The SwimSwam Podcast

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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

Tuesday Jul 06, 2021

Dara Torres Describes the Bond Between a Previous and Current AM Record Holder

Tuesday Jul 06, 2021

Olympic superstar Dara Torres drops in on this GMM takeover of the SwimSwam Podcast. Dara is the first swimmer to compete in five Olympic Games (1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2008), and the oldest swimmer to make an Olympic Team, which she did at the age of 41. On the Olympic stage Dara earned twelve medals — four gold, four bronze, four silver — tying her with teammates Jenny Thompson and Natalie Coughlin for the most Olympic medals won by a woman.

In this podcast Dara unpacks the recent women's sprint events at the U.S. Olympic Trials, and her connection to the newly named U.S. Olympic Team Captain, Simone Manuel. Dara also explains her new position as the Chief Wellness Officer for www.canibrands.com (pronounced Can-Eye-Brands), a CBD company.

Dive deeper Dara Torres at her website here.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Monday Jul 05, 2021

Tom Shields Openly Discusses Ups & Downs of The Olympic Quad, Suicide Attempt

Monday Jul 05, 2021

CONTENT WARNING: We do discuss sensitive topics, including suicide, in this video/podcast and there is brief profanity. If you're having suicidal thoughts, please call the national suicide prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit their website at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org

We sat down with 2x Olympian Tom Shields, fresh off of his 2nd Olympic qualification in the 100 fly in Omaha. Shields dives in with us, talking for nearly an hour about his whole quad and how he's navigated the last 5 years. He mentions that for a normal person, a year or two may not seem like that long, but for someone who lives in quads, it can be a lifetime. Shields has been through many ups and downs since 2016, including the 2020 ISL season (the best season of his career) as well as a suicide attempt in late 2018, all of which he talks about in detail.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Saturday Jul 03, 2021

Ryan Murphy Analyzes His 2021 Olympic Games Backstroke Competition

Saturday Jul 03, 2021

In this Gold Medal Minute takeover of the SwimSwam Podcast with 3-time Olympic Champion Ryan Murphy, we cover a lot of topics.

Unpacking 2017-2021

2017 World Champs - Murphy was off because he achieved everything he wanted at the 2016 Olympics. In '17, he lost a bit of focus. He was still fast, but at the top, he learned that year that he has to be fully engaged.

2018 Pan Pacs - when Murphy hit his 200 back PB (1:53.57), he rested a full six weeks. Murphy has big man strength. He knows he needs 5-6 weeks of taper.

2019 World Champs - Murphy said he felt great, was ready to race, but he simply had a bad meet against great competitors.

2021 Olympic Trials - Murphy was rested 3 weeks. He felt confident and in control--exactly where he needed to be. Of course Murphy won the 100 back (52.33) and 200 back (1:54.4).

Who Does Murphy Fear?

Murphy said he fears no one, but he does respect his competitors, and he unpacks them in this podcast.

Raising Talent

I thought Shaine Casas would make the Olympic Team, and he got close, netting 3rd in the 100m backstroke (52.76) at U.S. Olympic Trials. Murphy said he followed Shaine's success, and that new talent like Shaine gave him a sense of urgency in training this past year.

ISL

Murphy talks about his post Olympic plans. At this point in time, he has been retained by LA Current's General Manager Lenny Krayzelburg for Season 3.

2021 OLYMPIC GAMES PREDICTIONS

100 back? I see a repeat of the 2016 Olympics. Ryan Murphy dips under 52 seconds, edging China's Jiayu Xu for the gold. Russian Evgeny Rylov takes the bronze. (And, yes, this is shot in the dark. I could see Jiayu, Rylov, Kolesnikov and/or Murphy make a mistake and missing the podium. It's going to be a tight race. Would be interesting if upstart Hunter Armstrong makes the podium.)

200 back? Evgeny Rylov wins. Rylov's 1:52.9 to 1:53 low. With 3 more weeks of rest Murphy tops his PB, 1:53.4 for silver. The UK's Luke Greenbank makes the podium with a 1:54 low.

4x100 Medley Relay? I want to see Team USA earn gold. Getting past the U.K squad will be tough. For Team USA I think Michael Andrew has to put down a 57+ in the 100 breast, and Zach Apple has to split 46.8 on the anchor. (Apple was a 46.8 split at 2019 World Champs.) I'm leaving it there, because it's not about what I think. It's all about what you think. I really want to know your thoughts on the 4x100 medley Olympic final...

