Commentary

Based on the TikTok Trend: We Listen and We Don't Judge ... Swimmer Edition! What are some common swimmer habits that may or may not be slightly judge worthy? I am sure many of us have seen the recent TikTok trend called, “we listen, and we don’t judge.” This trend usually includes two or more peopl...

Stay Strong, Swim Long—10 Ways to Beat Illness and Injury  By DAWN WEATHERWAX, RD, LD, ATC, CSCS  As an athlete, maintaining your health is crucial for optimal performance. The world’s top athletes experience fewer illnesses and injuries, thanks to their focus on recovery, nutrition and smart traini...

How Pre-Race Nerves Can Be Used to a Swimmer's Advantage My heart would race, my knees would feel weak, and my arms would get heavy… but this was not the start of an Eminem song. This was how my body felt every time I was about to dive into the water. The nerves and jitters that came before a race f...

Six Ways Swim Parents and Coaches Can Work Together In A Beneficial Manner The coach-parent relationship is critical as athletes work toward improving and achieving their goals. In many cases, this relationship is smooth and proves beneficial. Unfortunately, there are times when parents do not give ...

12 Signs You’re a True Swim Team Kid: Being Part of a Special Sporting Community Swimming is an all-consuming sport, and once you start participating, you are most likely never to stop. If you begin as an age-grouper on a swim team, you will find that your life revolves around the sport, making it m...

By Jennifer Yoo, Swimming World College Intern. The only people who can truly understand the ins and outs of a sport are the people directly involved. Many people only associate swimming with the Olympics yet don’t see the daily struggles and satisfying moments that swimmers share with their team an...

The Men's 200 Backstroke World Records Have Stood the Test of Time Backstroke events have seen generational talents take center stage year after year. In 2024, it was Thomas Ceccon and Hubert Kos who swept the available men's Olympic gold medals, while the women's events were swept by Kaylee McKeown...

6 Ways to Become A Great Teammate By Emma Foster Anyone who has been on a swim team knows that swimming is a team sport. While we may swim our races individually for the most part (besides the electrifying relays we get to take part in) anyone that has lasted through a tough aerobic practice, or fou...

Golden Goals: Setting New Year's Swimming Resolutions for 2025 After 12 months of hard work in the pool, 2024 has finally come to a close. Whether it’s been a successful year or not, the end of the year often represents a time to reflect. Research from the University of Oregon suggests that setting ...

Advice to My Younger Swimmer Self: Summer Finke Reflects on Her Career in the Pool As we begin a New Year, Swimming World is re-running this terrific piece by regular contributor Summer Finke, an Olympic Trials qualifier and standout during her collegiate days at North Carolina State. Summer's refle...

Sarah Sjostrom Planning to Bypass Competition During 2025; A Sixth Olympics Still Possible Swedish superstar Sarah Sjostrom, who swept the sprint-freestyle events at last summer’s Olympic Games in Paris, has revealed that she has no plans to compete during 2025. The news was broken by Dagens Nyheter...

Decisions, Decisions! By Jennifer Yoo, Swimming World College Intern. Life is full of difficult decisions. There is an inexplicable pressure to make the right one, and each decision determines a different outcome that ultimately leads to even more choices. However, whether the choice was right or wr...

14 Ways To Tell You Come From a Swimming Family By J.P. Mortenson Due to the sport's all-consuming nature, swimming inevitably becomes a family affair. And once your family becomes a swimming family, the sport will affect your home life in more ways than you could have ever imagined! Here are 15 way...

18 Essentials to Pack for Your Training Trip By Kelsey Mitchell With many swimmers set to take part in a training trip, Swimming World hopes the following article can be useful.  Packing for your team's training trip can be difficult, especially if you are going directly from winter break to your tr...

By Olivia McKelvey, Swimming World College Intern.  'Tis the season for coaches to inflict unlimited hours of training and pain upon their swimmers is now. In order to help all aquatic athletes - college, club, high school etc. - Swimming World has accumulated a list of tips and tricks to help you g...

A Swimmer's Starter Pack: What Screams 'Swimmer?' There are some things that just scream, “you’re a swimmer!” If swimmers had a starter pack, what do you think would be in it? Read along to see what critical items swimmers can’t live without, and what common looks identify a typical competitive swim...

A Letter To the Coach Who Left Me Throughout our careers, we will have relationships with a few different coaches. If we are lucky, we will get to know and be close to a few. Those relationships will be some of the most important and influential ones of your career and life. They mean a lot to you -...

From the Start, the 2024 Swimming Campaign Was Defined by Speed ... and a Fresh Approach to the Sport As the calendar flipped to 2024, maybe we should have known. The signs – after all – were there. For starters, we entered an Olympic year, which history suggests is almost always faster than a typic...

An Explanation Of How Tech Suits Benefit Swimmers When it comes time to race, many swimmers, especially those racing in high-level competitions, wear specialized knee-length swimsuits known as tech suits. They're everywhere in the swimming world. But how do tech suits work? And do they actually make...

As holiday training prepares to ramp up, Swimming World is running this piece from the archive that emphasizes the connection between an athlete and the grueling nature of holiday work in the water and the weight room. The piece stresses the importance of this time of year, so get yourself ready to ...