Swimmer's Daily

  • This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Ten-year-old Margaret began telling her mom how, between the ages of 5 and 7, she thought she might have been sexually abused by the father of one of Margaret’s friends.

    Margaret Hoelzer is an Olympic medalist, winning two silver medals and a bronze medal during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Originally from Huntsville, Alabama, Margaret swam during the summer for Jones Valley Recreation Association (JVRA), Space City Swim, and for her team at Huntsville High School. Margaret later swam on the team at Auburn University, where she earned a degree in psychology, with a minor in criminology. Margaret is a public speaker on child abuse issues, and is the national spokesperson for the National Childrenโ€™s Advocacy Center. In 2009, Margaret relocated to Seattle, Washington, and then to Fullerton, California, where she trains at Fullerton Aquatics with Coach Sean Hutchison.

    Courtesy of TEDx Talks on YouTube

    The trail to triumph | Margaret Hoelzer | TEDxHuntsville

  • 10 News digs deeper after parents say they’re outraged over a coach’s actions.

    Pictures of the Osceola Fundamental High School Swim Team allegedly shows them being forced to hang from a chain link fence as a punishment.

    Gina Jones took photos of her daughter’s hands that were blistered and sore from the punishment. Her daughter told her the swim coach punished the team for leaving things like water bottles around the pool. The punishment: hang on the fence for six minutes, and every time someone lets go early, start over.

    “It should’ve been, ‘Let’s do laps,’ [or] running,” said Jones. Before the interview was over, this mom was on a fence herself, to see just how painful hanging there really is.

    “I don’t think I could do it…” she says as she grips the fence. “Oh, I would be… I couldn’t do it for six minutes. That hurts your toes so bad… oooh.”

    See 10 News

  • Ever since 3-year-old Cobi Sky could walk, her momโ€™s been worried about her drowning.

    She doesnโ€™t worry so much anymore.

    โ€œI know she can survive; itโ€™s just a comfort level for me that I know we are OK,โ€ said Atiya Young.

    Children with special needs are at an especially high risk for drowning, but they’re often turned away from swimming lessons due to health issues.

    Now a Winter Park doctor is making sure all children can save themselves from drowning.

    See wftv.com

  • Patrick Mulcare could not have predicted that the best swimming performances of his young career would come in the days after a dense layer of smog inflamed his throat.

    Mulcare, a USC commit, was in Nanjing, China in August for the Youth Olympic Games. Amid the challenges of time zone changes, hours upon hours of travel and adapting to the countryโ€™s unique bathroom facilities, he shined in his first-ever international competition.

    Once he acclimated to his surroundings and the throat irritation subsided, he became a finalist in four of his five events at the games and set personal records for best times.

    See Oregon Live

  • China’s controversial swimming superstar Sun Yang has taken a potshot at rival Japan’s national anthem at the Asian Games, describing it as “ugly”.

    The double Olympic champion told Chinese media he had taken great pleasure in helping the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay team beat the Japanese on Wednesday. He then indulged in a spot of diplomatic jousting.

    “The Chinese let their anger out tonight,” he is heard as saying on a Chinese-language audio passed to AFP.

    “Honestly speaking the Japanese national anthem sounds ugly.”

    Read NDTV

    "Kimi Ga Yo" – Japan National Anthem Japanese & English lyrics

  • Neighborhood children are petitioning against Highland Park Independent School Districtโ€™s $15-$20 million plan to build a new swim center at Curtis Park. The park is considered the summer aquatic, social and recreational hub of University Park.

    โ€œWe think we should have a say in our community,โ€ one child told CBS 11 News about their petition, which has 500 signatures.

    Many neighbors stand in opposition with the children against building the center across from University Park Elementary School.

    โ€œI do not support the location of the natatorium,โ€ said one University Park resident, many of who lined up to speak at City Hall. The adults have also started another petition online.

    โ€œWe donโ€™t think itโ€™s unnecessary to cut down healthy trees that predate the founding of University Park,โ€ said another resident.

    See CBS Local and Save Curtis Park

  • A Frankfort couple have charged in a Fayette Circuit Court lawsuit that negligence by Transylvania University led to the drowning of their 13-year-old son in a university swimming pool in June.

    The suit was filed Monday by Ricky L. and Jessica A. Harris, whose son, Ricky Harris III,died June 23 after losing consciousness during a recreational swim at Transy’s William T. Young Campus Center. He was attending an academic summer camp at Transy.

    The lawsuit alleges that because of a “culture of disregard as to swimming pool safety” at Transy, Ricky Harris sank under the water without being noticed, remaining underwater “for an extended period of time” before being found.

  • New underwater footage posted online Friday is believed to be the worldโ€™s first video showing a pod of killer whales hunting and killing a tiger shark.

    According to Barcroft TV, the video was captured off the coast of Costa Rica by photographer Caroline Power on September 8th.

    See The Blaze

    http://youtu.be/uqimOYOQjJ8

  • At the AIDA team world championships in Sardinia, Italy, on Friday the 26th of september 2014, Natalia Molchanova from Russia broke the world record dynamic with a dive of 237 meters.
    Camera Daan Verhoeven http://daanverhoeven.com

    Natalia Molchanova world record freediving, 237 meter dynamic