Jezebel: Swimming

Swimmer Wins Race, Proposes on Medal Stand, Causes Hearts to Grow Three Sizes

Erin Gloria Ryan — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:50:00 EST

Olympic swimming hopeful Matt Grevers has won a gold medal in the hearts of romantics everywhere with a medal stand proposal that almost wasn't this weekend. More »

Polar Bears Got Nothing On These Ladies

Cassie Murdoch — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:55:00 EST

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - JANUARY 01: Over 1000 New Year revellers, many in fancy dress, braved freezing conditions in the River Forth in front of the Forth Rail Bridge during the annual Loony Dook Swim on January 1, 2012 in South Queensferry, Scotland. Thousands of people gathered last night to see in the New Year at Hogmanay celebrations in towns and cities across Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) More »

Sixty Two Year Old Woman Quits Swim From Cuba to Florida

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 13:34:30 EDT

American endurance athlete Diana Nyad has abandoned her attempt to swim the 103 miles from Cuba to South Florida due to jellyfish stings. According to a spokesperson, she was pulled from the water last night after being stung by a Portuguese Man O War. She attempted to reenter the water this morning and was stung again. When she was told by doctors that more jellyfish stings could lead to death, she decided to extricate herself from the toxic invertebrate infested cesspool that are the Straits of Florida. More »

Woman Swimming To Key West From Cuba Forced To Stop Halfway

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:10:00 EDT

Diana Nyad made it about halfway through her journey from Havana to Key West — 29 hours in the water — before she had to stop. According to CNN, she was vomiting when she was brought up into a boat. More »

61-Year-Old Woman Will Sing Bob Dylan Tunes While Swimming To Key West From Cuba

Dodai Stewart — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 11:40:00 EDT

Diana Nyad is attempting to swim from Havana, Cuba to Key West Florida, a 103-mile haul. She started her journey yesterday, but before she hit the ocean, she spoke with Today's Natalie Morales. Turning 60 was the catalyst that sparked Nyad into action; she says, "I started thinking, I want to feel alive and alert and awake and challenged. I want to do something that takes everything in me." This is Nyad's second attempt at swimming to Florida from Cuba — she first tried in 1978, when she was 28, but was pulled from the water after she drifted too far off-course. So far, this time, Nyad is off to a "perfect start." She sings Bob Dylan and Janis Joplin tunes with every stroke. Will age, experience and determination make this attempt successful? We'll have to wait and see. But Nyad is already a success story, proving that whatever your dream, it's never too late. More »

Student: University Admins Cut Sports Teams So They Could Renovate Their Offices

Anna North — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 13:10:00 EDT

A group of UC Davis athletes are protesting their school's decision to cut several sports teams — they claim administrators chose to spruce up their own offices instead. More »

Grin And Polar Bear It

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 14:25:00 EST

Brooklyn, January 1: Standing with other bathers, Juana Cullen, second from left, raises her arms as she celebrates her first time taking part in the Coney Island Polar Bear's Annual New Year's Day Swim. More »

Swimmers Excel Where It's Wet

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 15:15:00 EST

Dubai, December 19: The US Men's 4x100m Medley Relay team celebrates winning gold at the FINA Short Course Swimming World Championships in the UAE.

She Loves Her Gold Medal So Much She Could Eat It

Katie Luscombe — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 09:56:00 EST

[Guangzhou, November 17: Ye Sun (silver) of China, Darae Jeong (gold) of South Korea and Liping Ji (bronze) of China pose with the medals won in the Women's 200m Breaststroke final at the 16th Annual Asian Games. Image via Getty.]

Her Glasses Match the Water

Lauri Apple — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 18:54:21 EST

[Guangzhou, China, November 13: Satomi Suzuki of Japan competes in the Women's 4x100 meter Medley Relay final at the Aoti Aquatics Centre during the first day of the 16th Asian Games. Image via Getty.]

Adorable Baby Otters Try To Figure Out The Whole "Swimming" Thing

Dodai Stewart — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 14:45:00 EDT

The little R2D2 squeaks they make are so cute! Video here, more pictures on Zooborns. More »

Today's Thighlight Is All Wet

Margaret Hartmann — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EDT

[Qatar, September 28: Elizabeth Simmonds of Great Britain in action during a training session at the British Swimming holding camp in Doha, Qatar. Image via Getty.]

Swimmer Has Intense Focus, Intense Tattoo

Jessica Coen — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:55:00 EDT

[Budapest, August 11. Frederica Pellegrini of Italy looks on after the Women's 800m Freestyle heats during the European Swimming Championships. Image via Getty.]

