Budapest 2017 world champions, from Italy, Manila Flamini and Giorgio Minisini, won another gold medal at the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series, in the Mixed Duet Technical, this time at the 9th leg of the circuit, taking place in Syros (GRE).
In the final that concluded the second day of the event, the pair from Italy performed a striking programme, scored 88.4095 points, managed to climb to the highest march of the podium, and successfully continued their preparation for the European championships where, as they said, they are targeting gold.
The silver medal went to the Japanese stars Atsushi Abe and Yumi Adachi, concluding in 86.5930, while Spain’s Berta Ferreras and Pau Ribes (81.4541) took bronze.
The team of Mexico
The gold medal in the Team Free Routine was earned by the Mexicans, as in the Technical Routine on Friday (87.3667). Silver was bagged by France with 85.3000 and Greece took bronze (84.8667).
Mexico, reaching the five gold medals in the event, was again the strongest nation in the Solo Free Routine, with Nuria Diosdado Garcia triumphing in 84.6333. “We are very happy to be here in beautiful Syros and we are having these important duels against France and Greece, with which we always have strong competition”, Diosdado said.
Eve Planeix from France (84.3000) took the silver medal. The bronze medal went to junior Hellenic star Anna Maria Taxopoulou, with a score of 82.1000.
The show, however, was stolen by legendary 39-year-old American Bill May (the man who fought, like no one else, to get men into Artistic Swimming). He chose to swim in Solo Free Routine with the colours of his club, Santa Clara, and was unofficially first – 89.2000 points by the judges. “Everything is perfect. I am very happy with the way the public welcomed me, but also with the beauty of Syros and Greece in general”.
Highlight Routine podium
The French National Team was the most impressive in the Highlight Routine, the final that had opened the second day of competition. France got 84.000 points, comfortably getting the lead. The silver went to the girls of Uzbekistan (75,6333).
The detailed results can be found also on the link:
Rebecca Meder (Sascoc)
Martin Binedell claimed his second medal of the Mare Nostrum Monaco leg as the final day came to a close today, Sunday, 17th June 2018.
Binedell’s time of 2:08.31 secured him the second place on the medal podium behind Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov, who claimed the gold in 2:00.24 and ahead of Hong Kong’s Yau Ming Cheung who walked away with the bronze in 2:08.99.
Chase Rayment finished 8th in 2:15.39.
Rebecca Meder was over the moon with her bronze medal performance in the 400m freestyle, clocking 4:17.34 behind China’s Wenxin Bi in 4:12.41 and Hong Kong’s Nam Wai Ho in 4:16.35.
Meder also concluded the 200m individual medley in fourth place in 2:18.63, while Alaric Basson ended the 100m breaststroke in 7th position with a time of 1:02.55.
Kerryn Herbst and Olivia Nel finished the 100m backstroke B Finals in 5th and 6th place in 1:05.72 and 1:05.87, while Aimee Canny and Lindsay Mcleod ended 3rd and 7th in the 100m freestyle B Finals in 58.18 and 58.92, respectively.
In the B Finals of the 200m freestyle, Matthew Bosch finished in 6th place with a time of 1:54.40.
The South African swimming team will now move to Italy for the Treviso Swim Cup, which will take place on 22nd and 23rd June 2018.
Supplied by Swimming South Africa
Binedell amongst the medals in Monaco
Martin Binedell of South Africa in the heats of the mens 4x100m medley relay during day 17 of the FINA World Championships at Duna Arena on July 30, 2017 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Roger Sedres/ImageSA/Gallo Images)
The young and talented South African swimming team showcased their incredible passion for the sport during the final leg of the 39th annual Mare Nostrum Series at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco, today, Saturday, 16th June 2018.
It was bronze for Martin Binedell in the 100m backstroke, clocking 56.83 behind Russia’s Nikita Ulyanov in 56.80 and Austria’s Bernhard Reistshammer in 56.62, while Chase Rayment concluded the B Finals in fourth place in 59.56.
