Swimmer's Daily

  • At the Russian National Championships today, Alexander Tikhonov qualified for the Olympics with a 4:15.25 in the men’s 400 IM, Evgeny Korotyshkin and and Nikolay Skvortsov with a tight 52.07 to 52.08 in the men’s 100 butterfly ahead of Nikita Konovalov in 52.15, and Arkady Vyatchanin and Vladimir Morozov with 53.91 and 53.93 respectively in the men’s 100 backstroke. Read more here on SwimmingWorld Magazine

  • Very positive read here on sports.yahoo.com, on how swimming is beneficial to people with multiple sclerosis, because 1) it is social no matter medical condition, 2) it is effective but gentle strength training, 3) it relaxes and brings down stress level, 4) it is cooling even when training on hot days (and has the added benefit of lifeguards), and 5) allows balance training while supporting ones body.

  • Stew Leonard III Children’s Charities today announced the launch of its new Stewie the Duck Learns to Swim mobile app for iPad and iPhone. The app, which is free of charge, is the first app of its kind designed to promote water safety to children. It was remarkably approved by Apple on April 4, 2012, which would have been Stew Leonard III’s 25th birthday, a toddler who drowned on January 1, 1989, sparking his parents to pledge that they would do everything in their power to prevent this tragedy from striking other families. “Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children under age 5. We see kids who are using and enjoying their parents’ iPhone and iPads every day, so we knew that developing a water safety app would be a great way to communicate with parents and children alike” said Kim and Stew Leonard, founders of Stew Leonard III Children’s Charities. Via timesunion.com, go visit stewietheduck.com

  • An Iranian diplomat has been accused of fondling girls at a local swimming pool in Brazil’s capital city Brasilia, a case testing local perceptions of diplomatic immunity laws. Witnesses said the diplomat had been pretending to swim around the pool in a “duck-diving” manner, police said. While underwater, however, the diplomat surreptitiously fondled four girls between the ages of nine and 15 years, police said. Some of the girls began screaming and their parents confronted the man. “It is really surprising that a diplomat would act in such a way,” said Johnson Monteiro, a civil police detective who handled the case. Read The Wall Street Journal

  • Mutual of Omaha recently launched Swim Star 2012, a unique swimming game app for iPhone and iPad, in anticipation of the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials, which will take place in the company’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. in June, and the Summer Olympic Games in London. Swim Star 2012 allows players to select an avatar and their preferred swim stroke to compete for a place on the podium at every event. Players can progress from beginner level to qualifying, regional, nationals and world levels. Swim Star 2012 has GameCenter integration that allows players to post times to a leaderboard for each stroke. It also offers Facebook and Twitter integration to share accomplishments with friends. See iTunes and swimstargame.com, via MarketWatch

  • Chinese athletes including at least 196 competitors under China’s National Aquatics Centre are swearing off meat ahead of the London Olympics out of fear that domestic pork, beef and lamb could contain substances banned under anti-doping rules, a report said Wednesday. They are instead relying on protein powder and fish to meet the protein needs. Authorities are particularly concerned that athletes could unwittingly consume clenbuterol, which is banned for food production in China but has been found in contaminated pork. Read more here on Bangkok Post.

  • Libby Trickett“I’ve had roller-coaster rides at both of the Olympics (I’ve competed in), I understand to some extent how Olympics can pan out, generally it’s not the way we expect them to pan out,” Trickett said.

    “The biggest advice I would give to any athlete is to expect the unexpected – because the Olympics (are) everything and more than you can ever imagine …

    “I’m excited to not only experience that again first-hand, but obviously to see it for the guys who are the newies on the team.”

    Read more here on ABC News, photo courtesy of Liz Higgs, CC BY-ND 2.0

  • Courtesy of RT

  • A photo from the FLOT learn-to-swim program enrollment back in September 2008, here in Toftir, Faroe Islands. We’ve all been there ! :-)

    Watch your back !