The SwimSwam Podcast

Katie Ledecky 15:01.41 1,650y Freestyle American & US Open Record - RACE ANALYSIS

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.

Sergiy Fesenko on War in Ukraine, Growing Up with an Olympic Champion as a Father

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

Leah Hayes on 4:03 400 IM, National Team Training Camp, and Racing Future UVA Teammates

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.

LIVE: SwimSwam Deep Dive on Day 1 of SECs, ACCs

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.

Nick Mahabir on World Champs in Singapore, Eating Clean, and Joe Schooling

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.

Filmmaker Chezik Tsunoda Details Her Film ”Drowning In Silence”

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 Shares Coaching Stories of Regan Smith, Jenny Thompson, and More

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.

Dr. Miriam Lynch Leads Diversity In Aquatics

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/

Texas/NC State, Russia/Belarus in Asian Games, & 24 Trials Picks | SWIMSWAM BREAKDOWN

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.

How Yale Swimming’s Iszac Henig Approaches Mental Health as a Trans Man

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.