Commentary

Commentary by guest author and leadership coach Jeff Raker “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was...

By Dr. G. John Mullen, Swimming World Contributor Swimmers are fascinating. Not to be biased or anything, but they are. Swimmers have superhuman-like capabilities. They can make their bodies do weird things. And they have some rather strange rituals. These 15 weird facts about swimmers will give you...

Can’t Coach In The Pool? Can’t Coach In The Gym? Coronavirus-crunched on all sides? Coaches, ask not what you can't do but what you CAN do, writes Wayne Goldsmith, exclusively for Swimming World. One thing I’ve learnt about coaches is – they’re always – ALWAYS – thinking about coaching. Ha...

Commentary In the wake of the tardy decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Swimming World is talking to athletes and coaches about what the change of schedule forced by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic means to them. Here, we consider the backdrop, the extent of the global health ...

Commentary Thomas Bach, the Olympic Pope, and his Pontificates at the International Olympic Committee (IOC), are roundly criticised in media commentaries the world over today after a u-turn that met the demands of athletes, coaches and domestic sports federations for postponement of the Tokyo 2020 O...

Commentary Olympic Popes and Pontificates will gather round a digital, social-distanced table for the International Olympic Committee Executive Board meeting today knowing that their mind has been made up by others and a rare event in their experience of life in an autonomous bubble: there's somethi...

With the announcement today by International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound that the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo will be postponed to 2021, a blow was delivered to thousands of dedicated athletes around the world. Although the decision is the prudent one in light of the impact of the Coronaviru...

Commentary In the world of cautious governance and backroom diplomacy in which heated debate is often heard but rarely allows outside the room, the last 24 hours represent a veritable flood of hope in swimming. Bravo! To The Tokyo 2021 Advocates. Friday, March 20, 2020, was a day to put on the recor...

Taylor Covington is a senior swimmer at Boston College. She is a former Swimming World Intern and current Swimming World contributor. She was swimming at the CSCAA meet when the COVID-19 cancelled NCAA events.  This is the silence I have been dreading. Six nights ago, I perched myself on the plush e...

Commentary: A Season In Need Of Citius-Altius-Fortius Spirit  as Tokyo 2020 Decisions Loom Hobson's Choice, a rock and a hard place, the devil and the deep blue sea. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will hold an Executive Board meeting today and extend the sitting to sports federations arou...

Commentary  Italy has taken a cliff-edge decision to avoid the tumble into a crisis it could see coming. Drastic - but deserving of support. When a nation of 60 million people, all of them told to stay at home since last night and until further notice, sees a relative trickle of novel coronavirus ca...

2020s Vision: The Sunday Essay Today is International Women's Day and Swimming World celebrates by looking at the achievements and work of leading women and pathfinders in swimming: IWD – Mel Marshall On Some Dark Days, Beijing Agony & Her Message To Peaty After Rio Glory IWD - A Season Of Plenty Fo...

International Women’s Day (IWD) To mark International Women’s Day, Swimming World is rolling out a series of features this Sunday, fresh and from the archive, to highlight the achievements and work of  pathfinders in swimming and raising issues that continue to have a massive impact on women in spor...

2020s Vision - Swimming Culture - Sunday Essay International Women's Day (IWD) To mark International Women's Day, Swimming World is rolling out a series of features this Sunday, fresh and from the archive, to highlight the achievements and work of  pathfinders in swimming and raising issues that con...

International Women’s Day (IWD) To mark International Women’s Day, Swimming World is rolling out a series of features this Sunday, fresh and from the archive, to highlight the achievements and work of  pathfinders in swimming and raising issues that continue to have a massive impact on women in spor...

Commentary The hammer blow of an eight-year ban on a tainted three-times Olympic champion will not be the last gavel that falls on the case of Sun Yang and his friends at FINA Vs WADA. Don't stop at the obvious, an appeal at the Swiss Federal Tribunal (SFT), confirmed by the  swimmer's Chinese lawye...

What a day! A truly significant one for swimming and anti-doping. Swimming World's coverage of Sun Yang & FINA Vs WADA At the Court of Arbitration for Sport Sun Yang Vs WADA Verdict: Damning Eight-Year Ban Ends Career Of Chinese Controversy Sun Yang Says He Will ‘Definitely’ Appeal 8-Year-Ban At Swi...

Commentary - The Athlete Voice The eight-year ban imposed Friday on Sun Yang came with a downside for rivals who might have thought they would now get what they consider just rewards: they won't. In its ruling, CAS listed three points that led to a decision that the "ban starts this day and there'll...

2020s Vision: Swimming Culture - Psychology How do the development years of a swimmer contribute to delivering a mentally robust and resilient athlete prepared for the thrill and challenge of performance sport? How can the young swimmers navigate a beat of parents, coaches, schools, physical challen...

2020s Vision - The Athlete Voice Mack Horton, Duncan Scott, Adam Peaty, Katinka Hosszu, Cate Campbell, Tom Shields, Michael Andrew and all swimmers who have stood up for change in their sport in the past few years are on the right track. That's the view of ... Lord Coe. Sebastian Coe, the h...