Splashbacks: Caeleb Dressel, Shirley Babashoff Among Top Names of Jan-Feb 2016

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It’s been another amazing year of aquatics competition, including the long-awaited Rio Olympics, and Swimming World had our readers covered every step of the way.  During the next few days, we’ll take a look back in “Splashbacks”, the most read stories of 2016.

First up is January and February of 2016, with college interns and NCAA achievements highlighting many of the top stories. Celeb Dressel proved to be the most read about person on our site as he continued to chip away at the sprint freestyle records.

1. 35 Thoughts Swimmers Have While Watching Diving

A commentary by one of Swimming World’s college interns on the foreign language that is diving and 35 thoughts many swimmers might have while watching diving.

2. (RACE VIDEO) Caeleb Dressel Stuns Swimming World With 18.23 NCAA, American Record 50 Free

Florida’s Caeleb Dressel continued to rattle sprint freestyle records in early 2016 as he scorched the competition with a time of 18.23 at the Southeastern Conference Championships. That time took down his short-lived NCAA and American records of 18.39 that he had set in prelims. 

Dressel later explained to the media that he was not shaved for the meet.

3. 5 Exercises Swimmers Must Avoid

DrG. John Mullen, a Swimming World contributor, reminded the swimming community that there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to dryland workouts. In order to help obtain target performance, strength, and power, Mullen lists five exercises swimmers should avoid and options for substitutes.

4. Norovirus Hits 2016 Big Ten Women’s Championships

After a six year hiatus the norovirus returned and took a slight toll on another championship meet – the 2016 Big Ten Women’s Championships. Following an emergency meeting it was determined by coaches and the Big Ten that the meet would continue as only four athletes (three from Michigan and one from Indiana) had been infected. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) gave the all-clear for competition to continue as scheduled.

5. 2007 Vault: Shirley Babashoff Breaks 30-Year Silence on East Germany’s Systematic Doping of Olympians

2016 marked the 40th anniversary of the 1976 Olympics and the final months of production for USA Swimming’s documentary The Last Gold. The documentary told the story of the 1976 USA Women’s 400 freestyle relay team and how they overcame the doped East German women to win the last gold medal of the meet.

In anticipation of the documentary and as reflection on the still tarnished record books, Swimming World re-published an exclusive interview with 1976 Olympian Shirley Babashoff, who would have left the Montreal Olympics with five gold medals and one bronze had it not been for the systematic doping in East Germany.

6. 4 Signs that the Butterfly Life Has Chosen You

Swimming World’s college interns continued to produce fascinating reads with a closer look at the “4 Signs hat the Butterfly Life Has Chosen You.”

7. A Thank You to Every Swim Parent

Swim parents are the heart behind every swimmer and the college intern class was quick to recognize them with “A Thank You to Every Swim Parent.”

8. FINA Suspends Mexican Swimming Federation, Among Other FINA Bureau Decisions

Not long after the Mexican Swimming Federation announced that they were backing out of hosting the 2017 FINA World Championships in Guadalajara, FINA elected to suspend the Federation.

9. FINA Releases 2016 Olympic Qualifying Time Standards

With the dawn of 2016 came the long awaited Olympic year. While FINA had already announced the 2016 Olympic qualifying standards in 2015, the topic was a hot commodity in January as the swimming community looked ahead to the upcoming 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

10. (Race Video) Avon’s Chandler Bray Smashes 100 Breast National High School Record

Chandler Bray of Avon High School took down the previous national high school record in the 100-yard breaststroke while swimming at the 2016 Indiana High School State Championships. Bray uncorked a 52.65 to blast past the 52.92 Creighton Prep’s Jacob Molacek set in 2014.

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