By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2017 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS – DIVING

• July 14 – July 22
• Budapest, Hungary
• Meet Central
• Full Schedule
• Results

The sixth day of diving from the Danube Arena in Budapest featured the final of the women’s 10m platform, and after the semi-finals it looked like the Chinese domination was going to continue.

China currently leads the medal table with five golds and 11 total medals, with all but two silvers coming from diving.

In the semi-finals the Chinese duo of Si Yajie (382.80) and Ren Qian (367.50) held a healthy lead and looked to be shoo-ins for a 1-2 finish. Ren is the defending Olympic gold medalist, and Si won silver in Rio. On top of that, the two had already combined for gold in the synchronized 10m platform event on Sunday.

However, in the final it was Malaysia’s Cheong Jun Hoong who walked away with the gold medal, improving her semi-final score by an incredible 72 points to score 397.5 and edge out Si. Si settled for silver with a score of 396.00, and Ren took the bronze with 391.95.

Cheong already had won a medal in Budapest, taking bronze in the synchronized platform event with teammate Pandelela Rinong. She also won silver in Rio in that event, but this is her first major international individual medal, and she didn’t even contest this event in Rio.

Korea’s Kim Mi Rae finished 4th with 385.55, and Australia’s Melissa Wu took 5th with 370.50. 2015 World Champion Kim Kuk Hyang of Korea ended up 6th with a score of 360.00, and 2016 bronze medalist Meaghan Benfeito finished 8th with 331.40.

Women’s 10m Platform Final Results

1. Cheong Jun Hoong, MAS, 397.50
2. Si Yajie, CHN, 396.00
3. Ren Qian, CHN, 391.95
4. Kim Mie Rae, PRK, 385.55
5. Melissa Wu, AUS, 370.20
6. Kim Kuk Hyang, PRK, 360.00
7. Minami Itahashi, JPN, 357.85
8. Meaghan Benfeito, CAN, 331.40
9. Pandelela Rinong, MAS, 322.40
10. Olivia Chamandy, CAN, 307.15
11. Jessica Parratto, USA, 302.35
12. Caroline Murillo Urrea, COL, 283.35

Prior to the Women’s Platform Final came prelims and semis of the Men’s 3m Springboard.

China led the way again, as Olympic gold medalist Cao Yuan scored 517.45 to improve his prelim score by nearly 65 points and qualify 18.7 points ahead of anyone else. Cao already has a silver medal at the Championships from the 3m synchro event.

Great Britain’s Jack Laugher, the Olympic silver medalist and 2015 World bronze medalist, qualified 2nd overall with a score of 498.75. Mexico’s Rommel Pacheco, who won a silver yesterday in the mixed team event, qualified 3rd overall in 478.90. 4th was Cao’s synchro partner Xie Siyi, who led the prelims with a score of 512.90 but was just 476.50 in the semis.

Men’s 3m Springboard Finalists

1. Cao Yuan, CHN, 517.45
2. Jack Laugher, GBR, 498.75
3. Rommel Pacheco Marrufo, MEX, 478.90
4. Xie Siyi, CHN, 476.50
5. Patrick Hausding, GER, 471.70
6. Ilia Zakharov, RUS, 471.30
7. Evgenii Kuznetsov, RUS, 464.75
8. James Connor, AUS, 462.30
9. Matthieu Rosset, FRA, 443.55
10. Ross Haslam, GBR, 433.00
11. Jahir Ocampo Marroquin, MEX, 427.15
12. Oleg Kolodiy, UKR, 409.45

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Malaysia’s Cheong Upsets Chinese In Women’s 10m Platform On Day 6

By SwimSwam Partner Content on SwimSwam

Coming off of the 2016 Rio Olympics, Wisconsin Badger Matt Hutchins was thirsty for more, and A3 Performance is excited to announce their partnership with Hutchins through his journey to Tokyo 2020.

