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Kaylee McKeown’s first WC gold in the Women’s 200m backstroke & the 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay team’s outstanding race secured another two gold medals for Australia on Day 7 of the 2022 World Swimming Championships

by Sports Benches

One day to go of this year’s World Swimming Championships and the Dolphins Swim Team have once again snatched another two gold & one silver medals on Day 7 in Budapest, Hungary.

It’s good to see Kaylee McKeown back to her best in the Women’s 200m backstroke final, having finally secured her first World Championship gold. She fired off well inside the Top 3 that allowed her ample time to stay in the mix before McKeown capitalised on top spot going into the last 50m that helped her lock up both Team USA swimmers towards the finish line.

Then we saw Kiah Melverton swam her way to 2nd alongside a personal best in the Women’s 800m Freestyle Final at 8:18:77. Yes, it was a race where Team USA’s Katie Ledecky was too good all along as she’s one of the world’s best out there for over a decade. But she did so well nonetheless with a full swim performance – especially when she closed down the rest of the field just in time for her silver medal.

And a big pat on the back to our 4 x 100 Mixed Freestyle Relay Team – including Jack Cartwright, Kyle Chalmers, Madison Wilson & Mollie O’Callaghan. Not only they took home another gold but also smashed the new world record time of 3:19:38. We love Cartwright finish off his best in Stage 1 – even though his shoulders were tired after a hard fought 100m dash – before Chalmers took over & took the most credit that sent Australia into the lead by the time he handed over to Wilson & O’Callaghan at the halfway mark. The team effort & communication Cartwright & Chalmers built here has set up an easy finish for the girls where they have swam proud on the run home for them.

The door may be closed for the Dolphins for 1st behind Team USA on the medal tally, but they can finish off on a high in 2nd with plenty of gold up for grabs. There’s Meg Harris in the Women’s 50m Free, Isaac Cooper Men’s 50m backstroke & two 4 x 100 medley relays in both men’s & women’s races. Plus, Jenna Forrester in the Women’s 400m Medley if she can get past Heat 2 tomorrow.

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Mollie O’Callaghan & Zac Stubblety Cook’s outstanding swims in their respective Finals puts Australia back into 2nd on Day 6 of the 2022 World Swimming Championships

by Sports Benches

We’re back into 2nd now on the medal tally for the Dolphins Swim Team, having snatched another two gold medals today thanks to Mollie O’Callaghan and Zac Stubblety-Cook after Day 6 of the 2022 World Swimming Championships.

Stubblety-Cook may not had the early momentum needed to stay ahead when he was battling outside the Top 3. The gamble to go all in the last 50m paid off however, when he came from behind with less than 100m to go before he trumped the whole field on the way home that secured his first World Championship Gold Medal in the Men’s 200m breaststroke.

Same goes to O’Callaghan over in the Women’s 100m Freestyle who was also initially off the pace. But likewise to what Stubblety-Cook did in the last-half, she began to rebound just in time up front towards a photo finish, and she has done it to upsurge Sweden’s Sarah Sjoestroem and Team USA’s Tori Huske for the gold she really wanted which is absolutely stunning.

Then there’s more than just the two outstanding swimmers on display where they took home another two silver medals.

Excellent job from Zac Incerti with the turnaround once he took over the baton from Elijah Winnington. His excellent spell in the last 100m puts them in 2nd after Stage 2 of the Men’s 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay Final; That helped him paved an easy pathway for Sam Short & Mack Horton to bring it all the way home where they finished 2nd.

And how good was Jenna Strauch in the Women’s 200m breaststroke? Although she couldn’t hold off Team USA’s Lily King towards the very end of the wall, but it’s still an excellent swim – especially in the 2nd half where she caught up side-by-side to the frontrunners just in time for the climax of this race.

