FRANCISSWIM - WATER SPORTS: June 2020

Friday, June 26, 2020

World Triathlon moves Montreal WTS and WPS to October 3-4

The World Triathlon Executive Board has approved the new date for the 2020 Montreal event, that will now be hosted, if all conditions are met as of the end of July, on the weekend of October 3-4. The event will include the Montreal World Paratriathlon Series as well, on the same weekend.
Montreal WTS was originally planned to take place on June 28, but the organisers decided to postpone the event due to the COVID-19 outbreak. With the conditions improving in most of the countries, the Montreal organizing Committee and World Triathlon are looking forward to welcoming all triathletes in the Canadian city on early October, always putting in place all the safety measures needed to limit the risk and securing the health and safety for all participants.
The World Triathlon Executive Board, on a meeting hosted virtually this Thursday, has also approved the dates for the Arzachena World Cup, originally scheduled for May and that now will take place in the magnificent beach of Sardinia on October 10.
The Board has also given the green light to a new event, Alhandra Paratriathlon World Cup, in Portugal, to take place on the weekend of October 10-11.
“We are delighted to have more events added to the calendar, which means that triathletes and paratriathletes are given opportunities to race after the summer, when the conditions for training and travelling are improving in most of the countries”, said World Triathlon President and IOC Member, Marisol Casado.
World Triathlon is still working with organizing committees, National Federations and all stakeholders to add more events to the calendar in the last months of the year.

The International Triathlon Union is the world governing body for the Olympic sport of Triathlon and all related MultiSport disciplines including Duathlon, Aquathlon, Cross Triathlon and Winter Triathlon.

Are you looking for a tropical refuge and a spectacular open water swimming event? Then we have something for you! Ocean Swim Fiji, a World-Class Event on a breathtaking paradise full of islands and beaches, with the traditional Fijian hospitality. This is your dive for 2020. Start planning your trip to paradise today! Learn more: http://francisswim.blogspot.com/2020/01/discover-magic-of-swimming-in-fiji.html

Arena Swimwear is your shop for high tech, competitive swimwear, swimsuits, gear, and equipment. Take a look at our full catalogue inside www.arenawaterinstinct.com.br Buy with discount coupon #arenafrancis to get 12% off

The Project "Swimming on the Postcards of the World" aims to stimulate the tourist to have unforgettable experiences and aiming to promote sports activities in open waters in the country and showing people how important it is to take care of the aquatic environment. https://www.facebook.com/worldswim/

Sunday, June 21, 2020

Outbreak Prevention Taskforce launches online risk assessment tool for endurance event organisers

The Outbreak Prevention Taskforce formed by World Athletics with the International Institute for Race Medicine (IIRM), and including the medical chairs from five other global sports federations including World Triathlon, has launched an online risk assessment and mitigation tool for endurance event organisers.
Representatives from the International Cycling Union, World Triathlon, International Ski Federation, World Rowing, the International Paralympic Committee, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) expert group on mass gatherings, joined the taskforce. The WHO and the International Olympic Committee attended as observers, while an advisory group including event organisers and stakeholders from a range of other endurance sports was also consulted.
Derived from the WHO’s general advice for mass gatherings, the tool is intended to help organisers assess the risk of staging an event, establish the preparedness of the community and the event organisation for the risks of Covid-19, and clarify any necessary steps to further mitigate and reduce the risk.
Once details have been entered into the tool, it generates a document that event organisers can use in making the right decisions to protect the local community, the participants, the volunteers, workforce, and staff involved. It does not advise on spectator management.
The tool is applicable to all mass participation endurance events, regardless of the sport, competition level and size.
It outlines mandatory mitigation measures to be undertaken by the event organisers, based on their particular circumstances, as well as recommended and desired measures, and emphasises that all of the mandatory measures and most of the recommended measures should be adopted if the event is to take place.
There is no guarantee that the suggested actions will sufficiently reduce the risk to allow the safe staging of an event, but they will guide event organisers through a process that the taskforce hopes will become a standard part of the preparation for staging mass events.
Competition organisers are strongly encouraged to coordinate with local public health authorities when planning events and to discuss the results obtained through the tool. Local and/or national laws and regulations will always take precedence over the results obtained from this tool and its guidance documents.
“Using the tool will not solve the COVID-19 outbreak, or other infectious diseases, but it will guide event organisers through a process that should become a habit and should be done before every event,” said Dr Paolo Emilio Adami, World Athletics’ medical manager. “There will never be zero risk for infectious diseases but we want to help event organisers to reduce the risk to an acceptable level.”
“For us working together with other major International Federations on how to improve our events to guarantee the health and safety of all participants is extremely important”, explained Gergely Markus, World Triathlon Sport Director. “This tool, combined with the Guidelines that we have already produced for all our event organisers, and the webinars that we are conducting to explain the new measures to all organisers, will help indeed the community to go back to organising events when we return to activity”, he said.
IIRM Executive Director Chris Troyanos said: “The International Institute for Race Medicine is proud to have helped lead this effort. During these uncertain and ever changing times, it was vital for so many organizations to work towards a common goal. This evaluation tool, which provides immediate feedback, can be used for all types of endurance events as we return to activities. But the risk assesment tool is only the first step as we continue to provide practical solutions to the pandemic.”
The tool is available at: idom.worldathletics.org

