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See ninemsn

The 27-year-old Queenslander was denied Olympic gold by Cameron van der Burgh despite replays showing the South African had performed an illegal underwater butterfly kick off the start.

However, Sprenger could only see a bright future from the London Olympic podium – especially after booking a world titles spot by claiming his second straight 100m breaststroke national title and third overall ahead of great rival Brenton Rickard (1:00.00).

“I have finally worked out how to swim breaststroke, I think,” Sprenger said. [...]

VIDEO: Illegal kick

(Video from London 2012)

While he might have controversially missed a gold medal in London, Sprenger reckoned he had another of van der Burgh’s prized possessions in his sights – the 100m breaststroke world record (58.46 seconds).

“It is a big call. Cameron (van der Burgh) is very strong but, this week, I showed I am capable of going 59 (seconds) when I need to which means there is no reason I can’t go (sub) 58.

“59 seconds doesn’t cut it anymore.

Just a bit of fun from down under

Read SwimmingWorld

Colombian Olympic swimmer Omar Pinzon has been suspended for two years after testing positive for cocaine last November. [...]

Pinzon, who is the South American record holder in the 200-meter backstroke in long course (1:56.40) and short course (1:52.34), has been training under Dave Salo at the Trojan Swim Club in Los Angeles the past two years. Previously, Pinzon trained at the University of Florida. Pinzon is also a three-time Olympian, having competed at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Read AdelaideNow

Swim star Grant Hackett is suing a second law firm over what he says was a botched pre-nuptial agreement with pop star wife Candice Alley.

Hackett, 32, has already launched a Supreme Court damages claim against a Queensland firm over the agreement, but has now filed a claim against Melbourne firm Nevile & Co.

In court documents, Hackett alleges that he sought advice from Nevile & Co around 2007 “in relation to the provision of legal advice to a party to a financial agreement”. [...]

He claims to have suffered financial losses including legal costs because of Nevile & Co’s conduct.

Brisbane’s Michael Bohl has been named as Australia’s coach for the women’s swim team and he has his eyes set on the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Featuring Jame Magnussen, Cate Campbell, Bronte Campbell and Christian Sprenger.

The Faroese swim team admiring the decorated walls of the Stadio Olimpico del Nuoto, during the FINA 2009 World Swimming Championships in Rome, Italy.

Ryan introduces his brand new fragrance to the world. And reveals the special ingredient.

Via SwimmingWorld

On “LochTV,” the Olympian introduced his new frangrance, called “Pool Water,” which consists of the water from the pool Lochte swims in “allowing anyone to smell the chlorinated way I smell.”

(Video autoplays, therefore pushed below the break)

Ryan Lochte's 'Pool Water' from Ryan Lochte

Texans trying out the Swedish speciality ‘Surströmming‘, fermented Baltic herring that the Swedes (and Finns, apparently) eat on special occasions.

When opened, the contents release a strong and sometimes overwhelming odour; the dish is ordinarily eaten outdoors. According to a Japanese study, a newly opened can of surströmming has one of the most putrid food smells in the world, even more so than similarly fermented fish dishes such as the Korean Hongeohoe or Japanese Kusaya. Source Wikipedia

Interesting detail: Several airlines have banned surströmming on their flights because of the pressurized containers (and the stink in case of leakage). But I guess this one was on one of the other airlines, seeing those Priority stickers on the package :-P

Warning: Speak (and sound) is seriously NSFW!

Photo courtesy of Aboh24 / Wikimedia Commons

See Swimming Australia

Swimming Australia has this morning announced that Michael Bohl and Rohan Taylor will take on the role of National Team Coaches for the EnergyAustralia Swim Team through to the 2013 FINA World Championships in Barcelona (July 28 to Aug 4).

Working with new Director of High Performance, Michael Scott, Bohl will be charged with running the women’s team and Taylor the men’s, with the trio set to form a formidable coaching unit in the build-up to Barcelona.

Swimming Australia President Barclay Nettlefold said the appointment of both Bohl and Taylor is another positive step for the sport, on the opening morning of the 2013 EnergyAustralia Swimming Championships in Adelaide.

