Commentary

The Start of the Season: 5 Ways to Embark on a Successful Campaign There is something different about the beginning of a swim season.  The first few weeks feel new and exciting. New goals are written down, the chase for championship cuts starts again, and everyone seems a little more motivated. Mayb...

12 Questions You Should Ask During College Recruiting Process By Ashley Illenye (Archive) Each year, high school seniors must make one of the biggest decisions of their young adult lives: Where they will spend the next four years of their lives and educations. Recruiting trips primarily decide where...

Welcome to College Swimming: Forget What You Thought You Knew About Being the Best  Before college, many swimmers are used to being exceptional.  They were team captains, school-record holders, state qualifiers, or the swimmer their relay depended on. Their name was written across record boards, ann...

World Record Double-Double: When Kaylee McKeown and Regan Smith Both Swam Under a Record Twice in a Week Women's backstroke has belonged to Kaylee McKeown and Regan Smith since Smith broke world records in the 100 and 200-meter events at the 2019 World Championships. McKeown won silver behind Smith ...

The Inglorious Truth About the First Week Back at Practice Nothing is quite as humbling as that first week back at swim practice. After weeks of relaxing, traveling, and enjoying life out of the pool, going back to practice can be painful. You walk onto the pool deck, mesh bag in hand, and the famil...

Battle for LA28: U.S. Women Facing Epic Challenge for Qualification in Sprint Freestyle and Backstroke The group of women representing the United States in international swimming over the past few years represents one of the greatest shows of depth in the sport's history. At the 2025 World Champions...

3 Reasons Age-Group Coaches Are Valuable in Molding Young Swimmers (From the Archive) By Julia Czentye (formerly Warnken) If you were a swimmer, you should remember your first coach, right? Or like any sport you played when you were young, some of the most memorable older figures were your first tea...

The Power of the Mind Through Visualization By Taylor Byers, Swimming World College Intern. You are behind the blocks, staring down the end of your lane. The warm, chlorine air is strong. Coaches, teammates and parents are cheering and whistling for the swimmers currently racing in the water who are...

By Katie Wingert, Swimming World College Intern Swimming alone can be a struggle between staring at the black line and wanting to smash your incessantly beeping tempo trainer with your fins. Ideally, we swimmers would always have a team to practice with. Sometimes, though, life gets complicated. Sch...

6 Reasons Your Swim Team Becomes Your Family By Emma Foster, Swimming World College Intern Swimmers are a special breed. Even most non-chlorinated people understand that. On college campuses around the country, swimmers are the ones known for bringing that squeaky-clean chlorine smell into the class...

Guest Editorial: The Author's System of Sprint Swimming Biomechanics (Part III) Swimming World recently ran Parts I and II of Serhii Lysobei's extensive article, "The Author's System of Sprint Swimming Biomechanics." Now, we run Part III, which examines sprint swimming from a training perspective. P...

Earning Your Ducks: A Summer Coach's Playbook for Teaching Young Swimmers a Positive Mindset Standing in the ice-cold water and ready to coach, I am watching kids splash and laugh around me. It's practice before a big home meet. The coaches want swimmers focused on the strokes they are going to race...

By Jinq En Phee, Swimming World College Intern. As a competitive swimmer myself, I understand that we’re all constantly looking for ways to improve ourselves and become a better swimmer. Some people might think you need a world-class facility or a famous coach to enhance your performance, but there....

Swimming’s Marathon: Why Open Water Deserves a Bigger Stage  There is something about endurance sports that draws people in.  Thousands of fans line the streets of Boston and New York to watch athletes run 26.2 miles. Spectators stand along mountain roads for hours waiting for the Tour de France pel...

How Johannes Liebmann Is Changing the 1500 Freestyle At the 2026 European Championships, 19-year-old German Johannes Liebmann stunned the world as he smashed the 1500 freestyle world record by almost four seconds, going 14:26.79. The record was previously held by Bobby Finke from his 2024 Olympic go...

Guest Editorial: The Author's System of Sprint Swimming Biomechanics (Part II) Swimming World recently ran Part I of Serhii Lysobei's extensive article, "The Author's System of Sprint Swimming Biomechanics." Now, we run Part II, which examines sprint swimming from a technical perspective. PART I Par...

 Confessions of a Teen Swimmer: Pan Pacs Shined as Fan Pacs for an Incredible Experience By Leah de la Harpe This weekend I went to Pan Pacs, but I really want to call it "Fan-Pacs" because of the amazing energy from the crowd and the overall experience of the international meet. My name is Leah. I ...

Be Safe: The Dangers of Hypoxic Training and Risks of Shallow Water Blackout From the Archive: Because safety is always a priority in the sport, Swimming World is re-running this piece from its archive that discusses the dangers of hypoxic training and shallow-water blackout. By Kristy Kinzer, Swimm...

Guest Editorial: The Author's System of Sprint Swimming Biomechanics (Part I - Introduction) By Serhii Lysobei  Swimming World periodically will run guest editorials on its website that are intended to enhance the readership's appreciation or understanding of the sport. Today, we run the the first i...

How Kristof Milak Swam 49.48 in the 100 Butterfly If there were any doubts about Kristof Milak heading into the European Championships, those are gone. The 26-year-old from Hungary swam to a new European Record and the second fastest time in history last Thursday night in the men’s 100 butterfly. Hi...