Friday, June 19, 2020

37 danske svømmeklubber er klar til at afholde REMA 1000 AquaCamp denne sommer

På trods af at hele Danmark har været lukket ned her i løbet af foråret, og svømmehallerne først var med i åbningsfase tre, er det alligevel lykkes for 37 svømmeklubber at kunne arrangere REMA 1000 AquaCamp i denne sommerferie. Dette giver klubberne muligheden for at aktivere omkring 4000 børn i hele Danmark – børn, der sikkert har savnet svømmehallen og det at være aktiv sammen med kammeraterne.
I Dansk Svømmeunion er vi rigtig glade for, at det blev muligt for svømmeklubberne at afholde camps, og at så mange klubber gennemfører deres camps, og dermed aktiverer en masse børn.
I næste uge, uge 27, begynder de første af en lang række sommer-svømmeskoler eller REMA 1000 AquaCamps, som de hedder, i regi af Dansk Svømmeunion. Det er nu det 17. år REMA 1000 AquaCamp tilbydes i tæt samarbejde med svømmeklubber lokalt.
REMA 1000 AquaCamp – også for børn, der ikke kan svømme
REMA 1000 AquaCamp-konceptet er hovedsageligt målrettet børn i alderen 7-12 år. Deltagelse kræver ingen særlige forudsætninger, ligesom det ikke kræver medlemskab af en svømmeklub at få lov til at deltage. Der er også plads til at børn, som endnu ikke har lært at svømme, kan være med.
37 svømmeklubber byder denne sommer velkommen til i alt 83 REMA 1000 AquaCamps i løbet af sommeren. En camp varer typisk tre til fem dage. Nogle af klubberne afholder flere camps i løbet af sommeren, og aktiverer dermed endnu flere glade børn.
Med de 83 camps i år, er der mulighed for at omkring 4000 børn kan glæde sig til en forrygende oplevelse med svømning, livredning, mærkesvømning, skattejagt og mange andre sjove aktiviteter – planlagt af svømmeklubberne selv, med klubbernes egne instruktører.
Stadig enkelte ledige pladser tilbage
For de, der kunne være interesseret i at tilmelde børn til sommerens REMA 1000 AquaCamps, er der stadig ledige pladser hos nogle af klubberne, dog primært til de camps, der afholdes midt i eller sidst på sommeren. På REMA 1000 AquaCamps hjemmeside kan du se, hvor, der er ledige pladser tilbage: www.aquacamp.dk
Samarbejdspartnere og sponsorer hjælper til
Det er af afgørende betydning, at en række sponsorer vil hjælpe til og støtte op om REMA 1000 AquaCamp – det være sig i form af naturalier til børnenes meget populære Goodie-bags og i form af økonomisk støtte.
Goodie-bags uddeles til samtlige børn på førstedagen af camp’en. I disse gemmer sig i år en flot T-shirt, drikkedunk, svømmebriller, en badehætte, müslibarer og en fribillet til WOW Park. Derudover får børnene i år frisk frugt og saftevand hver dag, sponsoreret af REMA 1000.
I år er det lykkedes at få etableret et samarbejde med følgende virksomheder, der således har valgt at bakke op om de aktive camps:
REMA1000: Navnesponsor, hovedsponsorat, drikkedunk, frugt og saftevand.
TrygFonden: Goodie-bags, malebøger, aktivitetshæfte og baderådsfoldere.
Bag om REMA 1000 AquaCamp
REMA 1000 AquaCamp afholdes for 17. år i træk i mange danske svømmeklubber og har været en succes siden start. Dansk Svømmeunion har udviklet konceptet og svømmeklubber, der er medlem af Dansk Svømmeunion kan derfor planlægge og afholde REMA 1000 AquaCamp i deres egen klub.
En REMA 1000 AquaCamp afholdes typisk i sommerferien, men flere svømmeklubber er begyndt at afholde i de andre, mindre ferier inden for de sidste år.
For yderligere information om REMA 1000 AquaCamp denne sommer kan de ansvarlige udviklingskonsulenter i Dansk Svømmeunion kontaktes:
Lene Madegaard, mobil: 29 20 61 50, E-mail: lm@svoem.dk
Anna Hauritz Nielsen, mobil 29 16 09 04, E-mail: aj@svoem.dk

