The SwimSwam Podcast

Bruno Fratus has dropped a 21 second 50m free performance over 90-times in his career. He alone owns that astounding metric---which is probably why he is loved the world over. He's been in the hunt in the men's 50m free since 2011--always among the top elite swimmers fighting for a podium position. In this swimswam #podcast Bruno unpacks his sprint free history, the highs and the lows, and he rest...

In this episode of the SwimSwam Breakdown, I sat down with SwimSwam Co-Founders Braden Keith and Mel Stewart to analyze what happened in this post-Olympic week of swimming, which was surprisingly a lot 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 subs...

We sat down with 3x Olympian and now 2020 Olympic Analyst with NBC (I think this makes her a 4x Olympian), Elizabeth Beisel . Beisel gave us the FULL rundown of what life is like for the broadcasting team at Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games, sparing no detail and unafraid to get real about the physical and emotional toll these long days and weeks can take on you. To exemplify this, she recalls...

We sat down with Olympic gold medalist Bowe Becker, the sprinter who put Minnesota on the map and surprised many by making the 2020 Olympic team. Becker takes us through his entire process of Olympic Trials and the Games, from his mindset to his swims themselves and everything in between. We then take it back to the beginning of the COVID pandemic, when Becker moved from Auburn (where he was train...

We sat down with Erica Sullivan , the 1500 Olympic silver medalist and recently appointed "New Lesbian Supreme" . Erica walks us through her summer, starting at the Olympic Trials where she was experiencing stress to the point of having trouble eating or sleeping. Even after making the Olympic team in the 1500, Sullivan admits it felt empty and unlike what she had expected this lifelong dream to b...

We sat down with newly minted 2020 Olympic champion in the 200 breast, Zac Stubblety-Cook . After talking about his obsessive coffee habits for the first 7 minutes of the pod (this guy does not mess around with his caffeine), we get into his swimming. He takes us through his Olympic performance, and specifically through his gold medal race in the 200 breast, but then we take it back. Zac goes all...

We sat down with the 2016 Olympic champion and 2020 silver medalist in the 100 free, Kyle Chalmers to get his perspective on the 2020 Olympic Games. Chalmers starts with the lead-up to his trials which was riddled with injury, namely in both of his shoulders. Chalmers admits he couldn't even train at a full schedule until after the Australian trials.   However, once he was in Tokyo, he felt confid...

We sat down with the Olympic champion and sprinting savant, Cesar Cielo . Cesar starts by taking us through his Tokyo experience, behind the microphone in Brazil where he was commentating for a Brazilian TV station. He describes the long hours and lack of sleep that come with broadcasting, shedding some light on what our American commentators go through as well, including Rowdy Gaines, Elizabeth B...

We sat down with Olympic medalists Maggie MacNeil and Kylie Masse to get their perspectives on the 2020 Games. Both Masse and MacNeil speak about trying to find a place of fun before their finals races, not focusing on the pressure as much as swimming their own race. It seemed to work out for them, as MacNeil won gold in the 100 fly and Masse won double silver in the 100-200 backstroke. SWIMSWAM P...

Tom Dolan  is a 400 IM beast, winning this race in 1996 and 2000. In 2000 Tom broke the World Record dropping a 4:11.76. Think about that! That was 21 years ago in a tiny, non-compression suit. Tom has high 400 IM swimming IQ, and he shares it here, breaking down the  Chase Kalisz  and  Jay Litherland  gold and sliver medal Olympic performances.   Daiya Seto just missed the final, and Caron Foster...

2008 Olympian and Olympic medalist Caroline Burckle sat down to discuss one of the biggest topics of the 2020 Olympic Games: mental health for athletes. This was brought to the forefront of the Games when Olympic gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from the team competition . Burckle emphasizes that when she was competing, it would have been helpful to merely have someone to talk to consistently about s...

For the last day of 2020 Olympic swimming, we broke down the Top 10 swims in Tokyo, halved into the Top 5 women's races and the Top 5 men's. For more, check out our full breakdown at SwimSwam . 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...

We sat down with 12-time Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin who, for the first time in 21 years, is simply spectating an Olympics rather than competing or commentating. Coughlin gives her take on the young stars of the Olympics as well as the veterans, explaining why the pressures on each group of athletes is very different. Coughlin explains that at her first Olympics in 2004, even though she was...

