The SwimSwam Podcast

https://feed.podbean.com/swimswam/feed.xml

In the SwimSwam Podcast dive deeper into the sport you love with insider conversations about swimming. Hosted by Coleman Hodges and Gold Medal Mel Stewart, SwimSwam welcomes both the biggest names in swimming that you already know, and rising stars that you need to get to know, as we break down the past, present, and future of aquatic sports.

Episodes

Friday Aug 27, 2021

Caeleb Dressel Recaps His Olympics And Why He Didn’t Swim The 4x200

Friday Aug 27, 2021

Caeleb Dressel owns seven Olympic gold medals now, picking up five from the recent 2020 Olympic Games. In this interview he unpacks a lot.

Olympic 100 meter freestyle? It started hurting him at the 60 meter mark. Please note that the 100 free will be his first “Dressel Dissects” on youtube as soon as he settles in Naples, Italy for ISL Season 3 and gets some free time.

ISL Season 3? Will he race more than fans think? Dressel intends to race as much as possible. Competing is his happy place, but he’s going to play it by ear and see how he’s doing managing his time and general good health.

The Olympic 100 meter butterfly start and finish? Dressel breaks down his mistakes, and he does think he’s got a 49.2 loaded with a sharper turn and finish. Kristof Milak surprised him. He did not expect a 49.6 from the 200 butterfly world record holder.

4x200 free relay? Dressel wanted to swim it. That’s why he swam the prelim 200 free at U.S. Trials. Watch the video to hear his complete answer.

Mixed Medley Relay? Dressel isn’t second guessing anyone. Looking back, however, he does think leading off with a male athlete in the 100 back and 100 breast might be the best way to race that relay.

50 free? Dressel didn’t have much to say. He won the pure sprint by a wide margin — an astounding .48 — a wider margin than his other four Olympic gold medal performances.

4x100 Medley? Dressel felt that was the best race and his best swim of the entire Olympic competition. Dropping a 49.03 split while exhausted on the final night of competition is something he’s proud of.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Thursday Aug 26, 2021

Justina Kozan Breaks Down Iconic 29.7 200 IM Finisher, 400 IM Trials Final

Thursday Aug 26, 2021

We sat down with Justina Kozan, the 4x event winner at the 2021 Speedo Summer Championships - West in Irvine. Kozan made SwimSwam headlines with her 200 IM victory, coming home in 29.75 (faster than anyone's freestyle split in the Olympic final of that event). Kozan discusses her experience at the Summer Champs as well as at Olympic Trials, where she made her first final in the 400 IM.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Wednesday Aug 25, 2021

The SwimSwam Breakdown: ISL Season 3, Load Management, & Power 5 Team-Up

Wednesday Aug 25, 2021

In this week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, the Olympics are over and ISL season 3 is coming in hot. Tune in to hear all about this week's Top stories.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Wednesday Aug 25, 2021

Olympic Bronze Medalist Brendon Smith Gives His Take on Historic Tokyo 400 IM

Wednesday Aug 25, 2021

We sat down with Olympic bronze medalist and Oceania record-holder in the 400 IM, Brendon Smith. Smith takes us through his first Olympic experience, including the historic 400 IM prelims and finals, which saw surprising twists in both. Smith came out with a bronze medal behind Americans Chase Kalisz and Jay Litherland, able to put together a solid race after earning first seed heading into the final. Smith also discusses how he's spent his time since Tokyo, traveling to Rome with a group of fellow Aussies in anticipation of ISL season 3 as well as avoiding a 2-week Australian quarantine.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Tuesday Aug 24, 2021

Canadian Olympic Legend and CEO of Swimming Australia Alex Baumann

Tuesday Aug 24, 2021

When I was a kid my father wanted me to be Alex Baumann. In addition to his dominance in the 200 and 400 IM (winning gold and breaking world records in both events at the 1984 Olympic Games for Canada) Baumann was graceful and gracious. He epitomized the Olympic ideal of sportsmanship.

Baumann has spent his adult life as sport administrator at the high levels from Canada to New Zealand, and, most recently, at the helm of Swimming Australia as their CEO. He recently stepped down as CEO, a topic he covers candidly in this podcast.

