Latest news with #swimming
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
German Wellbrock wins open water gold at World Aquatics championships
Florian Wellbrock holds the gold medal at the award ceremony after the 1500m men's freestyle race of German Swimming Championships at Europasportpark. Wellbrock is ready to attack again in the open water and in the pool at the aquatics world championships as he seems to have overcome his Olympic hangover and has prepared for the sweltering Singapore conditions in a heat chamber. Christoph Soeder/dpa Germany's Florian Wellbrock won gold in the men's 10-kilometre open water swimming on Wednesday at the World Aquatics championships. The 27-year-old came out on top after 1 hour 59 minutes 55.50 seconds, beating Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy by 3.70 seconds. Third place went to Australia's Kyle Lee. Advertisement With an official water temperature of 30.4 degrees Celsius, Wellbrock swam in the leading group from the start and was at the front for most of the race. On the final lap, he fended off Paltrinieri's challenge and remained in first place. This was Wellbrock's sixth World championships title in open water swimming. The women's 10km open water race is later on Wednesday. Water quality controversy The women's race was postponed from Tuesday to Wednesday due to the dirty sea at Palawan Beach, and both events on Wednesday were pushed back while water monitoring continued. A statement from organizers said water quality samples collected during Tuesday afternoon met the standards outlined in the World Aquatics competition regulations. Advertisement The three samples taken along the course had shown "a significant improvement, with levels of E. coli falling between the ranges of 'good' to 'excellent'," organizers said. "Regular water quality monitoring and testing continues throughout the competition period to ensure athlete safety, with the health and safety of all participants continuing to guide all competition-related decisions," the statement said. "World Aquatics and the Singapore 2025 organizers extend our appreciation to all athletes, officials, and supporters for their patience and cooperation." Last year's Paris Olympics also faced the same issue in the River Seine. The poor water quality repeatedly sparked debate and delays. Several swimmers reported health problems after their competitions.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Miranda Richardson on the addictiveness of open water swimming
Miranda Richardson was a late convert to open water swimming – but now she can't get enough of immersing herself in freezing cold water and being at one with nature in our rivers and lakes. In fact, the BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated actress confesses that open water swimming is rather addictive. 'The thing is that once it gets you, wherever you are you're looking askance at a puddle and thinking 'I could get in there, yeah, I could, just for a minute. It'd be all right'. It's a bit like that,' she says with a chuckle. Richardson, 67, who's starred in numerous films, TV and theatre productions and whose versatility even stretched to playing the comedic Queen Elizabeth 1 (Queenie) in Blackadder II, was first introduced to open water swimming during filming in Ireland a few years ago, when she took an exhilarating dip in the Irish Sea. 'I got very lucky on that day, and I was in the water for about half an hour thinking, I can't believe this, I can't believe I'm here,' she recalls. 'And then I started going regularly in my time off, and it becomes somewhat addictive – the endorphin rush is good, but also the rhythmic nature of swimming is great, and what you see around you is great, and there's a healthy dose of jeopardy as well in open water swimming – you haven't got the same infrastructure that you have in your local municipal pool or lido. 'It's all very healthy – it's really wonderful for both mind and body.' Richardson now tries to go for an open water swim two or three times a week, and is a member of the Serpentine Swimming Club in London's Hyde Park. And she's so enamoured with wild swimming that she's about to take part in a wild swim challenge in Norfolk in August, to raise £100,000 for WWF. Richardson and her friend, fellow actress Maggie Service, who's appeared on TV shows including Good Omens, Dr Who and Call the Midwife, are undertaking a tough tidal open water 3.5km Wild Swim Mission at Blakeney Point, a national nature reserve on the north Norfolk coast, on August 9 to raise funds and awareness for WWF's work protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems, rivers and wetlands. And the acting duo are also hoping they'll inspire others to take part in WWF's public Swim Challenge to swim five, 10 or 20km during August to support WWF's work. 'I wanted to take on this swim with Maggie as a challenge for both mind and body,' says Richardson. 'But it's also about raising awareness of the beauty and fragility of our natural habitats. 'This is definitely a step up, but I'm excited to take it on – it's kind of daunting, but great.' She's been training with Service, and says she has phases of managing to do an open water swim every day, declaring: 'It's a wonderful start to the day, and it's the best part of the day.' The coldest temperature she's swum in is two degrees (for two minutes), and she says she's had 'a couple of squeaky times where you just have to take it easy.' But she warns that open water swimmers, and particularly newcomers, 'obviously have to be very aware, and not be stupid,' and find out about things like currents and sewage levels before even attempting to swim in a river. 'You've got to take advice and keep up-to-date with what's going on,' she advises. 'We're not saying go and find a stretch of water that nobody else has found and do something dangerous,' she stresses. 'Obviously you have to take your own risks, and you have to do a bit of research on where you might go, and be with someone, That's also a very good idea, at least initially, unless you're an extremely competent swimmer.' Urging people to take part in the WWF Swim Challenge, she says: 'I think you'd be surprised at how much you'd enjoy not just the rush, but the meditative qualities of swimming, and particularly swimming in nature.' Of course life isn't just about open water swimming for the busy actress, who's just been working on a film called The Bitter End, which stars Joan Collins and Isabella Rossellini, about the later years of Wallis Simpson's life – who became the Duchess of Windsor after marrying Edward VIII. But when she gets some free time, as well as heading for open water, whenever possible Richardson also manages to work with an ex-ballerina who does a 'wonderful, glorious mixture' of dance, Pilates, and HIIT classes both in-person and on an app. 'We just all need to keep moving as we go through life so that we can balance, we can not fall, we can get up from wherever and get on,' says Richardson, who admits: 'I can't bear gyms. I know a lot of people love them and swear by them, but I don't find the atmosphere in most of them conducive at all, so I avoid them. 'But that's not to say I don't have weights – I don't have a gym, and I don't wish for a gym, but most of what I do you can achieve with your own body weight and some free weights. ' She says she's a 'big fan' of yoga, although she hasn't done it for a long time and admits: 'I'm probably not as flexible as I'd like to think I am, but as we know, it's not a competition.' But overall, she says her health is pretty good, and points out: 'I wouldn't be doing this swim mission if I thought I wasn't in a good way – I think that would be rather foolish.' You can support Miranda Richardson and Maggie Service's Wild Swim Mission and help them reach their £100,000 goal to raise funds for WWF's work.
Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Open water program at swimming world championships gets started after two delays
SINGAPORE — Open water competition at the World Swimming Championships went off Wednesday after two postponements because of water-quality problems at Sentosa, the island area on the coast. Florian Wellbrock of Germany won the men's 10-kilometer race in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 55.50 seconds. Gregorio Paltrinieri of Italy was almost four seconds behind in second place and Kyle Lee of Australia was third in 2:00.10.30.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
German Wellbrock wins world 10km swim after water quality delay
Germany's Florian Wellbrock won the men's 10km open water race at swimming's world championships in Singapore (Manan VATSYAYANA) Germany's Florian Wellbrock won the men's 10km at the world championships in Singapore on Wednesday after the race had been postponed for several hours because of poor water quality. Wellbrock, the gold medallist at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, won his third open water world title in a time of 1hr 59min 55.50sec at the Sentosa Island course after the race finally began at 1:00 pm (0500 GMT). Advertisement Italy's Gregorio Paltrinieri took silver 3.70sec behind, followed by Australia's Kyle Lee. Governing body World Aquatics had postponed the race on Wednesday morning because water quality was "exceeding acceptable thresholds". The women's 10km race had been postponed on Tuesday. World Aquatics said early Wednesday morning that the new time slots for the races were "subject to acceptable test results". They later confirmed both races would proceed after further analysis of samples on Wednesday morning found "significant improvement". The women's 10km race was due to start at 4:00 pm (0800 GMT) on Wednesday. Advertisement "Regular water quality monitoring and testing continues throughout the competition period to ensure athlete safety, with the health and safety of all participants continuing to guide all competition-related decisions," World Aquatics said in a statement. The governing body said levels of E. coli bacteria fell between the ranges of "good" and "excellent", according to World Aquatics and World Health Organization regulations. Water quality was a big problem for events held in the River Seine at last year's Paris Olympics. Of the 11 days of events and training scheduled in its murky waters, only five got the green light. The river remained dogged by pollution problems despite a 1.4 billion euros ($1.5 billion) upgrade to improve the Paris sewerage and water treatment system. amk/dh
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
10p summer swim scheme launched for Cumberland kids
Children from Cumberland will be able to swim for just 10p this summer. All schoolchildren aged up to 16 in the area can take advantage of the offer at five indoor pools during the school summer holidays, due to a scheme from Cumberland Council, supported by GLL and Wigton Baths Trust. Cllr Anne Quilter, Cumberland Council's executive member for vibrant and healthy places, said: "We have put health and wellbeing at the heart of everything we do, and we want to encourage the young people of Cumberland to get active. "The 10p swims will be available in five locations, at different times throughout the week. "It is a great opportunity for children to use our facilities at a discounted rate and will also support families." The scheme runs from July 21 to August 31 and offers discounted swimming sessions throughout the week, including weekends at some venues. Participating leisure centres and session times include: Cockermouth Leisure Centre: Monday to Friday, 1pm to 1.50pm each day Copeland Pool and Fitness Centre (Whitehaven): Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 1pm - 1.50pm, Saturday: 12pm - 12.50pm, and Sunday: 10am - 10.50am The Sands Centre (Carlisle) - July 21 to September 3. Monday to Friday and Sunday: 10am - 10.50am Wigton Baths: Monday: 11am - 12pm and 3pm - 4pm. Tuesday: 11.15am - 12.15pm and 4.15pm - 5.15pm. Wednesday: 11.30am - 12.30pm. Thursday: 11am - 1pm. Workington Leisure Centre: Week commencing July 21, Monday to Saturday: 11am - 11.50am. Week commencing July 28 until August 31, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday: 11am - 11.50am. Tom Rice, partnership manager at GLL Cumberland, said: "As Cumberland Council's leisure partner, we are delighted to see the 10p swim initiative not only continue but also extended across the whole of the new area. "Swimming is not only one of the healthiest activities that children can participate in but building and improving on swimming capability and confidence is a valuable life skill. "We look forward to welcoming local children into our pools over the summer and are hoping for a huge response to this excellent initiative." The 10p swim scheme is in addition to Cumberland's free Holiday Activity and Food Programme, which offers a range of summer activities for children. The programme provides up to 16 fully funded days for children who qualify for free school meals, with some paid places also available.
