The Week That Was: British Trials Heat Up, Alex Baumann Named Swimming Australia CEO

Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant

The Week That Was is sponsored by

The Week That Was sponsored by Suitmate.

The British Swimming Championships produced some great times across the five days in London as two new British records fell to Molly Renshaw and Duncan Scott during the week. Swimming Australia also named its new CEO in 1984 Olympic gold medalist Alex Baumann.

Read the five biggest stories of the week in The Week That Was sponsored by Suitmate.

The Week That Was #1: Molly Renshaw, Duncan Scott Take British Records in London

Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant

By Liz Byrnes

Duncan Scott ended the British Swimming Selection Trials with another record-breaking performance of 1:44.47 in the 200 free to head to the top of the rankings and ninth all-time.

The two-time Olympic relay silver medallist set the previous British record of 1:44.91 at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju where he won joint bronze with Martin Malyutin of Russia in 1:45.63.

On Sunday he sliced a further 0.44 with Tom Dean also under the old record in 1:44.58 with the pair occupying the top two slots in the world rankings displacing Japan’s Katsuo Matsumoto who went 1:44.65 earlier in April.

It also fired them to ninth and 10th-fastest performers in the all-time rankings.

Splits;

Scott: 24.45/50.25/1:16.88/1:44.47 (27.59)

Dean: 23.98/50.57/1:17.36/1:44.58 (27.22)

Matt Richards – the 18-year-old who qualified in the 100 – was third in 1:45.77, one place ahead of 2015 world champion James Guy (1:46.04) with Calum Jarvis also under the consideration time of 1:46.99 in 1:46.47.

Molly Renshaw set a new British 200br record of 2:20.89 with Abbie Wood also going under the previous mark at the British Swimming Selection Meet.

Renshaw had matched the previous record set by Jocelyn Ulyett in 2017 when she went 2:22.08 at the Manchester International Swim Meet, something she obliterated on Thursday at the London Aquatic Centre.

Wood, who trains alongside her under Dave Hemmings at Loughborough, set a huge PB of 2:21.69 as both women went inside the consideration mark.

Renshaw splits:32.34/1:07.95/1:44.33/2:20.89 (36.46)

Wood splits: 32.76/1:08.79/1:44.93/ 2:21.69 (36.76)

#2: Alex Baumann Named Swimming Australia CEO

Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr

By Ian Hanson

Swimming Australia is delighted to announce that dual Olympic gold medallist, Alex Baumann, has been appointed to the position of Chief Executive of Swimming Australia.

Baumann, the current Swimming Australia Chief Strategist who leads the high performance arm of the organisation, is a Canadian native who won gold medals in the 200m and 400m individual medley at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

After returning to Canada to head up its high performance sport program (Own the Podium), Baumann was then appointed as Chief Executive of High Performance Sport New Zealand and is credited with helping New Zealand achieve its greatest ever Olympic team performance in Rio in 2016 with 18 medals.With a wealth of knowledge in elite sporting organisations, he is the former Executive Director for the Queensland Academy of Sport and Chief Executive Officer of Queensland Swimming.

Baumann, who will start his new role in May, certainly has a clear message for the future of the sport, saying: “It is great to be able to put my CEO hat on again and take on the role leading the organisation into the future.

The Week That Was #3: Anthony Nesty to Lead Both Florida Programs

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

By Andy Ross

Anthony Nesty adds women’s head coaching duties after three successful seasons as the head coach of the men’s team, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin announced on Tuesday.

The men’s program has won the Southeastern Conference championship all three seasons under Nesty and finished third at the 2021 NCAA Championships. With Nesty helping lead the way, the men’s team has won nine straight SEC titles.

Nesty, who swam at Florida and was a gold medalist in the 1988 Olympics, has been on staff with the Florida swimming and diving program since joining as an assistant coach in 1999. He was promoted to associate head coach in 2006 and stepped in as men’s head coach in 2018 following the retirement of Gregg Troy.

“I am honored and excited to be entrusted with the women’s swimming and diving program,” Anthony Nesty said. “The men’s and women’s teams have worked closely throughout my time at Florida, and I appreciate the opportunity to lead both programs. We will continue to hold ourselves to the highest standards and push ourselves to be excellent in everything we do.”

#4: ISL Announces Draft For Season 3

Photo Courtesy: Mine Kasapoglu / ISL

By Dan D’Addona

The International Swimming League (ISL) has announced that Season 3 will include a swimmer draft as the league aims for more competition.

The draft will include a list of athletes retained by their original teams and what spots will be open for free-agent-style swimmers and new additions to the league.

“Over the league’s first two seasons, ISL clubs signed swimmers on an individual basis. Moving forward, the ISL Draft, which will be open to qualified swimmers worldwide, aims to ensure that i) lower-ranked teams have priority in strengthening their position in the upcoming season; ii) ISL clubs’ General Managers can implement their team’s selection strategy in an open and transparent manner; and iii) ISL’s loyal fans are provided with the unique opportunity to have a say in the teams’ selection process, further increasing their engagement,” the ISL stated.

The Week That Was #5: Michael Andrew Signs With TYR

Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant

By Matthew de George

TYR Sport on Thursday announced the signing of Michael Andrew, adding the world champion American swimmer to its ranks of athletes.

“We are thrilled to partner with Michael Andrew on his road to Tokyo,” Matt DiLorenzo, CEO of TYR Sport, said in a press release. “Michael is an incredibly talented and versatile athlete, who has already seen tremendous success at a young age. We look forward to collaborating with Michael on product development for our technical categories as well as our lifestyle collections.”

“As one door closes, another one opens,” Andrew said. “I’m honored to continue this journey with TYR as my technical sponsor. TYR embodies excellence, and I’m thrilled to be a part of the family.”

Andrew, who turns 22 on April 18, has been a significant player on the global swimming scene for the last half-decade. He turned pro at age 14, taking the unusual step of bypassing college competition. (He first appeared in Swimming World at age 10.) But he’s made the most of that path.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use