Commentary

From Pop Star to Elite Swimmer: Cody Simpson Stamps Pool Comeback With Huge Breakthrough It’s a familiar refrain you have surely encountered on the internet. Some famous figure was once a swimmer, only to give up the sport as they got older to focus on music or acting or their endeavors in another s...

By Lianne McCluskey, Swimming World College Intern. Many collegiate swimmers look at the end of their college swimming eligibility as the beginning of "swammer" status; however, this does not have to be the case. U.S. Masters Swimming has referred to swimming as "the magic pill" for a reason - regar...

By Chandler Brandes, Swimming World College Intern We all have a love-hate relationship with swimming. Although we sometimes complain about the early mornings and the hard workouts, at the end of the day, we all keep coming back. We can get caught up in the stress of balancing classes, homework, pra...

5 Simple Ways to Become a Better Swimmer By Sarah Noll, Swimming World College Intern. The best swimmers are not always those who are the most talented, although talent obviously helps. What makes a swimmer - or any athlete - truly good extends far beyond talent. Instead, the greats are those who ar...

U.S Men’s Relays Look Strong for World Championships Last year, the two U.S. men’s relays captured Olympic gold medals, with the 400 freestyle relay squad pulling away to win by more than a second before the 400 medley relay quartet capped off the Games by breaking a 12-year-old world record. But in...

By Diana Pimer, Swimming World Intern Relays can mean a lot of different things. For some, a relay can be a group of age group swimmers having fun with their best friends. For others, a relay can determine an NCAA championship. Regardless, there are certain people who always seem to pull through in ...

The Phases of Swimming: From Lessons to Retirement By Erin Himes, Swimming World College Intern In the normal life cycle of a career, there are a few phases of swimming most of us go through. While the incredibly talented turn swimming into a career after college, many conclude their competitive car...

The 3 Types of Swimmer: What Mold Do You Fit? By Annie Grevers (From the Archive) This may be a narrow view, but in the most simplistic language, there are three types of swimmer: The in-season sensation; the taper talent; and the forever fast phenom. Let's dive into a brief case study of each. 1. T...

9 Test Sets Swimmers Love or Hate: Which is Your Nightmare? It’s no secret that the swimming community holds an incredible diversity of talent – sprinters and distance swimmers, IMers and freestylers, backstrokers and breaststrokers. It’s also no secret that tensions between these groups can sometim...

What I Wish I'd Known As An Age Group Swimmer By Temarie Tomley After celebrating my recent birthday, I realized just how old I’ve gotten and how long I’ve been in this game. I’ve been swimming for 15 years, and in those 15 years I have learned so much. Everyone’s journey through this sport is diffe...

Training for Butterfly: Seven Special Secrets and Sets (From the Archive) The following training sets are designed to help your butterfly. 1. BK – SK – FK – SK (Kick drill) The trick to a great fly kick is to learn to kick with strong, flowing, even power and rhythm in both directions. Try this dril...

Why Being an IMer is the Perfect Situation (From the Archive) By Cathleen Pruden Full disclosure: I am a 400 IMer and I absolutely love it. It took me a while to come to terms with my fate as an IMer. I struggled with the fact that I didn't have a "prime" stroke. It wasn't until being well rounded s...

13 Thoughts Every Swimmer Has During Practice By Isabelle Robuck Staring at a black line for two hours can be pretty grueling sometimes. With long sets, the alone time gives our mind a chance to wander far beyond just swimming. Here are 13 thoughts that every swimmer has during practice! 1. Ouch! [c...

Once a Swimmer, Always a Swimmer: A Reflection When I started swimming, I could have never imagined how much it would change my life. Swimming is more than just a sport. It is a lifestyle. It is the activity to which we dedicate our body, energy, heart, and soul. Equally important, swimming shapes o...

Swimming is a sport that requires an immense amount of physical, mental and emotional energy. When you are pushing yourself to your limit every day, it makes it easier to have a good relationship with your coach. Your coach is someone that you see almost every day for hours on end, so being close wi...

Guest Editorial: Five-Time Olympic Coach Dennis Pursley Calls For End Of Transgender Participation Five-time Olympic coach and former USA Swimming National Team Director Dennis Pursley has submitted a guest editorial which addresses the debate concerning transgender participation in the sport. Pursl...

5 Truths Only Swim Siblings Know By Kennedy Cutler, Swimming World College Intern Starting college is a daunting task, especially when you’re an athlete. Suddenly you have to balance your own schedule, between classes and study hall, practices and competitions, and somehow still find time to have so...

How the U.S. Women’s Relays Stack Up for World Championships Following the U.S. International Team Trials, the U.S. women are set up to win a lot of medals at the FINA World Championships next month in Budapest. Consider this list of swimmers: Katie Ledecky, Lilly King, Kate Douglass, Claire Curzan,...

By Jamie Kolar, Swimming World College Intern. Swimmers live busy lives. We never stop moving from the moment we wake up until the moment our head hits the pillow at night. We wake up, run to practice, run to class and then run to practice again. We fit meals and homework in there somehow, but we ar...

Be Proud of Your Build By Maggie Lasto, Swimming World College Intern. If you’re a female swimmer, chances are you aren’t as lean as Kendall Jenner or as short as Ariana Grande. In fact, you probably don’t look like most girls who come across your Instagram feed or your TV screen. It’s hard for you ...