to move up and down
This is how every Monday should begin: Competitors, one dressed as The Hulk, get ready to take part in the UK Cold Water Swimming Championships at Tooting Bec Lido on Saturday in London, England. Open to all comers the Championships involve swimmers of all ages and abilities. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
In September, six members of the Canadian synchronized swimming team that finished fourth at the London Olympics announced their retirement. One of them, Tracy Little, a two-time Olympian, moved almost immediately into a new career: Pole dancing.
The 26-year-old from Pointe-Claire, Que., ended her two decades in the pool to become marketing and communications manager for Milan Pole Dance, based in Montreal. The company explains itself on its website: “Just some years ago, sexy pole dancing was associated with strippers. Now, it is a combination of dance and acrobatics for anybody looking for excitement as well as health benefits.”
Little, a member of the synchro team that claimed gold at the Pan American Games in Mexico last year, discussed her move, her motives and her new career in an interview with the National Post:
Another amazing photo from the Paralympics: China’s He Junquan bites on a towel to aid his start in the men’s 50m Backstroke S5 race at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park. The S5 category is for swimmers with major limb loss of two limbs or with full use of their arms and hands but no trunk or leg muscles; swimmers with moderate coordination problems.
The Games come out swinging Saturday with a heavyweight bout in the pool as current Olympic champion Michael Phelps battles time and hungry countryman Ryan Lochte. Who will land the knockout blow? View our breakdown of Phelps vs. Lochte.
PAN AMS: Brazil’s swimmer Thiago Pereira holds his Pan-American medals during a media conference in Sao Paulo. Pereira was crowned king of the Pan-American pool after won seven medals, five gold, one silver and one bronze. Photo: REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker
