The SwimSwam Podcast

We sat down with Olympic icons and  RISE Athlete  Co-Founders  Caroline Burckle  and  Rebecca Soni  to speak about mental wellness vs. mental fortitude, especially as it relates to the US Olympic Trials and Olympic Games. Burckle and Soni both speak candidly about their experiences at both competitions and how, although they did have outlets to express their emotions in one way or another during t...

We sat down with newly minted 2021 Olympian Lydia Jacoby to discuss the 2021 Olympic Trials in Omaha and how training camp is currently going in Hawaii. Jacoby takes us through her first Trials and how she navigated the extreme high of making an Olympic team and dealing with the pressure of trying to swim her own race. She reveals that her mindset heading into the meet was focused on performance,...

Olympic superstar  Dara Torres  drops in on this GMM takeover of the  SwimSwam Podcast.    Dara is the first swimmer to compete in five Olympic Games (1984, 1988, 1992, 2000 and 2008), and the oldest swimmer to make an Olympic Team, which she did at the age of 41. On the Olympic stage Dara earned twelve medals — four gold, four bronze, four silver — tying her with teammates  Jenny Thompson  and  N...

CONTENT WARNING: We do discuss sensitive topics, including suicide, in this video/podcast and there is brief profanity. If you're having suicidal thoughts, please call the national suicide prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit their website at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org We sat down with 2x Olympian Tom Shields , fresh off of his 2nd Olympic qualification in the 100 fly in Omaha....

In this Gold Medal Minute takeover of the SwimSwam Podcast with 3-time Olympic Champion  Ryan Murphy , we cover a lot of topics. Unpacking 2017-2021 2017 World Champs - Murphy was off because he achieved everything he wanted at the 2016 Olympics. In '17, he lost a bit of focus. He was still fast, but at the top, he learned that year that he has to be fully engaged. 2018 Pan Pacs - when Murphy hit...

We sat down with SwimSwam Editor-in-Cheif Braden Keith and SwimSwam senior writer Jared Anderson to take a deep dive into the 2021 ISL draft. We talk about what went well about the presentation, what didn't go so well, and what we'd like to see changed moving forward. We also break down what teams 'won' the draft and how much it might matter heading into season 3 of the International Swimming Leag...

We sat down with 2021 Olympic head coach for the US men's team, Dave Durden . Durden is also the head coach of men's swimming at University of California and he took us through what he thought of the bears' showing at Olympic Trials. Dave is methodical and has been through this process many times, so I really enjoyed getting his perspective on how he moves through a process like Olympic Trials, go...

We sat down with SwimSwam's Junior Swimmer of the Meet from the 2021 US Olympic Trials, Matt Fallon . Fallon had my personal favorite swim of the meet in the 200 breast semis, where he touched 8th at the 100 wall and then came home in 1:05.2, running down the entire field to touch first overall and break the 17-18 national age-group record at 2:08.91. Fallon breaks down his mindset during the meet...

We sat down with the head coach of the University of Virginia, and now Olympic assistant coach, Todd DeSorbo . DeSorbo wanted to make clear out of the gate that his athletes put him on the team and not the other way around. But no matter how you look at it, UVA swimmers were on a roll at the 2021 Olympic Trials as 4 athletes that train in Charlottesville made the US Olympic team and many more regi...

We sat down with Olympic medalist, DC Trident GM and on-deck host for the 2021 Olympic Trials,  Kaitlin Sandeno . Anyone who has ever encountered Kaitlin knows that she is an energizing personality who is easy to be around and can get a party started. This is exactly what she was doing every night in Omaha for the first 3 weeks of June. Sandeno breaks down exactly what her day-to-day entailed duri...

Courtesy of Speedo , a SwimSwam partner. Today, Speedo USA unveiled its U.S. Federation Suit which will be worn by superstar swimmers Caeleb Dressel, Hali Flickinger, Jamal Hill, Becca Meyers, Ryan Murphy, Andrew Seliskar and Abbey Weitzeil during a huge summer of swimming. The U.S. Federation Suit colorway will adorn both of Speedo’s cutting-edge tech race suits, Fastskin LZR Pure Intent or Fasts...

Brent Nowicki, the new FINA Executive Director is young, only 42 years old.  He grew up an age group swimmer, a breaststroker, in the United States and played DI lacrosse at Fairfield University before receiving his Juris Doctor degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. When SwimSwam captured this interview Brent had only been on the job eight days.  Despite his youthful age, Brent...

