The Week That Was: Updated College Polls, Insight Into Russian Doping Scandal, and Racing Down in Austin Highlight The Week That Was

Photo Courtesy: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

This week featured more than a few stories that impacted the swimming world, including the first major stateside long course competition of the Olympic Year down in Austin, Texas which saw several U.S Open, NAG, and world records fall. Read about that meet and more in this week’s installment of the Week That Was!

The Week That was is supported by AgonSwim.com

The Week That Was #5 – 2017 Hype Video For Budapest World Championships

Photo Courtesy: Karelj

This week the Event Organizers for the 2017 World Championships released a short video to promote the upcoming competition. The 2017 Worlds are set to be held in Hungarian city of Budapest, which took over hosting duties after Guadalajara elected they were unable to host the event, citing the mounting costs associated with the event. While a only a short clip, this should give the aquatics community some reassurance that Budapest will be able to host a memorable competition despite the earlier than anticipated timeline. Budapest was originally slated to host the 2021 World Championships before Guadalajara dropped out.

The Week That Was #4 – Jessica Hardy Announces Switch To Golden West Swim Club

Photo Courtesy: Griffin Scott

Earlier this week Swimming World reported that Olympian Jessica Hardy was making a training switch, moving from Dave Salo and his group at USC to train with Mark Schubert at the Golden West Swim Club. While Salo has an extensive resume, Schubert is a former US National Team Head Coach and was the Head Coach for Team USA at the 2008 Beijing Games. Hardy started training with Golden west during the holiday break and explains the move as a breath of fresh air to her training that has provided new and unexpected challenges. The Olympic medalist also states that she still credits Salo with “absolutely everything I have accomplished in my career” and that her now-former coach has been very supportive in the process. In addition to the team transition, Hardy also spoke to Swimming World about her new book, which details the aftermath of her 2008 failed drug test that left her off of the 2008 Olympic Team.

The Week That Was #3 – CSCAA Releases Division I, II, and III Polls

Photo Courtesy: Competitor

This week saw the first CSCAA rankings released for 2016 for Division I women as well as for Division II and Division III teams. The Division I women’s poll saw the University of Georgia Bulldogs dethrone the University of Virginia Cavaliers from the #1 spot. The Cavalier women had held that spot for much of the year up until this point, where they have dropped to third. The Stanford women moved up to the #2 spot, while Texas made a big jump to now sit at #4. For the Division II and Division III polls, there was no change in the top spots, with Queens University sitting first for both men and women in Division II while the Emory women and Kenyon men sat at the top spot for Division III. Notably, the Denison women moved to the top of the Central Region’s top 10 rankings over rival Kenyon College.

The Week That Was #2 – Putin Linked To Russian T & F Doping Scandal

Photo Courtesy: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

According to a new report from the Associated Press, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been linked to the ongoing Russian track and field doping scandal. Reportedly, Putin’s office has been linked to cover-ups related to suspicious test results from Russian athletes. While the report from the Associated Press centers on track and field, it is significant to see the level of involvement within the Russian government to potentially cover-up what appears to be systematic doping of athletes. Russian swimmers have had a high number of positive doping tests in recent years, leading many to suspect a similar scandal and cover-up may be present in Russian aquatics. To make matters more interesting, last year FINA, the international governing body of swimming, awarded Putin a FINA Order, the organization’s highest honor. Swimming World will continue to bring the latest on stories related to this scandal as they develop.

The Week That Was #1 – Austin Grand Prix Kicks Off Olympic Year Racing

Photo Courtesy: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Easily the biggest story from this week was the Austin Grand Prix at the University of Texas Lee and Joe Jamail Swim Center. Swimmers from across the country and around the world collected in Austin to kick off the Olympic Year, and the results did not disappoint.

Katie Ledecky was one of the brightest stars of the meet, winning the 400 freestyle in 3:59.54, the fifth-fastest time ever, setting a lifetime best and near U.S. Open mark with a 1:54.43 in the 200 freestyle, and closing out the meet with a world record of 8:06.68 in the 800 freestyle to become the first woman to break 8:07. Ledecky also posted an incredible 53.75 in the 100 freestyle as she continues her quest to challenge for relay spots this summer in addition to her utter dominance in the distance events.

Swedish superstar Sarah Sjostrom also had a standout meet, setting two U.S. Open records in both the 100 butterfly (56.38) and 100 freestyle (53.17) while narrowly missing a third in the 50 freestyle (24.17). Those performances set Sjostrom up well for this summer as she looks to capitalize on her success in 2015, which saw her become the second woman to go 55 in the 100 butterfly en route to breaking U.S. Olympian Dana Vollmer’s world record. Speaking of Vollmer, she continued her strong comeback with a 57.61 in the 100 butterfly to finish behind Sjostrom.

Other highlights from the meet included Ryan Lochte capturing the 400 IM, Michael Phelps winning the 100 butterfly and 200 IM, and Nathan Adrian capturing the 50 and 100 freestyles. Notably Michael Andrew set a 15-16 NAG record in the 50 freestyle by one-hundredth of a second while grabbing fourth in 22.33. See all event coverage of the meet, including race videos, athlete interviews, and full recaps and results of each session on our Meet Landing Page.

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