The SwimSwam Podcast

17-year-old Alex Shackell just finished what has been, in her words, the best month of her life. This whirlwind started when she made the US Olympic team alongside her brother, Aaron, in their hometown of Indianapolis. After experiencing training camp in beautiful Croatia with Team USA, Shackell headed to Paris, where she made her first individual Olympic final and swam on two relays that earned her gold and silver medals. Once the Games concluded, Shackell returned home to spend time with family, be around her friends, and relax for a week before embarking on her next big chapter: senior year of high school.

Kyle Chalmers is an Olympic champion and after Paris, a 9x Olympic medalist, winning two silvers and a bronze at these most recent games. The Australian swimming legend logged a 47.xx (flat start and relays) seven times throughout the 9-day meet, with his only 100 free swim not in that category coming in his prelims 100 free, where he was 48.0. Chalmers was kind enough to take some time out of his engagement celebration in Norway to chat about the highs and lows of his experience in Paris. Coming into his 3rd Olympics, Chalmers was dealing with injury and had to change coaches and training locations 4 months prior. Despite this, he is still walking away with his 3rd individual medal in the 100 free, a historic feat.

The 2024 Olympic Games are officially over (in the pool) so let's talk about it. We dissect the best of's from the women's swimming competition in Paris.

The 2024 Olympic Games are officially over (in the pool) so let's talk about it. We dissect the best of's from the men's swimming competition in Paris.

Listen to the Olympics with SwimSwam! Join us for the last day of swimming competition in Paris as we react live to the women's 50 free, men's 1500 free, and both 4x100 medley relays. Gold Medal Mel and Coleman Hodges are joined by PhD Wyatt Hodges (Coleman's brother).

Listen to the Olympics with SwimSwam! Day 8 gave us a lot of great races and ended in a world record. Coleman Hodges and Gold Medal Mel Stewart react live and are joined by Olympic champion Craig Oppel.

Listen to the Olympics with SwimSwam! Day 7 saw 3 exciting races and even more guests on today's broadcast. Dive with Olympic champions Maya DiRado, Matt Grevers, Gary Hall Jr., Tom Jager, and Craig Oppel.

Listen to the Olympics with SwimSwam! We talk through every race in Day 6 of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Join hosts Coleman Hodges and Mel Stewart along with today's guests, Milo Cavic, Clark Burckle, and Tyler Fenwick.

Listen in as SwimSwam reacts live to Leon's big double of the 200 Fly/200 Breast plus the men's and women's 100 freestyle. Mel and Coleman are joined today by Olympians Clark Burckle and Matt Biondi.

Listen along with SwimSwam as we talk through Kaylee Mckeown vs Regan Smith in the women's 100 back, Bobby Finke trying to defend Olympic gold in the 800 Free, and every other race of Day 4 finals. We are joined by special guests Nathan Adrian and Kaitlin Sandeno!

Listen along as SwimSwam (plus special guests) watch Day 3 of Olympic Swimming, featuring David Popovici in the Men's 200 Free and World record holder Ariarne Titmus battling Aussie teammate and world champion Mollie O'Callaghan in the women's 200 free.

SwimSwam CEO Mel Stewart and Video Guru Coleman Hodges watch Day 2 finals of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris along with Olympic champion Breeja Larson.

Listen to SwimSwam CEO Mel Stewart and Video Guru Coleman Hodges along with Olympic legends Jason Lezak and Kelsi Dahlia as they watch Day 1 finals of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Welcome to the complete, no-holds-barred SwimSwam event-by-event Olympic preview. Join Coleman, Sophie, and Laura as we go through the entire Olympic schedule and dissect each final. This episode is part 3 of 3, discussing Day 7-9 in Paris.

Welcome to the complete, no-holds-barred SwimSwam event-by-event Olympic preview. Join Coleman, Yanyan, Sophie, and Laura as we go through the entire Olympic schedule and dissect each final. This episode is part 2 of 3, discussing Day 4-6 in Paris.

Welcome to the complete, no-holds-barred SwimSwam event-by-event Olympic preview. Join Coleman, Yanyan, Sophie, and Laura as we go through the entire Olympic schedule and dissect each final. This episode is part 1 of 3, discussing Day 1-3 in Paris.

Coming into July 2024, Regan Smith was a world record-holder, 2x Olympian, and favored to medal in all 3 of her individual events in Paris. So SwimSwam sat down with the world champion's coach from ages 13-19, Mike Parratto, to discuss her rise to the top of the world stage. Parratto shares what he saw in Smith as a 10, 11, and 12-year-old all the way up to making her first Olympic team in 2021. The head coach of Riptide Swim Club emphasized that Smith was very dedicated to what she was doing even as a brand new 13-year-old swimmer in his group, which played a big part in the success that was to follow.