Backstroke legend Lenny Krayzelburg sat down with SwimSwam to give his perspective on the 2020 Olympic Games. Lenny was been in a similar boat as Ryan Murphy was heading into these Olympics - defending champion in both the 100 and 200 backstroke. He comments on what it's like to be in that position, how he handled himself heading into the 2004 Games, and what he saw from Murphy in these Games. I'l...

We sat down with the breaststroking man who's always in front of the camera, Cody Miller . Cody goes DEEP on the women's 200 breast, revealing what he saw as the difference maker between Olympic champion Tatjana Schoenmaker 's prelims/semi swims and her finals swim where she broke the world record. Cody also gives insight into Lilly King 's mentality after losing her Olympic title in the 100 breas...

#5 – W 50 Free: Emma McKeon has been on a roll at these Olympic Games, and she continued that in the 50 free semi-finals, setting a new Olympic record at 24.00 #4 – W 200 Back: Kaylee McKeown successfully completes the backstroke sweep, getting her hand on the wall first at 2:04.68 to win gold in both the 100 and 200 backstrokes #3 – W 800 Free: Katie Ledecky won her 3rd-straight Olympic title in...

Newly minted 2x Olympic champion in the 200 free and 4x200 free relay Tom Dean of Great Britain joined us today on the SwimSwam Podcast. Dean breaks down both of his golden races, describing how he adjusted to the Olympic environment and embraced the pressure of an Olympic final. You may want to stay tuned until the very end... Dean gives away his secret on how to store your gold medals safely whe...

Two-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist Katie Hoff has high swimming IQ. She's been to the big show and experienced the pressure. In SwimSwam's ongoing coverage of the 2020 Olympic Games, Hoff helps us unpack the women's 400 IM, 400 free, 200 IM, 200 free and 4x200 freestyle relay.  Also, she provides her insight into managing mental health during the Olympic pressure-cooker.  Stay engag...

We sat down with sprinting legend James Magnussen to unpack the 100 free final and ended up unpacking the entire Olympic Games. We talk about most of the big races that have happened so far and specifically Australia's golden moments. We are used to seeing the Aussie trials come in March and then them not race again until the Games, but James is relieved that the system has finally changed and it...

#5 – M 800 Free: In a race of the ages, Greg Paltrinieri was out like a shot in lane 8, holding a solid lead through the first 600. However, the field began to catch him in the last 200, but it was Bobby Finke , who flipped 4th at the 750, who came home in 26.3 to pass 3 other competitors to win in an American record in 7:41.87 #4 – M 200 Breast:  Zac Stubblety-Cook swam a similar race to Finke, b...

We sat down with Olympic champion Melanie Margalis , the IM savant who is enjoying being a swim fan for once. Margalis swim nerds it up, delving into why it is so difficult to have both your 200 IM and 400 IM fire on the same level at the same meet, how to improve a single stroke in your IM, and what she saw from double gold-medalist Yui Ohashi.   Margalis also recalls multiple stories from Olympi...

Aaron Peirsol has seven Olympic medals and still holds the 200 backstroke world record, 1;51.9. He has wisdom and insight to share. He unpacks that in this SwimSwam podcast, a part of our ongoing Olympic coverage bringing you stars to provide a deeper point of view on each and every event.  Peirsol details the United States' long successful history in backstroke, going back to the 1976 Olympic Gam...

SWIMSWAM’S TOP 5 SWIMS OF THE 2020 OLYMPIC GAMES: DAY 4 #5 – M 200 Fly: World record holder Kristof Milak backed up his world title, doing his thing and dominating the field in the 2nd 100, touching for his first Olympic gold in 1:51.25 #4 – W 200 IM: Yui Ohashi completed the IM sweep in her home country, taking the 200 in 2:08.52 to become the 7th woman in a row to win both medley events at the O...

We sat down with 3x Olympic champion Rebecca Soni , the breaststroke legend who won back-to-back Olympic titles in the 200 breast. After seeing 17-year-old Lydia Jacoby take the title in the women's 100 breast, Soni compared Jacoby's reaction to what Soni felt when winning her first 200 breast title in 2008. Soni emphasizes that exceeding your expectations as an athlete at the top level is a very...

We sat down with Olympic and world champion Ricky Berens to get his perspective on the 2020 Olympic 200 free final and what he see's for the 4x200 free with USA. Berens breaks down the subtleties of what it takes to swim a great 200 free and where the world is at in that progression. While chances are grim, he explains why USA still has a chance to win gold tonight against Britain, Russia, and the...