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

Monday Mar 22, 2021

Sarah Bacon on Ending her NCAA Career as 1 & 3 Meter Springboard Champion

Monday Mar 22, 2021

1-METER DIVING FINALS

Meet Record: 363.20, Sarah Bacon (Minnesota) – 2019
2019 Champion: Sarah Bacon (Minnesota), 363.20

Top 3

Sarah Bacon (Minnesota) – 357.20
Aranza Vazquez-Montano (UNC) – 348.45
Brooke Schultz (Arkansas) – 335.85

Minnesota gets some points on the board here with Sarah Bacon defending her 2019 crown, scoring 357.20. Bacon won silver in this event at 2019 Worlds and won the Pan Am gold.

3-METER DIVING FINALS

NCAA Record: Christina Loukas (Indiana), 437.75 – 2009
Meet Record: Christina Loukas (Indiana), 437.75 – 2009
2019 Champion: Maria Polyakova (UCLA), 396.00

Top 3:

Sarah Bacon (Minnesota)- 408.60
Aranza Vazquez (UNC)- 384.75
Cami Hidalgo (Georgia Tech)- 356.40

After winning the 1-meter board yesterday, Minnesota’s Sarah Bacon won again on the 3-meter diving board by 23.85 points. Taking second was UNC’s Aranza Vazquez (384.75) and Georgia Tech’s Cami Hidalgo (356.40).

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Sunday Mar 21, 2021

Phoebe Bacon's Almost Never Been Excited for a 200 Back Until the Last 5 Months

Sunday Mar 21, 2021

200 BACK FINALS

NCAA Record: Beata Nelson (Wisconsin), 1:47.24 – 2019
American Record: Regan Smith, 1:47.16 – 2019
U.S. Open Record: Regan Smith, 1:47.16 – 2019
Meet Record: Beata Nelson (Wisconsin), 1:47.24 – 2019
2019 Champion: Beata Nelson (Wisconsin), 1:47.24
2020 Top Performer: Rhyan White (Alabama), 1:48.06

Top 3

Phoebe Bacon (Wisconsin) – 1:48.32
Rhyan White (Alabama) – 1:48.99
Isabelle Stadden (Cal) – 1:49.66

This was a fantastic race, as Katharine Berkoff of NC State, Rhyan White of Alabama and Phoebe Bacon of Wisconsin all took it out within tenths of each other.

Pushing into the third 50, though, Bacon really charged, and she was able to hold onto that pace through the exciting final 50. Bacon hits her first sub-1:50 ever, becoming the third-best NCAA freshman ever at 1:48.32. That keeps the Wisconsin 200 back streak alive after Beata Nelson won in 2019.

White was also under 1:49, hitting a 1:48.99, not quite able to come back on Bacon but picking up big points for Alabama before their huge 100 free.

Cal freshman Isabelle Stadden was third in 1:49.66, while youth continued to reign; Virginia Tech freshman Emma Atkinson was fourth in 1:50.43 ahead of Virginia freshman Reilly Tiltmann (1:50.66).

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Sunday Mar 21, 2021

NC State's Braden Holloway Speaks to Significance of Historic 2nd Place Finish

Sunday Mar 21, 2021

For the first time in program history, the Virginia Cavalier women are NCAA team champions, earning at least one A-finalist in every individual event. Taking team runner-up was the NC State Wolfpack, making the team rankings an ACC 1-2 finish. No ACC team, men’s or women’s, has ever finished higher than third place at NCAAs. Before this meet, Virginia’s best team finishes were a pair of 5th-place scores in 2015 and 2016. NC State’s best finish before 2021 was 7th place, achieved between 2017-2019.