European water polo club competitions is to start on 10 November

Next season water polo Champions League will feature 12 teams in the main round and a single-round qualification but the Final Eight remains in place and is to be staged in Hannover on 3-5 June 2021. Euro Cup and women’s Euro League will also be held.
Reflecting on the impacts of the global pandemic and the challenges the sporting world is yet to face, LEN has restructured the 2020-21 edition of the water polo Champions League. It will feature 12 teams in the regular season and the qualification process is also cut to a single round.
Since the 2017-18 season, accommodating the clubs’ demands, the regular season was played with 16 teams in two groups of 8, twelve teams held wildcards and four joined them from the qualification. The newly shaped Champions League proved to be a tremendous success and became the reference point in the water polo world thanks to its branding policies, live TV action and social media coverage.
Still, the global pandemic and its impact forced LEN to reconsider the playing format for the following season for several reasons. One of them is that the competition calendar has already been overloaded by the postponement of several national team events including the Olympic qualification tournaments.
The main round shall be played with 10 wildcard-holders and two teams are set to join them from the qualification. This latter process will be cut back to a single round where one or two round-robin tournaments are planned, depending on the number of entries. These tourneys are scheduled for 23-25 October, while the main round is to kick off on 10-11 November.
Despite the reduced number of participants in the regular season, the Final Eight format is kept as the highlight of the year. The event is set to take place in Hannover over the first weekend of June.
The Euro Cup, LEN’s second-tier competition, will welcome all other teams including those missing the cut in the Champions League qualifications. Here two qualification rounds appear in the schedule – teams falling in the CHL qualifiers will join the field at this stage. Then the competition will continue with the knockout phase played on a home-and-away basis, starting with the eight-finals. The finals are to be played on 10 and 24 April.
The women’s competition shall not be altered, the Euro League will feature the usual quarter-finals where the winners shall qualify for the Final Four, PRESS RELEASE LEN PR 40/2020 while the losers will play for the LEN Trophy. The qualification process begins on 27-29 November and the Final Fours are scheduled for 16-17 April and 30 April-1 May.

Wildcard-holders in the Champions League
FTC-Telekom Waterpolo (HUN), Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE), Pro Recco (ITA), Zodiac-Atletic Barceloneta (ESP), Jug Croatia Osiguranje Dubrovnik (CRO), CN Marseille (FRA), Spandau 04 (GER), Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO), Waspo 98 Hannover (GER)
Champions League
QUALIFICATION ROUND: October 23-25, 2020 (the competition will start earlier in the groups with more than four teams).

