Commentary

Veterans Day: How World War II Impacted Yale Great Bob Kiphuth Editor’s note: As we recognize Veterans Day, we are reposting this great feature by Chuck Warner, originally written as part of a series of articles about the great Yale coach Bob Kiphuth, highlighting a moment in Kiphuth’s career that i...

The 200 Breaststroke vs. 200 Butterfly: Which 200 is the Real Nightmare? Every competitive swimmer has that one event they hope they don't have to swim. For some, it's the 200 butterfly, a race with a bad reputation. For others, the real nightmare is the 200 breaststroke, considered one of the most....

Why Swimmers Have a Favorite Stroke By Lina Matera Ask a swimmer their favorite stroke. Now, ask which one they swim fastest. You might get two different answers. A swimmer’s favorite stroke is not always their strongest. Preference can depend on physical comfort, confidence, past experiences, and t...

The Events Nobody Volunteers to Race: How Swimmers Are Valued Swimmers who regularly take on demanding or less popular events give their teams flexibility. They fill gaps in the lineup, compete outside their specialties, and accept combinations of races that others would rather avoid. But when that ...

Guest Editorial: Swimming Is the Sport College Sports Can't Afford to Lose By Alex Versen Every American Olympic swimmer has a story that starts at about 5 a.m. A parent warming up the car. A bag that smells permanently of chlorine. A coach on the deck with a stopwatch, a whistle and a cup of coffee...

What the Midterms Mean for the Future of the Protect College Sports Act By Alexander L. Ballard With the bill looking increasingly likely to stall in Congress, swimmers have a window to weigh in on what a new  college sports law should protect before the next draft is written.  Democrats won both ch...

How Kate Douglass Swam to a 49.64 in the 100 Freestyle At last week’s United States Trials for the Short Course World Championships, Kate Douglass swam some historic times. Her best swim of the meet may have been her last, the 100 freestyle. Going into the meet, Douglass already held the world recor...

American Women's Freestyle Relays Should Obliterate World Records at Short Course Worlds The United States has assembled its team traveling to the Short Course World Championships in Beijing, with the most but not all big-name American swimmers securing their spots at the biennial global meet. The c...

Jack Alexy, Luke Hobson Leading Elite U.S. Men's Free Relays to Short Course Worlds The United States has assembled its team traveling to the Short Course World Championships in Beijing, with the most but not all big-name American swimmers securing their spots at the biennial global meet. The combin...

What Your Halloween Costume Says About You as a Swimmer  Halloween is finally here! It's the one night of the year when swimmers can trade their caps and goggles for something a little more exciting. Whether you're dressing up as your favorite superhero, a spooky character, or even an Olympic champi...

A Voice For the Sport: Countdown to Home Olympic Games in Full Effect There was a selection meet last week, with some of the top names in American swimming descending on the FMC Natatorium in Suburban Chicago for the United States World Short Course Championships Trials. Invitations to December’s Wo...

The Survival Guide to a 12-Hour Swim Meet: Preparation is Key An emergency manual for competitive swimmers facing the ultimate endurance test. WARNING: The following conditions may include extreme hunger, uncontrollable shivering, psychological warfare, and an overwhelming desire to go home. Proceed...

Three Words, Three Worlds: How Coaches Describe Their Different Swim Teams Describe an entire swim team in three words. Simple enough, right? Until you try to sum up thousands of laps, exhausting practices, team traditions, and the people who make showing up to the pool worthwhile. When I asked coac...

The Importance of Showing Up: Why Being There Matters More Than You Think  In swimming, we spend a lot of time talking about hard work, dedication, and consistency. We talk about the importance of getting to practice on time, putting in the yards, and doing everything we can to get a fraction of a s...

Caeleb Dressel Ready for U.S. Short Course Trials; What Can We Expect from American Star? A little more than a week ago, at the Virginia Pro Short Course Meters Pro-Am, American star Caeleb Dressel was back in the competitive pool for final tuneup work. With the United States hosting its first-ever ...

Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh Leading Speed Revolution in Women's Freestyle At the start of 2026, no one would have considered the 50 freestyle as the best event for either Kate Douglass or Gretchen Walsh. Douglass had gone on a two-year run to establish herself as the world's dominant force in the ...

The Courage to Find Your Limit: Trusting Yourself When Swimming Gets Hard There is a moment in a hard practice or race when the question changes. You stop wondering how fast you can go and start wondering how much more you are willing to give. Your arms feel heavy. Your legs burn. Your lungs feel li...

The Moment of Truth: How a Swimmer Reacts to the Scoreboard The pool deck is cold beneath your feet as you pull off your parka. You stand behind the block, watching the swimmer in front of you race while trying to squeeze in a few last minute stretches. Your heart is pounding, your goggles are tight...

As swimmers, we can look for quick fixes. We know that we can adjust a flip turn here, tweak a breath there, and throw in a few extra dolphin kicks off of our start—and that could shave time off of even the shortest of races. However, we are not always eager to reach for the more long-term aids to o...

Swimming Because You Want To: Finding New Reasons to Love the Sport As swimmers, saying “I have practice” and “I get to practice” could be differentiated by a good night's sleep. Other times, it takes a little more reflection. Swimming tests a lot of us, in terms of time, energy, discipline and the ...