Binedell also managed a 4th place finish in the 50m backstroke in 26.74, ahead of Rayment in 7th place with a time of 28.12.
Rebecca Meder Women 1500 LC Meter Freestyle during the 2017 South Africa National Aquatic Championships at the Kings Park Aquatic Centre, South Africa on 05 April 2017 ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
Rebecca Meder just missed out on a medal in the 400m individual medley when she finished 4th in 4:49.69 and later on concluded the 200m freestyle in 5th place with a time of 2:04.32, while in the freestyle B Finals, Lindsay Mcleod finished fifth in 2:08.12.
Megan Tully was 8th in the 200m backstroke in 2:21.54.
In the B Finals of the 200m breaststroke, Alaric Basson came in first with a time of 2:16.56, and concluded the evening with a fourth place in the B Finals of the 50m breaststroke in 28.50.
In the 100m butterfly B Finals, Khwezi Duma swam to a 6th position in 1:04.95 and finished the 50m butterfly B Finals in 8th place in 29.45, behind Olivia Nel in 29.12 and Kerryn Herbst in 29.23.
Nel and Herbst also took to the water in the 50m backstroke B Final and finished 6th and 7th in 30.06 and 30.87, respectively, while Nel participated in the B Finals of the 50m freestyle and touched the wall in 8th place in 27.68 behind Aimee Canny in 5th place in 26.77.
The Mare Nostrum Series concludes tomorrow, after which the South African swimming team will move to Italy for the Treviso Swim Cup on 22nd and 23rd June 2018.
Supplied by Swimming South Africa
The first ever JBay Cold Water Classic was held at Marina Martinique in 12.5 degree water. (Dirk Erasmus)
SPEEDO . . . GOGGLES . . . SWIM CAP . . .
Don your winter woollies this July and join top South African and local open water swimmers for the sixth annual Cold Water Swim Classic at Marina Martinique in Jeffreys Bay at 09:30 on July 8.
Presented by Nicholas Melck, the icy swim has become one of the core events on the JBay Winterfest calendar. With water temperatures ranging from 11 degrees Celsius to a warm 14 degrees Celsius, this extreme event is the only recognised cold water swim in the Eastern Cape.
Swimmers competing in the Mile or Double Mile event can either wear a wetsuit or compete according to channel rules and wear only a speedo type costume, goggles and a swim cap.
Those taking to the water in the Mile, must be 9 years and older, while those competing in the Double Mile event must be 12 years and older.
Those competing in the Triple Mile event, which is an official qualifying swim for the notorious Robben Island Crossing, are only allowed to wear a speedo.
To qualify to compete, swimmers must be 14 years and older.
Marina Martinique is known as one of the best open water swim venues in the world. The venue is also home to the South African Open Water Swim Champs.
Swimmers can enter online atwww.zsports.co.za/coldwaterclassic. Late entries will be accepted on the day of the event.
Kouga Express
SA swimming champ Chad le Clos with his father, Bert. (IOL)
Olympic gold medal swimmer Chad le Clos has nothing but praise for his dad, Bert – describing him as his “plus-one”.
“I enjoy spending time with my dad. Time with him is priceless, he’s my best friend and we do everything together,” said Le Clos, who is in Italy for the 2018 Circuito Nuoto Italia. Despite not being home this year for Father’s Day tomorrow, Le Clos said his family would certainly make plans to spoil his dad.
“He taught me to never give up, that no matter how far you are behind, to always finish your best, as it could mean the difference between victory and defeat,” said Le Clos.
Some of the best times with his dad, he said, were spent over Christmas time.
“He would always come home early on December 24, and start making a huge pot of curry or stew or soup and put them into mini containers. He would then take some R20 notes as well and we would drive around Durban and hand out the food and money to those in need. He has done this for 28 years now, whether he has money or not, it’s very special for us,” said Le Clos.
He said his dad had sacrificed a lot of time to support him.
“I always appreciate his guidance and wisdom. He is always so full of energy, and he’s my best friend,” he said.