The hard work isn’t over going into the final two days with Kaylee McKeown in the Women’s 200m backstroke Final, Kiah Melverton in the Women’s 800m Freestyle Final & Matt Temple in the Men’s 100m butterfly Final – plus the Mixed 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay if possible tomorrow. Initially, Lani Pallister was set to compete in the Women’s 800m Freestyle tomorrow with Melverton for the gold but then COVID caught her which means she has to withdraw from the running & sit for at least a week in isolation.

For now, what a day for O’Callaghan & Stubblety-Cook who made our Aussies very proud on the pool.

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Another silver for the Dolphins Swim Team on Day 5 of the 2022 World Swimming Championships with three potential gold medal races to bounce back tomorrow

by Sports Benches

Another day, another silver medal for the Dolphins Swim Team after Day 5 of the 2022 World Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Let’s start with 18-year-old Mollie O’Callaghan who endured a fantastic day once again in the pool. Not only she was too good all along in the lead up to tomorrow night’s Women’s 100m breaststroke final, but she also brought home another silver for the Dolphins with Madi Wilson, Leah Neale & Kiah Melverton in the Women’s 4 x 200m freestyle relay.

Although Neale has the most credit when she briefly led the field at one point going into Stage 3/4 – but Katie Ledecky came in at the same as Melverton where she was proved too good for Team USA that sets up Bella Sims to finish off comfortably in 1st. As Bobby Hurley said on commentary, O’Callaghan will need to build on the early momentum in order to stay ahead. It’s the one weakness she couldn’t nail down China’s Junxuan Yang just before the finish line yesterday in the Women’s 200m Freestyle Final.

Then we look at Jenna Strauch over in the Women’s 200m breaststroke as she never looked out of place – especially when she came 1st in the semis before she ended up being the overall fastest out of the Top 8 for tomorrow night’s final. So does Zac Stubblety-Cook who smashed it in the Men’s 200m breaststroke where he came first as well in both preliminaries that sets up another potential gold to take home.

And shoutout to two other swimmers who couldn’t quite finish at least in the Top 3 but did their best nonetheless; Kaylee McKeown P6 in the Women’s 50m backstroke, as well as 18-year-old Liz Dekkers P5 in the Women’s 200m butterfly on her first International final – with a personal best time of 2:07:81.

Keep an eye on O’Callaghan, Stubblety-Cook and Strauch in the finals tomorrow that would hopefully put the Dolphins back to 2nd with three days left – even though it’s nearly impossible to catch up to their arch-rivals – Team USA.

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2022 World Swimming Championships, Day 3: Lani Pallister secures the only bronze for Australia with Mollie O’Callaghan & Madi Wilson both in the Women’s 200m Free Final tomorrow

by Sports Benches

The Dolphins Swim Team collected just the one medal once again this time in the bronze but they’re now been overtaken by Italy in 3rd on the medal tally with two gold, two silver & one bronze after Day 3 of the 2022 World Swimming Championships.

We began the evening with Elijah Winnington’s attempt to take home another gold medal in the Men’s 200m Freestyle Final, having already won the Men’s 400m Freestyle Final from the opening day. He had a brilliant lead-up there beforehand with 1st in the heats followed by 3rd in the semis. Although he started well in 3rd but he began to falter & just couldn’t bridge that fire he desperately needed towards the finish line down in 8th.

Then we look at the long-distance 1500m Freestyle Final with two fantastic youngsters in this race – Moesha Johnson & Lani Pallister. Now Pallister would’ve loved to have a close eye on the world’s greatest in Team USA’s Katie Ledecky side-by-side where she was too good ahead of everyone, before Katie Grimes eventually caught her brilliant 1st-half run for 2nd that sent Pallister down in 3rd.

It’s still a good swim though for Pallister after she collected the bronze medal ahead of Moesha Johnson who finished 4th which is a fantastic performance by two of our Aussie swimmers. There will be more opportunities to come when racing against the best of the best – especially with the Duel in the Pool event between Dolphins v Team USA coming up this August in Sydney. That way, they will benefit more competition from their arch-rivals before hopefully upsurging them in the process & create history of their own.