PRELIMINARY ROUND
1st match: November 10/11, 2020
2nd match: December 1/2, 2020
3rd match: December 15/16, 2020
4th match: January 5/6, 2021
5th match: January 19/20, 2021
6th match: March 2/3, 2021
7th match: March 23/24, 2021
8th match: April 9/10, 2021
9th match: April 20/21, 2021
10th match: May 7/8, 2021
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE “FINAL EIGHT”: June 3 – 5, 2021
LEN Euro Cup
QUALIFICATION ROUND 1: October 30 – November 1, 2020 (the competition will start earlier in the groups with more than four teams).
QUALIFICATION ROUND 2: November 13 -15, 2020 (the competition will start earlier in the groups with more than four teams).
EIGHT FINALS: December 2 and 16, 2020
QUARTERFINALS: January 6 and 20, 2021
SEMIFINALS: March 6 and 20, 2021
FINALS: April 10 and 24, 2021
Euro League Women
QUALIFICATION ROUND 1: November 27 – 29, 2020 (the competition will start earlier in the groups with more than four teams)
QUALIFICATION ROUND 2: February 5 – 7, 2021 (the competition will start earlier in the groups with more than four teams).
QUARTERFINALS: February 27 and March 13, 2021
WOMEN LEN TROPHY “FINAL FOUR”: April 15 – 17, 2021
WOMEN EURO LEAGUE “FINAL FOUR”: April 29 – May 1, 2021

CANOE SPRINT JOINS EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS MUNICH 2022 SPORTS

Canoe Sprinthas been added to the now-finalized sports programme of nine sports for the multi-sport2022 European Championships in Munich.
The respective European Championships in Canoe Sprint plus Beach Volleyball, Sport Climbing and Table Tennis have joined those in Athletics, Cycling, Gymnastics, Rowing and Triathlon for the event that will take place Thursday 11th to Sunday 21st August 2022.
The Munich 2022 European Championships Canoe Sprint are set to feature 465 male and female athletes competing in canoe sprint and kayak disciplines in 30 medal events. Across the nine sports, 4,400 athletes from 50 countriesare set to compete in a total of 158 medal events.
Albert Woods OBE, President of the European Canoe Association (ECA), said, ‘’I am delighted that the sport of Canoe Sprint is included in the European Championships 2022 in Munich. It will be a great European Championships for us and also represents 50 years since the Munich Olympic Games 1972. I am sure it will prove to be a well-organised multi-sport European Championships, and on behalf of the whole sport of canoeing I find this a great honour to be a part of it.’’
Horst Seehofer, the Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Community, said, "Munich provides worldclass conditions for elite international sport, which will be demonstrated in 2022 when this city plays host to the European Championships. This is a huge opportunity for sport in general and a tremendous event for the public. I am extremely pleased about this decision as the Federal Minister, but also as a sports enthusiast. Therefore, I would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone coming to Munich for this event."
Libor Varhanik, EC2022 Board Interim Chair said, ‘’On behalf of the EC2022 stakeholders, it is my great pleasure to welcome Canoe Sprint to the Munich 2022 European Championships. We are sure that with the addition of the European Championships in Beach Volleyball, Canoe Sprint, Sport Climbing and Table Tennis, each represented by their best athletes, audiences on-site and on-screen will enjoy an extraordinary sporting and cultural experience and a rich combination of diversified sports and performances at the highest level.’’
The Munich Olympic Park will be an important symbol of sustainability on the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Summer Gameswith the iconic location set to be the heart of the second edition of the European Championships. The majority of events and activities will take place in and around the park in order to create an extraordinary festival atmosphere that allows athletes from different sports to experience the event together and visitors to embrace multiple events.
The multi-sport European Championships is an 11-day celebration of world-class sport that brings together existing individual continental championships into one coordinated event staged every four years. The Championships has a central timetable, uniform branding on-site, on-air and across digital and print media, with an overall country ranking table.
Munich 2022 is the second edition following the outstanding success of the inaugural European Championships in 2018, with Glasgow and Berlin successfully staging seven European Championships with 13 disciplines, providing a unique platform to elevate the Champions of Europe. A television audience of more than 1.4 billion watched this memorable first edition on free-to-air channels via EBU Member broadcasters and partners in 44 territories across Europe and worldwide.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Munich 2022 Stefan Schumm Head of Communications Tel: +49 160 615 7233
European Canoe Association