2020 Olympic medalist, Bella Sims, experienced something all swimmers do, a challenging meet. Hers was, of course, a consequential one--the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. Many fans expected a strong performance in Indy after Sims' lights-out NCAA Championships this past spring. Spoiler alert! Sims was not sick and did not miss her taper at Olympic Trials. From her perspective, and her Sandpipers' club coach, Ron Aitken, the reason was very specific. Sims unpacks it all in this podcast, talks about her competition ahead at this week's SPEEDO SUMMER NATIONALS, and she charts her future.

2020 Tokyo Paralympic silver medalist and Speedo Athlete, Ahalya Lettenberger, heads to Paris to compete at the 2024 Paralympics in the 400m freestyle and the 100m breaststroke. The Rice University graduate, who recently turned pro this past spring, continues to train under coach Seth Huston. Ahalya unpacks her expectations in this podcast, her views on the growth of Paralympic swimming, and her future goals to build a better world for all people, disabled and able-bodied, through her educational focus on design. Right after Paris, Ahalya jets off to the U.K. to fulfill her obligations as a Marshall Scholar recipient, and change the world by studying Disability, Design and Innovation.

Rohan Taylor, head coach for the Australian Olympic team, spoke with the media during the final leg of the AUS staging camp in Chartres. Taylor spoke on several topics, including the lengthy process the coaching staff will go through to assemble their relay orders.

At Olympic training camp in France, Ariarne Titmus spoke with the media about a myriad of topics heading into the Paris Games. Titmus is coming to Paris as the defending Olympic champion in both the 200 and 400 freestyles, both of which she holds the world record in and #1 rank worldwide this season. Titmus also won a silver medal in the 800 free at the last Olympics and looks to put her best foot forward again in that race, saying that her training has indicated better results than what she's been able to post.

Cam McEvoy spoke to the press in France during the last leg of the Australian Olympic prep camp. McEvoy notably skipped the first leg of the camp to stay home in Australia and continue his training there, which seems to have paid off for the sprint specialist. The 4x Olympian notes that he has been hitting PBs in training and swimming the fastest he ever has in practice. Audio courtesy of Swimming Australia.

Sergio Lopez has built up programs everywhere he's been a head coach. Currently, he's the head coach at Virginia Tech, but he also won a conference title while captaining the West Virginia program. His most legendary stop, though, may have been being the head coach at the Bolles School Sharks, where he coached Olympic champions Ryan Murphy, Caeleb Dressel, and Joseph Schooling, who were all in high school at the time. Listen to Sergio think back to coaching Murphy and Dressel and what he recalls about what he learned as a coach by working with such immense talents.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we dissect the 2024 Olympic Games entry list.

As is tradition at this point, the big meet of the summer is upon us and your favorite SwimSwam GMs are back in their drafting chairs. SwimSwam is proud to present the 2024 Olympic Games Fantasy Draft.

Olympic champion and current world record holder in the 50 freestyle Cesar Cielo joined SwimSwam to preview the men's sprint events heading into the 2024 Olympic Games. Cielo dissects the difference that has sprouted in recent years between the 50 and 100 freestyles while hoping to see historic times in both. The Brazilian native will be in Paris for the opening ceremonies of the Games and then travel to Rio to help the Brazilian broadcast team for the entirety of their Olympic coverage.

Doug Wharam is the associate head coach and senior coordinator for the Nashville Aquatic Club in Nashville, Tennessee. This means that Wharam met Alex and Gretchen Walsh when they were 13 and 11 years old and coached them through high school. Wharam shares heart-warming anecdotes about how different the two were as sisters and how they developed in the pool.

Today's guest on the SwimSwam Podcast is the author of "Three Kings: Race, Class And The Barrier-Breaking Rivals Who Launched The Modern Olympic Age", Todd Balf. The acclaimed author discusses his inspiration behind this new swim story and the impact it has on the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss the 2024 European Jr Championships, which male is most likely to defend his gold medal in Paris, and what Sarah Sjostrom would go in a 50y free.

On June 22, 2024, SwimSwam reported that 2020 Olympian Michael Brinegar would not be competing in the 1500m Free prelims of the 2024 US Olympic Trials after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)’s allegations of blood doping during a three month period in 2022. This means that Brinegar is facing a four-year ban. Hear Brinegar's side of this 2-year process and the effect it has had on this athlete who still claims his innocence in the situation.

