The SwimSwam Podcast

The women’s 1650 free race at NCAAs later this week is going to look real slow, because Katie Ledecky just went a 15:01.41 in the event to break the US Open and American record at the 2023 Florida Swimming Spring Senior Champs. Ledecky broke her own record time of 15:03.31, which set in November 2017 at the Art Adamson Invite when she was still swimming collegiately for Stanford. Ledecky finished her race over a minute ahead of Florida swimmer Caroline Pennington, who finished in second with a time of 16:08.78. Keep in mind, Pennington is the 2022 Pac-12 champion in the 1650 free and her time would have qualified for NCAAs this year, and she still lost to Ledecky by a minute and seven seconds. Now, Ledecky holds seven of the top times in the history of the 1650 free and is over 22 seconds faster than Erica Sullivan, who is the second-fastest performance of all-time in the event and holds a personal best of 15:23.81.

SwimSwam sat down with Sergiy Fesenko, an NCAA All-American for Indiana and World University Games medalist. Fesenko discusses a myriad of topics, from training under Ray Looze in the early 2000s to growing up with an Olympic champion as his father. Fesenko then turns to the war in Ukraine, expressing that Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be allowed to compete until this war is over. Sergiy is doing what he can to aid Ukraine during this war, including convincing the Indiana Military Museum to help donate military supplies to Ukraine and accepting donations via his facebook account. You can make a donation to Sergiy and Ukraine here: https://www.facebook.com/503436302/posts/10160941977666303/?mibextid=ykz3hl

SwimSwam sat down with World Champs medalist Leah Hayes after her superb weekend of racing at the 2023 Chicagoland Championships, highlighted by her 4:03.05 400 IM. Hayes said she was hoping for a drop in that event and even wrote her target splits out for the race, which had added up to a 4:04. Hayes also discusses training with her world champ teammates at the upcoming National Team Training Camp in March as well as the prospect of racing fellow 200 IM international medalists and future Virginia teammates Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh.

The 200 medley relay and 800 free relay races from the 2023 SEC and ACC Championships have just concluded, and we’ve got plenty of things to say about them. Watch here live as SwimSwam’s Coleman Hodges and Yanyan Li break down day one of conference champs.

SwimSwam sat down with Nick Mahabir, the Singaporean national known for swimming under David Marsh in San Diego and popping a 1:00 100m breast as a teenager. Mahabir, who has temporarily moved back to Singapore to train for the upcoming SEA Games and World Championships (both of which will occur in Asia), recently attended a media event where World Aquatics announced that Singapore would be hosting the 2025 World Championships. With the move back to his home country, Mahabir discusses how daily life training in Singapore differs from the US. His training partner, world champs finalist and Commonwealth Games medalist Teong Tzen Wei, has not only helped the youth in the pool but out of it, positively influencing his diet and sleeping habits. Mahabir reveals he hasn't eaten processed sugar for 5 months running and plans on keeping it that way through the World Championships. Finally, we asked Mahabir about Singapore's Olympic champion Joe Schooling and how the 100m fly specialist is viewed in his home country. Mahabir notes that after Schooling's suspension for using Marijuana, the country seems to have lost a bit of respect for him. However, Nick shares his own personal experiences with Schooling and says that Schoooling is the most famous person in Singapore and is adored by the vast majority of the population.

Chezik Tsunoda is a profile in strength through vulnerability. Her film, Drowning In Silence, tackles the silent epidemic of childhood drowning, and it is driven by personal experience, the loss of her son, Yori. Chezik courageously shares the grieving process and the journey of her healing. Backed by years of experience in this medium, Chezik's film unfolds as an investigation, digging into the historic racial disparity in our nation, from slavery to the Jim Crow era. The narrative educates and informs, always driving toward solutions. Mark your calendar. Drowning In Silence debuts on Apple and Amazon May 12th. This conversation was tough, but Chezik is a bright voice, always positive about making an impact on this plight. Chezik is an industry professional with a deep resume in media. As a director and producer her work has spanned television, film and advertising. Chezik earned her chops in production at MTV News and Docs and carried her knowledge into developing docuseries at VH1. Drowning In Silence is Chezik's journey, but it's only one part. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of No More Under, a nonprofit with the mission to bring awareness to our community and beyond by actively and strategically educating parents and care givers as well as providing critical layers of protection. If you were inspired by this conversation, support the nonprofit No More Under here: https://nomoreunder.networkforgood.com/projects/182694-annual-fund-2023