“Our High Performance Committee put forward the approach of a men’s and women’s team coach to see the team through to this year’s World Championships, and in Michael Bohl and Rohan Taylor we have two very experienced coaches,” said Nettlefold.

“Both men will complement Michael Scott’s skills in the area of high performance and I’ve said all along that our job is to enable athletes and coaches to perform at their best, and that’s what this coaching unit is designed to do.”

“Ultimately we will be looking at appointing a Head Coach post the World Championships in August, and work with Michael once he starts to plan that process. But this is the right combination for 2013 and we’re fortunate to have such experience to draw on.”

Read the full press release here on swimming.org.au

See Sterling EQ

Carina Bruwer, lead player of SAMA Award-winning instrumental pop group Sterling EQ, successfully rounded Cape Point, finishing the 8km extreme swim equipped only with a standard swimming costume, cap and goggles, according to open water swimming rules. The “Swim for Hope” was in support of the Little Fighters Cancer Trust (LFCT), a local charity that offers support to children with cancer and their families, which Carina and Sterling EQ actively support, and marked Carina’s return to open water swimming after a 6 year break during which she became a mother of two.

Carina and The Little Fighters Cancer Trust are hoping to raise R25,000 for the Bag of Hope Project. Public as well as corporate contributions are encouraged and can be made here on backabuddy.co.za

Here’s Carnaval by Sterling EQ

That Fox 29 segment has unfortunately gone seriously viral on YouTube, at the moment 1,795,394 view here plus 790,008 view here plus 768,814 view here plus 224,321 view here plus a lot of lesser watched copies. 3.5 million plus in a week or so :-S

Australian swimmers introducing themselves

18-21 years

21+

Read Herald Sun

Gold Coast rising star Thomas Fraser-Holmes suffered an Ian Thorpe moment of drama on the opening day of competition at the Australian swimming championships in Adelaide today.

Fraser-Holmes flopped into the pool as he desperately tried to avoid a false start for the men’s 400m freestyle event.

It was the identical event and similar fall to what Thorpe suffered at the 2004 Olympic trials in Sydney.

See the result list here, all results can be found here

See

And

Read Mail & Guardian

When Chad le Clos edged out Michael Phelps to win the 200m butterfly gold at last year’s Olympic Games the future of swimming in South Africa looked bright – but the sport has, since then, seemingly limped from one fiasco to the next.

Swimming South Africa (SSA) is currently without a title sponsor. This has led to suggestions that some of the members of the team competing at the World Championships in Barcelona in July and August will have to pay to attend the event.

Read The Telegraph

South Aussie backstroker Hayden Stoeckel says he is “going in blind” for this weekend’s national championships at the SA Aquatic Centre after only ending his post-Olympics slumber 10 weeks ago.

Having “let his hair down” for six months after the London games, Stoeckel knows he faces an uphill battle to defend his 100m backstroke title and post a world championships qualifying time.

Read The Age

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. [...]

”I have a lot of respect for [Hackett] and so did the team members back then,” said Sprenger.

”To be honest, I can’t really see another Grant Hackett as yet, unfortunately, but I think we can make the right changes and the right moves as a group.

”It might not even be a bad idea to have Grant Hackett come back to have a bit of a mentor role.

Read news.com.au

Former swim star Giaan Rooney has revealed the details behind her post-Olympics boning from Channel Nine, saying she was stunned to be unceremoniously dumped after seven years with the network. [...]

“I believe I am an incredibly loyal person and I had no desire to go anywhere else…I had assumed that my contract would just roll over and that’s what I had been told,” Rooney said in an interview with the blog Show + Tell.

“I loved it and I loved my team that I worked with.

“(But) I came back from London and had a bit of a holiday and all of sudden it was like; ‘We don’t have anything for you next year’. And that came as a huge shock.

Read The Washington Post

Dan Suski, a 30-year-old business owner and information technology expert from San Francisco, had been wrestling a 200-pound marlin in rough seas with help from his sister, Kate Suski, a 39-year-old architect of Seattle.

He was still trying to reel in the fish when water rushed into the cabin and flooded the engine room, prompting the captain to radio for help as he yelled out their coordinates.

Thus began an ordeal in which the siblings swam 14 hours to reach land. They lived to tell about it back in St. Lucia, safe but shaken.