The SwimSwam Podcast

We sat down with Ben Proud, the first man in history to win a world title, Commonwealth title, and European title in one summer (50 free). Proud takes us through his summer and how he managed his mind through all 3 of the meets. He also dives into what his training looks like (7k-14k meters per week), his mentality toward sprinting, and how he balances work in the pool vs work in the gym.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss what a decathlon for swimming would look like, NCAA stars Maggie MacNeil , Leon Marchand , and Josh Liendo , and WADA's policy on Marijuana.

We sat down with Will Glass, the NCAA All-American for the University of Texas who is returning to his alma mater as a volunteer assistant in December. Glass discusses what he hopes to bring to the pool deck in Austin and what he learned as a mentee of the famed Eddie Reese. Glass also has 2 unique roles in Austin due in part to his swimming roots: he's a masters coach at Western Hills Athletic Cl...

SwimSwam sat down with Sarah Thomas, the world record-holder for the longest continuous swim (unassisted, non-wetsuited) done in current-neutral conditions (104.6 miles). Sarah came onto our radar when Yung Thug tweeted at Michael Phelps, asking the 23-time Olympic gold medalist if he thought he could swim 100 miles, to which Phelps responded Yes. Thomas, one of the only humans to have ever ACTUAL...

Rachel Stratton-Mills joined the SwimSwam podcast one month into her 6th season at Arizona State University. The Associate Head Coach for Sun Devils talks about the “Fruit Salad,” that makes up the ’22-’23 team in Tempe, and explains the different, fruit-inspired, names for each training group. She talks about what has gone well in her first 5 seasons, where the program can go, and what it will ta...

We sat down with 16-year-old San Diego local Nick Mahabir, who had a big breakout this summer by punching a 1:00.37 in the 100m breast at US Nationals. We discuss Nick choosing to represent Singapore internationally, being surprise neighbors with Michael Andrew in Coronado, and playing water polo and swimming casually up until age 15. 

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss the likelihood that Caeleb Dressel's NCAA records get broken, the fairness of whereabouts failure suspensions, and 'Rowdy's Rule' for getting back into swim shape

We sat down with Army West Point Commits Hadley King and Campbell Payton, the first two athletes to make their verbal commitments from the high school class of 2024. Both girls tell us why West Point was the school for them and what they hope to gain in and out of the pool. They chose West Point for different reasons but had a similar timeline for their recruitment process. Each athlete gives pers...

We sat down with 6x 2022 Jr Pan Pacific Champion, Erin Gemmell , to discuss her whirlwind summer. Gemmell started things at the 2022 US Trials with the goal of making the world champs team. After getting sick just weeks before the meet, she placed 7th in the 200 free final, just missing out on her first senior international team. She then changed tracks and decided to focus on Jr Pan Pacific Champ...

We sat down with 2x bronze medalist from the 2022 World Championships, Josh Liendo. The Canadian sprinter just made a big move, surprising the swimming community with his decision to attend and compete for the University of Florida this fall. Liendo discusses why this was the right decision for him and what he's excited about moving forward as a Gator.

We sat down with 2021 NCAA champion in the 200 fly, Brendan Burns in Indiana. Burns talks us through how the beginning of the season is going for him and the team so far in Bloomington. We get into topics such as winning an NCAA title, his 200 fly/200 back double at Big Tens last year, and how to make your underwater elite. We also talk about Burns' future in swimming and how he views long course...

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discussed Caeleb Dressel breaking his silence since leaving the world champs, US selection procedures, and the legitimacy of practice swims.

Arthur Albiero is entering his 20th season at the University of Louisville. When he took over in 2003, the pool was tiny, so were the scholarships, and the program hadn’t achieved much. A lot has changed in two decades. In this episode of the SwimSwam podcast, we get into how athletes have changed. How recruiting has changed. How the Louisville program has changed. And how Arthur himself has evolv...

Lea Maurer joins the SwimSwam podcast a couple weeks into her first year as the, “Peter Daland Endowed Swimming Coach Chair,” aka Head Coach, at USC. Lea is an Olympic Gold Medalist and former American Record holder. She swam for legends like John Collins, Randy Reese, and Richard Quick. She talks about how each of them continues to influence her coaching today, as well as how her experience as an...

Daniel Diehl joined the SwimSwam podcast after a four day break from swimming, following his performances at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships. He discusses his swims in Hawaii, including his National Age Group Record in the 100 Backstroke, of 53.27. Daniel doesn’t have a ton of experience racing outside which can be a tough adjustment, especially for backstrokers. He also learned a lot about r...

We sat down with the newest world record holder, David Popovici, the 17-year-old phenom who broke Cesar Cielo's 13-year-old 100 free mark. Popovici is currently in Lima, Peru, preparing for the World Jr Championships, the last Jr meet of his career. He isn't entering the meet with any expectations but did admit that he went best time in workout just the other day, signaling that the Romanian may b...

We sat down with 2x Olympian  Blake Pieroni  who  announced his retirement earlier today . Pieroni explains that after sustaining an injury in the fall, he had time to reflect on whether or not he really wanted to continue competing at the highest level of swimming. For Pieroni, his ultimate dream was to make an Olympic team – something he achieved twice in his career. Pieroni didn’t feel like he...

We sat down with the world record-holder in the 50 free and now the FORMER world record-holder in the 100 free, Cesar Cielo, to get his perspective on sprinting in the world today. Cesar admits he wasn't ecstatic about 17-year-old David Popovici breaking his 13-year-old 100 free world record, but he also wasn't sad about it. He reveals what he see's in Popovici's technique, starts, and kick that c...

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss Simone Manuel moving to ASU to train with Bob Bowman, Dave Durden taking over as Head Coach of the Cal Women, and Highlights from the start of Jr Pan Pac Championships.

For nearly four decades I've heard about or experienced firsthand the fallout of dysfunctional leadership at swim clubs.  Club boards splinter or run amok. Bad coaches go rogue. Good coaches suffer at the hands of egotistical board members. Every situation imaginable occurs. The worst is when you learn a club board never really managed the oversight of a team's finances, and suddenly the entire sw...

The International Olympic Committee’s docuseries “72 - A Gathering of Champions” is a treasured gift for Olympic fans. It’s a new and intimate window into Mark Spitz and his stunning performance at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss David Popovici's surprise world record in the 100 free, the other standouts from European Championships, and the upcoming Duel in the Pool. 

We sat down with Mel Marshall , head coach of the UK High-Performance Centre in Loughborough and most well-known for being the coach of Adam Peaty . Marshall takes us through how she coaches and motivates all of her athletes both in and out of the water. She walks us through what kinds of sets work for each athlete in her group and what it takes to consistently perform at a high level. She also ex...

Bowman gives great insight into what Popovici does well in the water and where his development could take him. He then proceeds to discuss Regan Smith moving to ASU and what that will look like for her future in terms of training. Bowman also touches on his rapidly growing Post-grad group after the addition of Chase Kalisz, Jay Litherland, and Sierra Schmidt (in addition to Smith) and the developm...

We sat down with 3x Olympic medalist, 7x world champion Katie Hoff to discuss a big topic, especially for teenage women in swimming: Going Pro versus competing in the NCAA. With Olympian and world champion Regan Smith announcing her decision to turn professional after competing at Stanford for one year, we wanted a perspective from someone who had made this decision and seen how it played out in t...