Baumann is as I remember him from the 1980s. We shared the deck at the first Pan Pac Championships in 1987. He's a nice guy--very easy to build a relationship with.

Baumann's leadership in sport is covered here, an unpacking of the run-up to Swimming Australia's success at the 2020 Olympic Games. However, we do dive into his competitive history. Baumann experienced dramatic struggles, most of them off-camera. The fact that he was the Flag Bearer for his nation in 1984 and so successful in the pool is testament to his discipline. He's a unique person well-worth your time, and I hope you enjoy this podcast.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Monday Aug 23, 2021

4x Olympic Medalist Summer Sanders on Celebrating Every Color of Medal

Monday Aug 23, 2021

SUMMER SANDERS’ star burns bright. She’s been intimate with the Olympic experience since she earned her four Olympic medals back in 1992. Summer has been to nearly every Olympic Games, summer and winter, since her ’92 star-turn as a network commentator and/or ambassador. We sat down with Summer to get her perspective on the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and she had a lot of wisdom to share. Summer even put her Swim Nerd cap on regarding the 4×100 mixed medley relay–about which a lot of Team USA Olympic Alumni have had much to say. Thanks to Summer for dropping in on the SwimSwam podcast. You can follow Summer on Instagram @summersanders_

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Monday Aug 23, 2021

Bronte Campbell on The Importance of Olympic Timing

Monday Aug 23, 2021

We sat down with Olympic champion and world record holder in the women's 400 free relay, Bronte Campbell. Campbell speaks on her experience at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and how she managed her injuries with the extra year provided by the COVID-19 pandemic in the lead-up to the Games. Campbell also discusses her love for the water outside of swimming, her career path, and her preferred coffee order.

Toward the end of our conversation, I ask Bronte about the poem she wrote and read to the 2020 Aussie Olympic team before competition started, a poem that was shared on Instagram by her teammate, Cam McEvoy. Bronte explains this tradition and how it dates back to her early days on the AUS national team.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Thursday Aug 19, 2021

SwimSwam Photographer Jack Spitser Shares Experiences from 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Thursday Aug 19, 2021

We sat down with SwimSwam's head of photography and man on the scene at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Jack Spitser. Jack breaks down the back end of covering an Olympic Games, from the commute to and from his hotel to the different venues, the hours he worked each day, and what he looks for when he's shooting a high profile event like the Olympic Games.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Wednesday Aug 18, 2021

Emily Seebohm Discusses Gold Medal Presentation to McKeown, Aussie Team Culture

Wednesday Aug 18, 2021

We sat down with 7x Olympic medalist and 4x Olympian, Emily Seebohm (fun fact, she has won a medal at all 4 Olympics she's been to). Seebohm starts off with how her 2-week quarantine is going in Darwin, Australia. Personally, it has been interesting speaking with the Aussies about this, as usually you would come down from the high of the Olympics and keep yourself surrounded by people (family, friends, fans), which might prevent you from taking time to reflect on the experience and the emotions it brought (enter post-Olympic blues). I'm really interested to hear about how the Aussies feel emotionally coming out of this quarantine, as it has given them a lot of alone time to reflect and process the experience.

We then discuss Seebohm's 4th Olympic experience, where, at age 29, she was actually putting more of an emphasis on the 200 back. We saw this pay off with her earning a bronze medal in the event, behind her teammate Kaylee McKeown who won gold. Seebohm would go on to present McKeown with her gold medal, getting asked by McKeown to stand at the top of the podium with her as a result.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Tuesday Aug 17, 2021

Bobby Finke Talks Stellar Closing Speed that Netted Him Double Gold in Tokyo

Tuesday Aug 17, 2021

We sat down with the double Olympic champion in both distance events, Bobby Finke. Finke takes us through both his Olympic Trials experience and Olympic experience, noting his experience from previous national teams had helped him feel ready to seize this moment. Finke gives a play-by-play of both 800 and 1500 from the Olympic Games, where he had monstrous last-50 splits to pass the field and take the gold in both races.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com