The Weekly Freestyle

This week we are joined by Luke Withers one of the UK’s top age group coaches. We discuss how you can get the best out of yourself, the British vs American scene and some funny tales from Tom’s age group days. TWF is nearing in on 1k followers on insta too 😮

When in Rome. This week Tom and Alex discuss a weekend of racing at the famous Sette Colli. Tom competed in both the 100 and 200 freestyle and went head to head with Europe’s best. There’s a lot of coffee and Tuscany chat to be had throughout 🇮🇹 ☕️ enjoy!

This week Tom and Alex discuss the nitty gritty of infrastructure spending surrounding the UK's key sporting events over the last decade including London 2012 and Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022. Tom has landed in France as a surveys the holding camp venue for Paris 2024. The reasonably hotly demanded Rate My Plate is finally back too!

This week Tom and Alex welcome Ross Murdoch to TWF and what an ep it is. Ross is a very popular and world class swimmer winning medals throughout his career. Ross has so many great stories to share both in and out of the pool and having recently retired he can look at things with a fresh perspective. He also talks candidly about his struggles throughout his career and life, but also about the best moments and highs that he says made every second of the journey so worth it. We loved recording this ep and we hope you love listening just as much.

Today we hear about Tom's session from hell - described as a war zone he talks through how it went and the pain he suffered. The boys catch up at a BBQ and Alex bumps into Team GB hockey players on the Lizzy Line. We also discuss the week's news and rank how fit (VO2) famous people are.

Today we react to a weekend of racing at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. A rare outing for this pool due to the costs of hosting events at this prestigious venue. Alex is out on the ground in London and we also celebrate Producer Lucy’s 21st birthday 🥳

Join Tom and Alex as The Weekly Freestyle returns for season 5. Tom is finally back from camp in The States where he heard from Bill Gates - likely a fan of the pod. The boys discuss plans for the season ahead, discuss American and even welcome William Dean on as a special guest to host a Eurovision inspired quiz. AND SO MUCH MORE...

Duncan Scott joins TWF this week for a fascinating insight into his thoughts and feelings on the sport and the relationship he has with Tom. He gives a meticulous explanation of his training philosophy, discusses the issues with swimming facilities and we even find out about his antics away from the pool. An ep not to miss. We hope you’ve enjoyed season 4!

This we discuss the release of GB’s LEN U23 team. We rate your plates and decide a winner. Producer Lucy hosts another quiz for the boys.

This week the boys discuss nutrition. Tom talks us through his 7,000 calories a day schedule, Alex shares his love of family cereal packs and a load of listener questions are discussed. Tom is off to altitude this week!!!

This week Tom and Alex discuss the British Champs at Sheffield including the stand out performers, Tom's races and some funny stories from the week. Plus what actually goes down on the final night of champs - possibly a few J20s?????

Follow TWF live at the British Champs up in Sheffield. We speak to James Guy, Jacob Peters and Ben Proud post race and of course Tom after his 200 Free. Withers collects his hat-trick ball after 3 pod appearances and find out what a day at Sheffield entails.

Today we are joined by Steve Buckley from the famous swimming media outlet Pullbuoy. The boys have an in-depth discussion on the week ahead up in Sheffield for British Champs which acts as a selection event for the World Champs qualifiers out in Japan later this year. Further to this we discuss the big news that Adam Peaty will not be competing again this year and is there some talk of a Fantasy Swimming Legue?!

This week TWF is down in Bournemouth watching friend of the podcast Kai step into the ring. One week closer to champs the Tom and Alex discuss British Swimming's granting of Alex a media pass for Sheffield, taper continues and another heated quiz takes place. We had a brief chat with Gary Lineker too !!

This week we discuss how Tom's taper is going which included a trip down to the races and plenty of time freshening up in preparation for Sheffield. We put the British Swimming's social media team to the test. Apparently TWF is 'big' in the podcast scene out in Ukraine and we speak to FREYA ANDERSON, HOLLY HIBBOTT and JACOB PETERS from FAST SWIM TRAINING about their FIRST CLINIC on 10th APRIL. CHECKOUT THEIR INSTA NOWWWWWW!!!!

The big man reacts to a successful weekend up in the wonderful Edinburgh. We discuss the skins, the 100 and 200 free as well as performances elsewhere in the meet. We get through a heap of listeners' questions and predictions. Alex was stuck in the mud in Loughborough as his XC season comes to a close & NOAH JOINS US FOR A NEW FEATURE!

Tom and Alex are back with the first episode of Season 4 and there is so much to catch up on. There is a rare bit of swimming chat with regard for some top performances across the globe. Tom is back from camp and getting back to work in prep for the Edinburgh meet. And Alex reviews his action packed bday week which included Potions, golf and a National XC.

Here are some of our favourite highlights from Season 3 - enjoy!

The big finale episode that we've all been waiting for and therere's a lot to catch up on. Tom is back from Aus and Alex is prepping for nationals. William Dean make his first pod appearance, there are a few pod shout outs, illness discussions and even some badger chat. Don't miss it!

This week the boys sit down with James Guy MBE. The episode covers all things from harsh words and The Inbetweeners in the call room, Olympic highs and the unseen lows, the strength he gains from his family and even a cheeky game of mr & mrs. AND SO MUCH MORE!!!

This week Tom and Alex discuss Team GB’s warm weather training camp in Australia. Who from the team has been struggling with the heat and what does a normal day look like on camp?

