Swimmer's Daily

    • Construction at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre has been completed 100 days before the start of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
    • Swimmers and divers gather at the brand-new venue to celebrate the 100-day countdown, and to mark the final major release of tickets
    • Tickets for every single sport at Birmingham 2022, the biggest multi-sport event to be staged in the UK for a decade, go back on sale at 8 am on 19 April, with prices from £8 for under 16s and £15 for adults
    Maisie Summers-Newton, Ian Reid, Dan Goodfellow, Ellie Simmonds, Tony McGovern and Will Perry

    With 100 days to go until the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games begin, Paralympic swimmers and an Olympic diver tested out the facilities at the newly completed Sandwell Aquatics Centre.

    The brand-new, state-of-the-art venue has been constructed in time for this summer’s major multi-sport event, where it will be in operation for all eleven days of sporting action. Once the Games is over it will be converted to a community leisure facility, so local club swimmers also joined Tuesday’s celebrations, to test out the main 50m pool. 

    Birmingham 2022, organizers of the Games which will see around 4,500 athletes from 72 nations and territories compete in 19 different sports and eight Parasports, also marked the 100-day milestone with a final major release of tickets, with seats for every single sport back on sale.

    Paralympic swimming legend, Ellie Simmonds, who is also a Birmingham 2022 Board Member, visited the center on Tuesday and highlighted why this was such a key moment for the Games: “With 100 days to go until the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games begin, it is fantastic news that the Sandwell Aquatics Centre is now complete, and it is amazing to be back here to see the finished facility.

    “This is an important and proud moment for everyone associated with Birmingham 2022 and having swimmers and divers in the pools for the very first time makes the Games feel real.

    “We’ve also taken this opportunity to put tickets back on sale, but for sports like aquatics, which has been hugely popular during our ballots and general sale, tickets are limited, so I’d urge everyone to secure their seat right now.”

    The construction of the Sandwell Aquatics Centre, which is located in Smethwick, just a few miles from Birmingham, has been overseen by Sandwell Council, and Tony McGovern, Director of Regeneration & Growth said: “We are very proud to celebrate the completion of the state-of-the-art Sandwell Aquatics Centre in Smethwick.

    “This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our construction partners, who worked diligently throughout the project and a global pandemic to complete this venue on time and on budget.

    “We are incredibly excited to be part of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, which will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate Sandwell on a global stage as the proud host venue for the swimming, Para swimming, and diving events for the Games.

    “We want the whole community in Sandwell and beyond to benefit from the world-class swimming and diving facilities at this fantastic new facility. More than that, the new Aquatics Centre is supporting our vision to boost the health and wellbeing of our communities, driving economic growth and regeneration, and improving transport links.”

    Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “It is fantastic that with 100 days to go, Sandwell Aquatics Centre is ready for competition – completed on time and within budget. 

    “The venue is just one of the ways in which Birmingham 2022 will level up access to sport and champion the best of the West Midlands to the world. It is not too late to snap up tickets for this sporting spectacular.” 

    Dame Louise Martin, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, said: “As we reach the final sprint, Birmingham and the West Midlands should be enormously proud of all the Games progress to date. The Sandwell Aquatics Centre is an impressive, world-class, community-focused facility and I’ve no doubt all remaining tickets will be in high demand when they go back on sale today.”

    Deborah Cadman, Chief Executive at Birmingham City Council, said: “We’ve come so far over the last four years since Birmingham was named as Proud Host City for the Commonwealth Games.

    “The hard work put in by everyone involved is clear to see and the finishing touches are now being made to ensure the city and wider region are a perfect platform to bring people together for the biggest event to be staged in our history.

    “This is our chance to be bold and deliver a golden decade of opportunities for Birmingham.”

    Now that the Sandwell Aquatics Centre has been completed, the facility will stage a couple of events ahead of the Games. On 30 April a community swimming gala will be overseen at the venue by Sandwell Council and then from 20 May to 22 May Birmingham 2022 will stage a series of test events including swimming and diving training sessions, and a swimming competition where tickets will be allocated to local residents and the swimming community.

    Tickets for every single sport at Birmingham 2022 went back on sale at 8 am on 19 April, with prices starting from £8 for under 16s and £15 for adults. Tickets also include access to public transport in the local area on the day of your event.

    Go to birmingham2022.com/tickets to find out more and check availability.

    Press release from Birmingham2022

  • Hong Kong swimmer Jody Lee is running out of time to qualify for the Olympics. The 15-year-old swimmer only has two years left to grab a spot at the 2024 games in Paris, but COVID-19 restrictions are preventing him from getting in the water.

  • Statistics and metrics are quintessential training tools for running and cycling but are often neglected when training in the pool. We’re here to help identify what metrics you can use to track your progress and how you can use them to improve as a swimmer

    What Swimming Metrics Should You Pay Attention To?

  • Emergency crews found two bodies near the area where two people were reportedly struggling in the Colorado River in eastern Travis County Saturday.

    Read more: https://www.kxan.com/news/local/travi…

  • Ryan Stramrood from South Africa is an extreme ice swimmer. His body adapted to be able to swim long distances in sub-zero water temperatures 😱

    Extreme Cold Water Swimming

  • NYPD officer Emily Healy spoke to Eyewitness News after diving into the Central Park Reservoir to save a woman from drowning last week.

    Officer credits swimming skills for rescue of drowning woman in NYC

  • A woman has died, and three other people have been admitted to hospital after ten people had to be rescued in an incident at Batemans Bay beach.

  • Matteo Giunta is an Italian National swim coach (C.C. Aniene) and the Head Coach of the Aqua Centurians. After spending a few years coaching for Andrea Di Nino’s ADN Project, he moved to Verona in 2012 to work under Philippe Lucas. This is where he began coaching Federica Pellegrini. A decade later, the two are set to be married after European Championships.

    In this episode, you’ll learn about Matteo’s coaching progression as well as how he coached the greatest 200 Freestyler of all time – the only person to ever make it to the podium in 8 straight World Championships in the same event.

  • After a second day of rescue efforts, Travis County Sheriff’s Office has recovered a body of a man in the same area two swimmers reportedly went missing on Saturday, April 16.

    Read more: https://bit.ly/3KRfVMd
    TCSO recovers body following report of 2 swimmers missing near Little Webberville Park | FOX 7 Austi