Swimmer's Daily

  • While filming whales off of the Canary Islands recently, a documentary crew discovered a rare marine find – the body of an Architheuthis (giant squid) bobbing in open water. They reckon that it was an adult female about 8 metres long with intact tentacles, where the largest specimens can be about 18 to 20 metres in total length, with eyes like a handball. Nice. Antena3.com via io9.com.

  • Tatiana and Verda enjoying the water in and around Fiji. Yes, we are in the GoPro zone again, capturing beautiful video no matter if it is in, on or above water, or in the transition between these places.

    DREAM MACHINE – FIJI WATER – 2011 from Tatiana Howard on Vimeo.

  • Britain’s Olympic medal hope Gemma Spofforth fell of her bike yesterday evening, breaking her toe and nose in the fall. They are keeping her at the hospital overnight in case she has a concussion. Looking at the picture, she might have broken a front tooth too, poor girl.

    Doing much better!! Keeping me in over night incase I have a concussion… 15 stitches, broken toe and broken nose…  http://t.co/XSEZgYKless than a minute ago via Twitter for iPhone Favorite Retweet ReplyGemma Spofforth
    GemmaSpofforth

  • In short, Venezuela’s short course 50 meter butterfly world champion Albert Subirats missed the world championships last month because he was reported to have missed three anti-doping tests (a sanction that is now totally lifted) while now 50 meter butterfly long course world champion César Cielo and 2 other Brazilians got a last-minute express trial and then only a warning for without doubt having taken an illegal drug.

    Therefore good question by Craig Lord here on SwimNews.com:

    The questions for CAS and all involved in seeking fairness and more rigour in the anti-doping system is clear:

    • why, when the Subirats case was known before the Cielo case, did CAS not rush to sit in session in order that the Venezuelan  could swim in Shanghai last month (different treatment for differest swimmers, once more)

    Condecoración a Albert Subirats y abanderamiento de Pastor Maldonado

  • I like that description: After about six hours I am usually deep inside my own head. My body takes over and my mind drifts off somewhere…a moving meditation. At night I will try and narrow my attention to a single light or glow stick on the boat or kayak. I close my eyes periodically to ‘watch’ the whole thing from above. The ‘zone’ takes some time to get into, and it doesn’t last for the whole swim. I’ve never experienced anything like it during any land-based activity.” Via TakePart.com.

    Here is the quoted Dave Barra reflecting on his recent 120 mile “8 Bridges Swim” down the Hudson River.

  • The nonprofit Dade City’s Wild Things sanctuary in Pasco County is hoping that cat lovers will pay $200 a pop for the chance to take a dip with a tiger cub. Just don’t be around when momma comes home! Via Tampa Bay Online.

    Here’s another video from Tampa Bay Online …

  • Commenters here on buzzfeed.com say that this is perfectly normal procedure in Florida, but it still looks like they are overloading the filtration system.

  • Ehh, this video is at the very limit of what will pass as material for this site, but unfortunately you don’t get much more swimming relevant than a ‘shower world record’. Now standing at 152 persons, beating the old record of mere 145 persons from 2009, which apparently took a good deal of squeezing. Did I mention that their secret weapon was a lot of bikini-clad ladies ? See The World Records Academy.

    Oh God no, there is ‘behind the scenes’ shots too. Well at least it proves that they were serious about it. “It is not a ‘thinking’ record, it is a ‘doing’ record” :-S

  • This video shows a boxing match that allegedly took place in 1939 at Wembley Empire Pool in London. Unbelievable! Doobybrain via Neatorama.