Commentary

In 2020, we’re missing out on one of the fastest and most exciting meets in the sport of swimming: The U.S. Olympic Trials.  The history of this meet reveals an interesting progression of events as they were included in the Olympics, and gives insight into the history of the sport of swimming.  Look...

The human mind can be pretty weird sometimes. As people, we go through waves of highs and lows in life, and our mind is in control of it.  Of course, certain events and situations will trigger it to get out of rhythm. However, our mind is in command of how we react to everything. So it doesn't reall...

Commentary - 2020s Vision: Athlete A - a review of the Netflix documentary of the Indianapolis Star Investigation in sexual abuse in USA Gymnastics that rocked Olympic sport to its core. A must watch for any with children in sport; and all governors and guardians of sport. Our 2020s Vision series ta...

15 Truths About Swimming Swimming is a sport like no other. You learn a lot about yourself throughout your years as a swimmer and the sport inherently instills valuable life lessons in you. Even when your time as a competitive swimmer is done, you still continue to learn more about the sport and hav...

Losing Like An Olympic Champion (Matt Grevers) As Swimming World nears the end of eight days of throwbacks to the 2016 Olympic Trials, it seemed an appropriate time to rerun the following piece by former staff writer Annie Grevers. After her husband, Olympic champion Matt Grevers, finished third in ...

Vision for NCAA Virtual Championship During COVID-19 Era By Bob Groseth, Guest Author Berkeley, California, 1:52 p.m. Pacific time, March 22, 2022. Bjorn Carlson can’t even hear himself think as he stands behind Lane 4 for the final event of the final meet of the 2022 NCAA Dual Meet Championships. T...

Who Are They: Meet 7 Unsung Swim Heroes Not all heroes wear goggles. Making sure a swim meet runs smoothly involves much more work than you may think. While swimmers physically exert themselves and earn recognition at meets, the effort needed to organize and execute the meet is often unheralded. Thi...

Is Your Pool Following Safe Guidelines During Covid-19 Pandemic? Check Here to be Sure Around the country, and moreso in some locales than others, individuals are splashing around in public pools, logging laps or following the guidance of coaches. The adjusted return to pool life has called for dill...

How Open Water Swimming Can Boost Pool Performance As swimming pool availability across the country has been at an all-time low the past few months due to COVID-19 pool closures, swimmers have struggled to find a way to train. However, as summer is getting underway, open water swimming is a pote...

By Danny Whirlow, Swimming World College Intern.  Every four years, when swimmers of all ages tune in to watch their Olympic heroes compete, viewers may forget that they're witnessing only one part of those athletes' lives. Certainly, the Olympic Games are a significant part, but their lives go on, ...

To all of the swimmers and divers, you all know what it’s like to feel somewhat unmotivated in the pool. This could come from those lovely 6:30 morning practices that make you not want to literally do anything the rest of the day. What keeps you going then? The answer is simple: your team. Why does ...

5 Tips for Overcoming A Poor Performance You trained, you cleared your head, you pushed yourself, and then you fell flat in the pool. Your confidence is shaken and you can’t stop yourself from replaying the swim over and over in your head. Give yourself a break. A bad swim isn’t the en...

Chlorine sensitivity and allergies are more common in competitive swimmers than you would think, as chlorine itself is a natural irritant. Because swimming is one of the most difficult forms of exercise, having an added discomfort can become increasingly frustrating for adolescent and adult swimmers...

48 Surefire Ways To Tell You're A Swimmer It takes a special breed of human to do what we do everyday. Swimming for as long as we have, it’s fair to say we’ve seen a lot of interesting things in our career. Staring at a black line on the bottom of the pool is fun, right? With goggles and a cap as ou...

Swimmers are constantly trying to impress college coaches with their performances to increase their chances of being recruited. Coaches make the final decision, but the impression recruits have on the team is just as important. While a coach and team desire similar qualities in the athletes, it is i...

Leave A Legacy: 3 Qualities of An Influential Leader During practice, she swims hard. She's focused, but still has fun. She watches her teammates with no judgment. When it comes time for “off the block racing,” she is the first out of the pool cheering her teammates on. She doesn't just cheer to che...

Every swimmer has their own pre-race ritual. You know, those stretches you do in the same order before every race? Or perhaps you recite a meaningful prayer. Or, you might not do anything at all - you're loose and unperturbed by superstitions. Regardless of what you choose to do or not do, it is com...

Often when I have asked a coach or teammate about the similarities between swimming and other sports, I have been told how different swimming is, and although I acknowledge that this is true, I also believe that we, as athletes, share some commonalities across all sports, and we can learn from each ...

5 Reasons Why Summer Swimming is a Beautiful Part of the Sport Experiences at USA Swimming meets, high school competitions and collegiate events are always meaningful. But there’s something special about summer age-group swimming, which can provide lasting value. While the COVID-19 pandemic has caus...

10 Swimming Coaching Approaches That Don't Make Sense Originally posted August 12, 2015 Like all sports and all industries, swimming has its fair share of myths, routines, habits, practices and rituals which everyone does...but that doesn't necessarily make them right. Swimming coaching can be a gam...