The SwimSwam Podcast

NCAA champions Kieran Smith (200 free) and Bobby Finke (400 IM) describe what training was like for the weeks in between the SEC Championship and NCAAs. They also take us through each of their respective winning races and what it meant to be crowned champion for the year. SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify Click here to listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts Clic...

Cal’s  Ryan Hoffer  was out like a rocket, flipping to a 8.90 at the feet off of the first 25. Hoffer couldn’t be stopped, defending his NCAA 50 free title by 0.38 seconds with a new Greensboro pool record time of 18.33. Hoffer shaved a tenth off his lifetime best of 18.43 from this morning, remaining the second-fastest swimmer ever in the 50-yard free behind  Caeleb Dressel  (17.63). Hoffer’s 18....

Texas A&M senior  Shaine Casas  was on Dressel’s American record pace during the first 100, taking the race out in 21.13/24.89 (46.04). Casas maintained his lead into the breaststroke, yet his 29.16 did not match Dressel’s 28.3 record split. Only Cal senior  Hugo Gonzalez  challenged Casas in the breast leg with his strong 29.13 split. Heading into the freestyle, Casas was able to hold off Gonzale...

We sat down with UVA head coach Todd DeSorbo fresh off of his first NCAA title in team history. DeSorbo reflects on the performance his team put up throughout the weekend as well as his coaching style of being conscious to not put pressure on his athletes. He also comments on the historic 1-2 finish for the ACC, saying it was a goal of his for his team to be disruptive at this meet, knowing that o...

12-time Olympic medalist  Ryan Lochte looked a little rough at the recent San Antonia Pro Swim, swimming 2:02.03 in the 200m IM, but he always swims slowly in-season, and Caeleb Dressel swam slowly, and they're both in Coach Gregg Troy 's clutches. In sum, we know they're doing hard work--certainly broken down at this point in their training cycle. "If there was an 800 IM at the Olympics, I would...

We sat down with the University of Cincinnati's NCAA qualifier in the 200 backstroke, Blake Hanna . Looking at Blake's times, specifically his 1:40 in the 200 backstroke, you'd think that he was highly recruited coming out of high school. Turns out, he was barely recruited at all and therefore didn't end up swimming for a team straight out of high school, as he was set on going to Cincinnati for a...

1650 FREE TIMED FINAL NCAA Record: Katie Ledecky (Stanford), 15:03.31 – 2017 American Record: Katie Ledecky (Stanford), 15:03.31 – 2017 U.S. Open Record: Katie Ledecky (Stanford), 15:03.31 – 2017 Meet Record: Katie Ledecky (Stanford), 15:07.57 – 2018 2019 Champion: Ally McHugh (Penn State), 15:39.22 2020 Top Performer: Molly Kowal (Ohio State), 15:43.17 Top 8 (final) Paige Madden  (Virginia) – 15:...

1-METER DIVING FINALS Meet Record: 363.20, Sarah Bacon (Minnesota) – 2019 2019 Champion: Sarah Bacon (Minnesota), 363.20 Top 3 Sarah Bacon (Minnesota) – 357.20 Aranza Vazquez-Montano (UNC) – 348.45 Brooke Schultz (Arkansas) – 335.85 Minnesota gets some points on the board here with  Sarah Bacon  defending her 2019 crown, scoring 357.20. Bacon won silver in this event at 2019 Worlds and won the Pan...

200 BACK FINALS NCAA Record: Beata Nelson (Wisconsin), 1:47.24 – 2019 American Record: Regan Smith, 1:47.16 – 2019 U.S. Open Record: Regan Smith, 1:47.16 – 2019 Meet Record: Beata Nelson (Wisconsin), 1:47.24 – 2019 2019 Champion: Beata Nelson (Wisconsin), 1:47.24 2020 Top Performer:  Rhyan White  (Alabama), 1:48.06 Top 3 Phoebe Bacon (Wisconsin) – 1:48.32 Rhyan White (Alabama) – 1:48.99 Isabelle S...

For the first time in program history, the Virginia Cavalier women are NCAA team champions, earning at least one A-finalist in every individual event. Taking team runner-up was the NC State Wolfpack, making the team rankings an ACC 1-2 finish. No ACC team, men’s or women’s, has ever finished higher than third place at NCAAs. Before this meet, Virginia’s best team finishes were a pair of 5th-place...

After the 200 fly/back of the 400 IM final, Stanford’s Brooke Forde  was running 4th heading into the breaststroke. Forde then pulled ahead of the field into the 100 free, easily winning her first 400 IM NCAA title with a Greensboro pool record of 4:01.57. That was just four one-hundredths off her 2020 season best of 4:01.53. In 2018, Forde placed 4th in the final as a freshman followed by a third...

