Streamlined News

PHOENIX, Arizona, September 26. SUN Yang continued his amazing run at the Chinese long course nationals on Sunday, swimming a 14:45.78 in the 1500 free to give himself the three of the five fastest mile swims of 2011.

Yesterday’s swim is the fifth-fastest of 2011, just behind the silver- and bronze-medal times from worlds posted by Ryan Cochrane and Gergo Kis. Sun will finish 2011 with the world’s fastest swimmer in the 400 free and 1500 free, and the fifth-fastest in the 200 free.

While Sun Yang was celebrating his fast swims in China yesterday, Diana Nyad was ending her third quest to swim from Havana to Florida. Nyad stopped her swim at 11 a.m. Eastern yesterday, about 40 miles short of reaching the Florida coast, after suffering numerous jellyfish and man-of-war stings. She stopped her swim on Saturday night to receive treatment, then resumed her swim shortly thereafter. Her doctors said any more stings could cause major physical damage, and Nyad was pulled out of the water on Sunday morning. After the swim, Nyad left the door open for another try, but told The Associated Press later that “It’s such a bitter pill. I am so capable of that swim. That’s the end, though.” If completed, Nyad would have held the world record for the longest open-water swim.

Staying with open water news, Thomas Lurz and Emily Brunemann won the sixth leg of the FINA marathon swimming world cup on Sunday in China. For Lurz, it was the second win in this world cup series and helped secure his spot atop the series rankings. Lurz had some tough competition from two Chinese swimmers, each of whom finished less than five seconds behind him. Brunemann also had a tough swim to earn her first win of the series, hitting the finish pad just three tenths ahead of Germany’s Angela Maurer, who stands at the top of the women’s rankings. The final race of the 10K series will take place in Hong Kong next Sunday.

Geoff Huegill is one of the great comeback stories in swimming, losing weight and winning international titles in his early 30s after about five years out of the pool. But during his retirement from 2005 to 2007, Huegill struggled with more than weight gain. He battled drug addiction and thoughts of suicide, according to an interview with the Sunday Telegraph to promote his new book. Huegill said he battled depressive thoughts with binge eating and drinking, as well as partying into the early morning hours. With no purpose in life during his retirement, Huegill said his life spiraled out of control. He found a way out when he met his future wife Sara in 2007. Huegill’s new book is called “Be Your Best.”

Watch today’s episode of Streamlined News.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use