Swimmer's Daily

  • A family friend helped pull a child out of an Abington, Massachusetts backyard swimming pool and immediately started CPR on the victim.

  • A child is facing charges after an incident Monday night at a teen swim event in Bel Air. Harford County sheriff’s deputies were called around 9:15 p.m. to Fountain Green Swim Club for a possible shooting. Deputies determined a shooting did not take place and no weapon was used or displayed during the incident.

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  • Sjostrom ties Popov’s all-time medal tally, Popovici cracks another junior WR 

    A bronze for Sarah Sjostrom in the mixed medley relay became a milestone in the European  Championships’ history as the Swede tied the legendary Alexander Popov’s tally of 26 medals, an all-time best. David Popovici went on bettering records, this time setting a new junior global mark while winning the 200m free, and the Romanian now is the third man ever to get inside 1:43min.  Simona Quadarella got one step closer to completing the unprecedented triple-triple: she cruised to another fine win in the 1500m, and since she had won the 800m, now she needs to add the 400m to win all three distances at the third straight edition. Golds for Switzerland and Greece added a special flavor to the fifth day of the championships, which also saw the start of the diving meet where Italy got the first gold and the conclusion of the artistic swimming competition where three  Ukrainians, Marta Fiedina and the Aleksiiva twins finished with six golds apiece. 

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    Swimming 

    David Popovici didn’t lay back and slow down at all after making the headlines with his magical 100m  free world record. His other, if not preferred event, the 200m free came next where another towering global mark awaits him. Set in 2009, by the magnificent German Paul Biedermann on the top of his career, wearing a shiny suit – the 1:42.00 perhaps poses a lot bigger challenge than Cielo’s 46.91 did in the 100m. 

    Popovici likes to underline that he prefers the step-by-step approach – and he is not just talking about that but put it in practice once more. After clocking 1:43.21 at the Worlds to improve his junior WR,  now he had another blast by entering waters unchartered since 2009. He touched the wall inside  1:43min, indeed, the first man ever in textile. Only two greats achieved that in the past, both in shiny suits: Biedermann, and before him the one and only Michael Phelps, at the Beijing Olympics, when he won with 1:42.96. No one ever since. Now Popovici is 0.01sec away from Phelps’ effort – the next steps are to follow in due time. 

    Simona Quadarella dipped inside 16min while winning the 1500m free – she did it with ease, ahead of  400m IM champion Viktoria Mihalyvari Farkas of Hungary and compatriot Rita Caramignioli.  Quadarella’s golden count now stands at 8 European titles, and she needs to add the 400m crown on the last day to achieve the triple-triple: to win the 400-800-1500m at three consecutive editions. 

    While the outcome of these finals was pretty much in the cards, there were a couple of stunning wins in other events. Lisa Mamie’s victory in the women’s 200m breast came as a surprise, ahead of Italy’s top qualifier Martina Carraro. Mamie was runner-up a year ago, still, this was something special, Swiss gold in women breaststroke – never happened before.

    Apostolos Christou of Greece medalled in the 100m back in 2021 but never won a major event – up until now when he out-touched Italy’s poster boy Thomas Ceccon by 0.04sec in the 50m  back. He is now in the footsteps of Aristidis Grigoriadis who won the dash back in 2008. 

    Sweden also enjoyed a fine day – Louise Hansson claimed a couple of 4th and 5th places in the 100m fly earlier but never got to the podium. Then this evening she stormed to a brilliant win, staging a fiery finish to pass title-holder Marie Wattel practically over the last two meters to win it by 0.14sec;  Bosnia’s hero from the 2021 Rome juniors Lana Pudar came third.  

    Then, at the end of the session, Hansson was back together with team-mates to finish third in the mixed free relay – France won it with a balanced performance, including a consoling anchor leg for Wattel who was upset a bit after finishing runner-up in the fly event; the Brits took the silver. 

    The bronze for Sweden meant that Sarah Sjostrom got even with Alexander Popov on the all-time individual medal ranks. The legendary Russian sprinter amassed 26 medals during his amazing career,  between 1991 and 2004, took 21 golds, 3 silvers, and 2 bronzes (13 of those came in relays, had 10  individual golds). Though Sjostrom has less gold – so far –, 15 (with 7 silvers and 4 bronzes), however,  all but one of her wins came in individual races. And one can bet that soon she becomes the sole leader of the historical chart as she qualified for the 50m free in the first place and is very much set to win the event on Tuesday, just like she did at the Worlds back in June. 

