Swimmer's Daily

  • Flip turns can make or break your race, and I’ve spent years figuring out how to make mine as fast and efficient as possible. In this video, I’ll explain my step-by-step process for the perfect flip turn, covering everything from your approach to the wall, body positioning, drills, and a little trick I use to get free rotation off the wall.

  • On the campus of UMBC resides Elze Bielskute, a senior from Lithuania. She’s a swimmer at UMBC who recently set a school record for the 100 individual medley. She began swimming competitively at age 12. When it was time to pursue higher education, she knew, in order to pursue swimming and learning, she had to leave her home country.

  • Aaron Baltaytis, a Northwestern University varsity swimmer, knows about diving into the deep end. He spends almost every morning in the Norris Aquatics Center pool testing his strength and stamina during team practices.

  • A child died Monday afternoon after drowning at a home in Bannockburn.

    The Bannockburn Police Department said at around 2 p.m., police officers and paramedics with the Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Department were sent to a home in the 1900 block of Illinois Route 22 for reports of a drowning.’

    Authorities arrived at the home and quickly began trying to resuscitate a child. Paramedics then took the child to Highland Park Hospital where resuscitative efforts continued, but the child was ultimately pronounced dead in the emergency department, according to authorities.

    See WGN9

  • Teaching your kids to swim is one of the most rewarding experiences you can share with them, and what better place to do so than in the comfort of your own fibreglass pool? Fibreglass pools are not only durable and easy to maintain, but their smooth surfaces and consistent water temperature can make the learning process much more enjoyable. Whether your child is just starting or you’re helping them refine their strokes, teaching them to swim in a fibreglass pool provides the perfect environment for success.

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  • Special Olympics Indiana holds 26th annual Polar Plunge in Terre Haute

  • It can be a daunting task for anyone in sports to attempt to compete against the very best in the world without any professional training or the resources and facilities that can put you at that level.

    But that did not stop Pamela Girimbabazi Rugabira, an Olympic swimmer who represented Rwanda in the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympic Games, proudly bearing Rwanda’s flag at the 2008 games in China.

    Looking back, it was a major feat for the now 40-year-old mother of four, who never had formal swimming lessons or a regular coach, but went on to compete in major international events, driven by sheer determination and passion.

    The 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi left the sports industry, like many other sectors, depleted and underdeveloped.

    With the country looking to rebuild, giving priority to key sectors and certain sports like football, which united people, several other areas were left behind due to limited resources, and one of them was swimming.
    However, the lack of resources or facilities did not deter Girimbabazi, who was determined to represent the country in the discipline, relying on the internet, which was also limited at the time, to teach herself the rules of the sport.

    Girimbabazi, who is arguably Rwanda’s most renowned swimmer, borrowed a swimming book from fellow Rwandan swimmer Jackson Niyomugabo and learned to swim in shallow swimming pools at hotels.
    While her track record cannot be judged based on the medals she could have won in the various competitions she participated in, it was her sheer determination and courage to put herself on the global stage that impressed the sports world.

  • More than 1,000 kids competed this year in the invitational swim meet and kept the legacy alive for a safe space for Black swimmers.

  • Going to state championships is the goal for all coaches and athletes, with some never getting the chance to go to the big game. For one East Texas athlete, state championships have become a routine for him each year, but he is still chasing the big win.