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

World Triathlon, in the top ten International Federations with better governance practices

The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) has published the findings of the third governance review of its member federations, with World Triathlon reaching the top ten International Federations with better governance practices.
The classification is led by the Badminton World Federation, the International Equestrian Federation, FIFA, the International Tennis Federation, the International Cycling Union and World Rugby, all of them in the group A1.
Behind them, leading the list of the Ifs in the A2 group is FIBA, followed by FIA, ITTF and World Triathlon. Closing the list in this group are World Athletics, World Sailing and World Taekwondo.
Another group of eleven IFs are included in group B while other six are in group C.

The report also considers World Triathlon a role model for the publication of disciplinary decisions, the conflict of interests policies, the contracts with Continental Confederations for development funding, the monitoring of these expenses, the resources dedicated to Paralympic sport and data protection.

The World Triathlon Executive Board, chaired by President Marisol Casado, has been implementing strong governance measures in the last years that have put the International federation in a great position, with policies being implemented also on Continental and regional levels.

Almost all International Federations improved their performance since the last assessment, with the highest scores achieved in the area of transparency. Thirty-one IFs replied to the updated self-assessment questionnaire between November 2019 and January 2020. An independent sports governance consultancy I Trust Sport reviewed the responses and moderated the scores.

The IFs were asked to check their governance against 50 measurable indicators covering five sections: Transparency, Integrity, Democracy, Development and Control Mechanisms. Then I Trust Sport moderated the self-assessed scores following a thorough evidence-based evaluation. The questionnaire was slightly revised for 2019-20 with the aim of ensuring it was up to date but also remained comparable to the earlier editions. It incorporated two new indicators on safeguarding and on data protection / IT security.

IFs were divided into groups based on their total score and for the first time, the performance of each IF is made public. There are still large gaps between the best and weakest IFs.

ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “A lot of progress has been achieved over the past years and the overall trend is clearly positive. Certain reforms take longer to be implemented as they require changes to the statues or the approval of the General Assembly. The results we are sharing today are a snapshot of the current commitment of the IFs.”
He added: “The environment in which IFs operate has become more complex and subject to more scrutiny. The global health crisis further complicates the situation. Sports need to be well-governed to give themselves a better chance of thriving. It is my hope that the momentum will be maintained to tackle a number of areas where there is still significant room for improvement.”
Marisol Casado, World Triathlon President and IOC member, said: “We are extremely proud of the results of this report, and the work, not only now but in the last few years, we have done in this regard within our Federation. Of course, there is always room for improvement, and we will work to be in the top group in the next edition of the report, but it is great to see that our policies and procedures are respected worldwide, and even considered a role model in some other IFs. And that couldn’t have been done without the commitment and the efforts of all the World Triathlon staff, that have been working tirelessly in the last years, and especially in the challenging circumstances that we are all facing lately with the pandemic”.
The International Triathlon Union

