The SwimSwam Podcast

After a Very Long Break, Hali Flickinger Returns to Racing at the FINA World Cup

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.

NCAA Champion Carsten Vissering on Training For, Making the Bobsled National Team

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.

Better Dryland Training with Chris Ritter of SURGE Strength

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.”

FINA To Allow Wearable Technology in Races Starting Jan 1st 2023

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.

Take a Deep Dive into the Mike Bottom Philosophy

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.

SwimSwam Breakdown: Steve Jungbluth, Texas Men, and FINA Backstroke Rules

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.

Luka Gabrilo Talks Popovici, Thorpe, and Training Elite Athletes Across the Globe

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.

SwimSwam Breakdown: Dressel’s Records, Battle at the Burr, & UVA + Cal Openers

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.

Alex and Gretchen Walsh Go Behind the Scenes on their Sporti Collection

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.

Howard, Georgetown Team Captains Preview ”Battle at the Burr”, Biggest HBCU Swim Meet in History

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.