    Diving 

    The diving competition kicked off with the usual team event early afternoon and Italy bagged the first gold right away, bettering Ukraine with a tiny margin of 3.50 points. The marks were almost identical across all six rounds, the Ukrainians even collected more 8.0s for a couple of attempts, still, the higher  DDs saved the day for the home team. Great Britain finished third. 

    Artistic Swimming 

    After bagging eight medals last year in Budapest, four golds, and four silvers, Ukraine’s Marta Fiedina finished her campaign with two fewer medals but now all six of them are gold (this time she did not compete in the duet). On the closing day of the artistic swimming competition, she was part of  Ukraine’s winning team in the free final (despite a rare point penalty, for a time violation during the initial pool-deck movement), to crown her quest here in Rome – Italy, and France got the minor spoils. 

    The duets, both the women and the mixed pairs, competed in the technical finals and the ranks didn’t change on the top. The twins ruled the women’s show, Ukraine’s Aleksiivas won convincingly, earning a couple of 9.6s for artistic impression. They also bring home six gold medals apiece. The Alexandris from Austria finished second, ahead of Linda Cerruti and Constanza Ferro of Italy. 

    Giorgio Minisini, with Lucrezia Ruggeiro, completed his mission of clinching four gold medals at home  – their winning margin was huge once again, more than five points, ahead of Spain’s Pau Ribes and  Emma Garcia. And the Solymosy siblings from Slovakia will bring another bronze to the family home – though Jozef, aged 17, added that his happiness will end soon as he needs to return to school.

    Ukraine topped the medal chart with 8 gold medals (out of 8 events), while Italy grabbed 12 (4-6-2) as the hosts also had a strong presence in the male and mixed events and that also landed them the Team  Trophy. In terms of individual totals, Linda Cerruti amassed the largest tally with 8 medals, six silvers, and two bronzes.

    Press release courtesy of LEN, photos courtesy of LEN/S. Castrovillari

  • Swimming is an excellent exercise to get the body moving and increase your heart rate. It exercises your entire body, is low-impact, and is a lot more soothing than working out for over an hour in a spin class. This makes swimming one of the best exercises that promote mental and physical well-being. 

    Swimming is one of the safest exercises that women can do throughout their pregnancy. Swimming when pregnant is extremely good for the leg and arm muscles. It can also aid in reducing back strain and ligament aches. 

    Pregnancy is a time when women may not feel like exercising regularly, especially when their bump starts growing and they feel the extra weight. But in the swimming pool, they can feel weightless, helping them to relax and refresh even during the later stages of pregnancy. Swimming for about 20 to 30 minutes per day is the best exercise regime for expectant mothers. Pregnant ladies can make their exercise schedule after a discussion with their obstetrician.

    Advantages of antenatal swimming

    Swimming during pregnancy has numerous advantages, both for the baby and the mother. Some of them include:

    Maintain weight

    It is very easy to gain weight during pregnancy. If not properly monitored, sometimes people may gain an unhealthy amount of weight, especially if they have cravings for sugary foods. It is crucial to maintain a healthy weight during pregnancy for the health of the baby and the mother and to have an uncomplicated birth. Swimming is an excellent exercise for pregnant women who are trying to maintain their weight at a healthy level.

    Improves delivery experience

    Swimming is a great exercise to maintain muscle tone in pregnant women and increase their endurance and stamina. This will be extremely useful during labour and delivery as it will help the mother push out the baby with little effort compared to those having less endurance.

    Minimises morning sickness

    A lot of women complain about nausea and vomiting in the morning during pregnancy. Swimming is a great way to alleviate this morning sickness. The cool water in the swimming pool is a great relief for many pregnant women.

    Reduces sciatic pain

    Pregnant women often complain of sciatic pain. This is the discomfort that radiates along the sciatic nerve, which runs down one or both legs from the lower back. It happens in pregnant women when the baby presses down on the sciatic nerve. But while swimming, the baby floats along with the mother, relieving the pressure from the sciatic nerve, thereby reducing the pain.