Seriously Waterproof Mascara, And Then Some

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:53:00 EDT

[Budapest, August 4. Linda Cerruti of Italy competes in the Solo Technical routine during the European Swimming Championship at the Hajos Alfred Swimming complex. Image via Getty]

Adorable Orangutan Is An Amazing Swimmer

Anna North — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:15:00 EDT

Orangutans in a bathtub are pretty cute, but what's really amazing about this video is underwater footage of orangutan Suyia's swimming skills. Watch for Suyia's incredibly bendy arms — and the moment when the ape gets a little handsy. [YouTube] More »

The Life Aquatic

Anna Holmes — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:10:00 EDT

[Sydney, March 16. Image via Getty]

Japanese Olympic Officials Declare War On "Cool" Athletes

LatoyaPeterson — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:40:00 EST

Japanese synchronized swimmers will be banned from the national team if they show up with dyed hair, elaborate nail art, or piercings. The team has been accused of "looking more like rock stars than swimmers. "[Reuters] More »

Keeping Your Head Above Water

Anna Holmes — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:10:00 EST

[Sydney, February 4. Image via Getty.]

Madison's Avenue

Anna Holmes — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:15:00 EST

[Long Beach, January 18. Image via Getty]

Lots Of Ways For Japan's Swimmers To Get In Hot Water

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:20:00 EDT

If you're a competitive swimmer in Japan, you'd better not dye your hair, wear an earring or get your fingernails painted — unless you want to get banned. For a lifetime. More »

Something In The Way She Moves

Anna Holmes — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:10:00 EDT

[Rome, July 29. Image via Getty]

For 17% Of Americans, The Public Pool Is A Urination Station

Hortense Smith — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:30:00 EDT

Back in my lifeguarding days, I started every season with a message to our pool patrons: "We don't swim in your toilet, please don't pee in our pool." Turns out 17% of Americans didn't listen. Gross! More »

British Olympic Swimming Champion Feels "Unfeminine"

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:00:00 EDT

Rebecca Adlington, 19, is a swimmer who trains four hours a day, six days a week. But when she wears a baggy clothes? "People ask me, 'Are you expecting?' I say, 'No, I'm just fat.'" More »

56 Year Old Jennifer Figge Becomes The First Woman To Swim The Atlantic

Hortense Smith — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 12:30:00 EST

Many years ago, Jennifer Figge found herself on an airplane over the Atlantic in the midst of a rough storm, and began to imagine that she could swim across the ocean in a life vest. More »

Bathing Beauty

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:30:00 EST

Four months after winning Olympic golds in the 400m and 800m freestyle races, swimmer Rebecca Adlington is getting the Michael Phelps treatment in Britain. Dubbed the UK's most successful swimmer in 100 years, Adlington's life is now filled with photoshoots and awards ceremonies, but she says winning two gold medals still hasn't sunk in. "I'm just a 19-year-old girl. Everyone keeps saying it's really special, but I don't see myself as being special," she said. "It's like how you don't think you're beautiful but someone else thinks you're stunning." Want to relive her awesome race? Click here. [Guardian] More »

Do you care that Dara Torres didn't win...

Margaret Hartmann — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:20:00 EDT

Do you care that Dara Torres didn't win a gold medal? Neither does anyone else. Torres, 41, has become a national inspiration despite the fact that she returned home with three silver medals and has never won the gold. At the Olympics last month, her agent, Evan Morgenstein, tried to explain to her that losing the gold actually made her more relatable, since “wanting something so badly and you don’t get it, but you keep on trying, is something everyone can identify with.” Though Torres was disappointed about missing the gold by a hundredth of a second, she says the intense adulation she's received since she's come home, from throwing out the first pitch at a Yankees game, to inspiring Lance Armstrong to come out of retirement, to being congratulated by fawning fans wherever she goes, is helping her stop seeing herself as a loser. [NY Times] More »

Swimmer Loses Her Leg, Goes On To Compete in the Olympics

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:30:00 EDT

South African swimmer Natalie du Toit didn't win a medal in Beijing, but she is still one of the most inspiring Olympians of this year's Games. Du Toit, 24, lost her left leg in a motorcycle accident in 2001, a year after she failed to qualify for the Sydney Games. Three months after her leg was amputated at the knee she was back in the water, and went on to win five gold medals in the 2004 Paralympic Games. After narrowly failing to qualify for the 2004 games, this year Natalie became the first female amputee to compete in the Olympics. She swam in the 10km race yesterday, finishing 16th out of 25, as seen in the clip above from The Today Show. More »

Retro Sports Style: The Haircuts & Smiles Were As Uneven As A Gym Apparatus

Anna Holmes — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:00:00 EDT

We think everyone can agree that it's been an amazing two weeks of the Olympic games: Michael, Usain, Rebecca, Nastia, Shelly-Ann, Dita, Valerie, Kerri and others have both entertained and awed. And even though the games are just about four days away from ending, and the major news networks are already running (and hawking) highlight reels, we thought we'd close out the second and final week of the Summer Games with a little nostalgia of our own, namely, our own sports-related failures and triumphs...in fashion. One thing we noticed: A lot you participated in gymnastics, soccer and softball. Fewer played Little League. Even fewer, lacrosse and tennis. But all of you were awesome...and, of course, ridiculously adorable. After the jump, a few dozen of our favorite Olympics-inspired past fashion photos. More »

Golden Girls: Nathalie Du Toit

Margaret Hartmann — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:50:00 EDT

