The SwimSwam Podcast

SwimSwam sat down with 26x NCAA All-American Izzy Ivey, who recently announced her transfer to the University of Florida for her final (5th) year of eligibility. She takes us through the last 9 months of her swimming career, from taking an extended hiatus from the pool after NCAAs (and again after Teri McKeever was suspended from the Cal team for allegations of abuse) to training with Dave Durden and ultimately deciding to move to Gainesville. On the matter of Teri McKeever, Ivey says that she had a good relationship with McKeever and was shocked to find out about the allegations against her. However, Ivey was also surprised to find out that her former teammates had had such traumatic experiences with McKeever.

SwimSwam sat down with 2020 Olympian Zach Harting, who was a last-minute addition to the US roster for the 2022 world short course championships in the 200 fly after it was revealed that Carson Foster was ineligible for the event. Harting was tapering anyway for the US Open, where he neared his PB in the 100 fly (51.9 in prelims) and took 2nd place in the 200 fly (1:57) behind his Louisville teammate, Nick Albiero. The 200 fly specialist says this works out great, as he can just stay on his taper schedule instead of heading to winter training trip with the Louisville team. Harting also discusses the difference between a taper meet with a lot of events versus just one and reveals "the Box" you get sent when you make it onto Team USA.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we dissect the US Open and Minnesota Invite as well as preview the upcoming Winter Jr Champs East/West and Short Course World Championships.

SwimSwam sat down with the Winner of this year's Miss Ambassador and Miss California US Nation Beauty Pageants, Andreea Dragoi. The sophomore at San Jose State actually missed a 3rd beauty pageant because she was competing with her SJSU swim team at the Mizzou Invite. Dragoi takes us through her upbringing as an athlete, which evolved into solely swimming, including growing up and training with world record holder David Popovici since childhood. Dragoi started modeling in Romania but it was only in the US, once she moved to San Jose to study and swim, that she took on beauty pageants. The 20-year-old explains that they give her a sense of confidence and trust in herself, as well as a voice for her to champion important causes to her, like getting swim lessons for those with disabilities.

Swim Swam sat down with Yusra Mardini, the Syrian Refugee that has swam at 2 Olympic games (Rio, Tokyo) as a member of the Olympic Refugee team. Mardini and her sister, Sara, are the subjects of the #1 Netflix movie "The Swimmers", which tells the story of the two crossing the Agean Sea from Turkey to Greece with 18 other refugees in a raft that is meant to hold 6-7. Mardini discusses the boat trip, making and promoting "The Swimmers", and what her life looks like now after 2 Olympic Games. The now-German citizen is attending film school at the University of Southern California and swimming just for fun.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, Tom Shields joins us again to discuss the Minnesota Invite, US Open, and 2024 Olympic Trials Tickets going on sale.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we do a deep dive into the first week of Mid-Season meets plus review the 2022 Golden Goggle Awards.

We sat down with Madisyn Cox, the 10x NCAA All-American and 5x World Champ medalist who recently announced her retirement from swimming. Cox takes us through the last year of her career, from her last meet at the Texas Swim Center, where she went 3 lifetime bests, to the Olympic Trials, where she was .02 off of making the 2020 Olympic team. She also discusses what her life looks like now that she is living in Houston and attending UTHealth Houston.

Andrew Nguyen has led 2 of the top teams in the country and he just moved home to Southern California to become the Head Coach of another top club, at Rose Bowl Aquatics. In this episode of the SwimSwam podcast, we dive into Andrew’s success at Bellevue Club and Scottsdale Aquatic Club. What he learned, what he took for granted, and how it’s made him a better coach at Rose Bowl. He talks about his path to this point. After spending 12 years at Bellevue Club he’s had the chance to start over twice in the last 15 months. We talk about how those decisions came to be and how they helped him understand the process of getting to know swimmers and coaches. Next month, he and Rose Bowl will head to Austin, Texas for winter Junior Nationals. The Rose Bowl men will come in as defending champs. Andrew describes that pressure as a privilege and talks about how he addresses it with his team. So many great details in this one. Andrew goes into his training cycle, how he formed his holistic approach to each athlete, and even an example of an intense set that pushed some of the swimmers beyond their limits. You don’t want to miss it.

