Commentary

Can Ahmed Jaouadi, Sam Short and Bobby Finke Lead Assault on Vaunted 800 Freestyle World Record? For almost 17 years, the world record in the men’s 800 freestyle has stood as an impossible challenge for the world’s best distance swimmers. China’s Zhang Lin achieved the mark of 7:32.12 at the 2009 Wo...

Plan vs. Strategy: The Ways to Approach the 200 Butterfly Ah, the butterfly. It is routinely acknowledged as a "power" stroke, and the 200 distance is where the rubber meets the road. Butterfly may be the event where there is the least amount of crossover by distance. What I mean by this, is that yo...

No Simple Answers: When Hormones, Cancer and Sport Collide By Leann Rossi I’ve learned more about hormones in the past few weeks than I ever expected to in my lifetime. When my biopsy results came back, the explanation was both simple and devastating: my estrogen was feeding the cancer. Suddenly, so...

What if the Stroke 50s Were in Paris? Another Gold for Sarah Sjostrom? Last year, the International Olympic Committee approved the addition of the 50-meter stroke events to the Olympic program for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. For the first time, there will be 43 sets of medals awarded in the pool,...

What if the Stroke 50s Were in Paris? France Would Have Challenged for Another Gold Last year, the International Olympic Committee approved the addition of the 50-meter stroke events to the Olympic program for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. For the first time, there will be 43 sets of medals awarded...

Katie Ledecky Facing Incredible Competition in 800 Freestyle: How We Got Here Never in swimming’s history has an individual dominated an event the way Katie Ledecky has run roughshod over her competition in the 800 and 1500 freestyle. She has never lost either race at a major international competiti...

Falling in Love with Swimming Again - From the Outside  There comes a point for many swimmers when the love story with the sport changes.  For some, it happens after retirement. For others, it begins during college, after years of chasing times, standards, and expectations. The black line that once ...

Could John Shortt Be the Breakout Swimmer of the Summer? Nineteen-year-old Irishman John Shortt has been on a tear ever since the European Short Course Championships. Shortt, the current world junior record holder in the short-course 200 backstroke, has taken a majorleap this season. After big-time ...

Is Distance Swimming Dying? Top Coaches Discuss Future of the Events Katie Ledecky’s gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the 2012 Olympic Games in London is a moment that will last a lifetime. A rising star at the time, Ledecky stunned the world, cutting through the water with a ferocious ease....

A Letter to My College Coach  Dear Coach, As athletes, we spend so much of our careers chasing measurable things. We chase best times, national cuts, conference titles, All-American honors, and records. We learn to define success by numbers on a scoreboard and rankings on a psych sheet. For years, I...

Latest World Record Continues Stunning Ascension of Gretchen Walsh A masterclass at the Sette Colli meet over the weekend in Rome has eliminated all qualifiers to the following statement: Gretchen Walsh is the best sprinter in the world. Not best short course sprinter, not best sprint butterflyer. B...

Built to Win in Court, Paid for Downstream: The NCAA's New Eligibility Rule a Danger to Olympic Sports  The NCAA’s new five-year eligibility rule is built to win in court. The bill may land on Olympic sports.  By Alexander L. Ballard The NCAA Division I Cabinet’s unanimous approval last week of a fi...

How Michael Andrew’s TYR Pro Series Swims Have Set Him Up for Success At the 2026 TYR Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis, Michael Andrew showed signs of his old self. The 27-year-old Andrew swam some of his fastest times in over a year, showing that he is a major threat at this summer's Pan Pacific Cha...

American Women Poised to Topple Australia in 400 Freestyle Relay at Pan Pacs; Aussies Still Tough in 800 Free Relay One year ago, the American women had positioned themselves as gold-medal favorites in the 400 freestyle relay for the Singapore World Championships. Thanks to the speed of Torri Huske,...

Marrit Steenbergen, Anna Moesch Have Changed Landscape of 100 Freestyle Until recently, there had only been two occasions ever when a woman swam the 100 freestyle under 52 seconds. Sarah Sjostrom first broke that barrier on a relay leadoff at the 2017 World Championships, touching in 51.71 to oblite...

Plan vs. Strategy: The Ways to Approach the 200 Freestyle Swimming is not unique in the respect of a sport demanding a clear mind during competition. Overthinking during competition can be the death knell for success. Sports, as constructed, demand on-your-feet (or feet-on-wall) thinking. Overthink ...

How Can Summer McIntosh Break the 200 Butterfly World Record at Canadian Trials? With the 2026 Canadian Swimming Trials fast approaching, all eyes will be on Summer McIntosh. The 19-year-old currently training at the University of Texas will be swimming her main events at the trials in order to qual...

Nutrition: Fix Misfueling Before It Limits Performance By Dawn Weatherwax Whether you’re a competitive swimmer, a water polo player, a diver, an open-water or masters athlete — or the parent or coach of one — you are fueling somehow. And here’s what almost no one tells aquatic athletes: the way most...

As Disclosure Day Opens, a D-III Connection to Famed Director Steven Spielberg In celebration of Steven Spielberg's upcoming film Disclosure Day, opening on June 12, I thought it would be fun to highlight some of the results from Division III swimming from this past year in relation to the legendary...

Is the Australian Men's 800 Freestyle Relay a Contender for Gold Medals in 2026? The 2026 Australian Trials saw a very exciting final in the men's 200 freestyle. Sam Short wound up taking the gold in a time of 1:45.16, with Kai Taylor not far behind at 1:45.30. The top five in the race were all unde...