Swimming News

Tom Johnson has been named the head coach of Canada's swim team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The veteran coach has an extensive resume. He's been named to Canada's coaching staff for seven Olympic Games, nine world championships and eight Commonwealth Games and nationally his clubs have won 15 overall national team titles and 21 Canadian Interuniversity Sport titles. ``Tom has shown great leadership as head coach of the 2007 world championship team,'' Pierre Lafontaine, CEO and national ...

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) _ The red line lapped at Michael Phelps' feet, as if pushing him to another world record. A superimposed TV gizmo that demonstrates just how close swimmers are to record pace, the red line was actually moving along BEHIND Phelps as he approached the wall. He wasn't chasing the mark. It was chasing him. ``That was amazing,'' said Phelps' coach, Bob Bowman. At this point, Phelps is ...

Alena Popchanka of France broke the European record in winning the women's 200-metre freestyle final Sunday at the European short course championships. Popchanka, who was born in Belarus, finished in one minute, 54.25 seconds. Melanie Marshall of Britain, who finished eighth and last, set the old mark of 1:54.53 in January. Otylia Jedrzejczak of Poland was runner-up in 1:54.39 and defending champion Josefin Lillhage of Sweden came third in 1:54.75. Peter Mankoc of Slovenia won the men's 100 ...

Sweden broke the world record in the 4x50-metre freestyle relay with a time of one minute, 24.89 seconds Sunday at the European Short Course Championships. Stefan Nystrand, Petter Stymne, Marcus Piehl and Jonas Tilly swam for Sweden as it beat the old mark of 1:25.03 set by the Netherlands at last year's championships in Trieste, Italy. France finished second and the Netherlands third. Alena Popchanka of France broke the European record in winning the women's 200-metre freestyle final ...

Ian Thorpe was praised Tuesday as an Australian hero who helped elevate world swimming to celebrity status. Supporters and rivals alike said the freestyle swimmer, who announced his retirement Tuesday, would be sadly missed from the competition pool. But no one begrudged him an end to the pre-dawn starts and the daily hours of chlorine-soaked training that have dominated his life for more than a decade. Thorpe, 24, ended weeks ...

Five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe retired from competitive swimming Tuesday at the age of 24, saying breaking records and winning medals had lost its allure. Thorpe, who held a news conference at a Sydney hotel, said he decided at ``2:53 on Sunday afternoon'' not to swim at next year's world championships in Melbourne and to end his pro swimming career. ``It's been a tough decision to make,'' he said. ``I ...

Ian Thorpe's swimming career could be over. The five-time Olympic champion has scheduled a news conference Tuesday at a downtown Sydney hotel. A few days ago, it was thought the announcement might be Thorpe's withdrawal from the world championships next March. But with the championship trials next month in Brisbane looming and no sign of Thorpe, who has been plagued by illness, injury and a lack of motivation in recent ...

Five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe is reported to be considering not competing at Australia's swim trials in December, which would rule him out of the world championships next March in Melbourne. Australian Associated Press said Saturday the 24-year-old Thorpe, who has been affected by glandular fever in the past year, has missed training sessions since returning to Australia from a three-month sojourn in Los Angeles, which ended in October. AAP says a source told it Thorpe might not ...

Olympic gold medallist swimmer Alex Baumann is returning home from Australia to head the Canadian Summer Olympic program, Road to Excellence, a source told The Canadian Press on Tuesday. The Canadian Olympic Committee will make the official announcement at a news conference Wednesday. Several media outlets also reported that Baumann would head up the program. Chris Rudge, the COC's chief executive officer, said he couldn't confirm Baumann's involvement. ``I've heard ...

Thomas Lurz of Germany and Larisa Ilchenko of Russia won the 10-kilometre races at the open water swimming world championships Thursday. Lurz, with his second consecutive win in the championships, swam through the Bay of Naples in two hours 10 minutes 39.4 seconds, to edge Valerio Cleri of Italy by nine-tenths of a second. Evgeny Drattsev of Russia placed a solid third, just over a second behind. In the women's ...

American swimmer Michael Phelps broke his own world record in the 200-metre butterfly at the Pan Pacific Swim Championships Thursday night. Phelps swam the race in one minute, 53.80 seconds. That breaks the marks of 1:53.93 he set at the 2003 world championships in Barcelona, Spain. Phelps had to battle off a charge from Japan's Ryulchl Shibata to win the race.