Hutchins, a New Zealand-native, was not always committed to the pool, splitting his time between swimming and rugby growing up. At age 15, Hutchins made the commitment, and he hasn’t slowed down since. After high school, Hutchins decided to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison to further his education and swimming career as a Badger. By the end of his four years, Hutchins accumulated three individual school records, three All-American finishes at NCAAs, a Big Ten title, and a spot on the 2016 New Zealand Olympic Team.

Training as a post-graduate at UW, Hutchins has his sights set on some pretty major goals, including Tokyo 2020. Not only does Hutchins have his eyes on another Olympics, he is also aiming for a medal.

“New Zealand has not won a swimming medal at the Olympics since 1996 and it would be my honor to be the first one to do so in Tokyo 2020,” said Hutchins of his future goals. “I’m really happy to be working with A3. I really like their gear and I have built a good relationship with them during their time sponsoring the Badgers. I wore A3 at the Rio Olympics last summer and I am excited to move forward with them.”

For most post-collegiate athletes, funding their training and competition is one of the largest obstacles. A3 Performance is proud to support Hutchins and have such great talent representing the brand.

“We are continually impressed by Matt’s growth at such an elite level. His talent and dedication have brought him a lot of success at the collegiate level and we believe the best is yet to come for him,” said Dan Meinholz, A3 Performance President and CEO.

Career Highlights:

2016 Rio Olympics

19th place- 400 meter FR-3:48.25

NCAA

2017- 5th place- 1650 yard FR-14: 31.19

2016- 3rd place- 1650 yard FR-14:33.1

        – 6th place- 500 yard FR-4:13

2015 Big Ten Champion- 500 yard FR 4:14.00

UW-Madison School records

500 yard FR- 4:11.98

1000 yard FR- 8:49.86

1650 yard FR- 14:31.19

NZ National Open Record:

800 meter FR 7:56.93

A3 Performance is the fastest growing brand of performance swimwear in the United States. Driven by a ‘Highest Quality, Best Price’ philosophy, A3 Performance develops the sports’ most innovative products for an amazing price. The first brand ever to develop both a closed back and a powerback female racing knee suit continues to innovate the sport of swimming, now with BODIMAX Sleeves. Train better, swim faster, and be the best with A3 Performance – The Performance Swimwear Company.

Swimming Press Release courtesy of A3 Performance.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: A3 Performance Partners With Rio Olympian Matt Hutchins

By Loretta Race on SwimSwam

2017 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Sunday, July 23rd – Sunday, July 30th
• Budapest, Hungary
• 50-Meter Course
• Event Schedule
• Meet Info
• Omega Results

There’s a bird’s eye view and then there’s Australian Cameron McEvoy‘s Instagram account, with the latter having stepped on deck today at Danube Arena, site of the swimming competition of the FINA World Championships. Take in the sights and sounds of being on the world’s biggest swimming stage of 2017, with a quick tour behind the blocks, complete with a special stop at lane four.

Teams from around the world are descending upon Budapest as we speak, with the Australians making landfall along with members of the British contingency thus far. The swimming competition kicks off on Sunday, July 23rd.

Home for the next 11 days

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

According to his Instagram account, Mason Gonzalez, a rising senior at North Allegheny Senior High School in Wexford, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, has made a verbal commitment to swim for Stanford University in the class of 2022.

“I am honored and excited to announce my verbal commitment to swim and study at Stanford University! I cannot wait to be a part of such an amazing program, and I know the opportunities I will have there will help me achieve my goals both in and out of the pool. Go Card! #fearthetree

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

You can find links to all of our event-by-event previews and a compilation of our predicted medal-winners here.

