Trunking On Land With Thames Tummy In The Water
When a sport grows, new terms and phrases are born. Some catch on and others flame out. Open water swimming is seeing this phenomena. From new words in the late 20th century such as GPS and gel packs to feeding sticks and transponders, the plethora of new words is a natural development of the sport.
Due to David Walliams‘ Sport Relief Challenge, The Daily News of Open Water Swimming became aware of two terms used in England: trunking and Thames Tummy.
Trunking is reportedly used to describe posing on land as if swimming. The trend, as reported in the British media (circa September 2011), caught on as a way of showing support for David Walliams who attempted to swim 140 miles down the Thames on his Sport Relief Challenge.
Thames Tummy is used to describe an illness caused by bacteria due to swallowing water while swimming in the Thames in England. The stomach virus causes high body temperatures, vomiting and diarrhea after a swimmer swallows water with certain bacteria or E. Coli.
The Open Water Swimming Dictionary, first started in 2007, is a compilation of these words, phrases, definitions, etymologies, synonyms and examples of numerous terms used in the sport of open water swimming.
Copyright © 2011 by World Open Water Swimming Association
Southern California native, born 1962, is the creator of the WOWSA Awards, Oceans Seven, Openwaterpedia, Citrus Corps, World Open Water Swimming Association, Daily News of Open Water Swimming, Global Open Water Swimming Conference. He is Chief Executive Officer of KAATSU Global and KAATSU Research Institute. Inductee in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Swimmer, Class of 2001) and Ice Swimming Hall of Fame (Honor Contributor - Media, Class of 2019), recipient of the International Swimming Hall of Fame's Poseidon Award (2016), International Swimming Hall of Fame's Irving Davids-Captain Roger Wheeler Memorial Award (2010), USA Swimming's Glen S. Hummer Award (2007, 2010) and Harvard University's John B. Imrie Award (1984). Served on the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee and as Technical Delegate with the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, and 9-time USA Swimming coaching staff. Note: WOWSA only recommends products or services used or recommended by the community. WOWSA does not receive compensation for links or products mentioned on this site or in blog posts. If it does, it will be indicated clearly on that specific post. See WOWSA's privacy policy for more information.
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