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

Wednesday Dec 23, 2020

SSPC: Danny Kovac Details Running a Marathon, Doing a Century (100 Mile) Ride

Wednesday Dec 23, 2020

We sat down with SEC champion Danny Kovac, who was back at Mizzou this semester throwing down some impressive times at their invite. We talked about Kovac's swimming, particularly how he balances it with his outside of swim life with activities like farming and socializing. What I didn't think I'd hear was about one day how last year, after NCAAs, Kovac decided to casually run a marathon. And did so that day. Or how, during his time at home in Colorado during the COVID-19 shutdown, he planned out and completed a century bike ride (100 miles).

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Tuesday Dec 22, 2020

SSPC: Katie Meili on Building an Identity Outside of Swimming

Tuesday Dec 22, 2020

We sat down with Olympic champion and now Lawyer Katie Meili. Meili took us through much of her swim journey, from summer league and high school swimming through college swimming at Columbia and into her pro career, where she really started to have a presence on the international stage.

Meili also addresses something we in the swimming community don't always consider: life after swimming. She emphasized the importance of knowing yourself outside of just swimming and starting to formulate a plan of what life after swimming might look like well before you reach the end of your path. In this way, you're well prepared to transition from one passion to the next.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Monday Dec 21, 2020

Shaine Casas on Having COVID, Rolling Ankle & Still Logging Historical Swims

Monday Dec 21, 2020

We sat down with NCAA All-American and USA national champion Shaine Casas. Casas has made headlines a lot since returning to racing in October, mostly for his historical swims. He started off by dropping a 1:36.54 200 Back in October (#4 all-time performer) and followed that up with a 1:39 200 fly (in a dual meet), 1:38.95 200 IM (#3 performer all-time), 43.87 100 back (#3 all-time performer at the time, now #4), and 46.33 100 IM (#1 all-time). He also posted a 1:36.6 200 back from a B-final in November after rolling his ankle the night before.

Casas lends context to all of these sensational swims, describes what having COVID was like back in June, and more.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Sunday Dec 20, 2020

SSPC: Camille Cheng on Reevaluating How You Approach Time Goals When Racing

Sunday Dec 20, 2020

We sat down with NCAA All-American from Cal and 5-time Asian Games medalist Camille Cheng. Cheng is currently back in Hong Kong training for the 2021 Olympic Games, but didn't necessarily always think that would be the case. She takes us through the journey of swimming at Cal, having a great experience in her 4 years there (2011-2015) culminating in an NCAA team title. She stuck around for another year and went to the 2016 Olympic Games, where she didn't perform how she wanted to.

Cheng thought that might be it for her swimming but eventually came back to it with a fresh perspective. Cheng explains that now, it's about having fun in training and racing, enjoying the process instead of focusing on the times as the end-all, be-all goal.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Saturday Dec 19, 2020

SSPC: Veronica Burchill Breaks Down Decision to Train with Tennessee Postgrads

Saturday Dec 19, 2020

We sat down with Veronica Burchill, a 20-time All-American for the University of Georgia and recent ISL champion with the Cali Condors. Burchill talks us through her decision to move from Athens, GA to Knoxville, TN to train with the University of Tennessee's postgrad group. She also tells us stories from her days at Carmel swim club & high school, the University of Georgia, and the ISL bubble with the Cali Condors.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Friday Dec 18, 2020

SSPC: Penny Oleksiak Opens Up about Friendship with Michael Phelps, Olympic Pressure

Friday Dec 18, 2020

We sat down with Penny Oleksiak, the Canadian Olympic champion who is gearing up for another run at the Games in 2021. Oleksiak was put in a unique position few find themselves in: being a full-on celebrity at age 16. Penny opens up about dealing with this pressure in and out of the pool over the last quad and explains how relating to Michael Phelps about this position has been helpful.

Penny also acknowledges why she chose not to participate in ISL this season after having been a member of Energy Standard in season 1 (one contributing factor: she hates short course).

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Thursday Dec 17, 2020

SSPC: Tom Dean Describes Surprisingly Fast VO2 Freestyle Set with James Guy

Thursday Dec 17, 2020

We sat down with ISL Final champion in the 400 free Tom Dean, who really hit his stride at the end of the season this year in Budapest. Dean describes his struggles at the beginning of the ISL season and how he and his coach were able to work through the 6-week training camp to end on a high note. Dean also divulges what practice has been like lately with his training partner James Guy and gives us an example of the work they've been putting in the bank for trials and the 2021 Olympics.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Thursday Dec 17, 2020

SSPC: Mackenzie Padington Explains Her Pre-Olympic Retirement

Thursday Dec 17, 2020

We sat down with Canadian national-teamer, NCAA All-American for Minnesota, and now Swammer Mackenzie Padington, who announced her retirement recently via Instagram. Padington takes us through her reasons for leaving the sport she's been in since age 4, including injury and being unhappy with her current training environment.

Padington explains there was an event that happened unrelated to the swim team in Minnesota that left her wanting to leave. She ended up returning to Victoria and training at the high-performance center in Vancouver. She had even committed to swim for NC State after the Olympics. However, once lockdown started and Padington had to return home, things weren't really clicking for her until she ultimately made the decision to step away from swimming.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Wednesday Dec 16, 2020

SSPC: James Magnussen on 2011 Scuffle with Russians in 4x100 Free Ready Room

Wednesday Dec 16, 2020

We sat down with world champion and freestyle legend James Magnussen. Mel and I geek out over James not because he's a great swimmer, but because he's a great swimmer that we happened to run into at a music festival in 2016. James was taking a vacation in the US and happened to end up in Austin at the time. Mel spotted him from 50 yards away through a crowd of people, and James was kind enough to take a picture with us. We spend way too long talking about that, but there is a positive that came from that story: James actually went to a Texas practice, without telling anyone, and watched the longhorns swim for nearly an hour before he was asked to leave the pool.

After all that, we get into James' career, and his real breakout meet on the international stage: world championships in 2011. Magnussen tells us that not only did he have pneumonia 2 weeks prior to the meet, but in the ready room for the 4x100 free relay, there was a bit of a scuffle with the Russian team.

Follow James Magnussen and what he's doing now here.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com

Wednesday Dec 16, 2020

SSPC: Tommy Cope on Why Breaststrokers Can Get Away with Training Alone

Wednesday Dec 16, 2020

We sat down with Michigan All-American and DC Trident star Tommy Cope. Tommy takes us through his ISL season, which he almost opted not to go for, as well as this past summer which he spent in Cape Girardeau, Missouri at an engineering internship. Cope said his training during this summer was much different than a normal summer at Michigan.

While he would try to swim regularly (6-7 times a week), it was usually only for 1-1.5 hours at a time. However, he was also lifting more, cycling, and playing basketball and volleyball with his fellow interns on a weekly basis. Cope said that swimming by himself could be challenging at times, but because his main focus was breaststroke, he could get away with it, saying that maintaining feel for the water was more important than an aerobic base in the water for those few months.

Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com