We sat down with world champion, Olympic medalist, and now Australian commentator James Magnussen , who was calling the races poolside in Adelaide at the 2021 Australian Olympic Trials. James gives us insight into what he saw from the Aussie team at Trials we all we his biggest USA vs. AUS matchups heading into the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. Magnussen's must-see in Tokyo is Ledecky vs. Titmus, wher...

One of USA's newest Olympians from last week's trials was Hunter Armstrong , the 20-year-old Ohio native who swims for Ohio State. Armstrong is a self-titled "late bloomer" and until high school would often be last in practice, getting beat by male and female teammates alike. Armstrong talks about his journey through this stage and eventually reaching the next level, his motivation being getting t...

We sat down with newly named Olympic coach Peter Andrew , father of Michael Andrew who also just made his first Olympic team. Peter walks us through the process of tapering Michael for Trials and how they decided on his event lineup in Omaha. He also talks about what went well in training for them in the months leading up to Trials and what they expect heading into the Tokyo Olympic Games. SWIMSWA...

Day 6 was short and sweet, seeing a few new Olympians and quite a few doubles.  Annie Lazor  made her first Olympic team after taking a break from the sport in 2016-17 as did  Natalie Hinds .  Michael Andrew ,  Chase Kalisz ,  Ryan Murphy , and  Lilly King  all added their second events for their lineups. And newbies  Bryce Mefford  and  Erika Brown  added their names for the Tokyo roster. Oh, and...

https://youtu.be/EDwkJz1KCNs Night 5 continued to bring surprises in Omaha, both elating and devastating. We saw 2 US Open records from Hali Flickinger (200 fly) and Caeleb Dressel (100 free) as well as Michael Andrew become the #3 American all-time in the 200 IM. We also saw Nic Fink qualify for his first Olympic team after narrowly missing out in the 100 breast as he took a dominating win in the...

We sat down with SwimSwam's Editor-in-Chief Braden Keith and  SwimSwam senior writer Jared Anderson to break down the biggest races of the 2021 US Olympic Trials. We dive deep into the men's 200 IM, men's 100 free, women's 100 fly and who we think may surprise us in Omaha. SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify Click here to listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts Cli...

We sat down with Olympic Icon Maya DiRado to discuss how much of a roller coaster the lead-up to both the Olympic Trials and Olympic Games can be. Maya had one of the most successful Olympic performances of the 2016 Rio Games, taking home individual gold (200 back), silver (400 IM), and bronze (200 IM) while also earning gold on the 4x200 free relay. She recalls some of her best and worse moments...

Olympic swimming champion Caeleb Dressel   is flesh and bone, and he battles nervousness like everyone else. Dressel shares insights into his experience on the run-up to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials and other major qualifying meets. He clearly has made peace with the mental tension learning how to manage it. Recently Dressel notched fast swims at the Atlanta Classic signaling he is on course for a...

Abi Liu is the head coach and owner of PEAK Swimming in Northern California. You may have noticed Abi on deck thanks to her styling kicks. In this sit-down with SwimSwam, Abi talks about her shoe collection and how it’s become a coaching tool.    Abi also discussed all the obstacles of the past year and a half, including dealing with otherness. It’s an honest, informative discussion that we hope y...

The 2021 Olympic Trials Wave I wrapped up in Omaha on Monday, with a whopping 15 athletes earning new qualifications for Wave II, by placing Top 2 in their event. From the 50 free to the 1500, there were exciting races on both the men's and women's side, with the last race of the meet, the men's 1500, coming down to the final meter. SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to listen and subscribe on Spo...

We sat down with 11-time Olympic medalist and International Swimmers' Alliance Manager Matt Biondi . Today marks the launch of the International Swimmers’ Alliance (ISA), an independent organization established by athletes, for athletes that aims to fight for swimmers’ rights and provide them with an independent global voice. Formed in response to the calls from professional swimmers worldwide for...

We saw 10 new swimmers punch their tickets to Wave II Trials next week on night 3 of Wave I, while 2 swimmers earned themselves second events in Omaha next week. The energy was still electric in the stadium and the races themselves, especially the 400 free and 200 back, were all about strategy and who could edge out the gutsiest finish. SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to listen and subscribe on...

Night 2 of racing at the 2021 Wave I Olympic Trials saw many more Wave II cuts from high schoolers and college swimmers alike, with 9 total Wave II cuts in the finals session. We saw names from last night such as Autumn Haebig , Patrick Sammon and Katie Trace place 2nd in events while new names came to the forefront in the form of Kate McCarville , Malia Rausch , and Liam Bresette . SWIMSWAM PODCA...