the17thman

Sunday's Swim Report: Keep On Stroking Till You Can't Stroke Anymore, Wait, What?

Lane 1 - Harlem World posts "Olympic Gold Medalist Makes A Splash In Harlem.  The USA Swimming Foundation, in partnership with Phillips 66, will kick off its fifth-annual Make a Splash Tour presented by Phillips 66 in New York City on May 16 – 18.  After a near drowning experience at the age of 5, Olympic gold medalist and Make a Splash spokesperson Jones has gone on to become a dedicated advocate of water safety. “When formal swimming lessons are introduced at a young age, the risk of drowning is reduced by a staggering 88 percent,” Jones said."

Lane 2 - Youtube "The Team within a Team.  The "Detroit Interracial" swimming program is comprised of 4 esteemed individuals. They hail from the Metro-Detroit area, each contributing a unique set of experiences and perspective to the teams culture."

Lane 3 - Kitsap Sun posts "Bainbridge masters swimmer Lindley at top of her game. Bainbridge Island’s Jane Lindley has had some tough training days.  The 51-year-old swimmer hopes the sweat equity and hours in the pool she’s invested the last several months pays off at the United States Masters Swimming Spring Championships in Indianapolis."

Lane 4 - RTV6 posts (w/video) "They've already passed their 90th birthdays, but two swimmers are still making waves at a national swimming competition in Indianapolis this week.  More than 2,000 swimmers have converged on the IU Natatorium for the 2013 U.S. Masters Swimming Spring Nationals, which run through Sunday.  Jurgen Schmidt, 90, lives for a chance to test himself against his peers.  "I think I'm a very competitive person," he said. "In the business world, I was competitive. In the Navy, I was competitive. I like to compete to see how I stack up."  He's faced off many times with Ole Larson, 92. Larson says the spry 90-year-old always wins."

Lane 5 - NWI Times posts "Teacher and swim coach competing at Masters National Championships.  Lisa Szafranski doesn't walk on water, but she has been called on to assist several resurrections.  "We're in a rebuilding stage right now," Szafranski said the E.C. Central swim program, which she took over this school year.  Szafranski is also in the process of resurrecting her own swimming career as she is taking part in the U.S. Masters National Spring Swimming Championships this weekend at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis."

Lane 6 - Post Tribune posts "Swimming: Munster Masters in top half at national meet.  Nicole Saulters held six individual and relay records at Ball State during her collegiate swimming career. A persistent shoulder injury, though, immensely limited her success as a senior.  Looking to erase those memories, the former Highland standout joined the Munster Masters Swimming Club to enjoy the feeling of competition."

Monday's Swim Report: Wait, I Thought This Was A Swimming Show!

Lane 1 - Australian Olympic Committee posts (w/audio) "Talent pool deepens in Adelaide."

Lane 2 - KNS posts via youtube (w/audio) "Olympic Gold Medalist Davis Tarwater.  Olympic Gold Medalist Davis Tarwater joined Vince Ferrara and Jesse Smithey on the News Sentinel Sports Page on "The Sports Animal" WNML-AM/FM in Knoxville."

Lane 3 - The Sydney Morning Herald posts "Irvine puts London heartache behind him.  Grant Irvine never forgot the pain of missing Olympic selection by a fraction of a second last year. That was mainly because his coach Michael Bohl never let him, reminding him "every second day" in the months that followed the disappointment.  But the reward came on Monday night when Irvine earned his place on the world championships team with a stunning swim in the 200 metre butterfly final in which he became the second-fastest Australian ever in that event."

Lane 4 - Sunrise on 7 posts via youtube "Celebs making a splash.  The stars of the new show Celebrity Splash join Sunrise to talk about their preparation, and some of the injuries they've received!"

Lane 5 - 13 WJZ posts (w/video) "Olympic Gold Medal Swimmer Donates Defibrillators To Local Foundation.  Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones teams up with a local foundation to donate life-saving equipment to the city’s aquatic program.  He joined the Connor Cares Foundation to present the center with three defibrillators."

Lane 6 - Courier Mail posts (w/video)"Magnussen impresses at swim nationals.  James Magnussen sent a message to his rivals as he swam the second-fastest 100m freestyle time this year."

Lane 7 - Swimming Australia asks via youtube "If you won the lottery…"

Lane 8 - The Bleacher Report posts "Creating the Most Ultimate Athlete Mansion." (checkout the pool in slide 13!)

Thursday's Swim Report - Speedo Up, Swim Up and Dive In

Lane 1 - The Futon Critic posts "Michael Phelps Tests His Game and Faces Surprise "Gold Medal Showdown" on Season Finale of Golf Channel's "The Haney Project," Monday, April 29.  Bruce Jenner, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Eruzione and Seth Westcott will also appear in said finale."