Ana Marcela Cunha (Fina)
Germany’s Florian Wellbrock touched home first today (Saturday June 16) in Balatonfured (HUN) on the occasion of the fourth leg of the FINA/HOSA Marathon Swim World Series 2018.
The German clocked a time of 1h55m40s02 this morning and was followed by Olympic champion and Doha World Series winner Ferry Weertman of the Netherlands. The latter took silver, touching home in 1h55m57s0, after ranking fourth last weekend in Setubal (POR) and in the Seychelles on May 20. France’s Axel Reymond closed the podium four seconds later in 1h55m59s1.
In the women’s Series the competition was tough, but Brazilian star Ana Marcela Cunha showed great form and clinched gold in 2h05m53s1. Cunha ranked seventh in Portugal last weekend, took silverin the Seychelles and was fourth in the Series’s inaugural leg.
Kazan and Barcelona World champion (in the 5K event) and Setubal’s winner Haley Anderson bagged the silver medal today in 2h05m53s4, while 2016 overall Series winner Rachele Bruni of Italy stole the bronze in 2h05m54s7.
You can read a detailed news report about the race inBalatonfured here(available in the afternoon).
The 2018 circuit will next stop in Lac St Jean, Canada, on July 26 for the fifth of nine meets. Today’s races can be watched on-demand on FINAtv.
Medallists in Balatonfured (FULL RESULTS)
MEN
1.Florian Wellbrock (GER) 1h55m40s02; 2. Ferry Weertman (NED) 1h55m57s0; 3. Axel Reymond (FRA) 1h55m59s1
WOMEN
1. Ana Marcela Cunha (BRA) 2h05m53s1; 2.Haley Anderson (USA) 2h05m53s4; 3. Rachele Bruni (ITA) 2h05m54s7
Calendar 2018
#1 – Doha (QAT) – March 17
#2 – Seychelles (SEY) – May 20
#3 – Setubal (POR) – June 9
#4 – Balatonfured (HUN) – June 16
#5 – Lac St Jean (CAN) – July 26
#6 – Lac Megantic (CAN) – August 11
#7 – Chun’An (CHN) – September 16
#8 – Taiwan (TPE) – September 22
#9 – Abu Dhabi (UAE) – November 24
Mexican athletes were the protagonists on the first day of the international “Hellas Beetles”, the 9th leg of the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series, at the Syros Swimming Pool, a beautiful island in Greece, in the centre of the Aegean Sea. The competition is taking place from June 15-17, 2018.
Mexicans girls won the gold medals in all three events of the day, namely in the Technical routines of the Duet, Solo and Team finals, although the Greek team was considered to be the favourite one for the win. However, Hellenic’s best athlete, Evangelia Platanioti, could not attend as she underwent an operation to solve an appendicitis.
In the first event of the programme, the Technical Duet, Karem Achach Ramirez and Nuria Diosdado Garcia from Mexico performed a beautiful routine and came first, scoring 83.6027 points.
The silver medal went to France with twins Charlotte Tremble and Laura Tremble getting 81.9575 points from the judges.
The bronze was earned by the young Greek athletes Anna Maria Taxopoulou and Georgia Vasilopoulou, who are members of the National Junior Team of Greece and will represent their country in the World Championships of the category. They scored 78.4383.
Bronze medallist Duet from Greece – Photo Solaris
Another French duet – Maureen Jenkins and Eve Planeix – scored better than the Greek duet (81.6529) and was third in the rankings, but according to the regulations, only one Duet per country can count into the official standings.
25-year-old Mexican Joana Jimenez Garcia won her first gold medal in the FINA World Series on the second event of the day, the Technical Solo with 82.9070 points. She was obviously thrilled with the result: “I’m very happy for this gold. Our preparation is focused on the Central American Games, to be held in Colombia. Our training is very hard – we are swimming a lot of hours, about 9-10 hours a day”.
French Maureen Jenkins got the silver medal with 80.2932: “We did the Duet, we came third, but we have the right to have only one duet in the ranking, but I’m glad for the Solo silver. Our next big goal is the European championship in Glasgow and I hope we are going to do the Duet. I will be there in the Solo too. So it’s going to be a very big competition for us, which is also very important for the Olympic Games that are coming. I love Syros and Greece”.