    Relieves foot and ankle swelling

    Swimming helps in boosting blood circulation throughout the body. This will prevent fluids from collecting in the foot and ankle and help to reduce oedema, which is very common during pregnancy. Submersing the limbs in the pool water will help to push the fluids from the tissues back into the veins. From there, it travels to the kidneys and then goes out of the body through urine.

    Eases back strain

    Swimming reduces the added tension on the back caused by the growing tummy during pregnancy. Pregnancy can cause the shoulders and spine to round forward. It can also tilt the alignment of the pelvis. All this can be avoided by swimming, as it helps to offset these tendencies by strengthening the muscles.

    Averts diastasis recti

    DRA is a condition that affects a lot of pregnant women. This condition is characterised by an abnormal space between the two rectus muscles of the muscular abdominal wall. It can upset the daily routine of people, causing great inconvenience. Swimming is a great way to avert DRA as it can help in strengthening the abdominal muscles.

    Helps to keep cool

    During pregnancy, the sweat glands in women work on overdrive. This becomes an even more difficult problem when the outside weather is hot. Pregnant women can get a little relief from the heat and sweat by having a swim in the cool waters of your fibreglass swimming pool.

    Good for mental health

    Pregnancy is a stressful time, with worry for the baby and haywire hormones causing women to go through an emotional roller coaster a lot of times. Swimming is an exercise known for its mental health benefits, like reducing anxiety and stress. Pregnant women can swim daily to alleviate stress and have a relaxing time. This is also beneficial for the baby.

    Improves sleep

    Proper and restful sleep is important during pregnancy. Swimming, like all other aerobic exercises, helps people to have a restful sleep.

    Good for the unborn baby

    Numerous studies conducted by scientists have indicated that swimming while pregnant can protect unborn babies from hypoxia-ischemia. It is a neurological condition that occurs when the brain does not receive enough blood flow or oxygen for a period of time.

    Low-impact exercise

    Swimming is an exercise that can be done throughout pregnancy. It is a low-impact exercise that can be done with little effort.

    Tips to swim safely during pregnancy

    Pregnancy is a time when people are careful about everything, and rightly so. Swimming is a great exercise to indulge in during pregnancy, but it is important to follow some safety tips to avoid unnecessary issues. These tips include:

    • Be very careful while stepping into the pool. Be extra mindful of slippery surfaces since baby bellies can slightly tilt your centre of gravity.
    • Diving is not advisable during pregnancy as it can be harmful to the baby. Instead, it is better to either step or slide into the swimming pool.
    • Wear a swimsuit that does not cause unnecessary tightness around the belly.
    • It is better to avoid hot tubs during pregnancy. They can increase body temperature, which increases the risk of miscarriages and spinal cord and brain abnormalities.
    • Remember to swim in pools that are safe and do not have harsh chemicals. It is also good to check the chlorine and pH level of the swimming pool before going into it.
    • Keep drinking plenty of water and have occasional healthy snacks like fruits while swimming.

    In Conclusion

    Swimming is a great exercise for pregnant women. It helps to maintain a healthy weight, relieves aches, and reduces stress. Pregnant women can swim throughout the pregnancy after consulting with their obstetrician and asking their expert advice.

    Sponsored post by Barrier Reef Pools

  • Australia is experiencing one of the coldest starts to winter in 70 years. So why would anyone begin their day by plunging into icy water? Steve went looking for the answer.

  • As a rising junior, Alex Walsh is no stranger to breaking records in the swimming pool.

  • WBZ TV’s Breana Pitts reports.

  • Steenbergen bags 5th medal, two more for Milak, Fiedina stands with 5 golds 

    Five titles went to five different countries on another thrilling day at the European Aquatics  Championships in the Foro Italico. Hungary’s Kristof Milak bagged a gold and a silver in an hour to stand with four medals after four days, while Marrit Steenbergen of the Netherlands added a  fifth to her already magnificent tally, completing the 100-200m free double. Still, the best collection so far belongs to Ukraine’s Martina Fiedina – she has amassed five titles, landing two more this afternoon. Italy’s Giorgio Minisini won the men’s solo event to earn his third win in  Rome. 

