France: Adeline Martin, 17-year-old training partner of Alain Bernard and coach Denis Auguin's CN Antibes squad underwent emergency surgery this morning after a truck ran over the swimmer and her scooter, breaking three bones in arm and leg. A sub 4:50 400 IMer, Martin is expected to leave hospital soon after surgery and transfer to a rehabilitation centre at Cagne-sur-Mer, according to Auguin. The accident happened late Thursday. Rehabilitation is expected to last three months. The CN Antibes crew and sponsor arena issued a statement conveying their best wishes to Martin for a speedy recovery.
Rome, Italy: The Jaked is back. Well, not quite as we knew it, of course. Four textile models, all launched yesterday in the Eternal City that witnessed a 100% poly circus last summer. Worth a mention because of this: Paolo Barelli, Hon Sec of FINA and head of a fed with a financial interest in Jaked last year, was there to witness the Rome launch, with Jaked the kit sponsor of the Italian fed. Beyond any issue of the nature of a financial interest (and it would be wrong of a top FINA official to have a single cent of interest in a suit company, so we assume that the top man in Italy has made that position clear given that he has a vote when it comes to all such matters at executive and Bureau levels), there is this tricky matter: FINA rule SW10.7 now forbids the use of any suit that aids speed, buoyancy or endurance. The words of Jaked founder Francesco Fabbrica yesterday: "The most important feature is the compression of muscles, which promotes blood circulation and oxygenation of the muscles". And thus enhances performance, is the implication. Should a top FINA official be happy to stand and promote a product that sets out to break a FINA rule? Jaked is not alone in that claim (one of several troublesome claims), of course. And oxygenation is not the only thing that the FINA suits panel will be looking for in future. Which is why there are those who still want to see briefs not jammers and are fundamentally opposed to the use of a body in men's suits on the ludicrous and bogus grounds of "gender equality".
Research: Scientists in Denmark have concluded that swimming in pool water is "not associated with adverse reproductive outcomes." M. Juhl and colleagues at the University of Southern Denmark, National Institute of Public Health, noted at the outset of the research: "Exercise in pregnancy is recommended in many countries, and swimming is considered by many to be an ideal activity for pregnant women. Disinfection by-products in swimming pool water may, however, be associated with adverse effects on various reproductive outcomes." What followed was this: "We examined the association between swimming in pregnancy and preterm and postterm birth, fetal growth measures, small-for-gestational-age, and congenital malformations. We used self-reported exercise data (swimming, bicycling, or no exercise) that were prospectively collected twice during pregnancy for 74,486 singleton pregnancies. Recruitment to The Danish National Birth Cohort took place 1996-2002. Using Cox, linear and logistic regression analyses, depending on the outcome, we compared swimmers with physically inactive pregnant women; to separate a possible swimming effect from an effect of exercise, bicyclists were included as an additional comparison group. Risk estimates were similar for swimmers and bicyclists, including those who swam throughout pregnancy and those who swam more than 1.5 hours per week. Compared with nonexercisers, women who swam in early/mid-pregnancy had a slightly reduced risk of giving birth preterm ... or giving birth to a child with congenital malformations." The researchers concluded: "These data do not indicate that swimming in pool water is associated with adverse reproductive outcomes."
Spain: The Spanish Federation has entered a partnership with UNICEF, the children's welfare organisation. A signing ceremony will include president of the swim fed, Fernando Carpena, vice-presidente of UNICEF-Spain, Juan Ignacio De la Mata, and Spanish synchro ace Gemma Mengual.