Anna Maria Taxoxoulou, from the host country, was very happy as she climbed on the third step of the podium with 79.0282. She won three medals during the day (besides the bronze in Duet and Solo she was in the group winning silver in the Technical Team): “We did it very well and I hope we will be ready for the Junior World Championships. Our programmes are improving and I hope our efforts will be rewarded”.
The Mexicans also grabbed the gold medal in the Technical Team with 83.9287 points. For the joy of its supporters, Greece won silver with a score of 81.9300 and France got the bronze with 81.4165.
Team’s event podium – Photo Solaris
The Opening Ceremony of the event was quite impressive with the lighting of the altar by the high priestess with a torch. It was performed in accordance with the Olympic ideal, as the Municipal swimming pool of Syros is named after “Dimitrios Vikelas”, the man who revived the Olympic Games and was the first IOC President.
Fiddes tops world series table
Louise Fiddes (Twitter)
Louise Fiddes has topped the standings in the World Para SwimmingWorld Series for the best performing female swimmer.
The 17-year-old took the title with 4,041 points across the series that incorporated legs in Italy, Sheffield and Berlin.
Canadian three-time Paralympic champion Aurelie Rivard (3,956) finished second and Netherlands’ Rio 2016 bronze medallist Chantalle Zijderveld (3,952) third.
She said: “It is shocking. There are so many athletes that are better than me. I did not expect all this to happen so quickly. I expected to come top 10 but not to win.”
Fiddes also won the junior title ahead of Zijderveld and Italy’s five-time world champion Carlotta Gilli (3,924).
The National Paralympic Committees’ title was awarded to Great Britain (15,742) who won the honour for a second year running. Netherlands (15,345) and Brazil (15,343) completed the podium.
British Para-Swimming’s National Performance Director, Chris Furber said: “We have seen some exceptional performances from our swimmer so far this year – facing difficult competition and many having to deliver performances around classification reviews.
“For Britain to top the world series rankings for a second year is not only a reflection of the hard work put in by our athletes, but also by the world class coaches and support staff we have in place.
“Louise has put in some great performances this year, taking two seconds off her PB in the 100m breaststroke in Sheffield, and earning three qualification standards for the European championships.
“With Dublin 2018 around the corner I am sure we will see more from Louise and all our other athletes.”
Daniel Dias from Brazil, and their most decorated Paralympian, successfully defended the men’s individual series title.
The scores for the overall rankings are calculated by adding up the swimmers’ two best point scores achieved in two different World Series events.
So you train 5, 6 or 7 times per week, maybe more? You make sure your body is in peak condition. You eat well and you go to the gym. You invest your time; money and effort into your quest to stand on top of the podium .You want to be a champion. That’s fantastic.
But how often do you train your mind?
Here is a question for you. Would you be able to use your smartphone or computer effectively if you never updated the software? You would agree that the answer is no. So for what reason are you running current hardware (your body) on out-dated software (your mind)? Your body and mind both have performance requirements and continuously need to be upgraded.
Coaches and athletes spend countless hours to gain physical ascendancy or to master a skill with the intention of having the ability to perform on the big day (I could never understand why it was expected to swim thousands of metres every day if my event never lasted longer than a minute- anyways that’s a slightly different debate).The big day comes and you lose focus. You “choke” and all the hours you put into developing your body is irrelevant because your mind was not conditioned to deal with the pressures of performance? It`s heart-breaking isn`t it? But it happens to us all. The sad reality is that when athletes and coaches go back to the drawing board the solution is often overlooked in favour of doing more physical training- what was Albert Einstein`s definition of insanity again? I have been that athlete. I have been that coach.
Imagine training your most powerful asset to unlock your full potential? Picture what could be achieved if we were able to unravel the powers of our minds and effectively utilize all the hours of bodily preparation? Can you hear that little voice in your head telling you about what you can accomplish? How wonderful realising your goals will feel?