And speaking more about our talented swimmers, we have Madison Wilson and Mollie O’Callaghan lined up in the Women’s 200m Freestyle tomorrow morning Australian time. They finished Top 2 in the heats & semis for a start with O’Callaghan in 1st followed Wilson in P2 on their own respective races. They better be aware of Britain’s Freya Anderson if either O’Callaghan or Wilson can bring home the gold, as well as another Top 2 finish if possible tomorrow for the Dolphins.

#ElijahWinnington #MoeshaJohnson #LaniPallister #MollieOCallaghan #MadisonWilson #FINABudapest2022 #Swimming #Australia

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2022 World Swimming Championships: Kaylee McKeown collects just the silver for Australia in the 200m IM on Day 2; all eyes now on Elijah Winnington towards another gold tomorrow in the Men’s 200m Freestyle

by Sports Benches

The Dolphins may have taken just the one silver after Day 2 of the 2022 World Swimming Championships but they’re still in 2nd in the medal tally right now with two gold and two silver, even though they’re a few medals behind Team USA – who picked up three more gold & four bronze today.

Yes, it was hard to watch when Kaylee McKeown pulled out out the 100m backstroke which is one of her best races that helped her secure both Olympic gold medals last year in Tokyo. She could’ve also taken the risk to try & take home two gold medals – the 100m backstroke & 200m individual medley – all on the one day for Australia that would’ve put them just ahead of Team USA in the number of golds accrued on this medal tally.

However, it’s not something she‘s prepared for at this stage as McKeown wants to test out a variety of different formats on the road to the Paris 2024 Olympics, and then look to win as many gold medals as she can.

Nonetheless, she swam really well in the Women’s 200m individual medley final where it was a more challenging race than just the usual backstroke, as McKeown finished 2nd at 2:08:57 behind Alex Walsh (2:07:13).

We also saw some of our Dolphins in action who just couldn’t keep up the rest of the field either in the heats and/or finals; Zac Stubblety-Cook (P7 in Men’s 100m breastroke Final); Issac Alan Cooper (P6 in the Men’s 100m backstroke Semi-Final 1); Mitch Larkin (P7 in Men’s 100m backstroke Semi-Final 2); Brianna Throssell (P6 in the Women’s 100m Butterfly Final); And Jenna Stauch fell just short of the Top 3 bubble in P4 during semi final 1 of the Women’s 100m breaststroke – despite a brilliant start from the heats earlier in the day at P2.

There’s always the bright side though when it comes to 22-year-old Elijah Winnington after his heroics from Day 1 of the Men’s 400m freestyle final; he’s on the hunt towards another gold for the Men’s 200m Freestyle Final tomorrow on Day 3, having finished 3rd in Semi-Final 1 just a few hours ago.

#FINABudapest2022 #DolphinsSwimTeam #Australia #KayleeMcKeown #ElijahWinnington #SwimmingAustralia #JennaStauch #Swimming #DunaArena #Budapest

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Aussie Dolphins Swim Team off to a great start with two gold medals from the 4 x 100 freestyle women’s relay team & Elijah Winnington on Day 1 of the 2022 FINA Swimming World Championship

by Sports Benches

It’s been a great start for our Australian Dolphins Swim Team in 2nd right now behind Team USA following the opening day of this year’s FINA World Championships with the swimming at Duna Arena in Budapest, Hungary.

The women’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay team’s performance was simply outstanding throughout today in both heats (3:33:74) and finals (3:30:95) where they dominated the entire pool, even though they well just short of world record time (3:29: 69). They all did it without the Campbell sisters in Bronte and Kate – currently both taking time away from the pool, as well as Emma McKeon – who chose to focus solely on next month’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.

