Get your news fix on happenings outside the pool with the latest ‘Beyond the Lane Lines.’ With each edition, we collect personal stories, little known facts and general items of interest from athletes around the world in their non-aquatic habitats, helping us get to know them for more than just an event ranking or time on a board. Read on and learn something new this week.
#1 – You May Want to Forego Vitamin & Mineral Supplements
According to researchers from the University of Toronto and St. Michael’s Hospital, studies find that popular vitamins result in no significant advantage in the prevention of heart attack, stroke, cardiovascular disease or early death. After reviewing vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, C, D and E, the study conducted found that only B9, also known as folic acid, could potentially lower one’s risk of heart disease and stroke. Tests were also conducted on minerals carotene, calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium and selenium, with no health difference noted.
Additionally the study found that niacin and antioxidants were actually associated with a higher risk, albeit very small, of death by any case. “We were surprised to find so few positive effects of the most common supplements that people consume,” said lead author Dr. David Jenkins in a statement.
This supports past research that shows that vitamins taken through pills are delivered ‘out of context’ and are therefore less effective.
Simply relying on a healthy diet may be more effective as a means to digest one’s daily dose for vitamins and minerals.
#2 – Swimmer Undergos Experimental Amputation Surgery
20-year-old New Englander Morgan Stickney used to suffer marked foot pain due to a lingering swimming injury, but an experimental surgery took care of her chronic discomfort. Stickney elected to undergo an experimental leg amputation in Boston in order to alleviate her pain, making the swimmer just the 9th person in the world to undergo the operation.
“We saw a doctor and he said I had sesamoiditis, which is inflammation of the sesamoid bone,” distance freestyler Stickney said. “I was in excruciating pain all the time. My foot was never a normal color.”
Of the procedure, Dr. Matthew Carty of Brigham and Women’s Hospital said, “In a simplistic sense, we create a smarter limb.”
At a high-level the surgery involved amputating the leg under the knee in a ‘modified way to retain muscle function.’ “Once she is fully healed, once we ask Morgan to move her phantom ankle, we will literally see these muscles moving back and forth,” Carty said. The outcome should enable Stickney to ‘better use a prosthetic.’
#3 – Cameron Brodie Takes On New Role
Commonwealth Games finalist Cameron Brodie may have hung up his goggles, but he’s not too far away from the pool he’s called home for so many years. 25-year-old Brodie has been named ‘Swimming Coordinator’ at the University of Stirling, putting the butterfly specialist’s BA in Sports Studies and Masters Degree in Sports Management to good use.
Of the opportunity to pass on knowledge, Brodie says, “Ex Swimmers have a brilliant understanding of swimming. We know the fundamentals. With that in mind it’s not all about the big kids who can bash their way across a width, but rather the ones who are smaller and maybe take a little longer to get across but do it with total concentration.
“That’s what Duncan Scott was like. And when I’m doing some teaching, I’m incredibly excited by what I see in my lessons. I see kids who love to be in the water, and that’s the main thing.”
#4 – Scotland’s North Ayrshire Launches Symbolic New Logo
Scotland’s North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club has been renamed simply North Ayrshire Swimming and the club has a new logo to go along with the streamlined name. Head coach, former GB internationalist Ross Douglas, comments that the club’s new branding “is going to give the whole club a new lease of life.
“It’s clean, it’s modern, and it’s eye catching. When I saw the kids in the caps for the first time at the photo shoot ahead of the relaunch I thought ‘yeah, this is it!’.
High-profile British Olympians have also taken note of the new logo, as world record holder Adam Peaty commented on Twitter, “Nice one guys.” 2012 silver medalist Michael Jamieson said, “Proud of the guys at North Ayrshire. The rebrand is another step in the exciting progress the club has made under Ross and team.”
The new North Ayrshire Swimming brand was created by the Glasgow digital media agency Mucky Puddle. MD ‘s Craig Miller has a unique connection to Ayrshire, commenting, “I was delighted to have the opportunity to rebrand North Ayrshire Amateur Swimming Club, not least because it was a big part of my life.
“I competed with the club between 1989 and 1995 when it was still known as the Cunningham District ASC, and I continued swimming while I was studying at Strathclyde University. So being involved in creating the new North Ayrshire Swimming brand feels like coming full-circle.”
“At Mucky Puddle we believe that brand is much more than image, it is also about how people feel about it, embodying the values that the organisation holds.
“I also value the importance of swimming as a life skill, supporting good health and creating friendships.I now look forward to my children having the same opportunities, taking part in a well organised and vibrant swimming club.”
The new look is the first stage of the rebranding project which will see a new all-new North Ayrshire Swimming website launched in the summer.
#5 – Adam Peaty Gets Town Hall Suite
World record holder Adam Peaty has been uniquely honored by his home town of Uttoxeter, as the Town Hall introduced its new ‘Adam Peaty Suite.’ Officially opened by his parents Mark and Caroline earlier this month, the in-house bar at the High Street civic building is a nod to Peaty’s helping put the city on the map with his Olympic and World Championships feats.
Town mayor Alison Trenery said, “It was a delight to welcome Adam’s parents Mark and Caroline to cut the ribbon and open the suite, which is named in his honour to form a lasting tribute to his amazing achievements in the pool.
Regarding the vitamin/mineral supplements report: You expect me to believe something reported by the official press agency of the People’s Republic of China? Nope. Not gonna happen. Additionally, nowhere on this page or the Xinhua page is a link to the actual study. Is it a meta-analysis? A double-blind, randomized study (not likely)? A self-reported study (very unreliable)? Were the vitamins synthetic (probably) or natural? How long were the study participants followed? Who funded the study (probably Big Pharma or Big Food). You get the idea.