37 year old Jason Cull saw a dark shape approaching as he swam about 80 meters off the popular Middleton beach in Western Australia on Saturday. “I just remember being dragged backwards underwater. I felt along it, I found its eye and I poked it in the eye, and that’s when it let go.”
Source: AFP. Photo courtesy of Spojeni
There is not a single 2008 entry in the official lists, even though 41 world records have fallen so far this year and these new better times are listed in the official FINA ranking lists. It cannot be because the records are pending FINA approval, since the individual FINA record pages state that an asterisk (*) would be used for this purpose.
Brazilian Rebeca Gusmao has been cleared on first of three charges of doping, but the next two cases are expected to be more tricky for her.
Read: SwimNews
Unflattering post-race pictures of Hackett had people guessing about his form last Sunday, but already on Wednesday he turned up in fine form again at the pool in Melbourne. Turns out that his pot belly was only because of distance swimming in saline waters.
See also: SwimInfo
Dutchman Maarten van der Weijden won the men’s 25km open water world title today with the time of 5 hours 4 minutes 1.1 seconds, just 5 tenths of a second ahead of USA’s Mark Warkentin. Great swimming by the 27 year old, who in March 2001 was diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukaemia, and given only a slight chance of survival.
Source: SwimNews
The International Olympic Committee has decided to ban any kind of political protest at the upcoming Olympic Games in Bejing, including waving the Tibet flag, paying tribute to the Dalai Lama, or any other kind of “look, external appearance, clothing, gestures, and written or oral statements.”
Source: The Associated Press
While Arena is trying to keep its sponsored swimmers at bay by promising a new suit at the end of the month, Nike sort of just gives up, telling its swimmers that they are allowed to choose their own suits as long as the possible logos of other brands are blacked out.
Olympic pool champion Grant Hackett was disqualified for ‘interfering with another swimmer’ at the 5th Open Water Swimming Championships 10 km race in Sevilla (Spain) yesterday, but only after having dropped of contention by the time the judging decision was made. Russia’s Vladimir Dyatchin won in the time of 1 hour 53 minutes 21 seconds, with Britain’s David Davies in second place and Germany’s Thomas Lurz in third. Source: fina.org