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Friday Jul 02, 2021

Taking a Deep Dive Into the 2021 ISL Draft

Friday Jul 02, 2021

We sat down with SwimSwam Editor-in-Cheif Braden Keith and SwimSwam senior writer Jared Anderson to take a deep dive into the 2021 ISL draft. We talk about what went well about the presentation, what didn't go so well, and what we'd like to see changed moving forward. We also break down what teams 'won' the draft and how much it might matter heading into season 3 of the International Swimming League.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Thursday Jul 01, 2021

Head Coach Dave Durden Assesses Trials, 2021 Olympic Team Moving Forward

Thursday Jul 01, 2021

We sat down with 2021 Olympic head coach for the US men's team, Dave Durden. Durden is also the head coach of men's swimming at University of California and he took us through what he thought of the bears' showing at Olympic Trials. Dave is methodical and has been through this process many times, so I really enjoyed getting his perspective on how he moves through a process like Olympic Trials, going home for 1 week, then leaving again for the Olympic Games.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Wednesday Jun 30, 2021

Junior of the Meet Matt Fallon Goes Into Detail on Breakout 2021 Olympic Trials

Wednesday Jun 30, 2021

We sat down with SwimSwam's Junior Swimmer of the Meet from the 2021 US Olympic Trials, Matt Fallon. Fallon had my personal favorite swim of the meet in the 200 breast semis, where he touched 8th at the 100 wall and then came home in 1:05.2, running down the entire field to touch first overall and break the 17-18 national age-group record at 2:08.91. Fallon breaks down his mindset during the meet and takes us through all of his races in Omaha.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Tuesday Jun 29, 2021

Todd DeSorbo Reflects on Trials That Saw 4 UVA Swimmers Make 2021 Olympic Team

Tuesday Jun 29, 2021

We sat down with the head coach of the University of Virginia, and now Olympic assistant coach, Todd DeSorbo. DeSorbo wanted to make clear out of the gate that his athletes put him on the team and not the other way around. But no matter how you look at it, UVA swimmers were on a roll at the 2021 Olympic Trials as 4 athletes that train in Charlottesville made the US Olympic team and many more registered lifetime bests. DeSorbo breaks down the Olympic-qualifying performances of Paige Madden, Alex Walsh, Kate Douglass, and Catie DeLoof as well as what he's looking forward to in Tokyo.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Monday Jun 28, 2021

Kaitlin Sandeno Gives Behind-the-Veil Look at 2021 Olympic Trials, DC Trident

Monday Jun 28, 2021

We sat down with Olympic medalist, DC Trident GM and on-deck host for the 2021 Olympic Trials, Kaitlin Sandeno. Anyone who has ever encountered Kaitlin knows that she is an energizing personality who is easy to be around and can get a party started. This is exactly what she was doing every night in Omaha for the first 3 weeks of June. Sandeno breaks down exactly what her day-to-day entailed during Wave I and II trials as well as what to expect from her DC Trident in season 3 of the ISL, including thoughts on her newest assistant coach, Olympic champion Cullen Jones.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Sunday Jun 27, 2021

Speedo Unveils U.S. Federation Fastskin Swimsuit

Sunday Jun 27, 2021

Courtesy of Speedo, a SwimSwam partner.

Today, Speedo USA unveiled its U.S. Federation Suit which will be worn by superstar swimmers Caeleb Dressel, Hali Flickinger, Jamal Hill, Becca Meyers, Ryan Murphy, Andrew Seliskar and Abbey Weitzeil during a huge summer of swimming.

The U.S. Federation Suit colorway will adorn both of Speedo’s cutting-edge tech race suits, Fastskin LZR Pure Intent or Fastskin LZR Pure Valor, designed by combining 20 years of performance learnings with innovative technologies and fabrics, creating the perfect suit for every type of competitive aquatics athlete.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Saturday Jun 26, 2021

Getting to Know The New FINA Executive Director Brent Nowicki

Saturday Jun 26, 2021

Brent Nowicki, the new FINA Executive Director is young, only 42 years old. He grew up an age group swimmer, a breaststroker, in the United States and played DI lacrosse at Fairfield University before receiving his Juris Doctor degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

When SwimSwam captured this interview Brent had only been on the job eight days. Despite his youthful age, Brent is stepping into the chief executive position with respectable experience across many international federations. He's the former Managing Counsel at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). I asked around, and leaders I trust in swimming felt he could've gone down a few different career paths. They felt we're lucky to have him. I hope they are correct.

Off camera the message from Brent was clear. Under his leadership swimming, diving, water polo and artistic swimming will experience more transparency, engagement, and communication from FINA, our international governing body. From my experience with FINA that would be a 180 degree turn from the policy of the former executive director, Cornel Marculescu of Romania, who held the position for 35 years.

We obviously captured the interview at U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha. While Brent's first aquatic trip as ED was to the United States, that was simply because of timing. U.S. Trials was the first big event to see elites and governance in action since he assumed the position. Brent will be on the road a lot this year, seeing aquatic sports federations around world.

The interview came together last minute thanks Dale Neuburger, former FINA Vice President, now FINA Treasurer. I've known Dale for many years. He is a tough leader. He lets you know where he stands, and he lets you always know where you stand with him. To Dale's credit, he headed the search committee that landed Brent, and it's seem clear Dale's mission was to find a youthful, energetic executive.

I didn't grill Brent. He's too new to the gig, but I had to at least ask Dale about the complicated relationship between FINA and the International Swimming League (ISL). I thought Dale would respond "no comment" for a variety of reasons, but he didn't flinch, and, in fact, had quite a bit to say. Watch to the end. Dale's forthcoming and clear on the topic.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS