Swimmer's Daily

  • On the 5th day of Canadian Olympic Trials, six more swimmers were added to the Canada’s nomination list, bringing the overall total to 29, two more than for the Beijing Games in 2008. In the women’s 200 breaststroke, Tera Van Beilen clocked 2:24.03 to nab a second Olympic assignment, with Martha McGabe also qualifying in 2:24.81, both coached by breaststroke coaching guru Jozsef Nagy in Vancouver. Julia Wilkinson collected a third and fourth Olympic assignment by winning the 100 freestyle in 54.73, Victoria Poon (54.86), Heather MacLean (55.06) and Samantha Cheverton (55.24) also qualifying for the 4×100 freestyle relay. Savannah King qualified for a second event by winning the 800 freestyle in 8:30.79, Alex Komarnycky also qualifying in 8:33.32. Joe Bartoch added his name to the nomination list by winning the men’s 100 butterfly in 53.01, and Tobias Oriwol of Toronto by winning the 200 backstroke in 1:58.79.

    On a sad note, world record holder Annamay Pierse didn’t make the Olympic team, ending up 5th in the women’s 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:27.14. She contracted Dengue fever when competing at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, and never really recovered.

    “It’s been the hardest two-three years of my life,’’ said a tearful Pierse, a silver medallist at the 2009 worlds. ‘’I didn’t have enough time. I’m heartbroken I won’t be in London but I’ll be 100 percent behind them. They are my family.”

    See all results from day 5 here , and read more on swimming.ca

  • On the 4th day of Canadian Olympic Trials, six more swimmers were added to Canada’s Olympic nomination, and one notched a second assignment. Already pre-qualified Brent Hayden solidified his nomination by winning the men’s 100 freestyle in 48.53, with Richard Hortness (49.21), Colin Russell (49.68) and Thomas Gossland (49.98) qualifying for the 4×100 freestyle. Audrey Lacroix qualified in the women’s 200 butterfly with a time of 2:09.01, winning with a remarkable last 50, Julia Wilkinson for a second assignment in the women’s 200 IM with a time of 2:12.78, and Erica Morningstar also in the 200 IM with a time of 2:12.99. Read more here on swimming.ca.

  • Danish swimmer Mathias Gydesen managed a 54.75 and joint 3rd with Ryan Lochte in the men’s 100 backstroke at the Indianapolis Grand Prix a moment ago, meaning that he probably missed the qualification for the London 2012 Olympics, after being only one hundredth of a second outside the FINA A qualification time of 54.40 this morning.

    (more…)

  • Patrick Scully, 58, a locally known performance artist in Minneapolis say’s he’s fighting the ticket he received July 10 for swimming nude at a Sweeney Beach on Twin Lake because he thinks society is too repressive. Police says he just broke the law requiring proper attire in city parks, while the culprit says it was performance art.

    “I believe that you have to be the change that you want to see in the world,” said Scully, a 6-foot-7 dancer known to perform naked on stage and who also is a gay rights activist. “I’d like to live in a world in which our relationship to our bodies is much more relaxed and much less fearful.”

    Fortunately, there are no photos.

    Read more here on UPI.com

  • The queen of Italian swimming is the new testimonial for the Italian underwear brand Yamamay, chosen as an icon of tenacity and determination, qualities you need to succeed during tough swimming training, but also of style and sensuality. Gianluigi Cimmino, head of Inticom Spa, which owns the Yamamay brand, says, “This successful athlete and woman with sensuality in the style of Yamamay will represent the brand’s international development over the next two years.” See Vogue.it

  • Pál Joensen and his coach Jón Bjarnason checking out split times after the 1500 meter freestyle silver medal at the 2010 LEN European Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Those black and yellow trunks are ancient, going back to at least the 2008 European Junior Swimming Championships in Beograd, Serbia.

    Jón & Pál checking out split times at Budapest 2010

  • Benjamin Hockin, who swam for Britain at the 2008 Olympics and was suspended for a year in 2010 for not taking the right steps to notify his change of nationality, has given Paraguay a surprise place in the pool at the London Games, qualifying with a time of one minute 47.79 seconds in the 200 metres freestyle at the Spanish Open in Malaga on Friday. Read more here on Reuters.

  • After winning the 400 IM at the Indianapolis Grand Prix, Olympic champion and world record holder Michael Phelps hinted that he may well swim the event in London, despite having vowed at the Beijing 2008 Olympis to never do it again. Read for instance SwimNews and The Baltimore Sun and see result list.

    “It’s a race that means a lot to us as a country and for me, somebody who has swum it so many times. If it happens, it would start everything off on an exciting note.”

    “I’m going to have to come back and do other events well,” Phelps said. “I just can’t have it affect my other races.”

  • At the Indianapolis Grand Prix this morning, Denmark’s Mathias Gydesen was fastest in the men’s 100 meter backstroke prelims, with a time of 54.41, one hundredth of a second from the FINA ‘A’ qualifying time that will qualify him for the London 2012 Olympics. You might remember that he got a dispensation from the Danish Swimming Federation, allowing him to try for a spot on the Danish Olympic team at the Indy Grand Prix, rather than the Danish Trials. Well, this is his one shot, in the final tonight in Indianapolis, watch the finals live here from 6 p.m. Indy time, that’s 22:00 GMT/UTC. Sure hope that the Americans will treat him well.

    (Gydesen in the Indianapolis 2012 men’s 100 butterfly final)