The SwimSwam Podcast

In this podcast, Houston head coach Tanica Jamison discussed how she is establishing herself with a new program after almost 10 years with one of the most stable programs at Texas A&M, led by one of the most consistent coaches in the sport's history, Steve Bultman.    Tanica also discussed growing up in the 90s as a young, fast, swimmer, who was also black. She spoke about how her sport led her to...

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss Claire Curzan 's American Record in the 100 fly, Townley Haas 's retirement, and the upcoming NCAA DI conference championships. SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify Click here to listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts Click here to listen and subscribe on Podbean Click here to listen and subscribe on Google Click here...

Katie Grimes  made the 2020 Olympic swimming team at age 15 in the 800 free after getting 2nd to Katie Ledecky at the US trials. She discusses her entire Olympic experience, including getting 4th in Tokyo and how she was able to bounce back from that. Grimes also shares her favorite training sets, including one that she did at Olympic training camp and the Sandpipers’ “Janet Evans” set. SWIMSWAM P...

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss FINA's announcement of the new 2022 World Champs in Budapest and how that will affect the upcoming ISL Season 4, which made some announcements of their own recently , and the USA Swimming schedule, which also just came out with their revised season schedule. We also play everyone's favorite game, SINK or SWIM. SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to li...

Bryce Mefford is a 2020 US Olympian and NCAA champion for Cal in his 5th year as a bear. He sat out of competition at Cal this past fall to take a break from the water after the Olympic Games but is now back in competition. Mefford discusses why his break was necessary and how his return to racing has gone so far. He also tells his favorite stories from Olympic training camp and the Games themself...

Michael Brinegar is a 2020 Olympian in the 800/1500 free and an NCAA All-American for Indiana. He sat down with us to speak about his experience at the SC World Champs (where he ended up leaving early due to potential close contact with COVID), training with Mark Schubert in high school and college, and making his first Olympic team last summer. Brinegar also looks ahead to the Big 10 and NCAA cha...

Alia Atkinson is a 5x Olympian, 4x world champion, and current world record-holder. She was a dominant breaststroke throughout the entire 2010s decade and made her mark in the world cup circuit, ISL, and on the world stage. Alia recently announced her retirement after the 2021 Short Course World Championships and sat down with SwimSwam to discuss her career, including ups, downs, and inbetweens. S...

3-time World Champion, 2-time Olympic Champion and Team Speedo Athlete,  Zach Apple , gets raw and real about his 2020 Olympic performance.   Zach let’s us inside his head, inside the highs and lows of his Olympic roller coaster experience. SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify Click here to listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts Click here to listen and subscribe o...

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss the ISL announcing a massive Season 4 schedule, post grads having success with other programs, and Adam Peaty taking on the 200 breast. SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify Click here to listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts Click here to listen and subscribe on Podbean Click here to listen and subscribe on Google Cl...

We sat down with Ryan Held , who is hot off of a 6-medal performance at the 2021 World SC Championships, including 2 relay golds and 2 individual silvers in the 50/100 free. Held takes us through his last 6 months, starting at the lead-up to the 2021 Olympic Trials, when he was training with just Coley Stickels and Ali Khalafalla out of a pool in Birmingham and lifting in Stickels' basement. Held...

Shaine Casas is a 6x world championship medalist and 3x NCAA champion. His decision to leave his alma mater of Texas A&M to train with their rival Longhorns in Austin has turned quite a few heads, but today Casas sets the record straight. He takes us into his head through the whole process of trying to transfer and ultimately going pro. Few swimmers choose to put their degree on hold to focus on t...

Rhyan White is a world champion, Olympic medalist, and NCAA All-American. She was the only woman from America to qualify for the 2021 Olympic Games in both the 100 and 200 backstroke. In Tokyo, she finished 4th in both events, just missing individual medals but still helping the USA to a silver in the 400 medley relay. White discusses managing her emotions through Trials, the Games, and afterword...