2017 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 23 – July 30 (Swimming portion)
• Budapest, Hungary
• Meet Central
• Start Lists / Results (Closer to the meet)

Men’s 50m Breaststroke

• World Record: 26.42, Adam Peaty (GBR), 2015
• World Championship Record: 26.42, Adam Peaty (GBR), 2015
• 2016 Olympic Champion: NA
• Defending World Champion: Adam Peaty (GBR), 26.51

We’ll ruin the suspense for you out of the gate: we’re picking Adam Peaty to win this race, and when filling out your Pick ‘Em, so should you. Nobody else in the world is even close to him. While a group of breaststrokers from around the world have made sub-27s a regular thing, they’re still all 4-tenths away from the Dynamo from Derby – which is a huge gap over 50 meters. This race falls into the category of “nobody beats Adam Peaty unless Adam Peaty beats himself.” And it would have to be bad. An off swim wouldn’t do it. A short finish wouldn’t do it. He’ll probably have to slip on the start or injure himself before the race to lose.

He’s the fastest breaststroker on top of the water in the world – that part isn’t even close, and by improving his starts and pullouts, he’s furthered the already massive chasm between himself and the rest of the world. He followed his coach Mel Marshall to Loughborough after Rio, but nothing has changed – he’s already been 26.48 in the 50 breaststroke earlier this year, just a few hundredths from his World Record.

While breaststroke is a more incremental stroke than most (the cycle changes the improvement patterns), we’d expect a World Record – maybe in an early round.

While the win is a near-certainty, the battle for the silver and bronze medals becomes incredibly interesting. There are 6 swimmers who have been between 26.83 and 27.00 in the event so far in 2017.

The world top 7 in 2017:

2016-2017 LCM Men 50 Breast

AdamGBR
PEATY

04/19
26.48

2	Joao GOMES	BRA	26.83	05/04
3	Kevin CORDES	USA	26.88	06/29
4	Ilya SHYMANOVICH	BLR	26.96	04/28
4	Cameron VAN DER BURGH	RSA	26.96	06/14

View Top 44»

Brazil has had a resurgence of some of their veteran swimmers this year across all strokes, but definitely in this 50 breaststroke. Joao Gomes Jr. and Felipe Lima are swimming as well as they ever have in the 50 breaststroke. South African Cameron van der Burgh is pushing 30 as well, and he’s the second-fastest ever in the history of the event. At 29, though, it seems unlikely that he’s going to drop back down to Peaty’s level, but South African sprinters have historically aged well, so it may be possible. He’s medaled at each of the last 5 World Championships in this event, going back to 2007, so he’s got the history – but eventually, all streaks must end.

At the other end of the spectrum are the upstarts and the unknowns. The youngest among them is Italy’s newest World Junior Record holder Nicolo Martinenghi, who is the European Junior Champion in the event. Given the multi-level taper he’s done already this year (Euro Juniors, Italian Nationals) and the upcoming World Juniors, where he’s eligible to swim as well, it’s easy to see him not being at his best in Budapest. His 50 should hold together better than his 100 though, and younger swimmers are better able to physically recover, so he has that working in his favor. We see him out of the final, though – not because he’s not capable, but just the nature of his summer. His countrymate Fabio Scozzoli was the 2011 World Champion in the event, but he hasn’t been able to chase the times as they’ve gone under 27 seconds – his best is 27.1, and this year he’s only been 27.3.

Also on the unknown, upstart side of the coin is Belarusian Ilya Shymanovich. At 23, he’s not as young as the junior Martinenghi, but he’s had a breakout year none-the-less. In 2017, he’s gone his 7 personal best times in the 50 breaststroke, improving from a 27.64 last May to a 26.96. His 100 has seen a similar improvement this season, though not quite to the same degree as the 50. More significantly for this race, he seems to have pulled well off the 200 breaststroke in 2017 and is focusing more on the sprints. Shymanovich will be one of the new names for even year-round swim fans to familiarize themselves with next week, and we think he’ll be one of the surprise podium finishers in Budapest.

Lying squarely in between those groups is American Kevin Cordes. At 23, he’s already got an Olympic (relay) gold medal under his belt, plus 4 medals from the 2015 World Championships. He also competed at the 2013 World Championships and 2014 Pan Am Championships, so he’s definitely not a newcomer.