But again they have an amazing line-up of swimmers to assemble that can do the job without them, especially to Shayna Jack back in action after she recently finished serving her two-year doping ban. Brianna Throsell and Leah Neale also both filled in during the heats earlier on before the Dolphins threw in two amazing youngsters who smashed it in the final – Meg Harris & Mollie O’Callaghan. And Madison Wilson knows all about relay experience too well as any team-mate got the best out of her presence every time Wilson is competing poolside, having just picked up her 4th world championship gold medal that all comes from team finals swims.

Then we look at the men’s team where Eijah Winnington took out his first world championship gold medal in the 400 m freestyle final. What a breakthrough it has been by the 22-year-old who hails from the Gold Coast, with many more moments like this to come.

Speaking of 400m, how good was Kyle Chalmers in the freestyle relay – especially when his team-mates were out of the Top 3 for the majority until he jumped in & made a huge difference that helped them secure the silver in 2nd at 3:10:80 – just over a second behind the comfortable victors from USA (3:09:34).

We’re tied with them at two gold now in the medal tally going into Day 2 later tonight if you exclude the silver and bronze.

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An outlook of Nine’s Wide World of Sports’ return to swimming with the 2022 World Aquatics Championships beginning this Saturday in Budapest, Hungary

by Sports Benches

Swimming has returned to Nine’s Wide World of Sports for the first time since 2008 ahead of this year’s World Aquatics Championships beginning on Saturday night our time in Budapest, Hungary.

Although, they did show some swimming when Nine broadcasted the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Great Britain, a decade ago.

We first heard that rights capture back in January this year when Nine previewed their wide range of sports coverage content for 2022 while we watched the Summer of Tennis during the Australian Open warm-up tournaments.

This upcoming event was slated to take place late last month in Fukofuka, Japan, at the time; the place where Australia topped the medal charts during the 2001 World Championships just over two decades ago.

However, FINA postponed the Fukafoka hosting rights to next year a few weeks later before they called in Budapest as this year’s replacement host.

Nonetheless, Nine will still be covering it where they will put the swimming live on their free digital channels via 9Gem & 9Go that can be streamable on 9Now – while the other aquatic categories such as Open Water Swimming, Synchronised Swimming, Diving and Water Polo will also be a live & free streaming exclusive to 9Now.

We’ve gotta say that this is the perfect time right now to cheer them on when the Australian Dolphins Swim Team was simply outstanding at the Tokyo Olympics last year in 2nd behind the US with 9 gold, 3 silver & 9 bronze at a total of 21 medals.

They also bounced back also in 2nd just behind the all-dominant US champions three years ago when the last World Swimming Championships were held in Gwangju, South Korea; 5 gold, 9 silver and 5 bronze.

It will be interesting to see if the Dolphins can end Team USA’s long-running stranglehold up top over the next week, before the rest of the aquatic sports decide the overall result.

And shoutout to Ray Warren aka Rabs who just retired recently following a decorated 55-year career behind the mic.

He used to call some memorable moments there when Nine first covered swimming back in the 1990s to mid 2000s alongside his usual rugby league commentary up until his final game at the NRL Grand Final last year – including Susie O’Neill’s world record in the 200m butterfly at the 2000 Olympic trials.

It just won’t be the same without him as we will see a couple of new faces for studio coverage over the first week, as well as either using their own voices or just taking the world feed commentary.

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Swimming back on Nine with the FINA World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan this May alongside some UEFA Champions League soccer finals

by Sports Benches

I’ve just seen the 2022 Nine’s Wide World of Sports promo and it’s great to have swimming back on the network in a long time since 2008, although they did show a bit of that sport when they had the rights to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London a decade ago but this time it’s only the FINA World Swimming Championships that will be held in Fukuoka, Japan in mid-late May this year.

It’ll be interesting to see if they will go with the World Feed commentary or use their own voices but with Ray Warren, who was their last play-by-play voice for swimming during the 1990-2000s, also called the London Olympics there & now at age 78, I reckon Nine will only have a studio panel with world feed commentary for this event especially when Rabs prefers to call on-site & has a fear of flying as COVID is still impacting all of us for two years.

