Category: Open Water
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Japanese swimmers complete gratitude swim to Taiwan
Six Japanese men swam 150 kilometers (95 miles) through heavy winds and rough seas to reach the Taiwanese coast Monday in a show of gratitude to Taiwan for its US$260 million aid after the March earthquake and tsunami. Taiwan’s foreign minister Timothy Yang said at a cocktail party to welcome the swimmers, that he was…
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6 Japanese swim to Taiwan to say thanks for US$260.5 million
Six Japanese swimmers are at the moment navigating 150 kilometers to Taiwan to show gratitude for the US$260.5 million aid the country provided following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disasters. Team leader Kazuya Suzuki said prior to the swimmers’ departure that their main fear is “not the current or typhoons, but the fragility of…
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CNN recounts Diana Nyad’s journey to swim from Cuba to Florida
A sneak peak of Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s special “Diana Nyad’s Xtreme Dream” on CNN this Saturday night. Via blogs.cnn.com.
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Open water swimmer bitten by harbor seal during race
During (I guess) the San Francisco Bay 10K Bridge-to-Bridge Swim last Saturday, a harbour seal bit John Reichmuth from Berkely so badly that it left a large, gaping wound above his left ankle and punctured four holes in his right leg, just below the knee. “I had my hands on it and punched it, and…
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David Walliams completes his epic River Thames swim
Actor David Walliams today finished his 140-mile swim (225km) of the River Tames, raising more than one million pounds ($1.58 million) for the charity Sport Relief during this eight-day challenge. In unusual cold, windy and rainy conditions (even in British standards), enduring a serious stomach upset and severe exhaustion, while still managing stuff like rescuing…
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Walliams saves dog during river Thames sewage swim
Comedian David Walliams is now on the final day of his epic swim along 140 miles of the Thames, that started last Monday. He has battled a bout of “Thames Tummy”, ignored sewage warnings and even rescued a dog, while raising now very close to £1million “for street kids like Phillip“. What a hero, read…
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Brain-eating amoeba now linked to 4 deaths in USA this summer
As they say in this video below, amoebic brain infection are the medical equivalent of being struck by lightning, but still horrific. An extremely common amoeba living in just about every warm body of fresh water, that invades the central nervous system via the nose and kills you almost certainly within two weeks, even if…
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Walliams battling on the Thames despite of diarhhea
News here and here on the Sun, about Little Britain star David Walliams swimming from the source of The Thames to Big Ben in London. About 140 miles of Britain’s longest river over the course of eight days, navigating busy river traffic, a cocktail of bacteria in the water, and avoiding the 39 million cubic…
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‘Swimmer Buddy’ aims to make open-water swimming safer
Long-distance swimmer Jim Zinger says he created the Swimmer Buddy after his wife expressed concerns about him swimming in open water. It is a belt connected by a 6-foot-long leash to a body board, on which you can attach colourful “noodles” and flags. To be seen and to be able to rest upon if you…