We sat down with Laura Sogar, 2012 SC World Championships medalist and 2013 NCAA Champion in the 200 breast. Sogar takes us through her swimming career, from training in high school at Blue Fish with Chuck Bachelor to Texas with Kim Brackin and Carol Capitani. After retiring from swimming in 2016, Sogar pursued improv, which ultimately turned into pursuing stand-up comedy. Sogar produced her own shows during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and now hosts 2 podcasts (@shedoesstanduptoo and @Risque Business News and performs regularly in her home, Brooklyn.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss week 1 of the NCAA Midseason meets, the potential of an ISL return, and David Poopovici's SCM outing at Romanian Nationals

Emily Melina is the Head Coach at Lake Oswego Swim Club, a team that has won the Oregon State championships at every level the last few years and was recently named a Silver Medal team in the USA Swimming Club excellence program. She’s been at LOSC for 11 years and has doubled the club in size and created a family-like culture that achieves at a championship level. She was named the 2020-21 Senior Coach of the Year in Oregon Swimming. But Emily does a lot more than just coach. She’s on the Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) National Council for USA Swimming, as well as the Club Development Committee. She is also the General Chair for Oregon Swimming and the board for the American Swim Coach Association (ASCA). Emily has been on staffs of the USA Swimming National Select Camp, Zone Select Camp, and National Diversity Select Camp. She recently served as the Head Coach of the National Diversity Select Camp. Her goal with all of these roles is to give back to the sport and have some say in its direction and growth. Emily's authenticity makes this conversation really relatable and any coach can learn a thing or two about running a successful team and giving back to the sport.

Four-time Olympic gold medalist and Team Speedo athlete Ryan Murphy is focused on the 2023 World Championships. All work in the pool is through that lens, but in this SwimSwam podcast he allows us inside his head across a few topics. Will he compete through the 2028 Olympic Games in LA? Ryan would love to compete in an Olympics on U.S. soil, but he’s got to weigh that against starting a career – starting his adult life. Ryan’s already prepping for a career beyond the pool, and he’s getting married next year. In sum, he’s thinking about it. (Watch the video, his answer, and tell me what you think in the comments.) Short Course World Champs in Australia? Ryan’s not entirely sure how much he’ll rest, but he said SC Worlds falls over an ideal season midpoint, and he’ll rest due to the travel time alone flying downunder. ISL vs World Cup? Ryan has opinions. Watch the podcast to hear them.

We sat down with Bella Sims, the Olympian and world champion who most recently broke 2 world junior records in 12 minutes at the World Cup stop in Indianapolis. Sims breaks down how she managed her 200 free-100 Back double with such a quick turnaround and what led to her success in both. She did admit that while her backstroke has become arguably her strongest stroke outside of freestyle, her true love is butterfly and she doesn't even really like backstroke. Her success in Indianapolis raised the question of if she still plans to start at Florida in the fall of 2023, where she has committed. Sims reveals she is currently unsure of her plans moving forward, indicating that she may take a gap year to stay with Ron Aitken and Sandpipers in the lead-up to the 2024 Olympic Trials.

SwimSwam sat down with Beata Nelson, who is coming off of a big win as the overall champion of the 2022 FINA World Cup. This was the first time Nelson had competed in the world cup at all, but it didn't take her long to get her feet wet, literally or figuratively. Nelson won the 200 back and the 200 IM (always both on the last night) at all 3 stops, plus notched 3 more wins and 3 2nd places finishes over the course of the series. Nelson explains how she was able to learn from and maintain her performances over the course of the 3-meet series as well as how the financial earnings will help her career in years to come.

This week, Olympic champ Tom Shields joins the SwimSwam Breakdown and we discuss the World Cup, Olympic Trials, and NCAA Dual Meets.