USA Water Polo Announces Racial Equity & Reform Task Force

A new task force charged with ensuring zero tolerance of racism and expanding access to water polo for all – especially people of color, was announced today. Jointly commissioned by USA Water Polo Board Chair Mike Graff and CEO Chris Ramsey, the Racial Equity and Reform Task Force will be co-chaired by legendary athlete and board member Brenda Villa, and Chief High Performance Officer John Abdou. Appointments to the task force will be announced in the coming weeks, which will include water polo representatives from diverse experiences, backgrounds, geographies, and skill sets.
Among the issues expected to be addressed by the task force recommendations are:
ZERO TOLERANCE: Ensure USAWP organizational processes at national, regional and club levels are free from racism and bias, and include meaningful remedies to safeguard accountability
ACCESS: Increase participation in water polo among communities of color, including partnerships with clubs and other relevant organizations that will expand access to water polo aquatics facilities
EDUCATION: Provide curriculum and other educational tools to promote a water polo community of respect, dignity, and fairness to all, especially people of color
RESOURCES: Expand resources for the promotion of tolerance and accessibility within the sport of water polo
About Our Co-Chairs:
Considered one of the greatest women's water polo players of all-time, Brenda Villa led Team USA to medals in four different Olympic Games culminating with gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The longtime captain of Team USA, Villa helped bridge the gap from the pioneer era of women's water polo prior to inclusion in the Olympic Games to the present-day success that has seen consecutive Olympic titles.
Since her retirement from international water polo, following the 2012 Olympic Games, Villa has pursued another passion, giving back. She is the co-founder of Project 2020, a non-profit organization committed to providing aquatic opportunities for those in under-resourced communities. Working within the Northern California community of East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park, Villa paired high school coaching with Project 2020 efforts hoping to mirror the offerings she received during her youth where sports were available regardless of financial status.
A senior executive at USA Water Polo, John Abdou oversees the senior national teams and the Olympic Development Program in addition to events, coach and referee education. Working in unison with Senior National Team Head Coaches Adam Krikorian and Dejan Udovicic, Abdou leads in implementing their technical vision throughout ODP and the USA Water Polo pipeline system.
Formerly the associate head coach for men's water polo at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Director/Boy's Head Coach of the Santa Barbara Water Polo Club, Abdou also spent five years coaching at Bucknell University, the last two serving as Head Coach of both the men's and women's programs. Prior to moving to Lewisburg, PA he served as the Boys and Girls Water Polo Coach at Burbank High School while also teaching US Government, AP Psychology, and History classes. Abdou earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Irvine, earning his undergraduate degree in sociology, where he also played varsity water polo. He earned his Master's degree in Education from Bucknell in 2009.
About USA Water Polo
USA Water Polo, Inc., is the national governing body for water polo in America, overseeing our United States Olympic program as well as 20 championship events annually, such as Junior Olympics and Masters National Championships. With more than 50,000 members, USAWP also is the sanctioning authority for more than 500 Member Clubs and more than 400 tournaments nationwide. USAWP is committed to the development of the sport throughout the U.S. It fosters grass-roots expansion of the sport, providing a national system of affiliated clubs, certified coaches, and officials.

Greg Mescall
Director of Communications, USA Water Polo

Arena Swimwear is your shop for high tech, competitive swimwear, swimsuits, gear, and equipment. Take a look at our full catalogue inside www.arenawaterinstinct.com.br Buy with discount coupon #arenafrancis to get 12% off

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

World Triathlon Podcast released on all major streaming platforms

This week sees the full launch of the new World Triathlon podcast on all major streaming platforms and a brand new episode with Tyler Mislawchuk checking in from lockdown at his parents’ home in Canada.
Available now via Spotify, Apple and Google, as well as TriathlonLIVE.tv, the world’s top triathletes will be joining us from around the globe as they return to training, build back up to racing and delivering exclusive post-race interviews.
https://open.spotify.com/show/1z1IwJB2NGYCC49a5SQlJn?si=wjSL5KZvSompQfZUX1g5zA&mc_cid=f9077e587d&mc_eid=6139649918

We’ll also be hearing from legends of the sport, top coaches and leading figures from the World Triathlon family as the build-up and qualification for next year’s Tokyo Olympic Games continues, alongside all the latest news on revised calendars for the second half of 2020.
In episode one, we caught up with Team GB’s Georgia Taylor-Brown as part of the WTS Leeds relive weekend on TriathlonLIVE. The ASICS World Triathlon Team’s Edda Hannesdottir and Ognjen Stojanovic also gave us their tales from life in lockdown, getting used to life at home in Reykyavik and being stranded in Mauritius.
Added this week is a first opportunity to hear from Tyler Mislawchuk as he checks in from his current base in Winnipeg. The Men’s Tokyo Test Event winner began 2020 in suitably unusual fashion with a European Championship duathlon alongside Alistair Brownlee before finally making his way back to Canada, where he has had to quarantine in his parents’ basement for 14 days before getting back out to the bike trails he grew up on.