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Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Saturday Mar 20, 2021

Brooke Forde Walks Us Through Her Revamped 400 IM Training at Stanford

Saturday Mar 20, 2021

After the 200 fly/back of the 400 IM final, Stanford’s Brooke Forde was running 4th heading into the breaststroke. Forde then pulled ahead of the field into the 100 free, easily winning her first 400 IM NCAA title with a Greensboro pool record of 4:01.57. That was just four one-hundredths off her 2020 season best of 4:01.53. In 2018, Forde placed 4th in the final as a freshman followed by a third-place finish in 2019. Her title today is Stanford’s 5th-straight 400 IM title, following Ella Eastin‘s 2015-2019 sweep and the cancelled 2020 meet. Stanford now has 13 total 400 IM titles, the most of any program.

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Saturday Mar 20, 2021

Katharine Berkoff, Sophie Hansson Explain What Sets NC State Training Apart

Saturday Mar 20, 2021

Hansson (100 Breast) and Berkoff (100 breast) of NC State each won 2 NCAA titles last night, one in their individual events and 1 as a member of the winning 200 medley relay. They each explain how their training in Raleigh this season has led to this moment at the NCAA Championships.

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Saturday Mar 20, 2021

Alex Walsh Sees Benefits After Training Endurance Freestyle her Freshman Year

Saturday Mar 20, 2021

Freshman Alex Walsh is coming off a successful 2 days of competition, where she's been crowned NCAA champion twice in the 200 IM and as a member of the winning 800 free relay for Virginia. Walsh explains why mid-distance freestyle training has helped her reach the next level this season.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Friday Mar 19, 2021

NC State Women Break Down US Open, NCAA Record-Setting 400 Medley Relay

Friday Mar 19, 2021

The women of NC State clocked a new US Open and American record in the 400 medley relay of 3:24.59. Katharine Berkoff (50.07), Sophie Hansson (57.01), Kylee Alons (49.29), and Julia Poole (48.22) combined to win the Wolfpack's first-ever relay title in program history. The 4 women talk through the lead-up to this relay and how they were able to get the job done.

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Wednesday Mar 17, 2021

UVA Women Break Down Emotional First Relay Title in Program History

Wednesday Mar 17, 2021

The Virginia women took home their first-ever NCAA relay title in the 800 free relay, clearing the rest of the field by over 4 seconds to put on a dominant display. The team comprised of senior Kyla Valls, senior Paige Madden, sophomore Ella Nelson, and freshman Alex Walsh.

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Wednesday Mar 17, 2021

Sarah Sjostrom Doing 3 Leg Workouts Per Day, Kick is Stronger Than Ever

Wednesday Mar 17, 2021

We sat down with world record-holder Sarah Sjostrom, who is on the road to recovery after breaking her elbow. Sjostrom gave us an update on her status, saying she's back in the pool and kicking about 3-3.5 kilometers daily. However, Sjostrom is also going to the gym and doing a heavy leg lift, then getting in a cycling workout daily as well, making her legs very tired by the end of the day. Sjostrom says she's never focused this much on her legs before and normally she just relies on her upper body strength in her swimming. This could be a revamped Sjostrom once she is allowed to swim 100%, a scary thought considering she already holds 6 individual world records.

SWIMSWAM PODCAST LINKS

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Tuesday Mar 16, 2021

Todd DeSorbo Offers Insight on Event Lineup, UVA Team Goals Before NCAAs

Tuesday Mar 16, 2021

With the 2021 Women's NCAA Championships on the horizon, University of Virginia head coach Todd Desorbo sat down with the media to preview the meet. We asked about UVA's event lineup choices for 2 of their more versatile stars, Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh. For both swimmers, DeSorbo said the event choices came down to what they wanted to swim and what events excited them the most. Douglass will be taking on the 50 free, 100 fly, and 100 free while Walsh will swim the 200 IM, 200 free, and 200 breast.

DeSorbo also emphasized the importance of his team staying loose and having fun while not forcing good swims. DeSorbo recalled that at the 2020 ACCs, the 200 medley relay squad had a year-long goal of breaking the US Open record in the 200 medley relay, but with the weight of that goal on their shoulders all year, the squad fell short of that time at the championships. This year, DeSorbo told the same squad to simply relax and have fun, and they ended up breaking the US Open record.