And thanks to their own paid streaming partner Stan Sport, who covered exclusive UEFA Champions League content so far this season in the first of a three-year deal, nice to see the soccer back on Nine/9Gem in simulcast with Stan ahead of this competition’s finals stage as the last time European Football aired on Free TV was back in 2017-18 with SBS.

Exciting times ahead this May for the typical sports fan fix in Australia on TV and streaming.

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How to protect your skin and hair from chlorine while swimming

by Admin

Written by Sarhay

Swimming is one of the best cardiovascular and muscular physical exercises that we can perform without fear of injuring our joints or other parts of the body.

If you are thinking of starting a swimming routine in a pool or you already do it, you must take into account its pros and cons.

Among its advantages is the benefit of health: It is a sport that exercises the whole body and increases your metabolism, which many calories per hour therefore helps to lose weight.

Image Reference: Jacob Lund via Shuttershock

Excellent for joints when floating, muscles do not have to support our weight. For that reason, it is recommended for people with arthritis, overweight or muscle aches.

Strengthens the immune system and reduces cases of flu and colds in winter.

Greatly reduces stress and anxiety. Strengthens the heart, reduces the risk of heart attacks as it is one of the best cardiovascular sports.

Image Reference: Cavan-Images via Shuttershock

However, besides being an excellent sport with numerous health benefits it has it’s disadvantage as well and one of them is because of chlorine. You must take care of your skin, since you are more prone to the appearance of fungi.

The pools are disinfected with chlorine and other chemicals so it can cause skin allergies such as dermatitis, and also irritate the mucous membranes mainly the eyes.

In addition to mycosis or fungi on your skin, many times after swimming, you will notice that your eyes become red and irritated, and your skin is left feeling dry. This happens more often when chlorine levels are not respected and that is why we must protect our eyes and skin. You should also know that a lot of chlorine damages our hair by drying it out.

But what is chlorine?

Chlorine is a chemical agent used to treat pool water, that in certain concentrations usually irritates the mucous membranes and the respiratory system.

According to the standard, the amount of chlorine that the water in a pool must have must be between 0.20 and 0.60 milligrams per liter (chlorine is perceived by smell when it contains 0.30 mg / l). If our pool has more chlorine than necessary, the first effect on our body is seen in the eyes, which red, then dry the nose, throat …

Image Reference: OneShutterOneMemory via Shuttershock

Tips to protect your skin from chlorine

The first is extremely important. Shower before entering in the pool. With this we get rid of certain bacteria that we can carry in sweat or even on bare feet. For example: When leaving the pool, back to the shower so that the tap water drags as much chlorine as possible from our hair and skin.

 2. When you get home as soon as possible bathe with soap to eliminate all the chlorine that may remain on the skin.

3. It’s time to recover the elasticity of the skin: use a moisturizer and apply it to your body and face.

4. The hair also suffers similar consequences, it dries out. That’s why it’s important to wear a bathing cap. In the shower, already at home, use conditioners I would recommend using argan or coconut oil that are very moisturizing after a day of swimming.

Equipment to protect you during swimming I recommend a swimmer’s cap and goggles. Wear sandals when getting out of the pool and walk around it.

Image Reference: Lilkin via Shuttershock

To avoid skin rashes after a pool session I recommend using calendula, aloe and green tea creams, then you should moisturize your skin with a good moisturizer. I recommend the Farmasi brand’s high quality skincare products that I use after swimming. They work very well in maintaining healthy hair and beautiful, clear, skin. 

Below is a link where the skincare products can be found: https://www.farmasius.com/SarhaySkaggs

Finally, I recommend swimming in a pool three times per week. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, allowing your mucous membranes, joints, skin and hair to recover on the non-swimming days.

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