Thursday, June 11, 2020

European Aquatics swimmers are back to the pools

A general survey conducted by LEN among its National Federations shows that elite European aquatic athletes could return to the pools throughout the continent. As restrictions are being lifted step by step, representatives of all disciplines could restart their respective trainings, though it will take some time before fans can witness thrilling competitions again.
The LEN Office has conducted a survey among its National Federations on pool openings, the currently applied restrictions at trainings and on plans to hold competitions. The outcome shows that elite athletes have received green light to return to the pools in almost each country around Europe. Mostly swimmers could restart their pool practices but divers and artistic swimmers are also allowed to train in more and more territories. Also, countries with top water polo programmes have let their elite players do their daily jobs.

“We are happy to see that life returns to the pools around Europe and more and more athletes are allowed to resume their trainings” LEN President Paolo Barelli said. “Europe has always been famous for having fully committed athletes, coaches, and federations with utmost professionalism, and this guarantees that our continent will bounce back after this extraordinary period. European Aquatics is the leading force in our sport and LEN will do its utmost to maintain this position by offering any possible support for our federations.”
According to the replies the LEN Office has received from the federations, an array of strict restrictions are applied at the training sessions and competitions are yet to appear on the horizon. Most of the respondents don’t see any official events commencing before August.

“While we witness different approaches and different timings in the various countries, LEN agrees that our athletes’ health must come first and rushing with staging competitions, although being the bread and butter of LEN, is not our top priority at this stage. We need to make sure our athletes get back into training first. Nonetheless, we can’t wait for the moment when we can watch exciting races and matches again” Paolo Barelli said.
Europe’s aquatic elite may reunite in great numbers next May in Budapest where the European Aquatics Championships are set to take place. Dates for the respective disciplines have just been confirmed by all stakeholders. The event will kick off with the diving (10-16 May) and the artistic swimming (10- 15 May) competitions, the open water events are held on 12-16 May, while the second week (17-23 May) is dedicated to swimming. As for water polo, the European club competitions are set to begin in late autumn this year.

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) “You need to challenge yourself sometimes”

The journey towards Tokyo has begun for Sarah Sjostrom, a veteran in the swimming world as she heads for her fourth Olympics. The Olympic 100m butterfly champion lost the world crown she had won in the event four times in the previous five editions at July’s FINA World Championships in Gwangju, but with gold in the 50m fly, two silvers (50m free and 100m fly) and two bronzes (100m and 200m free) in an unprecedented haul she has won the FINA Female Swimmer of the Year award for the second time.
Sjostrom, who first won the 100m world title as a 15-year-old in 2009, was the oldest of the finalists in the Gwangju race. “But I still have just as great development potential as the rest of the girls in the final. It feels good to be able to say that as a 26-year-old,” she says. Sarah laughs as she’s saying it, but behind the laughter there is a seriousness.
When Sarah analysed that butterfly final at the World Championships, she clearly saw that she lost a lot of time in the turns and the under-water phase.
“Even those who are 10 years younger than I am had a better turn and under-water work than I had in that final,” she said.
Sarah’s poor turn gave 17-year-old Canadian Maggie MacNeil the chance to overtake the defending champion and touch the wall for gold, 0.39sec ahead of Sjostrom
“The bad turn laid the foundations of my weak final in the 50m free, so that is something I will have to work on for my future races,” Sjostrom added.
Another reason for her defeat in the 100 fly was a problem with her technique, something she has struggled with for quite some time: “In the past I have always said that I don’t want to keep on and focus too much on the technique. In butterfly my technique has often got worse when I have focused on different details. But during the autumn we have started filming more during the training sessions to see if there was anything we could change.”
I have at least 10 kilos more muscle

As a younger butterfly swimmer, you were often at the end of the field after the first 50 metres but had an incredibly fast finish in the last 50. In recent years it has rather been the opposite. But will you try to find your way back to the old way of swimming the 100 metres butterfly in the future?
Not really, even though I have tried different ways of swimming the 100 fly in recent years. I seem to be just as tired in the last 25 metres, regardless of my opening 50. You also have to remember that my physical conditions today are completely different compared with 10 years ago. I have at least 10 kilos more muscle and I am overall stronger. So what was right back then is not necessarily right now.
Your decision to add the 200m freestyle to your programme at the World Championships this past summer was surprising to many people.
I wasn’t sure whether I would swim the 200 or not. But the last couple of weeks leading up to the world championships I felt that my shape was almost better in the 200m than in the 100, so I decided to go for it.
As usual, you gave everything you had during that 200m free final, which earned you a bronze medal but also left you so exhausted and fatigued that you needed oxygen after the race.
I’m very happy that I won a medal. Otherwise, it would have been really unnecessary for me to squeeze the last drop of energy out of my body (laughs).