Let’s track back a bit first. After a promising swimming career ended without reaching its full potential and left more frustration and disappointment, and with more questions than answers, I found myself next to the pool; coaching. I had completed my studies in sport science and had a strong passion for helping athletes achieve. I wanted to prevent them from going through the same hardships I went through. I wanted to shield them from the limitations that were present when I competed. So I would dedicate my professional life to find the best scientific ways to train the body. I would research tried and testing methods as well as seek new inventive ways of getting the athletes “hardware” to perform optimally. These passions lead to consuming and systemizing knowledge and implementing it into my programs for my athletes and it worked! After a few years I had the privilege of coaching swimmers to national honours, representation on national teams and had represented my country as a coach. The highlight was undoubtedly coaching Cameron Van Der Burgh to his gold medal at the World Championships.
But for every tale of success and achievement there is a back-story and for every victory there is defeat. For every champion there are thousands if not millions that never make it. There are countless people that don’t reach their potential (in all fields, not only sport). Not everyone will be Olympic champion or owner of massive corporation, and that is ok, not everyone is meant to be but the true tragedy is never living up to your unique potential.
Lesson number 1: Defeat is not synonymous with failure, and there is no such thing as failure, only feedback.
Sometimes the feedback hits pretty hard. Sometimes the feedback reveals some inconvenient truths. Sometimes feedback requires some pretty in depth soul searching.
What feedback did I get from my performance? What requires the most immediate attention? If you I am already investing huge effort and many hours a week the answer is probably not more of the same! What do I need to do differently to change the outcome of my performance? What is missing?
Have you ever wondered what makes world champions and successful people thrive? Are there commonalities between various achievers? What do prosperous business people do differently? How amazing could my life be if I could just have what they have? Or know what they know. Well, what’s stopping you from knowing? What would you need to continue doing or do more of to ensure that you don`t succeed? Think about that for a minute. If you had to teach someone how to be depressed or be unsuccessful, what would you say or do? Or to demonstrate to someone how to perform poorly, what would you show them? What would someone need to hear from you to duplicate your results? Sounds weird right? But if you are the expert in being unproductive you should be a master at teaching others to be the same? Those that say they can and those that say they can`t are both right. There is a flip side to that coin that I will reveal if you read on, but first the feedback I gained from my performance as a coach was that more often than not, the major limiting factor was a mental block, not some missing technique or physical factor. You cannot out-train a weak mind! What a bitter pill that was to swallow. So how do I as a coach live up to my ideals to help people perform to their fullest? I needed to update my software. So I did my due diligence and invested in myself. I furthered my studies and became qualified in Neuro Linguistic Programming.
Lesson number 2: If you can identify the strategy and the structure of human achievement, victory and brilliance, you can reproduce it and you can learn to accomplish anything.
Can you imagine teaching someone to perform poorly? You would tell them something like,” well first you need to walk around with your shoulders slouched and head down, never looking anyone in the eyes. You should never believe in yourself and absolutely believe that whatever can go wrong, most definitely will. Think about all the stuff that you did not prepare for and all the times you did it wrong. You should feel fear, sadness and confusion with everything that you do and feel how it totally overwhelms you. You should submit and believe that you deserve to suck and that no matter what you will always be a loser.” Totally ridiculous right? But what if there was a way to turn this around? What if you could be move from being the teacher of failure to the student of success? What if you could unlock the secrets of people that perform?
Lesson number 3: Your body and your mind are part of the same cellular system and they operate in a cybernetic loop and those that are able to adapt and be flexible will rule the system. Thus the body and mind must be programmed and conditioned concurrently.
If something is not working or isn’t producing the result you seek, will you keep doing the same thing? I learned so much from working with Cameron. He is a master at being able to switch on at will. But the real value lies in also being able to switch off. Can you imagine how quickly your phone`s battery would deplete if the screen was on all the time, and you were running all the apps at the at once? Being able to step up and take the opportunity when it comes is to do exactly that. Step up, meaning rise to the occasion when it comes. It doesn’t help if you are always “switched on” your battery reserves will run out way before the opportunity ever presents itself. So yes, by all means prepare for the opportunity, but know when to be flexible and adaptable and when to give other aspects of your life attention.