This week Tom and Alex chat to Katie Shanahan who is out on altitude camp in Arizona. She's only 18 but already she's a European and Commonwealth Games medalist, this, on top of her quite phenomenal junior career. Katie discusses her experience of major competition in 2022. the ISL and what it's like training at the national centre in Stirling and so much more!

Tom and Alex discuss the financials of being an a professional swimmer and one of Britain’s top athletes. The boys discuss ISL too in the Freestyle section of the pod.

This week Tom and Alex react to their chat with Ed Mildred from the previous episode. They also discuss the keys to avoiding burnout and how best for young athletes to develop. Romanian sport stars are also a key topic of conversation…

Join TWF this week as Tom and Alex sit down to chat with Ed Mildred, one of Team GB's youngest talents on the global stage. Ed discusses his journey to joining the GB setup, what goes through his mind just before racing and why consistently losing in judo fights led to the birth of his swimming career (and much more!).

Welcome to 2023! Find out how an Olympian sets their goals for the year and balances training throughout the festive period. Did Alex survive the famous Christmas swimming session and there's talk of a Channel swim attempt...

Tom reflects on his bronze medal out in Melbourne and the week in general. The boys reflect on 2022 as well as making some bold predictions for 2023. SPOTY and the lack of recognition is discussed too.

Welcome back to season 3. There's some build up to World Champs in Australia, Santa Fun Run tales and an England footy style spelling bee.

This week Tom and Alex talk to Toby Johnston who recently completed The Pacific Crest Trail which is a walk across The USA which is over 2,500 miles and takes over 5 months to complete. The also boys wrap up season 2 and read a few listener messages too.

Have the boys regained their heads after last week’s episode? Micro and macro cycles are the topic of discussion and what about some urban planning too! Apologies for the dodgy Wi-Fi on this… If everyone can message Tom from me about it to upgrade that would be brilliant 😂

Tom reflects on a very successful evening at the British Swimming Awards having won the Maurice Watkins award. Alex had fun weekend back on the cross country in sunny Milton Keynes while a tough evening session occurred in the pool for the Olympic Champion. The boys also discuss their World XI Swimming in prep for the World Cup in Qatar. Tom is also working on his WiFi speed having been over promised by his network provider...

The boys reflect on the recent news that Tom has been selected for the Short Course World Champs in Australia and Alex can't believe the price of yogurts these days...

This week the boys discuss mental health in a general sense and also from the perspective of an elite sports person. What was Tom thinking of the day of the Olympic final and what's his go to pre race tune at the moment? Alex gets a telling off too...

Olympic gold medalist Freya Anderson comes onto The Weekly Freestyle for a chat with Tom and Alex. Freya discusses her incredible career so far, passions away from the sport and other crucially important issues such as mental health and a life in elite sport.

Join Alex and Tom this week to discuss the strange and little known world of anti-doping. Imagine living in a world where a tester could turn up at your door any day and ask you to pee in a pot... The boys discuss the grey areas surrounding the subject and address previously convicted drugs cheats.

This week's episode is all about cross training. Tom discusses how he cross trains and Alex reflects on his first cross country race back. Also, there are a few laughs as Liverpool meets Anthony Joshua when the boys go head to head in the Freestyle section of TWF.

Tom and Alex discuss the recent Team GB relay camp, react to George's guest interview and open TWF Call Room. Surely he's not on holiday again???...

Enjoy our first guest episode with George Taplin a world recorder holder, an elite level athlete/coach, keen conservationist and an even nicer guy. Don't mind anti-doping turning up halfway through the episode though…

Enjoy a few highlights from season 1 and a couple of outtakes too!

This week the boys discuss Tom's early life and even analyse the golf from the week before in Marbella.

This week Alex and Tom discuss training camps and training abroad together from Marbella. The boys also play a game of swimming articulate as part of The Freestyle section of the pod with a few pals too which generates a few laughs.

This week Tom and Alex discuss the importance of rest and the off season for both mental and physical well being. We hope you enjoy one of our first deep dives into a particular topic.

Tom is enjoying his first week of the off season, while Alex dials in from Maidenhead. The episode focuses on getting to know Producer Alex more and where the boys first met.

This week Alex and a couple of pals join Tom out in Rome for the European Swimming Championship. The final champs episode of the year discusses some more electric swims from the Brits, Popovici's world record and all things Rome.

Today Tom and Alex finish their conversation on the Commonwealth Games discussing some of the athlete village antics and the post Games rush. Alex travels into London with no shirt for his first away day of the year before attention turns to European Champs in Rome and an away day for TWF.

EP4 sees the boys discuss a hectic week in the Sandwell Aquatics Centre as Tom competes for Team England at The Commonwealth Games. There's talk of the seven medals he picked up, insight from each of the races and some more light-hearted Commies chat for good measure.

EP 3 sees the boys discuss the build up to the Commonwealth Games and Tom's time in the athlete's village so far. Alex delves into the history of the games with a few fun facts and questions - do you know what the smallest state in the Commonwealth is? The Freestyle section of the podcast sees James Guy and Freya Anderson join in and of course the all important listeners too (which hopefully both James and Freya are anyways...)!!!

EP 2 sees the boys discuss Deano's trip to Buckingham Palace, Sutt's graduation and some exciting Pod progress. Sorry for the delay in release and slight issues with audio... I guess we can ask Team England to improve their WIFI speed at the Commonwealth Games holding camp in Loughborough!!!

EP 1 sees the boys relive the Suttons' family party, bumping into Starkie, a tough week of training for Deano and some introductory pod chat.