Lane 2 - PR Newsire posts "History Is Made: American Honey® Hosts First-ever Times Square Kickball Game With Gold Medal Swimmer Ryan Lochte And Pro Football Star Donovan McNabb.  Celebrity Kickball Game Celebrates Launch of American Honey's Bar-sity Athletics Social Sports Program; Charity Donation Made to Boston-area Red Cross."

Lane 3 -  BG Swimming posts via youtube "Michael Jamieson: "Sign Up to SwimBritain".  Fancy having Olympic silver medalist, Michael Jamieson, on your SwimBritain team? Sign-up today at www.swimbritain.co.uk"

Lane 4 - Windy City Times posts "Smelts mark 25 years in the pool.  Paul Mittleman has been swimming for the predominantly gay Chicago Smelts for 24 of the team's 25 years—longer than some of his teammates have even been alive.   "Swimming is still fun and still a great workout. Plus, I have made lots of friends and gotten to know quite a number of people through the Smelts."  The Smelts this year feature 133 members on the co-ed club, with 64 percent male swimmers."

Lane 5 - Outsports posts "Gay High School Swim Captain Makes A Splash Standing Up For Rights."

Lane 6 - The Age posts (w/video) "Celebrity Splash is almost here...Which brings us to Celebrity Splash, which premieres on Channel Seven this week.  It's no secret the main reason most of the audience will be tuning in is to see belly flops and Speedo wedgies, but there is potential for something to go seriously wrong.  In the US where the series is on air at present, three contestants have been injured (a ruptured eardrum, bruised ribs and bruised kidneys) but are still diving."

Lane 7 - Redstone Rocket posts "Olympic gold medalist encourages swimming lessons.  Cullen Jones nearly drowned as a child but grew up to become one of the world’s fastest swimmers.  The U.S. Olympic gold medalist visited Huntsville on Thursday to springboard the community swimming lessons at Alabama A&M University’s Wellness Center.  “It’s a lifesaving skill,” Jones, 29, said."

Lane 8 - The Sydney Morning Herald posts "Sprenger calls on Hackett.  London Olympic silver medallist Christian Sprenger has called for former champion Grant Hackett to return to the Australian swim team as a mentor, to help fill the leadership gap and develop a new team captain.  The Australian team has not had a captain since Hackett retired in 2008 and Sprenger, now one of the veterans of the team, said he did not believe there was anyone currently capable of stepping up to the role."

Friday's Swim Report: Some News To Swim With

Lane 1 - AL.com posts "Olympic swimmer Cullen Jones, once almost a drowning victim, preaches gospel of learn-to-swim.  ones, a silver medalist in the 50 freestyle in the 2012 Olympics and a gold-medal winner as part of the U.S. 4 x 100 medley relay team, was in Huntsville Thursday as part of the "Make A Splash" program, which has impacted 1.5 million children in this country, teaching them to swim and facilitating spots on swim teams."  WHNT19 posts (w/video) "Olympic Gold Medalist Cullen Jones Visits Huntsville."

Lane 2 - Sydney Morning Herald posts "Fines for bonding session.  The members of the Australian swim team that took part in the infamous bonding session involving Stilnox before last year’s London Olympic Games have escaped immediate suspensions.  James Magnussen, Tommaso D’Orsogna, Cameron McEvoy, Eamon Sullivan, Matt Targett and James Roberts, who has publicly declared he did not take the prescription drug but did partake in the late-night antics that disturbed teammates at the pre-Games camp in Manchester, will be fined an undisclosed amount and were handed suspended sentences."

Lane 3 - Adelaide Now posts "Ian Thorpe's swimming future is again in question after not nominating for the world championship selection trials.  SWIMMING Australia (SA) has confirmed Ian Thorpe will not compete at the world championships selection trials in Adelaide."

Lane 4 - Courier Mail posts "No apology offered by swimmer Matt Targett to teammate Alicia Coutts after bullying incident last January.  ALL Alicia Coutts wanted was an apology. It was the least she deserved."

Lane 5 - Hello! posts "Exclusive: Rebecca Adlington on work, wedding plans and what Kate is really like.  "Swimming is a young sport. In the event I do, girls win at 15. I'm 24 and it just doesn't compare, so retirement was the natural step," Rebecca says with conviction as she explains her decision to retire from competitive swimming exclusively to HELLO! Online."