Golden Girls: Andrea Fuentes, Gemma Mengual

Anna Holmes — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:50:00 EDT

At 41, Dara Torres Is the Oldest Swimmer To Win A Silver Medal

Margaret Hartmann — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:20:00 EDT

If you're suffering from a case of Phelps phatigue, we nominate Dara Torres for your next aquatic object of affection. At 41, Torres became the oldest swimmer to win an Olympic silver medal in Sunday's 50-meter freestyle. In the clip above, Torres comes in just a hundredth of a second behind German Britta Steffen, 24, (the same margin Phelps won by). With a 24.07 second finish, she still set a new American record and a personal best. The young women swimming with Torres say they are inspired not just by her age, but by the fact that she has a two-year-old daughter. “Most of us girls, we have to stop our sport so we can start a family, but for her to have a family and still get back in and win the silver medal is just absolutely incredible,” said American Cate Campbell, 16, who finished after Torres for the bronze. More »

British Swimmer Rebecca Adlington Has World Record, Good Friends

Anna North — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:20:00 EDT

Rebecca Adlington is apparently Britain's Michael Phelps, and in this clip you can see why: throughout the 800-meter freestyle, which aired on Saturday, she stays at least a body length ahead of the green line representing Janet Evans' 19-year-old world record. When Adlington breaks the record for her second gold in Beijing, you can see Evans clapping happily. But the best reaction came from Adlington's teammate Cassie Patten, who finished last in the race. "If the queen is watching, this girl should be made a dame," said Patten. "She's my best mate so I'm allowed to say that." More »

Michael Phelps Outswims Serbian, Overwhelms Mom

Anna Holmes — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:20:00 EDT

Are you tired of all the insanity surrounding the American men's swimming team? If so, you should probably stop reading now. If you're not tired of it, well, we hate to break it to you but the competitions — and the accompanying beefcake photos — are over. But we just had to put up a clip of Michael Phelps' 7th gold medal win on Saturday — in which he triumphed in the 100m breaststroke, coming in 1/100th of a second before his challenger, Serbia's Milorad Cavic — not for the well-built bodies on display but for the footage of Phelps' awesome mom, Debbie, collapsing off the bench in in disbelief. More »

American Swimmer's Olympic Upset Plays Out Like Herbal Essences Commercial

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT

You'd be hard pressed to find a more exciting swimming race than the women's 200m breaststroke. In one of the biggest upsets of the Games so far, American Rebecca Soni came from behind to beat the heavily favored "Lethal" Leisel Jones of Australia. As seen in the footage from last night's Olympics coverage on NBC, halfway through the race, the announcers realize Soni is catching up to Jones and their voices just keep getting higher and louder until they are practically orgasmic. And rightly so! Soni — who underwent heart surgery just two years ago — won her first gold medal, finished almost two seconds ahead of Jones, and beat the previous world record (set by Jones last year) by 0.32 seconds. Clip above. More »

Golden Girls: Lisbeth Trickett

Anna Holmes — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:50:00 EDT

Golden Girls: Natalie Coughlin

Anna Holmes — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:50:00 EDT

Golden Boys: Mamadou Cisse

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:50:00 EDT

The "Jessica Simpson Of Australia" Wins Gold, Breaks World Record

Margaret Hartmann — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:30:00 EDT

With so much media coverage of men's Olympic swimming, down to Michael Phelps' dietary choices and Ryan Lochte's drawings, it's disappointing that we're not hearing as much about women's swimming events. Yesterday the Australian women's swimming team won the 4x200 free relay over the heavily favored American team, which came in third. In the clip above (the last 1/3 of the race), Aussies Stephanie Rice, Bronte Barratt, Kylie Palmer and Linda MacKenzie shatter the world record set by the Americans in 2007 by more than five seconds. Swimming the leadoff leg was Rice, 20, who made history during the race as the fifth Australian to win three gold medals in a single Olympics. Though, you wouldn't know it if you've been getting your Olympics news from the New York Times, where a search for Rice's name yields mainly links to a blog post dubbing Rice and her ex-boyfriend, fellow Australian swimmer Eamon Sullivan, the "Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo of Australia." More »

The World Of Ryan Lochte Is One Of Diamond Grills And Bad Doodles

Margaret Hartmann — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:20:00 EDT

We've all enjoyed drooling over pictures of the U.S. men's swim team over the past few days, but if you care about the man behind the body, you must watch this clip of Ryan Lochte, which aired before his backstroke heat this morning. Some commenters have suggested that Lochte may be a more worthy lust object than Michael Phelps, and while there's no doubt that Ryan Lochte is both talented and beautiful, evidence has emerged which may influence your pick for favorite water boy. Can you still love a man who sports a diamond-studded grill? A guy who thinks he's "different" because he liked to throw rocks while all the other kids were playing tag? A man who considers himself an artist because he draws doodles of "rain going up" and fish that turn into comets? Be warned: these are the quandaries one must consider upon entering "The World According to Lochte." More »

Golden Boys: Ricky Berens, Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps

Anna Holmes — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:50:00 EDT