In this podcast, we learn more about Mondy, the Jolyn brand, and Jolyn’s on-going support of the sport. This year they launch the Jolyn Swim Collegiate Series. This series is not for the top 5-10% of swimmers that are recruited on “national times” alone. This series focuses on the 90-95% of youth swimmers that don’t have those top national event times. The Swim Collegiate Series serves as a “recru...

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss the 2022 World Champs getting postponed, Katie Ledecky beating Zane Grothe in an exhibition 500 free, and Gretchen Walsh setting a new American record in the 50 yard backstroke.  SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify Click here to listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts Click here to listen and subscribe on Podbean Clic...

Josh Liendo was an Olympian at 18 and now at 19 is a world champion. He not only won gold as a part of the mixed 4x50 free relay in Abu Dhabi, but also earned double individual bronze in the 50 & 100 free. Liendo discusses growing up in Trinidad, moving to Canada as a teen, and becoming invested in swimming by chasing age group records.  SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to listen and subscribe o...

USA Swimming has had a challenge to overcome for generations. Our sport’s registration does not reflect the current makeup of the United States. Only 1% identify as black, and only 6% identify as mixed-race. For USA Swimming to continue to grow and be successful as an National Governing Body, they must invest in big ideas, moonshot ideas, to chart a successful course into the future.  Since 2004 t...

Ron Kontura, Director of Total Performance Swim Camps, is many things. In another life he'd probably be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.  He's the current Aquatics Director at Kenyon College and the Head Coach of Men's and Women's Diving. His resume is long. Ron loves to organize events, and he's passionate about the camp experience and value it provides to swimmers for years and years into their...

As reported today, FINA could be postponing the Fukuoka World Championships set for May of 2022 to July of 2023 . If that is the case, what happens? SwimSwam Editor-in-Cheif, Braden Keith, and I sat down to discuss what this would mean for the US and the rest of the world. While most other countries have another opportunity at a major LCM championship later in the summer, the US only has our summe...

We sat down with 2x Olympic champ Tom Shields to discuss the ISL's no walkout clause, late payments from FINA and ISL, racing for 6 months straight, and being on government assistance leading up to the 2021 Olympic Trials. We also play a new game, "Go with the Current". SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify Click here to listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts Click...

oach  Brian Schrader  heads  Florida Aquatics Swimming & Training (FAST)  at an elite facility opening March 2022 in Ocala, Florida. As head coach Schrader is responsible for all operations while coaching swimmers. Brian drops in on the SwimSwam Podcast to unpack the details behind this brand-new facility. He, of course, has a long resume, having coached along side our sport’s greats, include Eddi...

Today on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we go over Michael Phelps playing celebrity pickleball matches, Sun Yang netting over $500k from selling makeup, and the 2023 World Champs getting pushed to November.  SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify Click here to listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts Click here to listen and subscribe on Podbean Click here to listen and subsc...

Fink talks us through managing school during the full ISL season, taking finals a week before flying to Abu Dhabi for the world championships, and going best times and winning world titles through all of it.  SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify Click here to listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts Click here to listen and subscribe on Podbean Click here to listen a...

We sat down with Olympic champion James Guy, who is currently stuck at home from a positive COVID test, although he is A-symptomatic. Guy walks us through his last 6 months, from the Olympic Games to his "reset" time to ISL. Guy breaks down in fine detail what it meant for himself and Britain to win the men's 4x200 free relay in Tokyo and the hopes they have for the men's 4x100 medley relay after...

We sat down with NAG record-holder and surprise breakout star of the Speedo Winter Jr Champs, Ilya Kharun of the Sandpipers of Nevada. Ilya takes us through his evolution in the pool and with the sandpipers, shedding light on his monumental drop from 1:56 to 1:42 in the 200 fly in the 2021 calendar year. He also discusses his commitment to Arizona State and training with the Sandpipers' top group,...

British Paralympic swimmer Will Perry has gained attention after posting on Instagram last week about an interaction that for him is all too common. After having a frustrating day, he went to the grocery store, hoping for a quiet trip to buy household food. Instead, he was ridiculed because of his size by 3 teenage girls. This prompted a rage-fueled post to his Instagram page, calling for the bull...