Mike Parratto has a very unique perspective on greatness, having coached two Olympians more than two decades apart. In this SwimSwam Podcast chat he goes into details about both Jenny Thompson’s and Regan Smith’s road to greatness. Mike tells stories about each of them having races at young ages that showed their unique abilities. He also gets into some pretty amazing sets from both of them. On top of coaching Olympians he’s also father to one, as his daughter Jessica made the 2016 and 2020 US Olympic Team, winning a Silver Medal in synchro diving. Success and swimming run in the family. Mike’s wife Amy has coached with him for 40 years. He gives some insight into that family dynamic and what makes them such good partners. He and Amy spent 26 years at Seacoast Swim Association in New Hampshire before moving to Indianapolis to support Jessica’s diving. They now coach at Riptide Swim Team in Apple Valley, Minnesota.

Executive Director of Diversity in Aquatics Dr. Miriam Lynch has deep swimming roots. She developed her swimming muscle at the powerhouse Nation's Capital Aquatic Club, eventually earning a scholarship to swim at Howard University. At Howard, Dr. M made her mark breaking six individual and three relay team records--which was the most in Howard's history at that time. Her 1650 record lasted nearly 20 years, until it was recently broken by a swimmer Dr. M coached. That's right, Dr. M is a volunteer coach at Howard as well. Dr M appears on this podcast thanks to our friends at Speedo, and because she's a real change-maker in the non-profit world. Diversity In Aquatics (DIA), under her executive leadership, has flourish. Membership has increased, and DIA has developed into a top national level organization. DIA's mission is to empower individuals and organizations to create real systemic change in their communities. Support Diversity In Aquatic here - https://www.diversityinaquatics.org/

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss the Texas/NC State dual meet, Russia and Belarus swimming in the 2023 Asian Games, and SwimSwam's wild 2024 Olympic Trials predictions.

We sat down with Yale swimming's Iszac Henig, who discussed writing for the New York Times about his experience during the pandemic and, two years later, his decision to join the Yale men's team. Henig also spoke about being a subject of media attention during the 2021 - 2022 season as he raced his way to a podium finish at the 2022 Ivy League Championships and qualified for the NCAA Championships. Henig also spoke about how he approaches mental health as a trans man, goal setting as a competitive swimmer, and what he has planned after graduating and completing his swimming career later this year.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss Leon Marchand's NCAA record in the 400 IM, UVA's event lineup for NCAAs, and suiting up at dual meets.

On Saturday, we witnessed ASU's Leon Marchand break the NCAA record in the 400 IM. Today, we spoke with ASU head coach Bob Bowman to get his thoughts on the matter. On Marchand, Bowman says that the French Phenom reminds him of Michael Phelps in 2003, giving his an anecdote from Leon's practice on Monday. At the end of a 7500 threshold set, Leon looked so good that Bowman told him to let it rip and see what he could go on a 500 free at the end of the practice instead of swimming it threshold as written. Marchand swam 4:18, negative splitting it 2:10/2:08.

Two-time Olympian, two-time Olympic medalist and Speedo Athlete, Hali Flickinger, took 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. She needed the time to reevaluate life and what she wants. Swimming, when it was 100% of her focus, created to much stress and anxiety. Hali had touched the wall second in her individual events one too many times. That wasn't working, wasn't the goal, and wasn't making her happy. Something had to change. During her time off, and that period of reevaluation, Hali sold real estate in Arizona and loved it. Last fall Hali slowly reentered training with Bob Bowman's elite pro group. When SwimSwam spoke to Hali she had no idea how this new life change would impact her performance. At that time Hali wasn't even sure if she would rest for Short Course World Championships. She, of course, did rest, though she feared she might not have enough of a base of training to finish her races. Ultimately, she did finished, and in spectacular fashion, winning gold in the 400 IM and silver in the 200 fly. In sum, this new lifestyle is working. If Hali's situation sounds familiar, you're probably thinking of her peer and old Georgia training buddy, Nic Fink, who prioritized graduate school, while continuing to train, and had the best year of his life becoming the 2022 Swammy Award Winner for Male Athlete of the Year. Hali shares in this podcast how she traded texts with Nic about his journey and how it worked for him. Hali's on the same path now. At this point Hali's enjoying selling real estate and taking her training one day at a time.

