Social Kick • Swim Culture & Stories

Auburn Head Coach, and former Auburn standout swimmer, Ryan Wochomurka joins us for a reflection on his first year leading the program. Ryan was a 21x All-American at Auburn in the early 2000s at the peak of Auburn’s dominance, and following his swim career he’s built an impressive coaching resume with success as an assistant at Louisville and as a head coach at Houston. Notably, Auburn has faded...

Storied swimming coach David Marsh joins us right after helping The University of California win the 2022 Swimming and Diving Championships. David talks about working closely with his old colleague and friend, Head Coach Dave Durden, what it took to be successful in the 6 weeks he spent there, and what value he thinks he added to their success. Bryan was part of David's legacy at Auburn when he wo...

Elite swimmers from the top three teams at the 2022 Men's NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships join us for a fun, teasing break down of the exciting meet. Olympian and Multiple National Champion Drew Kibler of Texas, Olympian and National Champion Björn Seeliger of Cal and Multiple National Champion Adam Chaney of Florida give us and each other their highs, lows and nerves from the faster NCAA m...

Gold, silver and bronze, Maggie Mac Neil went to the Tokyo Olympics determined to succeed and impress us all. The Social Kick welcomes back the newly crowned Olympic Champion to talk all things Tokyo and more! Winning Team Canada’s only gold in the pool in the women’s 100m Butterfly, Maggie swam an impressive 55.59 for a new Americas Record. Now with the titles of Olympic and World Champion to her...

Energy Standard Head Coach James Gibson and their Captain, Olympic Gold Medalist Chad le Clos, join for a preview of the 2021 season of the International Swim League. The ever-changing league has shifted once again and as heads of state for Team ENS, we get reactions from James and Chad on the impact of the draft and how much it helped teams like Aqua Centurions and DC Trident, the rule changes fo...

As the Paralympics and the Season 3 of the ISL get underway, grab a beer (or a brew) and join The Social Kick on an official roundup of the Olympics to relive all the highs and lows. This is what The Social Kick is all about! Favourite races, best all-round athletes and biggest surprises, we cover it all, breaking down some of the biggest moments from the most anticipated swimming event on the cal...

Whether you’re feeling inspired from the Olympics or want to start your own personal fitness journey, nutrition is key. Join us in welcoming personal nutritionist Erica Beine to the podcast as she gives us all the tips on what we think is right for our bodies and what actually is. A former college swimmer and D1 head coach, Erica stepped off deck to focus on her theory of personalized nutrition an...

Before she makes the journey to Tokyo, The Social Kick is joined by Australian swimmer and Olympic Silver medallist, Tamsin Cook. Tamsin swam an impressive anchor leg at the age of 17 to bring Australia home in the 4x200m Freestyle Relay for a second-place finish. An individual 400m swimmer, Tamsin has qualified for Tokyo in a packed event with the likes of Katie Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus. After...

Season 3 of the ISL is well underway and fresh from the drafting process, Team Iron’s Head Coach Luka Gabrilo joins us on The Social Kick. Currently Head Coach of the Israeli National Team, Luka will step down from this role after the Tokyo Olympics to concentrate on his new job with the ISL and Iron. His previous coaching experience includes working as Head Coach of the Swiss National team and wi...

We’re back down under this week with first time Olympian and Australian swimmer Zac Incerti. Zac has recently qualified for the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays for Tokyo, two of the most highly anticipated events on this summer’s schedule. An advocate for men’s mental health, Zac talks about the hard times he has personally gone through. From injuries and depression to his recent, and rightly a...

Bursting onto the scene, Erica Sullivan makes her appearance on The Social Kick. Erica is a 20-year-old long distance pool and open water swimmer from Las Vegas. Newly selected to represent Team USA in the 1500m, Erica claimed her ticket in a brilliant trials swim, coming in second to Katie Ledecky and holding off Sandpipers teammate Katie Grimes. Selected for her first Olympic Games during Pride...

The Social Kick is taking a trip down under before the start of Australian trials! Our guest this week is Australian swimmer Alex Graham. Competing for a spot in his first Olympic team at the upcoming trials, we talk to Alex about his past relationship with swimming and the intense international competition in the 200m freestyle. Commonwealth and World Champion in the 4x200m freestyle, Alex Graham...