Lane 6 - Fibre2Fashion posts "Speedo signs Cullen Jones as new brand envoy. Speedo, the world’s leading swimwear brand has unveiled two-time Olympic champion, Cullen Jones, as its latest brand ambassador.  The multi-year partnership will see Jones wear Speedo swimwear and equipment during competition until 2017, including at this year’s 15th FINA World Championships in Barcelona.  As part of the new agreement, Jones will partner with Speedo on a series of initiatives to highlight the importance of swimming as a life skill.  As an ambassador for Speedo’s ‘Learn To Swim’ collection in the USA, Jones will become the face of the complete collection of swimwear, equipment and teaching aids for children aged 0-3, helping to develop basic swimming skills and confidence in the water."

Note:  Expect light posting this weekend...

Wednesday's Swim Report - Mea Cupla, Mea Swimmer!

A little mea cupla from me and the Daily Swim Report.  When I post links to stories about swimming I try to use trusted news organizations and allow the reader to make up his or her own opinions on the story.  Sometimes these news organizations may stretch the truth or fudge the facts.  As one really bad former US President once said "One man's tabloid is another man's bible"* or something like that.  As always use your judgement and form your own opinions when reading any news source.  From time to time when someone notifies me of a particular news story that may or may not be true I will either pull the item or update it with current info.  Today was one of those days.  And with that...

Lane 1 - The Sydney Morning Herald posts "A Current Affair report on Olympic medalist is flawed: ACMA.  Tabloid television program A Current Affair has been found by the broadcasting watchdog to have breached accuracy, privacy and complaints-handling codes in its report on Olympic gold medallist Neil Brooks.  In a 19-minute segment aired in March of last year, reporter Amanda Paterson – a former colleague and friend of Brooks – confronted him on camera and called him "a disgrace to Australia."  Meanwhile The Herald Sun posts "Nine broke rules in program on Neil Brooks.  The code says licensees don't have to respond to complaints that are the subject of legal proceedings and Brooks had issued a concerns notice under the defamation act."  The Telegraph post (w/video) part of the ACA piece "Neil Brooks on ACA.  A Current Affair investigates former Olympic gold medalist Neil Brooks."

Lane 2 - Gay Star News posts "Meet the gay man obsessed with being a mermaid.  A 22-year-old gay man from Florida who's entire life is based around mermaids is the subject of a new TLC documentary.   A gay man in Florida does not just love mermaids - it’s his life.  Eric Ducharme, 22, is the subject of the latest TLC documentary ‘My Crazy Obsession’."

Lane 3 - WWSB posts "Sarasota Sharks Masters team looks to dominate in nationals. As the YMCA and the Selby Aquatic Center prepare for the gargantuan task of hosting the Pan-American Masters Championships in June, the Sarasota Sharks Masters swim team has some things to take care of before then.  The Masters team heads to Fort Lauderdale next week for the YMCA National Championships -- a meet they have won 7 straight times."

Lane 4 - Billings Gazette posts "Olympic swimmer, gold medalist encourages Laurel students to find passion. Looking out at the faces more than 600 teenagers at Laurel High School, three-time Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines told the students that, no so long ago, he was just like them.  He had personal struggles. He had doubts and didn't know what he wanted out of life.  And he faced rejection.  "The reason I started swimming is because I failed in five other sports," Gaines said."

Lane 5 - The Hollywood Reporter posts "Ryan Lochte: I Want to Be the Next Kim Kardashian.  Inside the swimmer's plan to go from Olympic champion to reality TV star: "When I walk down the street, people recognize me, and that never happened before," he tells THR. "Now's my chance."

Lane 6 - WFMY 2 posts (w/video) "Cullen Jones, Joey Cheek Help Kickoff Short Course National Championship.  Some Olympic Gold medalists spent time Greensboro on Tuesday talking to teenagers before they begin their youth swimming competition.  Joey Cheek and Cullen Jones spoke to the more than 1,500 registered YMCA swimmers on Tuesday to help kick off the YMCA Short Course National Championships that's going to be held Wednesday, April 3 through Saturday, April 6 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.  Cullen Jones has been determined to break the stereotype that black people cannot swim since almost drowning at a Pennsylvania water park at the age of five. He is the first African-American to break a world record as well as win a gold medal at the World University Games when he was a student at North Carolina State University."

Lane 7 - Guyism posts "New Busch beer, Kräftig, praises the Speedo.  Kräftig may be brewed in St. Louis, but its inspiration is 100% German."

Lane 8 - Bradenton Herald posts "Swimmers get out of the 'concrete box' and head to open water.  Most Saturday mornings, a group of avid swimmers ditch the pool for an open-swim get-together on Siesta Key Beach. Once in the gulf past the blue lifeguard station, they swim between two buoys, making two to three round-trips of about a mile each.  Throughout the United States, hundreds of open-water swim competitions are held every year.  In Sarasota, the annual Tropical Splash Open Water Swim is held each October. The 2013 Pan American Masters Championship is coming up in June and part of the event is a 3K and 1K open-water race off Siesta Key Beach."