Olympic silver medalist Emma Weyant returns to NCAA swimming competition this weekend at the University of Florida vs Florida Atlantic University (FAU) dual meet. We sat down with Emma to unpack her big Sporti Swim Collection release, which lead SwimSwam traffic for 24 hours, and she dropped this news on us. Emma turned a lot of heads when she decided to transfer from NCAA powerhouse UVA to the University Florida. "It was a tough decision," she explained, but she wanted to be closer to home in Sarasota, Florida. Of course, being a Florida Gator has a lot of upside too. Emma's enjoyed the challenge of training with Olympic icon Katie Ledecky and U.S. distance king, Bobby Finke. Florida's the right fit for Emma. She shares that she did struggled with mental health, looking to peers in the Olympic community for guidance and inspiration. Training through the pandemic, the delay of the Olympic Games, then ultimately making the Olympic podium, took a toll. Emma's back now and in a big way. Her Sporti Swim release, the collab on the collection, specifically, helped to put that one ingredient she wanted into her swimming career--fun.

20-year-old Lani Pallister dominated the distance events at the 2022 Short Course World Championships in Melbourne, taking gold in the 400, 800, and 1500, and as a member of the world-record-setting 4x200 free relay. The Australian lends her perspective on this feat and her path to the top over the last year when she nearly gave up on training in Australia altogether. When Pallister moved to train with Michael Bohl at the beginning of 2022, she gave herself one year and if it wasn't going well by then (which it is), she would pursue swimming in the NCAA to be a part of a team and hopefully enjoy her sport that way.

Kate Lundsten has been the Head Coach of the Aquajets Swim Team since 2004. In that stretch, she has been named to multiple USA Swimming International Staffs, coached multiple NAG records, and built a reputation of excellence with 7 Silver and 5 Gold medals in USA Swimming’s Club Excellence program. In this conversation, Kate discusses her coaching style as a combination of fun and holding the kids accountable. She likes to teach by asking the kids the right questions so that they can figure out solutions on their own. She dives deep into underwaters, a strength for most of the top-level Aquajets swimmers. Kate is kind enough to give us a couple of examples sets she uses to make the kick count automatic in races. She also tells us a little about her dryland and how it fits into the overall progression of their program. Kate describes a very healthy culture centered around the Aquajets values, HAPIE. Humility, Accountability, Perseverance, Integrity, and Empathy. Much of the program's success seems to come from Kate’s ability to learn and let her coaches do the jobs they were hired to do. A lot to be learned from one of the best coaches in the sport!

2022 was the best year of Kasia Wasick's career, having garnered 5 silver medals from international meets including World Championships (LCM), European Championships, and Short Course World Championships. Wasick discusses her love for racing and how that, combined with her diverse sprint training at UNLV, has driven her to have success in every form of swimming this year. As Wasick looks toward her 5th Olympics in 2024, the fact that it is in Europe brings the Polish native confidence that it could indeed be her best to date after a career-high 5th place finish in Tokyo.

We sat down with newly minted world champion and world record holder in the 50 breast (SCM), Ruta Meilutyte. The 2012 Olympic champion goes deep into how getting DQ'ed in the 100 Breast was a wake-up call for why she was even competing again in the first place. After getting her mind right, the breaststroke savant was back in action in the 50 breast, swimming to a world title and registering a best time and world record in the process.

Renata Porter, founder of yoursportsresource.com, returns to the SwimSwam podcast. Renata’s a dedicated swim business expert with a focus on youth sports clubs. Her company provides actionable guidance and support helping swim clubs shift from old mindsets to running the club as the business that it is. We’re coming up on the end of the year—that time for New Year’s resolutions. If you're a swimming coach or a swim club board member, a great new year’s resolution would be to build more trust. The big question is how do you do that?

We sat down with World Jr Record holder and World champs medalist Ilya Kharun to discuss his 2022 Short Course World Championships performance. Kharun takes us through each of his individual swims (50, 100, 200 fly) as well as what his first experience competing for Canada was like. Kharun had thought he was eligible to compete for the USA just this summer, having been named to the USAS Jr Pan Pacs Roster. However, once it was realized by all parties that Kharun only had a Canadian passport, the decision was made for Kharun to instead represent Canada internationally. This is just in time for Swimming Canada, as Kharun will join a rising young crop of male talent that could combine for to make podium appearances on the top stages in years to come.

We sat down with new SCM world champ in the 100 and 200 fly, Chad le Clos. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist talks us through his last 2.5 years, from Energy Standard dissolving because of COVID through being a nomad and training wherever he could to finally landing in Germany with Dirk Lange. Le Clos emphasizes how much of a difference it has made in having a steady training base. He also alludes to difficulties outside of the pool setting him back in early 2021 and affecting his performances through the 2022 Commonwealth Games. After his two wins in Melbourne, however, le Clos 2.0's confidence is sky-high. He is not only predicting podium finishes in the world champs to come but PBs at the Paris Olympic Games as well.