400IM World and Commonwealth Bronze medallist Lewis Clareburt joins The Social Kick this week. Deep in his preparations for Tokyo, the Kiwi swimmer takes some time to tell us about the sport of swimming in New Zealand and his surprise 4.09.87 pb at trials. As one of New Zealand’s leading professional swimmers, Lewis shares his stories of overcoming adversity in the pool. From the public trying to...

Recorded before her recent 50m Backstroke European Champion title, Dutch swimmer Kira Toussaint joins The Social Kick. The short course 50m Backstroke world record holder jumps into her race strategy and mindset with us, commenting on the ISL and how her world record came to be. As well as explaining the creation of and reason behind her underwater kick and top arm pull out. Often called a ‘fake s...

British record holder and 2020 Olympian Molly Renshaw joins us for this week’s show. The Loughborough National Centre swimmer recently broke the 200m Breaststroke British record at GB Trails in a time of 2.20.89. Qualifying for her second Olympic Games, Molly talks of her troubled relationship with Olympic trials and the moments that shaped her into the swimmer she is today. We break down her impr...

Continuing our round of British athletes, Matt Richards joins us this week. Recently qualified for Team GB, the 18-year-old put on the performance of his life at British trials. From 2019 European Junior Champion, Richards will swim in his first senior team in the upcoming Long Course European Championships before taking to the Olympic stage in July. Richards has individually qualified for the 100...

Newly qualified for his first ever Olympics, British swimmer Joe Litchfield joins The Social Kick. The Loughborough trained athlete has been recently selected to represent Team GB at Tokyo 2020. Alongside his older brother Max, the Litchfield’s will be just the third set of siblings to compete for Great Britain in an Olympic Swimming meet. After his impressive swims at British Trials, which result...

The Social Kick are finally back together again, discussing the recent announcements of the ISL Draft and new Auburn Head Coach. The 2021 ISL season is gearing up to be the most interesting yet. With a new and upcoming draft selection process, there is a chance for greater equality within the teams and greater competition all round. It might look confusing at first, but we’ve tackled the format he...

Austrian ISL star and NCAA Champion Felix Auboeck has continued his dominance in middle-distance freestyle. At the recent 2021 Swim Open Stockholm meet, Felix qualified for his second Olympics in the 200m, 400m and 800m Freestyle events. Not to mention breaking two Austrian records in the process. Austria’s swimming star, Felix has trained with the best. Studying at Michigan in 2016-2020, his NCAA...

The Social Kick are honored to have Dick Pound on the show this week! The first ever President of the World-Anti Doping Agency and two-time Vice President of the International Committee, Dick Pound is a giant in the world of sport. A chartered accountant and lawyer, Dick’s roots are in swimming. Representing Canada at 1960 Rome Olympics and 1962 Perth British Empire and Commonwealth Games, Dick he...

Marie Wattel roars onto the podcast this week after her recent success at the 2021 FNN Golden Tour in Marseille. Marie won the 100m Freestyle and 100m Butterfly to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics this summer. Competing for France, she trains at Loughborough University in England, a move she made in 2016 after deciding she needed a change in her training following her performance at the Rio Olympics...

Fresh off the block from Men’s NCAAs, breaststroker Reece Whitley joins us on The Social Kick. Reece holds the second fastest ever time in the 200 Breaststroke SCY and has soared onto the international swimming scene over the last few years. Looking ahead to the summer, we discuss his recent performance at NCAAs alongside his Cal teammates (even if he never sees them train), and the impressive ros...

Shaine Casas is not just looking to win big at NCAAs this week, he's looking to break records. The 2019 U.S. National Champion in 100m Backstroke joins us on the first day of Men's NCAAs to talk about his mentality and goals. Swimming for Texas A&M, Casas is the 4th fastest swimmer in the 200 Backstroke SCY and only a second away from Ryan Murphy's fastest swim ever. An enthusiastic young athlete,...

2019 World Champ in 100m Butterfly, Canadian star Maggie MacNeil joins the show on the eve of NCAAs. The Michigan swimmer exploded onto the international scene after beating reigning champion Sarah Sjöström at the Gwangju games. Provisionally nominated for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, join us as Maggie recalls her unforgettable Worlds win, how her underwater dolphin kick is so powerful and her goals f...

We chat with a swimming hero, from her home in Holland. Enith Brigitha was the first black swimmer to win an Olympic medal with 2 bronzes in the 100 & 200 free at the 1976 Montreal games, and while such a monumental feat as breaking the podium color barrier deserves the utmost praise, tragically, her 100 free bronze should have been gold. Enith burst onto the world scene as a young 17yr old at the...