On the heels of the World Cup Series Finale in Indianapolis, SwimSwam sat down with USA Swimming's Chief Commercial Officer, Shana Ferguson. Ferguson was not only overseeing the World Cup stop in Indy, but also taking time to prepare what she deems "The Meet of the Century": the 2024 Olympic Trials, which will be held in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The CCO updates us on where USA Swimming is at in their preparation, including an artist's rendition of what the venue will actually look like with all 3 (yes, 3) pools inside.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss Katie Ledecky's 1500 free (SCM) world record, the upcoming Texas-Virginia dual meet, and Adam Peaty's new-found motivation.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss 2 new world records, swimming in the NCAA, and Simone Manuel's return to racing.

University of Virginia head coach, Todd DeSorbo, didn’t roll back on his heels after winning the 2022 Women’s NCAA DI Championships team title. DeSorbo, who is on the TritonWear Advisory Board, dove into swimming data. “TritonWear is powerful tech,” he said. “Increasingly we’ve been using it, and we used it a lot starting in the early spring with an eye on the long course season.” DeSorbo was a 2022 Team USA FINA World Champs head coach, but his goals spanned the summer. “Budapest, World Champs, was over in June, but we always intended to show up at Summer Nationals (in Irvine).” DeSorbo singled out Matt King as one example where tracking swimming data made a big difference. “He was a 49.9 PB in the 100m free. This summer he dropped to 48.33, and his stroke count was essentially the same.” Matt King dropped the 48.33 in the prelim. He touched in 48.44 in the final to tie for the U.S. National Title. King, only 5’11, swam big. DeSorbo noted stroke efficiency as the big gain, a TritonWear metric he tracked closely since early April. “He (King) was like a 22.6 PB in the 50m free,” DeSorbo said, “ and he won national with a 21.8, a big drop.” DeSorbo was an CPA at one of the biggest accounting firms in the world before he decided that career path wasn’t making his happy. “I could do it,” he said, “but it wasn’t the same as coaching swimming. That’s my passion. But, with my CPA experience, I know to respect the numbers--trust numbers.” What is DeSorbo’s go-to Tritonwear Metric? "Push-off Power," he said. “You’re never faster in a race than exploding off the wall. That starts your speed…speed you fight to maintain throughout the lap.” In recent news, FINA Technical Congress saw the passing of a proposed change to rule SW 10.8. As of Jan. 01, 2023: “The use of technology and automated data collection devices is permissible for the sole purpose of collecting data. Automated devices shall not be utilized to transmit data, sounds, or signals to the swimmer and may not be used to aid their speed.” This means wearable technology to collect data for research, education, and entertainment is legal. However, that data cannot be used in real-time – in swimming races – to aid a swimmer’s speed.

Harvard Women’s Head Coach, Stephanie Morawski, joined the SwimSwam Podcast early on in the Crimson’s season, which starts later than most on October 1st. Morawski talks about how they deal with the late Ivy League start and how Captain's practices create leadership within the team. It may seem obvious, but the Harvard women’s team is full of high achievers. Keeping a group of type A athletes in a good mental state is a big priority for Morawski and you can hear it in all the ways she tries to support her women. It starts with making practice a happy place for them. Morawski tells us how there are times when she has to trick them into the work, and gives a great example of an amazing race set that they did this season. The foundation of joy at practice is just the beginning of the athlete support. They have weekly team meetings and a speaker series, where athletes present on a variety of experiences that benefit the whole team. Morawski touches on recruiting, balance, and even a little bit on her own swimming at Harvard. This is a great interview, filled with usable information for coaches and athletes. Enjoy!

USA Swimming support link: https://swimssupport.usaswimming.org/support/home Since USA Swimming rolled out SWIMS 3.0 about two months ago, there has been mounting frustration among the membership over technical issues with the new software. For media, there have been a number of issues with related systems, like times lookups, not working. But things are beginning to stabilize, and one-by-one the problems are clearing up. Late last week, we spoke with USA Swimming’s Patrick Murphy, who is leading the effort to modernize the organization’s information technology resources. In this interview, we discuss what went wrong with the rollout, how those problems are being fixed, why the change had to happen, and Patrick answers the question: “Should USA Swimming be in the software business?”