But he’s also had trouble fulfilling his short course potential in the long course pool. In yards, he took the breaststroke races to heights that once seemed mere mythical. He’s been good for the Americans (he won two individual medals at Worlds in 2015 – in the 50 and 200), but Peaty has taken the “did you just see that?” breaststroke torch in the long course pool. Cordes is still young though, just entering his prime, and he seems to get better, and more confident, at every meet.

Cody Miller is the wildcard here. His 27.24 from Trials won’t be enough to final in Budapest, and he was actually only 3rd in the 50 – Andrew Wilson, who was 2nd, didn’t make the team, and so Miller gets the spot behind Cordes as the other 100 breaststroke entrant. But Miller showed some guts last year at the Olympics, when he got a bronze in the 100. He’s never shown the pure power and churn that it takes to medal in this 50 (against specialists, like the Brazilians, who are treating this as a primary event. He’s got the class to be in a final, though.

In the end, this is a really tough one. This will be a separation event in our Pick ‘Em contest – we expect wildly different choices, and an unpredictable outcome. We’ve got justification for our choices, but really, after Peaty, you could throw any number of a few guys at the wall, and whatever sticks is as likely as anything else.

Right now, none of the Japanese swimmers appear to have the quality to get into the final. As good as Japan has been historically in the breaststrokes, it’s never translated down to the 50 – they’ve had only 2 finalists in the 7 editions of the World Championships that have held the 50 breaststroke. China (and the rest of Asia combined) have had none.

Adam Peaty– 2016 Olympic Games in Rio -courtesy of simone castrovillari

TOP 8 PREDICTIONS

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2017 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Sunday, July 23rd – Sunday, July 30th
• Budapest, Hungary
• 50-Meter Course
• Event Schedule
• Meet Info
• Omega Results

You can find links to all of our event-by-event previews and a compilation of our predicted medal-winners here.

With both 2015 World Champion Florent Manaudou and 2016 Olympic Champ Anthony Ervin out of the 2017 Championships in Budapest, the men’s 50 free becomes one of the most wide open events on the schedule. Manaudou dominated his way to the world title in Kazan, and was favored to do so again in Rio before Ervin upset him by one one-hundredth.

In that Olympic final there was a clear margin between the bronze medal and 4th place – about two tenths of a second – so it would make logical sense that the bronze medalist would be the favorite here, but it’s just not the case.

Nathan Adrian has never been quite able to hit the nail on the head in both the 50 and 100 freestyle simultaneously. In 2012, he won 100m Olympic gold and missed the team in the 50. In 2015 he killed the 50, breaking the super-suited American Record and winning silver at Worlds, but finished back in 7th in the 100. Last summer in Rio was his best showing in the two, winning bronze in both, but was a bit off his best times.

This year he has put a renewed focus on his 100, particularly the back half. With that, he’s lost a bit of his 50 speed, at least up until this point. Last year he broke 22 seconds four times before the Olympic Trials. This year the final at World Trials was his first time doing so, squeaking onto the team by two one-hundredths over fellow veteran Cullen Jones in 21.87.

His 100 appears to be rounding into form for Budapest, and he may well be the favorite to win that event, which would be his first ever individual LC World title. While I do feel he’ll find some more early speed in the 100 at Worlds (he opened up Trials in 23.27), will he find enough to contend for a medal in the 50? It’s going to be tough. He can definitely final, but will need to be about four tenths better than he was at the end of June in order to place in the top three.

The other American, rising Florida senior Caeleb Dressel, will finally have his long awaited major international debut in this event. After winning the NCAA title in his freshman year, Dressel stunned the swimming community when he lowered Adrian’s American Record numerous times in his sophomore season, bringing it all the way down from 18.66 to 18.20. Now the owner of the ten fastest yards swims in history, Dressel is poised for a big swim internationally.