Daniel Wiffen is the first man from Ireland to ever own a European record in swimming. He broke it last week in the 800 SCM free, going a time of 7:25.96. Wiffen talks us through racing at the Scottish/Irish Championships, winning a medal at the Commonwealth Games, and training at the University of Loughborough.

We sat down with recent SC Worlds medalist Javier Acevedo to discuss his last few years in the pool. After finishing his time at Georgia, Javi got the chance to compete for the LA Current in the ISL, where Marsh continued the trend that UGA's Jack Bauerle had started of using the Canadian as a breaststroker. Javi has continued to hone his versatility, culminating in a silver medal in the 100 IM last week in Melbourne. Acevedo is very excited to keep striving to improve heading into Fukuoka and Paris with the young core that the Canadian men are developing. Acevedo is high on their chances to not only build a stronger relay culture in Canada but vie for medals on the international stage.

We sat down with world champion and world record holder Isaac Cooper to get his perspective on the 2022 short course world championships. Cooper had a roller coaster of a meet, starting things off with surprise medals in the 100 back and 4x50 medley relay and even a shocking win in the 4x50 free relay. In the 50 back, Cooper was the top seed headed into finals and initially swam the fastest time in the final before a re-swim was called for due to a starting error. In the re-swim, Cooper placed 2nd. The young aussie details how this affected him and how he was able to bounce back and perform for the 4x100 medley relay, which went onto not only tie for gold with the US, but break the world record as well.

We sat down with newly crowned world champion Kyle Chalmers to dissect his performances at the short course world championships. Chalmers breaks down his historic swims and the pressure of racing on home soil. The Olympic champion is currently getting a week of training under his belt with fellow Icon and world-topper, Adam Peaty. Chalmers says they are wired similarly and it's been a great learning experience training with him.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we do a deep dive into the swims and history made at the 2022 Short Course World Championships in Melbourne.

Married with two children and a third on the way in June, Ryan Lochte is already busy, but he has a lot more planned for the year ahead. The 12-time Olympic medalist recently signed with Excel Sports Management, a powerhouse agency repping Peyton Manning, Tiger Woods, and Taylor Swift. Ryan’s signed an endorsement with an Italian shoe company riddickshoes.com, he’s the ambassador of a new swimming meet billed as the International Age Group Championships, and he’s launching his own swim camp series he’s calling 1:54. Is Ryan actively training now with plans for a run at the 2024 Olympic Trials? I asked him that a few times, in a few different ways. The short answer is no. Ryan’s on a break, but it does sound like he’s leaving the door open to competing. Ryan’s mostly excited about his swim camp series, "1:54", named after his 200 IM world record time earned going head-to-head with Michael Phelps. His camps are geared toward kids 10-16 years old with an interest in working through the fundamentals of all four strokes. If you haven’t been on deck with Ryan hosting a camp, it’s worth checking out. He’s energetic, certainly in the water with lots of demonstrations, and he’s fun. 1:54 swim camp dates are TBA. Go to the website prosportlive.com and email Ryan to get on their list for future dates. Lastly, Ryan’s back on TV in a new reality series, The Traitors, streaming on Peacock. The series debuts on January 12th, so save the date. This 10-episode series was captured back in May of 2022. The action and drama goes down in a remote castle in the Scottish Highlands, where contestants compete in a game of alliances and deception for a chance to win $250,000.

SwimSwam spoke with team USA head coach Braden Holloway directly after the conclusion of the 2022 Short Course World Championships in Melbourne as he was walking back to his hotel. Holloway spoke to USA's resiliency, noting that even when things weren't going their way, the team could still put their best foot forward. He also gave the coaching rationale for the relay lineups of the mixed 4x50 medley relay as well as the men's 4x50 free relay. Notably, on that free relay, Michael Andrew was left off. Andrew split 20.3 later in the meet, a split that would have netted a medal for USA in the 4x50 free relay (they wound up 5th) had he replicated it.

Nicholas Santos made history when he took gold in the 50 fly this week by becoming the oldest swimmer to ever win a world title. Santos had said before the meet that this would be his last and he stuck to them, confirming with SwimSwam that he will be retiring. Santos explains his decision to step away from competitive swimming even though he is still very much on top in his pet event.

We sat down with Jordan Crooks, the leading man in the 50 and 100 freestyle in the NCAA. Crooks broke down what has gone well for him this season, from confidence to completely revamping his stroke count in the 50 free. Crooks also previews what he will be looking for at the SC World Champs in Melbourne, where he was the top seed in the 100 free final and ultimately placed 7th.

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.