Swimming | featured news

Strong currents early on Sunday defeated marathon swimmer Penny Palfrey in her attempt to complete a record-breaking 103-mile swim from Cuba to the United States without a shark cage. Palfrey, a 49-year-old grandmother, was plucked from the waters of the Florida Straits at about midnight after setting out from Havana on Friday and swimming for more than 40 hours, her team told NBC News.

Peeing while swimming in a lake may not just be taboo -- it could also be lethal, for the fish. At least that's what a group of anglers contend, blaming swimmers for the 500 dead fish that have turned up in a picturesque German lake near Hamburg, The Local reported.

The new rule means many public pools can no longer rely on drain covers alone to prevent children from drowning or being injured.

Endurance athlete Diana Nyad ended her swimming ultramarathon from Cuba to Florida on Sunday after medics warned another painful sting from a Portuguese Man o' War could be life threatening, Nyad team members said.

The marathon swimmer spent 29 hours in the water, battling asthma, shoulder pain and ocean swells.

Competitors dive into the water at the start of the Hy-Vee Triathlon on Sunday, June 13, 2010, in West Des Moines, Iowa. On Sunday during the Nautica New York City Triathlon, two competitors experienced problems during the swim phase of the race, and later died.

Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad stroked through the Florida Straits early Monday, trying to accomplish at 61 years old what she failed to do at 28: swim more than 100 miles from Havana to Key West. If she makes it to the Florida Keys after an estimated 60-hour swim, Nyad would become the first person to traverse the strait without the aid of a shark cage, relying instead on technology and divers to fend off the finned predators.

Missy Franklin skipped a few steps. A talented 16-year-old with high school swim meets, chemistry and proms in her future, Franklin figured to turn some heads at these swimming world championships. Get her name out there. But she hasn’t merely shown she belongs. She’s gone straight from just-happy-to-be-here to burgeoning superstar.

Ryan Lochte has set the first world record since high-tech body suits were banned in swimming, breaking his own mark in winning the 200-meter individual medley at the world championships.

There was no stopping Michael Phelps this time. The same goes for Federica Pellegrini.