Brian Benzing is an NCAA All-American for Towson in the 100 Breast, placing 2nd at the 2024 NCAA Championships in 50.59. After his first two years of high school in Maryland where he played Lacrosse, Basketball, soccer, and swam, Benzing's family moved to Norway where he spent the next 3 years and continued swimming while gradually stepping away from the other sports. Benzing ultimately returned to Maryland and attended college at Towson University, where he made huge improvements in the pool. Listen to Benzing's journey and the lessons he learned along the way.

On Monday, Todd DeSorbo sat down with the press to answer questions ahead of the 2024 US Olympic Team training camp that starts in Cary, North Carolina and will move to Croatia ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris. DeSorbo discusses the selection of the Olympic team coaching staff, UVA swimmers that made the Olympic team, and much more.

Join Coleman Hodges, David Clossey (aka The Swim Scribe), and NCAA Champ Brendan Burns as we do a deep dive into the 2024 US Olympic Trials.

Thanks to @malmstenab3682 and the CEO of Malmsten Inc, Mikael Orn for this inside look into the company and team that has provided swimming's lane lines for the last ten Olympic Games! Malmsten has very deep roots in swimming. Tommy and Margareta Malmsten founded the Swedish company in 1974. Tommy, a former competitive swimmer and national Swedish coach, combined his love of swimming with his skills as an engineer to develop top-notch gear for the swimming community. Malmsten wanted to remain true to its roots, maintaining a family-oriented atmosphere while providing superior products for competitive swimmers. Mikael Orn swam for Tommy and went on to win an Olympic bronze medal at the 1984 Games in LA. Mikael - or Mike - heads up Malmsten Inc. which services the Americas, and Mike will be on the team that preps and supplies lane lines for the 2028 Olympic Games in LA.

Join us as we go down the psych sheet, event by event, and choose our picks for who will make the 2024 US Olympic team in Indianapolis.

https://youtu.be/k2vojNuX1Oc Kensey McMahon is an NCAA Champion from 2023 and a world championship medalist. On June 4, 2024, it was reported that McMahon had received a 4-year suspension by USADA after testing positive for a banned substance (Vadadustat). Kensey came on the SwimSwam podcast to give her perspective not only on the positive test and verdict itself but also on the process of trying to investigate this situation. McMahon speaks to the 2+ decades she's put into swimming, the recent doping scandal involving 23 Chinese athletes, and getting an invitation to compete in the Enhanced Games.

Jeremy Bagshaw had accomplished a lot in his 20+ year career in swimming. NCAA Champion at Cal Berkeley. Commonwealth and Pan American Games medalist. Multiple-time world championships qualifier. But one thing that had eluded him (4 times, going back to 2008) was qualifying for Canada's Olympic team. Last month at the Canadian Trials, in what would have been his final race as a competitive swimmer, Bagshaw finished 4th in the 200 free, securing his spot on the Olympic team for the first time. Bagshaw had also just completed medical school in Ireland. Listen to what the 32-year-old has to say about perseverance and challenging himself to strive for more in and out of the pool. Bagshaw turned his lifestyle of medical school and competitive swimming into a game for himself, always wanting to win the day whether in class or at training. In the end, it worked out well for Dr. Bagshaw, who will be competing in Paris next month.

Missy Franklin was a 5x Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in the pool. Now outside of it, Franklin is having just as much success. She's a parent (3-year-old daughter, Caitlin, with her husband Hayes Johnson), a member of the media (hosts the podcast Unfiltered Waters with fellow Olympian Katie Hoff), and an ambassador for the USA Swimming Foundation. In this episode, we discuss the upcoming Olympic Trials with Franklin, who will be in Indianapolis with the USA Swimming Foundation and as media. Trials are the most stressful environment in swimming and if you are there for more than a couple days, you ride the emotional roller coaster of someone chasing the Olympic dream whether you want to or not. Missy does a great job putting this into words and expressing her excitement at how the team looks to be shaping up as Trials loom. Outside of swimming, Missy has also been heavily focused on working with Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. to raise awareness of autosomal dominant kidney disease (ADPKD). Readers can learn more on DiveIntoADPKD.com.

Olympic Champion Betsy Mitchell is a renaissance woman in the sports world, a 2-time Olympian, gold medalist, 7-time NCAA champion, former college swimming coach, and the current Athletic Director of Cal Tech. Betsy's roots run deep in sport, which is why she's co-authored her first book with Ann Worthington, MORE THAN MEDALS, Lessons From An Olympian. I say "her first book" because a follow-up will be coming soon. Betsy's forthcoming in this conversation, bringing wisdom and perspective to the topic of youth and college sports, which, right now, is a very chaotic and rapidly changing environment of lawsuits and rule changes. I hope you enjoy it.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss a myriad of eye-catching swims over the last two weeks as many countries' Olympic Trials draw near.

