Swimmer's Daily

  • Documentary which tells the story of the volunteer coaches and the unlikeliest of athletes who they tirelessly support in their dream to swim from England to France.

    In 1875, Captain Matthew Webb – with little more than some brandy, beer, and beef tea to keep him going – became the first man to successfully swim from England to France. Since then more people have conquered Everest than successfully swum across the Channel. To this day, it remains the ultimate open water swimming challenge. This documentary tells the story of those who keep Captain Webb’s vision alive – the volunteer coaches and the unlikeliest of athletes who they tirelessly support in their dream to swim from England to France. The rules are simple – no physical aids, no wimp/wet suits, just a swimsuit, goggles, the all-important swimming cap, and a spot of grease to stop the chafing. At the heart of the community are pensioners Freda, Irene, and Barry. They can be found in Dover every weekend from May to September come rain or shine, ready to train, feed and grease the wannabe Channel swimmers. The swimmers do not take on this arduous journey alone and also rely on the skill of the pilots who navigate them safely to the other side of the busiest shipping lane in the world. The community shares their highs and lows both in and out of the water as they train together on this small stretch of pebbled beach shadowed by the ferry port. Feasting on jelly babies, and fuelled by adrenalin and dreams, the modern-day swimmer continues to risk it all in this, the ultimate challenge of man versus nature.

    https://youtu.be/0WdZtBZ5zYM

  • Do you think the swimming training mentality could change after the pandemic? 

  • We’re bringing you a Katinka Hosszu’s World Record moment from the FINA Swimming World Cup series. The Hungarian ‘Iron Lady’, Katinka Hosszu was unstoppable in this epic race in the 100m Individual Medley at Berlin 2017. Her time of 56.51 is still unbeaten today.

  • Europeans are to go ahead in Budapest this May

    In a letter sent recently, LEN President Paolo Barelli reassured all National Federations that “the European Aquatics Championships will be staged as planned this coming May 2021 in Budapest, on its original dates and with the already announced schedules in each discipline.”

    By Leeveiphu – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

    The European Aquatics Championships, postponed from 2020, will be staged in Budapest on 10-23 May this year, this is the core part of the message LEN President Paolo Barelli sent to all National Federations recently.

    “LEN is working hard with the Hungarian organizers to ensure that all required sanitary measures will be put in place, respected, and fully enforced to guarantee the smooth running of the Championships and the safety of all athletes, coaches, officials, and staff. This is indeed LEN’s priority” Mr Barelli said.

    The president added that sporting events on the highest level had been staged across Europe and the world, so there were plenty of experience gained – also by LEN officials at the various water polo events held since November – and this makes it possible to go forward with organising LEN’s showcase event.

    “The European Aquatics Championships in Budapest will be the first international European top event in swimming, diving, artistic swimming and open water swimming since 2019 and it offers a great testing opportunity for all our athletes before the Olympic Games” Mr Barelli said.

    “As usual, we enjoy the full support of the Government” President of the Hungarian Swimming Association Sandor Wladar said. “The meeting of our strategic decision-making group has just finished. We have Sport Minister Tunde Szabo, State Secretary Balazs Furjes and Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony on board and they all agreed that the Europeans should go ahead but we have to take the utmost caution as the pandemic is far from over.”

    One thing might be missed, however: the magical atmosphere in the Duna Arena, created by the local fans.

    “We know that the aquatic family loves to come here as the sights and sounds in the Duna Arena are second to none when we have a full house – but this time we should consider safety first so most probably we have to stage this meet in front of empty stands” Sandor Wladar added.

    The first week of the championships from 10-16 May is to see the diving and artistic swimming competitions in the Duna Arena and the open water swimming events in the nearby Lupa Lake, while swimming action is scheduled for 17-23 May in the arena.

    Press release from LEN

  • -16 degrees centigrade outside but a warm +4 in the water. Experienced winter swimmer Juhani Tyrväinen brought some of his teammates in LuleÃ¥ Hockey for a refreshing swim in the LuleÃ¥ River.

  • Even advanced swimmers make some of these common breaststroke mistakes! Learn how to improve your technique and get a free breaststroke swim workout!

    See MySwimPro

  • This video goes through 3 simple exercises you can do in a shallow pool to learn and understand breath control for treading water

  • Thank you to the swimmers, parents, and coaches of the North Coast Aquatics for helping the individuals and families in our Safe Parking program.

  • On February 6th, 2021 Rob Hutchings swam the length of Lake Tekapo, New Zealand