According to this article on swim.be (in Flemish, I don’t speak Flemish so beware…), the organizers of the 2012 European Long Course Championships are facing serious financial problems, with additional 300,000 € needed now only 3 months away from the event. It is rumored that the Dutch city of Eindhoven stands ready to take over the championships, but that would be a heavy blow to the Belgians. Via Hollandswimming
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Ashley Callus retires
Sydney Olympic gold medallist Ashley Callus was aiming to become the first Australian to swim at four Olympic games, but has decided to retire now just five weeks out from the Olympic trials. Member of the never-to-be-forgotten ‘smashing guitars‘ relay :-)
“I’ve been to three Olympics, I have nothing more to prove to myself. The last thing I wanted to do at the age of 33 then is go (to trials) and make up the numbers”
Read Couriermail
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CC photo #40: Swedish guy having a ball in ‘Droppy’
A Swedish national team member persuaded one the Istanbul 2009 LEN European Short Course Championships ‘Droppy’ mascots to let him try on the outfit, and then went on a rampage, dancing and posing with people for photoshoots and everything :-)
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Plush Shark Hat
Only $19.95 from Neatoshop
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PETA sues SeaWorld to end killer whale slavery
A US judge is considering a complaint by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) against SeaWorld, naming five killer whales as plaintiffs in a lawsuit which argues they deserve the same constitutional protection from slavery as humans. They don’t consider it likely that the whales will win their freedom, but campaigners said they were pleased the case even made it to a courtroom. Named whales are Tilikum and Katina at SeaWorld Orlando, and Kasatka, Corky and Ulises at SeaWorld San Diego. Read BBC
Image courtesy of Milan Boers, CC BY 2.0
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Photographer captures giant waves from beneath
Photographer Mark Tipple has an interesting project called “The Underwater Project“, in which he captures photographs of swimmers diving deep in order to survive passing waves. Via PetaPixel.
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DARPA zaps snipers’ brains to induce flow, cut down training time
Interesting article here on NewScientist, on how (mad?) scientists are learning to harness “flow”, by telling for instance swimmers to focus on the water’s movement around their limbs, rather than on the limbs. And by running electricity through the brain.
Weisend, who is working on a US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency programme to accelerate learning, has been using this form of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to cut the time it takes to train snipers. From the electrodes, a 2-milliamp current will run through the part of my brain associated with object recognition – an important skill when visually combing a scene for assailants.
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Off the deck – 60 days until trials
Courtesy of Swim Ontario
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Keri-Anne Payne reveals setback in Olympic preparation
Two-time world 10K open water champion Keri-Anne Payne has revealed that the triumphs of 2011 have left her struggling for fitness in this crucial Olympic year. Via SkySports
“I’ve not had as good a start to the season as I had last year. Unfortunately I’ve had a string of injuries – I had a bad back, bad shoulder and a bad neck. I’m hoping it’s just a case of my body winding down from last season because it was such a great season.”
