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Hello, swimming enthusiasts!   Last month, Missy Franklin, the star backstroker of the 2012 Olympics, published a book about her journey both as a swimmer and as an individual. The honesty and authenticity of her book goes along with the traits for which she has been praised as an athlete.   The book, co-written with her parents and published by Dutton, takes a closer look at Franklin’s...

Hello swimming enthusiasts!   With Simone Manuel’s victory in the 100 meter freestyle, Lilly King’s gold-medal 100 meter breaststroke, Maya DiRado’s 200 meter backstroke win, and, of course, Katie Ledecky’s sweep of the 200, 400, and 800 meter freestyle, the Rio Olympics were a great success for the female swimmers of the USA!   Today, I am highlighting a swimmer whose final (and first...

Hello swimming enthusiasts! With summer in full swing and the Rio Olympics just around the corner, there is so much going on in the swimming world. Today, we will take a look at an Olympic rookie, the twenty-four-year old Melanie Margalis from Clearwater, Florida.   Born in 1991, Melanie Margalis grew up in Clearwater, where she attended Countryside High School and was a club swimmer for St...

Hello swimming enthusiasts!   Today I am back to offer you a closer look into another inspiring female swimmer, Donna de Varona. De Varona was the youngest athlete at the 1960 Olympic Games, set long-standing world records in the 400-meter individual medley and 100-meter backstroke during her career, and became the television network ABC’s first full-time female sports broadcaster after her...

Hello swimming enthusiasts!   In a few days, Natalie Coughlin, along with a large group of foreign swimmers, will compete at the Canadian Olympic Trials in Toronto. The meet, taking place from April 5-10, has become not only a competition to select Canadians for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, but also an international competition for many North American swimmers. In some cases, these...

  Hello swimming enthusiasts! In the spirit of the upcoming Olympic Trials, today I will be highlighting Dara Torres, a female swimming superstar who, in addition to being the oldest swimmer ever on the U.S. Olympic Team, was the first and so far only swimmer ever to represent the U.S. in five different Olympic Games.   Torres was born on April 15, 1967 in Beverly Hills, California...

High school sophomore and youngest member of the US National Team, Cassidy Bayer of Nation’s Capital Swim Club is preparing for her first-ever Olympic Trials.   Bayer was born in Northern Virginia in 1999, and had great success in swimming from an early age. She held National Age Group (NAG) records in the 11-12 100 and 200 meter fly, broke the NAG 13-14 200 fly record that stood for 34...

Hello swimming enthusiasts!   Happy Thanksgiving! Today I am back to feature Sarah (Fanny) Durack, the first woman ever to win a gold medal in swimming. Durack was born in 1889 in Sydney, Australia. She learned to swim at an early age in the Coogee Baths, an ocean tidal pool in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. In fact, the father of one of her good friends, Wilhelmina Wylie, owned the Baths...

Hello swimming enthusiasts!   I know it has been a while, but today I am back to highlight Janet Evans. What better way to showcase the power of women in swimming than a post dedicated to a woman whom many consider to be the best female swimmer of all time?   Janet Evans was born in Fullerton, California, and swam competitively from a very early age. At two years old, she was already...

Remembered as the ‘Diving Venus’ and the ‘Australian Mermaid,’ Annette Kellerman was truly a superstar. She was a writer, a film actress, a business owner, a record-breaking swimmer…the list goes on and on. But perhaps her most resounding triumph was her invention of a practical and freeing one-piece bathing costume for women! Kellerman was born in Marrickville, a...