Hansson (100 Breast) and Berkoff (100 breast) of NC State each won 2 NCAA titles last night, one in their individual events and 1 as a member of the winning 200 medley relay. They each explain how their training in Raleigh this season has led to this moment at the NCAA Championships. SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify Click here to listen and subscribe on Apple P...

Freshman Alex Walsh is coming off a successful 2 days of competition, where she's been crowned NCAA champion twice in the 200 IM and as a member of the winning 800 free relay for Virginia. Walsh explains why mid-distance freestyle training has helped her reach the next level this season.  SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify Click here to listen and subscribe on Ap...

The women of NC State clocked a new US Open and American record in the 400 medley relay of 3:24.59. Katharine Berkoff (50.07), Sophie Hansson (57.01), Kylee Alons (49.29), and Julia Poole (48.22) combined to win the Wolfpack's first-ever relay title in program history. The 4 women talk through the lead-up to this relay and how they were able to get the job done. SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here...

The Virginia women took home their first-ever NCAA relay title in the 800 free relay, clearing the rest of the field by over 4 seconds to put on a dominant display. The team comprised of senior Kyla Valls, senior Paige Madden, sophomore Ella Nelson, and freshman Alex Walsh. SWIMSWAM PODCAST  LINKS Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify Click here to listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts Cl...

We sat down with world record-holder Sarah Sjostrom , who is on the road to recovery after breaking her elbow . Sjostrom gave us an update on her status, saying she's back in the pool and kicking about 3-3.5 kilometers daily. However, Sjostrom is also going to the gym and doing a heavy leg lift, then getting in a cycling workout daily as well, making her legs very tired by the end of the day. Sjos...

With the 2021 Women's NCAA Championships on the horizon, University of Virginia head coach Todd Desorbo sat down with the media to preview the meet. We asked about UVA's event lineup choices for 2 of their more versatile stars, Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh . For both swimmers, DeSorbo said the event choices came down to what they wanted to swim and what events excited them the most. Douglass will...

I sat down with SwimSwam writers and swimming aficionados Robert Gibbs and Karl Ortegon to discuss and predict every event in the upcoming 2021 Women's NCAA Championships.   From a team perspective, it looks like Virginia's year to finally take a women's crown. However, as Robert pointed out, they have a lot of points to lose from the psych sheets, and NC State and Cal also have very strong teams...

Olympic and World Champion distance swimming icon Katie Ledecky swam well at the San Antonio Pro Swim, but she was her own biggest critic unpacking her swims in the post race interviews.  I thought Ledecky looked great considering she hasn't really traveled and competed in a year.  Suiting up at home and running an elite meet schedule isn't the same experience.  I think Ledecky knocked off some ru...

We sat down with NCAA Champion and American record holder  Ian Finnerty , who just announced his  retirement  from swimming. Finnerty explains that staying in swimming an extra year for the 2020-21 season was a challenge in itself, as he had been ready to move on to other pastures after the 2020 Olympic Trials (and Games if applicable). After leaving Indiana University and training with Energy Sta...

We sat down with 13x Paralympic champion Jessica Long , who was just featured in an ad for Team Toyota that ran during the 2021 Super Bowl . Long takes us through the process of being featured as a subject of an ad of that caliber and getting to see the different iterations of her own story coming to life on screen. Long also takes us through training through COVID in the last year and staying mot...

We sat down with NCAA Champion, World University Games Champion, and now Swammer Reed Malone . Malone announced his retirement after sustaining a concussion in practice one day, which gave him time to reflect on his career. Reed said the realization that he came to is he was chasing this Olympic dream because, without it, he thought his career would be a failure. Malone was able to reflect on all...

2-time Olympian, 3-time Olympic medalist, and the author of BLUEPRINT Katie Hoff drops in on the SwimSwam Podcast . Katie talks about her hardcore training, her business, and her new life post-swimming--which she is loving.  Check her out here on IG @KTHoff7.   Interested in BLUEPRINT, her book?  See what Michael Phelps has to say about it:   “I have so much respect and admiration for  Katie Hoff...

After  reinstating men and women’s swimming and diving and 3 other varsity athletic programs , Dartmouth Athletic Director Harry Sheehy held an evening Zoom call with the returning teams – a Zoom call that the college newspaper described as “hostile.” The teams went into the hour-long call hoping for an apology and accountability for the decision to cut their sports which negatively affected recru...

We sat down with Kaitlyn Dobler , the freshman from Southern California who walked away from the Pac-12 championships with wins in the 100 and 200 breast. Dobler takes us through her freshman year, emphasizing that knowing she had an extra year of eligibility was a huge stress-relief. Dobler had felt pressure coming into USC to get back down to the times she had registered pre-COVID and with that...