We sat down with Rex Maurer, the #2 recruit in the class of 2023 who waited far longer than any other big name in his class to announce his verbal commitment. With the family history he has there (as well as his current family, his older brother swims there), it didn't come as a shock that the middle-distance standout ultimately chose Stanford. Listen to what Rex has to say about his recruiting process, his swimming in the last few years, and why we will now see him on the Farm in just one year's time.

Two-time Olympian, two-time Olympic medalist and Speedo Athlete, Hali Flickinger, has taken the longest break of her career since winning gold (4×200 free relay) and silver (200 fly) at the 2022 FINA World Championships in Budapest. However, she was not idle during her time-off. Hali’s been building a career selling real estate. She got her license back in Georgia, and she got her license in Arizona–and she loves it. Hali needed time away from the pool, a mental health break, to recharge her swimming-batteries. She’s back in the water now with Coach Bob Bowman, and while it’s been rough getting back into elite shape, Hali’s been okay with the process. She will not rest for her return to race-action on the FINA World Cup Series (her first World Cup appearance since 2011), and she may not rest for the 2022 FINA Short Course World Championships in December. She’s taking it day-by-day now with her sights set the 2024 Olympic Trials in Indy.

We sat down with Carsten Vissering, the former USC Trojan and NCAA Champion in the 200 Medley Relay (2018) who most recently qualified for the US National Team in Bobsled. Vissering explains why he chose bobsled, how he was selected for the national team, and what that will look like for him moving forward. The USC Alum also shares some of his favorite memories and stories from his time as a Trojan.

At RITTER Sports Performance we’ve been building remote dryland workouts for swimmers and swim teams, via app, for over a decade. But we knew that just sending programs wasn’t going to make a big enough impact. Yes, the swimmers and swim teams we work with have seen results. But especially as the shutdown started, it became clear to us that there’s a long way to go in terms of dryland knowledge in the swimming community. That’s where SURGE Strength comes into play. This dryland specific brand, website, and offerings have allowed us to continue to pursue our purpose of “Raising the Standard in Dryland Training for Swimming.”

Last week’s FINA Technical Congress saw the passing of a proposed change to rule SW 10.8. As of Jan. 01, 2023: “The use of technology and automated data collection devices is permissible for the sole purpose of collecting data. Automated devices shall not be utilized to transmit data, sounds, or signals to the swimmer and may not be used to aid their speed.” This means wearable technology to collect data for research, education, and entertainment is legal. However, that data cannot be used in real-time - in swimming races - to aid a swimmer’s speed. The impact of this FINA rule change will impact the sport for a generation. I think we will all look back at this moment in history, noting it as pivotal turning point. One of the few companies in a position to maximize this new FINA ruling is technology company and behemoth TritonWear. Today we have Tristan Lehari, CEO of TritonWear, to help us fully understand what this FINA rule change means to our sport. SwimSwam has been a TritonWear partner since 2014. The partnership for us is two-fold. TritonWear supports our news division, and TritonWear supports our continuing education in data collection for training and performance purposes.

Mike Bottom sat down for the SwimSwam podcast early on in his 15th season at the University of Michigan. The team was just off a busy racing weekend where some of them were down in Dallas at the SMU Classic and some were at Oakland University for a meet. Both meets were viewed as a success because the athletes took them as learning opportunities and found ways to improve.Bottom is a teacher and much of the conversation is based around helping the person more than fixing the swimmer. When it comes to helping the swimmer, he has decades of wisdom and he’s been sharing his thoughts openly on his instagram (@mikebottom). His goal with sharing is to help coaches help athletes better. Athletes have changed over the last few years. The pandemic changed coaches too. Bottom discusses how things have changed and how he hopes to contribute to the rebuilding of his athletes, coaches, and even the greater swimming community by celebrating success and accepting, but learning from not harping on, failure. This is a deep dive into the Bottom philosophy and you don’t want to miss it.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss Steve Jungbluth's departure from Florida, what's happening with the Texas men, and why FINA can't decide on a rule for backstroke finishes.