So what advice would I have for the younger version of me? Well, definitely the three lessons above and many others that I will expand on in the future. But would I actually want to go back and offer that advice? The answer is no, because otherwise I would not be able give this feedback. I would not be able to give you this story. I would not have been forced to adapt and be flexible and learn these lessons.
What feedback are you getting from your performance in your work, academics, sport, relationships and life in general? What strategies are you implementing now to stack the odds for success in your favour? Are you able to read the signs around you and adapt to what is required?
What if we could show you how to elicit your plan? What if we could tell you how to listen for feedback and adapt at will? What if you could learn and understand how to program your body and mind instantaneously? Would you be interested in becoming a student of success? Or do prefer being the master of disappointment?
Contact us now: emile@meta4mance.co.za
Website: www.meta4mance.co.za
About Meta4mance Coaching
Combining the principles learned from coaching Olympic and world class athletes with sport science, business management, Neuro-Linguistic Programming and life coaching, the foundations of Meta4mance coaching is rooted in helping people improve their performance by looking at clients lives from an holistic viewpoint.
Meta4mance is about “The Metamorphosis into Performance” through:
- Putting the person first (the person’s needs from a physical and mental/emotional perspective)
- Using the correct tools ( in our case, sport and fitness training and Neuro Linguistic Programming/ NLP)
- And changing and empowering the key role players and environment (coaching coaches, teachers, social workers, parents etc.)
Meta4mance has a proven methodology and track record of helping people produce the results they aspire to.
Supplied
Daniel Dias (Luc Percival Photography)
Daniel Dias successfully defended the men’s individual World Para Swimming World Series title, while Louise Fiddes ended top of the women’s standings following the circuit’s last event in Berlin, Germany.
The scores for the overall rankings are calculated by adding up the swimmers’ two best point scores achieved in two different World Series events.
Brazil’s most decorated Paralympian achieved his two best scores in Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy, and Sheffield, Great Britain to finish with a total of 4,111 points.
“It was a nice surprise to see that I won,” said Dias. “More countries participated at this year’s World Series. It was great to see this level of involvement, which made the battle for the title fiercer. I am extremely happy with this result.”
It was a Latin American podium as Colombian Rio 2016 champion Carlos Serrano finished second with 4,104 points and Chile’s Alberto Abarza third with 4,080.
The latter still celebrated as he defended the men’s S/SB 1-3 High Support Needs title. He was followed by Mexico’s world champion Diego Lopez (3,479) and USA’s Curtis Lovejoy (2,181).
US swimmer Lawrence Sapp (3,615) took top spot among the juniors. Iceland’s Robert Isak Jonsson (3,608) and Hong Kong’s Ka Chun Hui (3,571) collected silver and bronze respectively.
Teenage talent tops women’s standings
Great Britain’s Fiddes has confirmed she is one of the rising stars on the international scene by taking the women’s title with 4,041 points. The 17-year-old shone in Sheffield and Berlin.
“So proud; I cannot believe I won,” Fiddes said. “It is shocking. There are so many athletes that are better than me. I did not expect all this to happen so quickly. I expected to come top 10 but not to win.”
Canadian three-time Paralympic champion Aurelie Rivard (3,956) ended second and Netherlands’ Rio 2016 bronze medallist Chantalle Zijderveld (3,952) third.
Fiddes also won the junior title ahead of Zijderveld and Italy’s five-time world champion Carlotta Gilli (3,924).
Singapore’s only Paralympic gold medallist Yip Pin Xiu (3,669) won the women’s S/SB 1-3 High Support Needs title. Brazil’s Edenia Garcia (3,461) came in second and USA’s Leanne Smith (2,523) third.
Team success for Great Britain
The National Paralympic Committees’ title was awarded to Great Britain (15,742). Netherlands (15,345) and Brazil (15,343) completed the podium.
Full rankings are available on World Para Swimming’s website.
