool should ensure they take the necessary precautions to make it a safe environment for everyone to enjoy. Preventing injury should be your top priority, as pools are a potential hazard. Luckily, most dangers can easily be avoided as long as you follow the following guidelines.

    (more…)

  • Via Laughing Squid

    Holland-based Snurk (“Snore”) Bedding has designed a surprisingly realistic swimming pool themed line of bedclothes simply named “Pool“.

    For this pool you don’t have to be able to swim. That’s because it’s impossible to drown in. Chances are though that you will be sinking into a deep, revitalising sleep. So what are you waiting for? Dive right in.

    Now you can follow that black line into your dreams too !

    pool-bedclothes-2

  • Read SuperSport

    South African open-water swimming sensation Chad Ho once again rewrote the aQuellé Midmar Mile record books after he swam to his fifth successive victory in the event in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday.

    It was the closest finish ever in the race, as Ho just pipped regular rival Troyden Prinsloo at the line.[…]

    Post by 41st aQuelle Midmar Mile 2014 8/9 February 2014.
     
    The women’s race also saw a tight finish, with American Ashley Twichell narrowly edging out Brit Keri-anne Payne by just two seconds. Shortly after watching Payne make a brisk start and claim the race’s first hotspot at the 400-metre mark, defending champion Twichell went to the front and refused to relinquish that position for the remainder of the race, despite Payne’s constant presence.

  • See for instance MTV and Sport Relief

    Davina McCall is shown in distress and unable to move following an open-water swim in Lake Windermere as part of her epic Sport Relief challenge.

    The former Big Brother presenter had to be lifted from the chilly waters of the Cumbrian lake and was carried away to a nearby hotel by members of the crew.

    http://youtu.be/AtGtgg1_Lj0

    According to Cumbria Live, she feared the swim

    Today her trainer said the Windermere swim was terrifying Davina.

    “It is the one thing that she is really, really scared about – 10 weeks ago she could only swim about one length of a swimming pool, but has a good team around her.”

  • Read for instance sport24

    Tragedy has marred the Midmar Mile swimming event for the second time in four years, with a Johannesburg businessman still missing on Sunday after taking part in Race 3 on Saturday, The Witness reports.

    Thabo van Straten, 43, is presumed to have drowned. Searches on Saturday and Sunday failed to locate his body, and the search is expected to resume on Monday, weather permitting.

    According to iol, Midmar Mile organisers released a statement afterwards, saying Saturday’s conditions were “far from ideal”, with “exceptional” swells running freely across the surface of the dam.