Swimmer's Daily | Fast Fix Blog About Swimming

96-year-old swimmer recalls 1936 Olympic memories

Sep 20, 2011

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by

rokur

in History

A good read here on the Gazette.

When Mary Lou Skok came across Adolf Hitler, she couldnâ€™t see evil. She couldnâ€™t see a man capable of murdering millions of Jews. She only saw a dictator.

â€œHe was just like Charlie Chaplin,â€ Skok recalled. â€œBut he didnâ€™t twitch his mustache.â€

Skok went to the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin as an aspiring swimmer, with $75 in her pocket, with an uncomfortable suit that hardly created optimal performance, with the goal of redemption following retirement after she failed to compete in 1932 in Los Angeles.

She returned with $15, minus a medal, coming within 3.2 seconds of a bronze in the 400-meter freestyle, yet with the memories of the four golds won by the late Jesse Owens and with a new perspective of a Nazi regime advocating the superiority of the Aryan race.

Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/year-125213-memories-old.html#ixzz1YWGQn6VZ
Swimming with Killer Whales

Sep 20, 2011

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by

rokur

in Nature

The craze is spreading, brave Ingrid Visser swims with killer whales to capture (beautiful) videos like this below. I’m sure the Orca saw her as a possible replacement dinner, in case it didn’t catch the manta ray ;-) Via stuff.co.nz.
Sweet, a halo-bubble-blowing Beluga

Sep 20, 2011

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by

rokur

in Fun, Nature

You can look as innocent as you like, I know that you were up to something ! :-)

The Telegraph via Neatorama
Philippe Lucas, coolest coach out there !

Sep 20, 2011

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by

rokur

in Fun

He coached Laure Manaudou, y’know, via Amaury Leveaux Official.
The Race Club: Secret Tip – Rangs Jr.

Sep 19, 2011

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by

rokur

in Equipment, Technique, Training

Gary Hall Senior shares a Race Club secret with us, to use the Rangs Jr by Finis as upper arm flotation devices supporting high elbow position, instead of the original purpose.
Japanese swimmers complete gratitude swim to Taiwan

Sep 19, 2011

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by

rokur

in Nature, Open Water

Six Japanese men swam 150 kilometers (95 miles) through heavy winds and rough seas to reach the Taiwanese coast Monday in a show of gratitude to Taiwan for its US$260 million aid after the March earthquake and tsunami. Taiwan’s foreign minister Timothy Yang said at a cocktail party to welcome the swimmers, that he was most impressed with the Japanese people’s calm attitude and persistent determination to help each other after the disaster, and that he expects Japan to regain its prosperity soon. Read The Associated Press and Focus Taiwan
Diving on the Salam Express

Sep 19, 2011

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by

rokur

in Nature

The ferry “Salam Express” sank in December 1991 while it was on its way home to Egypt from Saudi Arabia. On board there were officially 690 passengers, some estimate 1600, whereof only 200 survived.

Diving on The Salam Express Red Sea 2011 from Karim Hamza on Vimeo.
Time Warp – Water & Professor Splash

Sep 19, 2011

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by

rokur

in Fun, Nature

Water droplet photography meets a Photron high speed camera for some serious ‘water in motion’ poetry.

They also filmed shallow water Guiness Record holder Darren Taylor a.k.a. “Professor Splash” doing a high dive into a kiddie pool

So let’s watch that shallow water world record
6 Japanese swim to Taiwan to say thanks for US$260.5 million

Sep 18, 2011

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by

rokur

in History, Nature, Open Water

Six Japanese swimmers are at the moment navigating 150 kilometers to Taiwan to show gratitude for the US$260.5 million aid the country provided following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disasters. Team leader Kazuya Suzuki said prior to the swimmers’ departure that their main fear is “not the current or typhoons, but the fragility of people’s hearts. We will overcome the fragility and swim toward Taiwan with the gratitude of the Japanese people.” Read Focus Taiwan.