SW Biweekly – Sippy Woodhead: The Moscow 1980 Boycott “Stole My Heart and Soul; I Was Never The Same Again” – On sale now!

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The latest issue of Swimming World Biweekly
is now available for download in the Swimming World Vault

In this issue of SW Biweekly, read about Sippy Woodhead, who was expected to go on to the 1980 Moscow Olympics as a possible six-podium champion, and how her life changed dramatically after the U.S. boycott. Also featured is Olympic open water silver medalist Haley Anderson, who’s written an essay on the struggles of an Olympic postponement; UNC shifts to remote learning, though athletes will be allowed to remain on campus; Gregorio Paltrinieri wins the 10K open water race at Campionato Italiano Assoluto days after rattling Sun Yang’s world record in the 1500 free with the second fastest swim in history; President Mark Emmert declares no NCAA Championships to take place in the fall; USA Swimming COVID-19 Relief Program delivers $9M to member clubs; A College Contingency Team has formed after Team Elite and the Coronado Swim Assoc. merge since so many swimmers are considering redshirting the 2020-21 school year; Rudy Garcia-Tolson is training for the Paralympics…in David Duchovny’s backyard pool; And more!


SW Biweekly 8-21-20 Sippy Woodhead[PHOTO CREDIT: TONY DUFFY]

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FEATURES

008  HALEY ANDERSON WRITES FIRST-PERSON ESSAY OF STRUGGLES WITH OLYMPIC POSTPONEMENT
by Andy Ross
Haley Anderson, an Olympic open water silver medalist and a two-time World champion, wrote a first-person essay for TeamUSA.org about how she reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a plan in place to be at her best on race day, Aug. 5, 2020, last year’s 10K silver medalist at the Gwangju World Championships was gearing up for her third trip to the Olympics when they were postponed an extra year.

010 UNC SHIFTS TO REMOTE LEARNING AFTER COVID-19 SPIKE; ATHLETES WILL REMAIN
by Dan D’Addona
The University of North Carolina will shift to remote learning this semester for all undergraduate classes after a spike in cases following the return to classes. Athletes will be allowed to remain on campus.

011 GREGORIO PALTRINIERI WINS 10K OPEN WATER DAYS AFTER RATTLING 1500 FREE WORLD RECORD
by Liz Byrnes
Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri enjoyed an emphatic win in the 10K open water race at the Campionato Italiano Assoluto days after rattling Sun Yang’s world record in the 1500 free with the second-fastest swim in history.

012 WHICH SWIMMING WORLD HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR BECAME OLYMPIANS?
by Andy Ross
Since Swimming World first honored its Male and Female High School Swimmers of the Year in 1997, 60 percent of those athletes have gone on to compete in the Olympics from 2000 through 2016.

016 SIPPY WOODHEAD: MOSCOW 1980 BOYCOTT “STOLE MY HEART & SOUL; I WAS DEPRESSED, LOST, NEVER THE SAME AGAIN”
by Craig Lord
Sippy Woodhead might, could, would, should have gone to the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games as a six-podium prospect 40 years ago this summer. However, the U.S.-led boycott pulled the plug on everything she had worked for. In a two-part feature, Sippy recalls the joy of the 1978-79 seasons and how life changed dramatically with the news, “All off—we’re not going.”

033 NCAA PRESIDENT MARK EMMERT: NO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS IN FALL
by Matthew De George
More than 50 percent of the NCAA’s membership have canceled or postponed fall sports—a level that NCAA President Mark Emmert deemed insufficient to crown champions. The decision means that the COVID-19 pandemic will now have wiped out three seasons worth of NCAA championships—the winter championships were postponed last March, even as some were in progress; the NCAA eventually canceled the spring sports season entirely; and now, there won’t be NCAA championships this fall due to lack of schools and leagues participating.

034 STANFORD’S BROOKE FORDE ON PAC-12 POSTPONEMENT: “WE KNEW IT WASN’T GOING TO BE A NORMAL SEASON”
by Dan D’Addona
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pac-12 Conference postponed all sports through the end of the calendar year, which includes the first part of winter sports. The overall reaction has been disappointment by athletes, coaches and fans, but not total shock, given the situation in the U.S. and the liability that colleges face around student-athletes. At this point, winter athletes are hoping it doesn’t go any further into 2021, including Stanford’s Brooke Forde, who took time to share her thoughts with Swimming World.

036 USA SWIMMING COVID-19 RELIEF PROGRAM DELIVERS $9M TO MEMBER CLUBS
USA Swimming’s COVID-19 Relief Program is a two-pronged initiative created to support clubs and members impacted economically by the pandemic and to support the clubs’ eventual return to the water. In collaboration with USA Swimming and its Foundation, the 59 LSCs around the country also committed their support to the sport by creating grant funding for their local member clubs. Together, the triumvirate provided more than $9,040,000 to the swimming community.

037 COLLEGE CONTINGENCY TEAM BEGINS AFTER TEAM ELITE, CORONADO SWIM ASSOCIATION MERGE
by Dan D’Addona
Since returning to the pool amidst the pandemic, Coach David Marsh and his high-performance programs, Team Elite and Team Elite Stingrays, have been working with Coronado Swim Association to form a College Contingency Team. Since many college swimmers are considering redshirting the 2020-21 school year, the College Contingency Team was formed to help those athletes around the country who are looking for high-performance training options.

037 RUDY GARCIA-TOLSON, DAVID DUCHOVNY AND A RETURN TO THE PARALYMPICS
by Matthew De George
Rudy Garcia-Tolson, a four-time Paralympian who has won five medals—four in swimming and one in track and field—is training for the Tokyo Paralympics after more than three years of retirement. With pools closed all around the country, he finally found a place to train: in the backyard pool of actor David Duchovny, star of “The X-Files.”

038 PARTING SHOT

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