Swimmer's Daily

  • They nicknamed it “jellyfish alley” already early in the swim, with 5 of the 11 team members having been stung by jellyfish after 15 hours of swimming. But they kept going, managing to complete the full 56 miles in impressive 35 hours and 18 minutes. Team including celebrities Ronan Keating, Jenny Frost, Pamela Stephenson, Jason Bradbury and others, and olympic medalist Steve Parry who said upon completing The Swim:

    “I’ve been swimming for the majority of my life and The Swim has been the biggest challenge of my life. It’s been a fantastic team of open water swimmers and adventurous celebrities who have come together for an amazing challenge to raise £1million for Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work.”

  • A four-meter-long python wallowing at the bottom of a swimming pool in a Malaysian private club sent bathers running last Tuesday. It may a slipped into the pool from nearby bushes to cool itself, when a woman spotted it resting under a ladder, herself and 8 other people including children swimming in the pool at the time. Club management called the fire department which removed the python. No one was injured. Via AFP

    Python regius - ball python

  • A glimpse of the recent Speedo Fashion Show, part of the Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival, featuring pro models and struggling sex symbol Eamon Sullivan.

    Eamon might have been the amateur here, but still it seems like he was better at really connecting with the audience (see 0:16 and 1:33 :-)

  • The NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) and Altitude Technology Solutions (ATS) today launched a revolutionary new altitude training system at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. The new system, a pool-based training system, is a canopy which covers two, 25 metre lanes of a swimming pool. The design includes a hypoxic system that generates an environment similar to that experienced during altitude training. Read more here on nswis.com.au and see pictures on their Facebook page. World Champion James Magnussen says he will use the system regularly, having never before trained at altitude. Via SwimNews.com and Yahoo! Sports.

    “It’s definitely going to contribute (to training for London),” Magnussen said. “I don’t think this itself will be a gold medal winner, but combine this with my training program I’ve got already, we’re definitely well on the way.”

  • Super (personal) blog post by Mel Stewart here on Gold Medal Mel, on being a swim-parent. The video is his wife’s idea, to capture of their daughter ‘while she’s still a kid, still prone to dancing spontaneously, painting her face randon bright colors, playing with dolls.’

    One person, a coach I love and respect, told me years and years ago, “A family that swims together stays together.” He wasn’t talking divorce or breakup. His point was that swimming families stay close, because they have to stay so engaged in their kids’ lives. And…I know he was right.

  • Good news, George Bovell III is getting better every day, restlessly looking forward to resume training, after his recent car crash. Follow up on his status here on www.georgebovellswimming.com.

  • Another good tip from Gary Hall Sr and The Race Club …

  • On August 19, Eyeka.com and Speedo launched this video and photo contest, deadline on August 29, for you to share your most memorable swim with the chance to win up to £3000. You have to create a user account there, upload the video or photo, whereafter internet users will vote on it or not on www.facebook.com/UnforgettableSwims. A lot of registration and forced Facebook liking, but still, £3000 possible GBPs for something that I’m sure that all of us here on this blog have. See also Speedo page (with possibility to browse already shared videos) www.unforgettableswims.com. Via VidOpp.

    What did you do? Where did it take place? How did you feel? What were the consequences in your life or in your mood? And finally, what made your swim unforgettable to you? Show us how personal and inspiring this experience was and why you will always remember it.

  • Ouch, read SwimNews.com and see the video below …

    Former world 100m freestyle champion Filippo Magnini is back in the news after being photographed flirting with Federica Pellegrini at world titles last month. No consequence for the Italian Olympic champion but for Magnini the moment has cost him the woman he might have married. Italian papers today have Christina Nardini, the swimmer’s girlfriend before the photos emerged from Shanghai, saying: “Filippo was all ready for the wedding, we had set the date and bought a house, we also wanted a son … but I could not forgive a betrayal. I was too disappointed.” On the one hand, Magnini, she tells the media, has told her that he misses her and that he had made it clear to Pellegrini that there would be no relationship. On the other hand, Nardini had found an invitation to dine with Pellegrini hidden in a book belonging to Magnini.