We sat down with Luka Gabrilo, the head coach of Zenta Pro Swimming and high-performance consultant for Philippines Swimming. Gabrilo discusses his current system where he's training 4 athletes from across the world (Kayla Sancehz, Barbora Seemanova, Robert Glinta, Erik Persson) to achieve at the highest level. Sometimes this means coaching them in person, sometimes it means coaching them from afar. Gabrilo explains why he switched to only coaching this many athletes and how he prepares workouts and training plans for each of them.Gabrilo, a self-admitted technique geek, also indulges us and shares what he sees about world record-holder David Popovici that makes him a cut above the rest. He also shares what he saw in Ian Thorpe when the Aussie superstar was training for his comeback with Gabrilo's former mentor, Gennadi Touretski.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss Virginia and Cal's season openers, the sold-out "Battle at the Burr" dual meet, and the possibility of Caeleb Dressel's NCAA records being broken.

They’ve called them a once in a generation dynasty - Alex and Gretchen Walsh are taking the world of swimming by storm. An Olympic Silver Medalist and NCAA National Champion respectively, this dynamic sister-duo are the first collegiate swim athletes in history to team up with a nationally recognized swim brand for a co-branded collection following the NCAA NIL policy change last year.

SwimSwam sat down with team captains from Howard and Georgetown to preview this epic dual between two fierce rivals, discussing what we can expect from the meet and what they're looking forward to the most.

We sat down with Ben Proud, the first man in history to win a world title, Commonwealth title, and European title in one summer (50 free). Proud takes us through his summer and how he managed his mind through all 3 of the meets. He also dives into what his training looks like (7k-14k meters per week), his mentality toward sprinting, and how he balances work in the pool vs work in the gym.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss what a decathlon for swimming would look like, NCAA stars Maggie MacNeil, Leon Marchand, and Josh Liendo, and WADA's policy on Marijuana.

We sat down with Will Glass, the NCAA All-American for the University of Texas who is returning to his alma mater as a volunteer assistant in December. Glass discusses what he hopes to bring to the pool deck in Austin and what he learned as a mentee of the famed Eddie Reese. Glass also has 2 unique roles in Austin due in part to his swimming roots: he's a masters coach at Western Hills Athletic Club (a hub for swimmers and athletes from all walks of life) and the production manager at Nine Banded Whiskey (an Austin-based manufacturer co-founded by UT Swimming alum, Sean Foley).

SwimSwam sat down with Sarah Thomas, the world record-holder for the longest continuous swim (unassisted, non-wetsuited) done in current-neutral conditions (104.6 miles). Sarah came onto our radar when Yung Thug tweeted at Michael Phelps, asking the 23-time Olympic gold medalist if he thought he could swim 100 miles, to which Phelps responded Yes. Thomas, one of the only humans to have ever ACTUALLY swam 100 miles, had other thoughts. She explains what actually goes into a 100-mile swim, from fueling your body, what you think about, and how you stay awake during the multi-day endeavor.

Rachel Stratton-Mills joined the SwimSwam podcast one month into her 6th season at Arizona State University. The Associate Head Coach for Sun Devils talks about the “Fruit Salad,” that makes up the ’22-’23 team in Tempe, and explains the different, fruit-inspired, names for each training group. She talks about what has gone well in her first 5 seasons, where the program can go, and what it will take to get there. Rachel discusses how the recent influx of professionals including Simone Manual, Regan Smith, Chase Kalisz, and Jay Litherland affects the coaches and college team.

We sat down with 16-year-old San Diego local Nick Mahabir, who had a big breakout this summer by punching a 1:00.37 in the 100m breast at US Nationals. We discuss Nick choosing to represent Singapore internationally, being surprise neighbors with Michael Andrew in Coronado, and playing water polo and swimming casually up until age 15.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss the likelihood that Caeleb Dressel's NCAA records get broken, the fairness of whereabouts failure suspensions, and 'Rowdy's Rule' for getting back into swim shape

We sat down with Army West Point Commits Hadley King and Campbell Payton, the first two athletes to make their verbal commitments from the high school class of 2024. Both girls tell us why West Point was the school for them and what they hope to gain in and out of the pool. They chose West Point for different reasons but had a similar timeline for their recruitment process. Each athlete gives perspective on what they took away from their experience and what they would tell others that are still going through college recruitment.

