Category: History
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Paulus Wildeboer passes away, 59 years old
Yesterday evening the sad news were received that Paulus Wildeboer has died from prostate cancer. Paulus was father of Olaf and Aschwin Wildeboer, coaching in Spain for more than 25 years before becoming national head coach of Denmark, and then after London 2012 mentor coach of Swimming Queensland. A tough but excellent coach, he as…
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David Epstein: Are athletes really getting faster, better, stronger?
See TED When you look at sporting achievements over the last decades, it seems like humans have gotten faster, better and stronger in nearly every way. Yet as David Epstein points out in this delightfully counter-intuitive talk, we might want to lay off the self-congratulation. Many factors are at play in shattering athletic records, and…
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Until Fairly Recently, The YMCA Actually Required Swimmers To Be Nude
Read Vocativ Last week, I was eating lunch with a friend and her dad in Manhattan on 23rd Street, directly across from what used to be the McBurney YMCA, when my friend’s dad had a sudden recollection. Apparently, in 1968, as part of a freshman requirement for the city college he attended, all male students…
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Manly swimmer Ernest Henry’s 1924 Paris Olympics medal haul for sale
Read The Telegraph He was one of the fabulous four boys from Manly who won all three of Australia’s gold medals at the 1924 Paris Olympics, and most of the minor ones as well. But now the family of swimmer Ernest Henry are selling his medals, largely because they can’t afford the cost of insuring…
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Nadadores will keep swimming in Mission Viejo
Read Orange County Register Nearly 40 years ago, Â set world records as he won two gold medals during the Olympic Games in Montreal. Monday night, Goodell came to Mission Viejo City Hall to defend the swim club that formed a mile away in his living room and helped earn him the top spot on that…
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British Path̩ РSwim At Home (1937)
As you can read here on Open Culture, one of the leading producers of newsreels and documentaries during the 20th Century is turning over its entire collection – over 85,000 historical films – to YouTube. Including a treasure trove of fantastic swimming footage! You’ll remember the ninny who when asked if he could swim said he didn’t know…
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Heroes of swimming: Ian Thorpe
Read The Guardian Despite being the son of a talented Australian cricketer, as a boy Ian Thorpe was useless at ball sports (an affliction with which Heroes of Swimming sympathises; in fact, we wonder if Ian is also a rubbish dancer). Thorpe’s older sister told him to come swimming with her instead, but he was…
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Stephanie Rice announces retirement with YouTube video
Read Swimming World Demonstrating the class with which she’s typically carried herself within the sport of swimming, three-time Olympic gold medalist Stephanie Rice waited for the completion of the Australian National Championships before making her retirement public with an emotional YouTube video. Post by Australian Swim Team.
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Australian swimming’s best days are behind it, says Olympic legend Shane Gould
Read ABC The 59-person squad for the July Games, which includes world champions James Magnussen, Christian Sprenger and Cate Campbell, was announced on Monday night after a gruelling week of qualifying in Brisbane. There were some impressive performances in the Chandler pool, but Olympic legend Shane Gould says the glory days are gone. “I think the…