Will you swim the 200m freestyle in the Olympics next year?
No, I don’t think so, but you never know. So I should probably say that it depends on how it feels when the competition is approaching. The 200m free will never be my favourite distance, but if it feels good during training when we get closer to the Olympics, I might just swim it. It is an incredible luxury that I have so many different events that I can choose to swim.

When you decided to swim the 200m freestyle at the World Championships, you said that the 50m freestyle was the distance that would be harmed by that decision.
And it was, indeed.
But after all, you took silver in the dash, only two one-hundredths of a second from gold!
Yes, but look at the time (24.07) and you have the answer. Just a couple of weeks earlier, I did 23.78 at the national championships in Sweden when I was properly rested before the race. I know I would have swum faster at the World Championships if I hadn’t taken on the 200 free. But even though I knew it would be like this, I don’t regret doing it. I chose to challenge myself and wanted to try to take five individual medals in one championship. When you have been swimming at the top level as long as I have, you need to challenge yourself sometimes. Next time, I might choose a different challenge.
I think the Olympics itself is a challenge big enough

Have you already thought about what your challenge for the Olympics will be?
I think the Olympics itself is a challenge big enough. After all, the Olympics only come around every four years, and getting in shape and preforming at your top level just at that moment is a challenge itself. But it’s been a while since I did a PB, so that might be a good challenge for the coming season.

Personal best means a world record for you?
Yes, it does. Okay then, the goal is to swim in world record times again.
You hold all the long-course world records in the 50m and 100m free and fly events, the fly marks are from 2014 and 2016, while the top times in freestyle are from 2017. Which can go first?
At the European Championships the summer before last, I was, for example, under the world record pace in the 50m freestyle until I had about 10 metres left. So if I can keep my swimming together all the way to the finish line, I know I can beat the world record in the 50m free.

And what about the 100m free?
It’s an event that I perform how I want to only every tenth time I swim it. But it’s something I’m working on. For some reason, I usually have a good 100m freestyle race when I have really fast opponents next to me. This competition is often very open, the one who swims the smartest wins. I hope that it will be me one day. I don’t have any World Championships or Olympic gold medal in that event, so maybe I should also set that as a goal for next year. Imagine to be able to swim a really fast last 50 at the Olympics, so fast that the others barely understand what happened. I would love that!
I am proud of how I managed to perform and get five medals
Sarah will not be competing at the short-course European Championship in Glasgow in December since she has chosen hard training during that period instead. Her competition schedule for the coming spring and summer up until the Tokyo Olympics has not been finalised yet.
“What I do know is that I will swim the European Championships in Budapest in May. I really like to compete in Hungary,” Sarah says.
In March next year it will be 12 years since the then 14-year-old Sarah Sjostrom made her breakthrough when she won the European title in the 100m butterfly. Since then, she has passed historic milestones a number of times. For example, she was the first female Swedish swimmer to win an Olympic gold (2016), she was the first swimmer to win four individual European Championship golds in one edition (2018), and at the World Championships she became the first female swimmer to have won five individual medals.

Which of these moments does she value the most?
“It’s always hard to compare, but I’m proud that I participated in five events in this year’s World Championships and proud of how I managed to perform and get five medals,” she responds. “Of course, the Olympic gold also means a lot to me, and the world record in the 50m butterfly when I became the first (and so far the only) female swimmer under 25 seconds is something I really cherish too.”

Getty Images
Anna Hamar, Head of Communications, Swedish Swimming Federation (SWE)
https://www.fina.org/news/sarah-sjostrom-swe-you-need-challenge-yourself-sometimes?fbclid=IwAR1dZPDoltzvXdmBYxO0n8YZhq0P-N9W7tdiAYvae4WLVW8MmAodUHgOh7c

FRANCISSWIM - WATER SPORTS