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    Swimming 

    Hungary’s Kristof Milak faced the most grueling day of his Rome run – and ended up with gold as he retained his 100m fly title, and later he anchored the Hungarian 4x100m free relay to a silver medal with a 47.24 blast. Though he lagged a bit behind in the first 50m in the fly final but came up with another monstrous second leg to win with ease, ahead of Switzerland’s Noel Ponti and Poland’s Jakub  Majerski – the latter two clinched their country’s first medals here respectively. In 10 minutes, Milak,  the top qualifier from the morning, returned to set up another duel with David Popovici in the 200m  free, but he ran out of gas for the last 50m and ended up in the 10th place – so their second clash is postponed. By the way, Popovici looked smooth one day after his out-of-Earth world record in the  100m free, and advanced to the final with the only sub-1:45min effort. 

    James Wilby landed another title for the Brits, the first individual triumph here, as he outsmarted Matti  Matson in the 200m breast and won by almost half a second. Though the Finn was still happy to become his country’s third swimmer ever to claim medals at the three majors (Olympics, Worlds,  Europeans). Veteran Luca Pizzini, aged 33, delivered a bronze to the Italians. 

    As for the ladies, Marrit Steenbergen enjoyed another golden outing – not a single day has passed so far where the speedy Dutch left the pool empty-handed. She had two golds and a bronze with the relays and after winning the 100m free, today she came first in the 200m. Britain’s Freya Anderson staged a great finish, but she was 0.16sec shy of her rival at the wall, adding silver to her 100m free bronze (and she also has two relay medals). Germany’s Isabel Gose, the runner-up in the 800m free, finished third. 

    France’s second gold medal also came in the backstroke: following the men’s 200m a day earlier,  Analia Pigree claimed gold in the 50m at her first long-course European in her first big final – not bad for a start. Italy’s Silvia Scalia out-touched Maikee de Waard by the tiniest possible margin, 0.01sec – so the Dutch had another dash bronze as she was also third in the 50m fly. 

    Exceptionally, the home crowd had to wait till the last final to celebrate another Italian win. At least,  that was never in danger as all four men of the hosts’ 4x100m free relay posted blistering 47sec legs,

    which none of their rivals were capable of. Consequently, they won by a mile, by 1.93sec,  ahead of the Hungarians and the Brits. 

    Artistic swimming 

    Three more finals produced the expected outcome on the penultimate day at the artistic swimming competition. The first-ever male solo free event saw the same two getting the highest scores as in the technical final: Italy’s Giorgio Minisini doubled down the titles, Spain’s Fernando Diaz got the silver  and France’s Quentin Rakotomalala earned the bronze. On a side note, Minisini dropped in his post-race comment that the judges were yet to adjust their assessment of the male-only competitions as they viewed and compared the routines to the women’s top performers who had been in the business since long years.  

    Like Marta Fiedina, who offered another breath-taking performance to win the solo free title, ahead of  Italy’s Linda Cerruti and Austria’s Vasiliki Alexandri – to copy the final ranks in the technical final. And Ukraine went 6/6 in the female events soon, Fiedina&Co. finished atop in the free combination,  Italy earned the silver here as well (this was their 5th among the women), and finally, the Greeks could step onto the podium as well.

    Press release courtesy of LEN, photos courtesy of LEN/S. Castrovillari

  • Popovici: in a world of his own 

    It’s official: David Popovici is the fastest swimmer on Earth – the Romanian set a new world record in the 100m free in Rome, bringing down Cesar Cielo’s 13-year-old mark to clock 46.86.  Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom got two medals, a gold, and a silver, to catch up with Katinka Hosszu on the all-time medal charts (they stand with 25 apiece). Italy enjoyed more success and Great  Britain landed its first title in Rome. 

    Finally, it happened – and it had to happen here, in the Foro Italico, where Brazil’s Cesar Cielo set that monstrous 46.91 world record in 2009 when the full-body super suits propelled the top swimmers to better 43 global marks at the World Championships. 

