Swimming & Diving News
Gkolomeev pipped McEvoy’s legal WR by only 0.07s
‘Missile’ Magnussen finished last in both freestyle races
Australian world record-breaking swimmer Cam McEvoy has had a clear dig at the inaugural Enhanced Games.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev went under McEvoy’s 50m freestyle world record time at the Games, held on Monday in Las Vegas.
Continue reading...Why are the Enhanced Games, taking place in Las Vegas this weekend, so contentious, and how have governing bodies have responded to the event?
Continue reading...American clocks time of 54.33 seconds in Florida
23-year-old owns 13 fastest times in her event
Gretchen Walsh bettered her own 100m butterfly world record for the third time in 12 months as she clocked 54.33 seconds in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the same event where she became the first woman to breach the 55-second mark.
The reigning world champion now owns the 13 fastest times in the event’s history.
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Continue reading...Andy Donaldson completes journey in WA’s Ord River in under 12 hours
British-Australian athlete says risk of wildlife is always ‘nerve-racking’
Andy Donaldson and his team were aware of the dangers that lay ahead, but just in case a reminder was needed, a huge 2.5-metre freshwater crocodile waiting at the start ramp ahead of his longest-ever solo swim put the challenge into stark focus.
Donaldson, a British-Australian ultramarathon swimmer, was about to embark on the 55km Dam to Dam Challenge from Lake Argyle to Kununurra in the East Kimberley, hoping to become the first man to complete the gruelling endurance swim.
Continue reading...Ultramarathon swimmer Andy Donaldson completed the Dam to Dam Challenge from Lake Argyle to Kununurra in the East Kimberley on Tuesday, becoming the first man to complete the gruelling endurance swim. Adding to the difficulty was the fact the river in remote Western Australia is well known for its reptilian inhabitants; the freshwater crocodile population numbers 5,500 – one croc for every 10 metres of his swim. Fortunately for the 35-year-old and his team, freshwater crocodiles are smaller and more timid than their saltwater counterparts and unlikely to approach humans
Continue reading...The three-time Olympic champion is brilliant, charismatic, relatable, basically the best British athlete of all-time. But he’s also a victim of the decline of minority sports
The Austrian philosopher and novelist Robert Musil once wrote a lengthy meditation on human capacity based around seeing the phrase “a racehorse of genius” in a newspaper sports section. Musil was disturbed by this idea. His basic question was: can a horse really be a genius?
If we are to ascribe the label of genius to a horse, based on its ability to run fast and successfully eat oats, where does this leave the unmapped capacities of the actual human genius? What is consciousness? What is a human? Should the question in fact be: will there ever be a human of sufficient genius they are able to actually perceive the genius of a horse?
Continue reading...Swimmer: ‘I take a lot of guidance. I look up to him a lot’
Peaty married Ramsay’s daughter Holly in December
Olympic champion Adam Peaty has hailed father-in-law Gordon Ramsay as his inspiration as he turned his thoughts towards the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The 31-year-old almost quit swimming just before the 2024 Games in Paris and then again straight afterwards, but confirmed he would compete in 2028 after the 50m breaststroke was added to the schedule. Peaty, who is back in action at the British Championships this week, admitted the next two years were going to be “the hardest of my career”, but took guidance from TV chef Ramsay.
Continue reading...Restrictions have been in place since 2022 invasion
Ukrainian athlete says move will spread propaganda
Swimming has agreed to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete without restrictions under their own flag and anthem for the first time since 2022, prompting joy in Russia and outrage in Ukraine.
The decision by World Aquatics, which also oversees diving and water polo, adds further momentum to Russia’s bid to be allowed back for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 following judo’s decision to do the same last year.
Continue reading...Ledecky posts second-fastest 1500m time ever
American wins by more than a minute in Austin
Finke, McIntosh and Marchand also shine
Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky clocked the second-fastest women’s 1500m freestyle time in history on Wednesday to launch the US Pro Swim Series event in Austin, Texas, with a dominant victory.
Ledecky was untouchable as she cruised to victory in 15min 23.21sec, more than a minute in front of 16-year-old runner-up Brinkleigh Hansen, who touched in 16:31.31.
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Continue reading...Young gun betters her own short-course freestyle record set a week ago
Toronto meet is proving hugely successful for Australia
Mollie O’Callaghan has capped a brilliant week at the Swimming World Cup in Toronto, setting a new short-course world record in the 200m women’s freestyle.
The 21-year-old Australian obliterated a star-studded field to touch in 1:49.36 on Friday, just seven days after setting a then new mark of 1:49.77.
Continue reading...Stepping away from swimming as current two-time world and Olympic champion at only 25 is another distinctively Titmus thing to do
Ariarne Titmus has always done things her own way.
So it was when she first blazed to glory in 2019 – a teenager unheralded outside Australia, upstaging American swim queen Katie Ledecky on the world stage. So it was in 2022 when, as reigning world and Olympic champion, Titmus decided to skip the world titles. “I’ll definitely be asleep,” she told me at the time – the championships were held in Budapest, and Titmus remained in Australia, not ever tuning in to the overnight broadcast. And in 2023 when the women’s 400m freestyle turned from “race of the century” to coronation and ultimately procession, as Titmus dominated rivals Ledecky and Canadian prodigy Summer McIntosh at the world titles and again the 2024 Olympics.
Continue reading...Titmus first Australian since Dawn Fraser in 1964 to win back-to-back gold medals in the same event
Swimming great steps away as the current 200m freestyle world record-holder
Four-time Olympic gold medallist Ariarne Titmus has announced her shock retirement from swimming, saying the seed was sewn by her cancer scare before the Paris Games.
The 25-year-old, who grew up in Tasmania, will retire as one of the greatest distance swimmers of all time.
Continue reading...The sport is falling behind when it comes to diversity. But at one pool in Melbourne’s west, people are working hard to change that
It is 6am on a crisp Friday morning at Broadmeadows aquatic centre in Melbourne’s north-west, and members of the Western Melbourne Propulsion Swim Club are doing laps under the watchful eye of their coach. It is a scene repeated every morning at pools across Australia. But at Broadmeadows, something is different.
The composition of many of Australia’s favourite sports have come to reflect the multicultural makeup of this country, even if racism and discrimination persist. The latest Socceroos squad, for example, features players with heritage from 15 countries, from Bosnia to Burundi. While basketball, athletics and AFL have long sought to engage with African-Australian communities.
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