We sat down with 6x 2022 Jr Pan Pacific Champion, Erin Gemmell, to discuss her whirlwind summer. Gemmell started things at the 2022 US Trials with the goal of making the world champs team. After getting sick just weeks before the meet, she placed 7th in the 200 free final, just missing out on her first senior international team. She then changed tracks and decided to focus on Jr Pan Pacific Championships, with stops at the Mare Nostrum Tour and US Nationals in Irvine in between. Gemmell discusses all these meets and how she was able to have success at them, highlighted by a 1:54.8 split on the 800 free relay (one of the fastest worldwide).

We sat down with 2x bronze medalist from the 2022 World Championships, Josh Liendo. The Canadian sprinter just made a big move, surprising the swimming community with his decision to attend and compete for the University of Florida this fall. Liendo discusses why this was the right decision for him and what he's excited about moving forward as a Gator.

We sat down with 2021 NCAA champion in the 200 fly, Brendan Burns in Indiana. Burns talks us through how the beginning of the season is going for him and the team so far in Bloomington. We get into topics such as winning an NCAA title, his 200 fly/200 back double at Big Tens last year, and how to make your underwater elite. We also talk about Burns' future in swimming and how he views long course swimming vs. short course swimming.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discussed Caeleb Dressel breaking his silence since leaving the world champs, US selection procedures, and the legitimacy of practice swims.

Arthur Albiero is entering his 20th season at the University of Louisville. When he took over in 2003, the pool was tiny, so were the scholarships, and the program hadn’t achieved much. A lot has changed in two decades. In this episode of the SwimSwam podcast, we get into how athletes have changed. How recruiting has changed. How the Louisville program has changed. And how Arthur himself has evolved over the last 27 years of college coaching. A lot of insight here from one of the best coaches in world.

Lea Maurer joins the SwimSwam podcast a couple weeks into her first year as the, “Peter Daland Endowed Swimming Coach Chair,” aka Head Coach, at USC. Lea is an Olympic Gold Medalist and former American Record holder. She swam for legends like John Collins, Randy Reese, and Richard Quick. She talks about how each of them continues to influence her coaching today, as well as how her experience as an athlete shaped her approach to coaching. Lea spent 6 years as the Head Coach of the Women at Stanford and discussed the impact she felt she made on the program. In between her time in Palo Alto and her move to Southern California, Lea was the volunteer Men’s Water Polo coach. She says she worried about getting neck punched but it reemphasized her ability to bring joy to swimming. She returned to the collegiate deck over a year ago and spent most of last season as the interim head coach of the Trojans before being named the head coach. Her first task? Title IX compliance cuts. Lea has managed to keep USC moving forward with a great staff and this year’s squad is focused on culture and setting a new tone. She dives into the strategies and conversations that have brought this ’22-’23 squad together, very early in the season.

Daniel Diehl joined the SwimSwam podcast after a four day break from swimming, following his performances at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships. He discusses his swims in Hawaii, including his National Age Group Record in the 100 Backstroke, of 53.27. Daniel doesn’t have a ton of experience racing outside which can be a tough adjustment, especially for backstrokers. He also learned a lot about relay starts and did them well enough to have the fastest split on the Gold Medal winning 4x100 free relay for Team USA (48.66). Looking back on his last year, he’s come a long way.

We sat down with the newest world record holder, David Popovici, the 17-year-old phenom who broke Cesar Cielo's 13-year-old 100 free mark. Popovici is currently in Lima, Peru, preparing for the World Jr Championships, the last Jr meet of his career. He isn't entering the meet with any expectations but did admit that he went best time in workout just the other day, signaling that the Romanian may be in top form once again. Popovici also comments on dealing with this new level of fame after becoming the fastest man on Earth, what small change allowed him to break his first world record, and racing top-level competitors like Caeleb Dressel in the future.

We sat down with 2x Olympian Blake Pieroni who announced his retirement earlier today. Pieroni explains that after sustaining an injury in the fall, he had time to reflect on whether or not he really wanted to continue competing at the highest level of swimming. For Pieroni, his ultimate dream was to make an Olympic team – something he achieved twice in his career. Pieroni didn’t feel like he had any more left to chase and decided it was a good time to move on.