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    Though many thought that those records should remain untouchable for long years, if not decades, the most talented athletes of the following generations started bringing them down, one after the other. Still,  the men’s freestyle WRs really seemed to be out of reach – up until now. When David Popovici surfaced last year here in Rome at the junior Europeans and set a series of incredible junior WRs, the expert eye saw immediately that he could be the chosen one. 

    Today he proved that: after clocking 47.13 at the World Championships, then breaking the 47sec barrier here in the semis, bringing down Cielo’s mark should come next. The only minor concern was that the  Romanian Rocket slowed down a bit in Budapest for the final, he was almost 0.4sec slower than in the semis (just as the field, still won the title). But here everything unfolded as expected – and he got a  boost from the next lane where Kristof Milak checked in for a test to try speeding in the freestyle after rewriting the history books in butterfly. 

    Though Popovici turned second at the halfway mark, his homecoming leg was truly amazing and when he touched the wall, the Stadio del Nuoto erupted, the crowd created such if not bigger noise when the  Italians were doing something great. Popovici shaved off 0.05sec from the previous mark to become the fastest swimmer in the world. Milak came second with 47.47 – and applauded his rival at the wall –,  while Italy’s Alessandro Miressi finished third. (As a matter of interest: this year marks the 100th anniversary of Johnny Weissmuller’s first-ever sub-1min swim in this event – this was the Popovici  Way to honor that milestone.) The other finals also offered thrilling races. Sarah Sjostrom managed to get even with Katinka Hosszu in the all-time medal chart as she bagged two medals this evening. First, she retook the 50m fly title with another fine sub-25sec effort to win the event for the 5th time since 2012 (her injury last year prevented her from making six straight victories). Then she came second with the Swedish free relay to claim her 25th podium in the history of the championships. Hosszu was supposed to add a 26th to her tally but she bowed out in the 400m IM heats in the morning – despite finishing 4th, two of her compatriots posted better times and one nation could have only two qualifiers. (The five-time champion missed the 400m IM final for the first time since 2006, apart from 2018 when she did  not enter.) 

    Though the other two, Viktoria Mihalyvari-Farkas and Zsuzsanna Jakabos did a splendid job. The younger left no doubt that she was ready to take over the reign – she was runner-up last year –, while  Jakabos, competing in her record-setting 10th Europeans, staged a great finish to clinch the silver and return to the podium after 2016.  

    Italy also staged a 1-2 finish, in the 100m breast, where world champion Benedetta Pilato added the  European crown and Lisa Angiolini a bit surprisingly out-touched Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania by  0.16sec. The atmosphere was also electrifying when Gregorio Paltrinieri smashed the Championship  Record while winning the 800m free and compatriot Lorenzo Galossi claimed the bronze – the junior  European champion also set a new junior WR; Germany’s Lucas Maertens finished runner-up. 

    France enjoyed a fine start of the session as Yohann Ndoye Brouard won the 200m back convincingly right away, ahead of surprise silver medallist Benedek Kovacs of Hungary and Britain’s Luke  Greenbank. Soon came Marie Wattel’s silver in the 50m fly (behind Sjostrom), while the Netherlands’  Maike de Waard got the bronze. 

    The Dutch medalled in another relay too – after winning the women’s 4x200m free and the mixed  4x100m medley, now came third in the women’s 4x100m free. Here Great Britain finally snatched gold  – after collecting six medals already –, their two 53.4 splits secured a convincing title defense.

    Artistic Swimming 

    No shake-up on the duet free day – Gregorio Minisini and Lucrezia Ruggiero gave their best to win the mixed title, Spain’s experienced pair of Pau Ribes and Emma Garcia got the silver. And to create more history, the young Solymosi-siblings, Jozef and Silvia delivered the first-ever medal to Slovakia. 

    Siblings, rather twins, ruled the classical duet event as well. Ukraine’s Aleksiivas, Maryna, and  Vladyslava clinched the country’s fourth gold here, while the Alexandri triplets of Austria had an even better day than on Friday. Then Vasiliki claimed the long-awaited medal in solo, today Eirini and Anna  Maria bettered even the Italian duet of Linda Cerruti and Constanza Ferro for the silver.

    Press release courtesy of LEN, photos courtesy of LEN/S. Castrovillari