Sam Hoekstra was an NCAA All-American for Louisville, graduating in 2013. Since then, Hoekstra has stayed close to the sport via coaching club and doing clinics for Fitter and Faster. Hoekstra wasn't swimming regularly, though, and certainly not sprinting regularly. However, after the idea of sprinting a 50 free for 100 days straight was presented to him, Hoekstra decided to give it a go. His first 50 was 22.2 (25-yard pool). After the first week, he switched from a brief to wearing a tech suit. He didn't do any in-pool warm-up or warm-down before or after the 50 sprint, but he did do a dryland warmup routine for safety and injury prevention. He didn't do any other form of exercise outside of this during the 100 days. On day 100, Hoekstra swam his fastest 50 of the entire experiment, 20.4. Listen to what Hoekstra learned during this process as well as what he will now carry over into his workout routine moving forward.

Blaire Anderson was recently named Director of Swimming & Diving at Texas A&M University, marking a big turning point in Aggie swimming history. With coaches Steve Bultman and Jay Holmes stepping down after their combined 60+ years at the helm of the respective women's and men's programs, Anderson looks to build upon the legacy that is already palpable in College Station. Anderson has already hired 3 coaches for her staff and is looking forward to continuing to build the network of people she trusts around her. The former UVA Associate Head Coach is excited at the potential that she sees for the Aggies moving from two separate programs into a combined one.

University of Virginia swimming hosted a media day for a number of their top athletes and coaches. Listen to Alex and Gretchen Walsh, Todd DeSorbo, Kate Douglass, and Jack Aikins field questions from the national media before the upcoming US Olympic Trials next month in Indianapolis.

SwimSwam's Coleman Hodges sat down with Ben Loorz, the new head coach of swimming & diving at the University of Arizona. Loorz breaks down why this was the right move for both him and his family at this time as well as how he plans to start carrying out his vision for UofA in these first few weeks. Loorz is coming from UNLV, where he was the head coach for 8 seasons and produced NCAA qualifiers in all of them.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss the Canadian Olympic Trials, the Mid-May flurry of meets in the US, and if any of the swims this past weekend moved the needle on the Paris Podiums.

Joining us today, we have a man in his 33rd year of coaching college swimming, 28 of those years as head coach. He is a 4-time Big Ten Coach of Year. Today we have The Ohio State Director of Swimming & Diving, William "Bill" Dorenkott.

Chase Kalisz is a 2x Olympian and the reigning Olympic champion in the 400 IM. He's gearing up for his 4th Olympic Trials, which are just one month away, with a training camp in Colorado Springs. His coach there, Bob Bowman, has thrown some pretty gnarly sets at him throughout the last couple weeks, which Kalisz explains. The former Georgia Bulldog also speaks about recovery away from practice, his mentality heading into his 4th Olympic Trials, and the importance of his sponsors heading into Indianapolis.

This week in the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss the Brazilian Olympic Trials, the Sydney Open, and the upcoming May Meets in the USA

Olympic medalist and World Champion Alex Walsh and NCAA swimming superstar Gretchen Walsh, take us behind the scenes of their latest SPORTI collab, the Star Spangled Summer Collection. The collection is inspired by Americana vibes as a nod to the country’s, and the sister’s, collective spirit going into the 2024 Olympic Summer. Coming off of UVA's 2024 NCAA Championship Team Title, the Walsh Sister dove right into their SPORTI photo capture for this collection. They only took a few days off. They did the photo shoot and launched their STAR SPANGLED SUMMER COLLECTION May 8th. A lot had to happen to make this collection a success. We talk about that process, and we look ahead to the Olympic summer and the Walsh Sister's goals in the pool. Notably, Alex unpacks her decision to take a 5th year UVA...and she was on the fence about doing it. The Walsh Sisters cover a lot of ground in this podcast. We hope you like it!

Matt Leach was recently announced as the new head coach for Iowa State Swimming and Diving. This surprised many as Leach had massive success at his last stop, Washington State, and most likely could have landed a job at a more traditional powerhouse. However, Leach explains that his first priority is family and his wife's parents live nearby. He also dives into his coaching journey and why building a team into a family is much more fulfilling to him than having the status of coaching at a Top-10 swimming program.