The SwimSwam Podcast

5x Medalist Leah Hayes Reflects on 2023 World Jr Championships

SwimSwam caught up with Leah Hayes, the versatile high schooler who won 3 gold medals and 5 total at the 2023 World Jr Championships in Netanya, Israel. Hayes describes how she transitioned from World Champ Trials, the in between, and ultimately to World Jrs. The 2022 World Championship bronze medalist admitted she was disappointed in not having qualified for the (senior) world championships team but had also made plans for both scenarios (making the worlds team and making the world jrs team) coming out of the world trials.

LEN U23 Champion Emma Sticklen on Breaking Through This Summer in the Long Course Pool

SwimSwam sat down with Emma Sticklen, the LEN U23 Champion in the 200 fly. Sticklen got a ton of championship LCM racing in this summer, competing at the US Trials in Indianapolis, the US Pro Championships in Irvine, and the LEN U23 Championships in Dublin. The Texas All-American walks us through what she gained from each competition as well as what has made the training environment so special in Austin this year.

Dissecting Kate Douglass’s 6-Medal Performance at the 2023 World Championships

SwimSwam caught up with Kate Douglass, the 2023 world champion in the women's 200 IM who took home a whopping 6 medals from Fukuoka. Douglass is about to start her master's degree in statistics at UVA while gearing up for the 2024 Olympic Trials. Douglass reflects on her huge event lineup in Japan, including taking on the 200 IM Semi-final 10 minutes before anchoring the women's 400 free relay and swimming the 200 breast and 100 free back-to-back through prelims, semis, and finals.

Torri Huske Talks Mixed Medley Relay, 100 Fly, and Learning Experiences From 2023 Worlds

We talked with American Record holder Torri about her preparations, performances, and post-meet reflections from the 2023 World Championships. Although she wasn’t happy with the way she swam at Worlds, she doesn’t believe that one bad meet defines who she is as a swimmer (a sentiment that was also echoed by her coach, Greg Meehan) and is even more motivated headed into the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. She believes that Worlds is a learning experience for her, and looks forward to her upcoming Olympic redshirt year.

 

As I said to her on camera, I really appreciate Huske’s willingness to be interviewed about performances that she wasn’t satisfied with—she gave really good insight about a difficult subject.

 

Timestamps:

•0:00 Intro

•0:36 Nationals and Nationals Prep

•3:42 Training Camp

•7:52 100 fly/4×100 free relay prelims double

•10:08 100 fly final

•12:06 Mixed Medley Relay

•14:19 Bouncing Back From Difficulties

•17:02 50 Fly and Women’s Medley Relay

•18:21 Overall Worlds Reflection

•20:33 Olympic Redshirt Year

•26:41 200 IM

•28:35 Mental Game

How Jack Alexy Became America’s Top Male Sprinter

We sat down with Jack Alexy, the man who won silver medals in the 50 and 100 free individually as well as gold, silver, and bronze as a part of Team USA relays at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. Alexy discusses the changes he made this season that led to improvement in his racing, including staying late to workouts to spend more time in the water and changing his mindset toward practice.

Jess Book Discusses His Team’s Success and the Coach Who Started it All, Jim Steen

Book discusses the achievements of the Kenyon College Swim and Dive Team, what makes them so unique, and delves into the foundational role played by Jim Steen, the coach behind his success.

Shayna Jack on World Records, Racing Katie Ledecky, & Partnership with Dean Boxall

SwimSwam sat down with Shayna Jack, the Australian sprint star who was part of 3 world record relays at the 2023 World Championships and split 51+ in a 100 free more than any other competitor at the meet (4). Jack discusses what makes the training environment at St. Peters Western under Dean Boxall so electric, the culture Australia has developed in women's sprinting, and her strategy for racing Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh in the 200 free.

Caeleb Dressel Unpacks His Journey Back to Swimming Since the 2022 World Champs

7-time Olympic gold medalist and Team Speedo athlete Caeleb Dressel talked with SwimSwam for nearly an hour, detailing his journey back to the sport since his abrupt departure from the 2022 World Championships in Budapest. Caeleb’s  plain-spoken, funny, and he does channel vulnerability as strength in this interview. Coming off a big Speedo international photo shoot with all of his Team Speedo peers from allover the world, Caeleb was in good spirits and ready to talk on this topic.

This post was possible thanks to SwimSwam partner, Speedo.  We are aware Speedo has a big 2024 reveal coming, which was the reason for the big Speedo International photo shoot, but Speedo has not confirm the dates of the announcement yet.

Thomas Heilman Unpacks His First World Championships Performance and Gold Medal

Thomas Heilman  captured fans attention December of 2021 as a 14 year old, breaking 14 National Age Group Records over 11 days at three different swimming meets.  18 months later, and only 16 years, Thomas became the youngest member of Team USA's World Championship squad, making it in two events, 100 and 200 meter butterfly -- breaking Michael Phelps' 2001 200 butterfly National Age Group Record  in the process. At 2023 World Championships Heilman shaved more time off his 200 butterfly PB. He made the World Champs final and tied for 4th touching the wall in an astounding 1:53.82 -- the fastest time for any U.S. male under the age of 18.

World Champion Hubi Kos Breaks Down ”the Bowman Effect”

Hubi Kos of Hungary surprised many when he touched first in the men's 200 backstroke at the 2023 World Championships. The World Jr Record holder in the 200 IM recently moved to Tempe, Arizona in December to train with Bob Bowman at Arizona State, the famed coach of Michael Phelps. Kos describes how training in the training environment that Bowman has created in Tempe helped him get to the top of the podium in Fukuoka, Japan.