At 2015 Nationals he went 21.53, a time that would’ve stood up for bronze in Kazan. Then at the 2016 Olympic Trials he missed the team in the event placing 4th, a big surprise considering how his season had gone. That swim came at the tail-end of a long, emotionally draining meet, and he learned from that and delivered big time at World Trials this year. He won the 50 by over three tenths, tying his best time, and also qualified for Worlds individually in the 100 free, 50 fly and 100 fly.

He’s going to have a hefty schedule, and the 50 free does come towards the end of the meet, but he shouldn’t have a problem delivering. He’s shown time and time again his ability to deliver swim after swim in high pressure meets such as NCAAs, and though the 50 free and 100 fly do coincide, the 50 free comes first in all three rounds. We’ll see how he handles the schedule as the meet goes on, but don’t be surprised to see him win gold and break the American Record of 21.37.

Though Dressel may be the first name that pops into your head when you think of the 50 free this year, Great Britain’s Ben Proud is the one leading the world rankings in 2017. Proud was 4th at the Olympics last summer, and went a best of 21.54 in the semis, but knocked over two tenths off that to win British Nationals this year in 21.32. That swim made him the 10th fastest performer in history, and tied him for the 2nd fastest man since the beginning of 2010. Will he be able to go lower in Budapest? His fastest swims in both 2015 and 2016 came at the biggest meet of the year, so there’s a good chance he does. If he doesn’t, he could still win, considering he’s over a tenth ahead of #2 Vladimir Morozov.

Morozov had a tough year in 2016, missing the Olympic final in both sprint freestyle events amid a doping scandal. Early this year he told us his focus would be centered more around the 50, after years of focusing on the 100 not yielding the desired results. It seems to be working, as he broke his own Russian Record at their Trials in April in 21.44, which now has him 2nd in the world to Proud. He also recently posted on Instagram a video of him doing a practice 50 in 21.84, showing he’s on good form. After silver in Barcelona and 4th in Kazan, this could be his year for gold.

Behind those three we’ve got Aussie Cameron McEvoy, who missed the Rio final after going a lifetime best 21.44 in-season. Rio seemed to be more of an outlier than a trend for McEvoy and some of the other Australians who disappointed there. He’s done a ton of in-season racing this year in preparation, and should be back on the top of his game come Budapest. He’s 4th in the world with his 21.55 from Australian Nationals.

Then you’ve got the Brazilians, Bruno Fratus and Cesar Cielo. Fratus had great success in 2014 and ’15, winning the Pan Pac title and taking bronze at the World Championships. However, he was unable to deliver an Olympic medal on his home soil, and hasn’t been under 21.7 in two years.

The same is the case for Cielo, who crushingly missed the Olympic team and subsequently took a break from the sport. He had a solid return, finishing 2nd to Fratus at the Maria Lenk Trophy in 21.79 on three months of training. The world record holder and three-time World champ is by no means out of the medal picture, but he hasn’t really done anything out of the ordinary since 2013.

Mixed in with the established names are some relative unknowns at the top of the world rankings. Finland’s Ari-Pekka Liukkonen and Poland’s Pawel Juraszek both broke their respective national records to put them 5th and 6th respectively in the world rankings for 2017. They were 23rd and 35th in Rio, and the question becomes whether or not these swims were one-offs or if they can replicate them again with the lights on.

Liukkonen has now been under 22 seconds nine times, with six of them coming in 2017. That signals consistency, which indicates he’ll be a real player in Budapest. After his record-breaking 21.58 he said his biggest challenge would be the morning prelims at Worlds, so as long as he gets through those we can expect him to be a factor. Juraszek’s record-breaking swim was done in 21.68, his only time under 22 seconds. He’s a bit more of a wild card, but did tie his 2nd best ever (22.13) earlier this month at the French Open unrested.

In such a short race where everyone needs to execute perfectly, there are a host of swimmers with potential to crack the final. Some others include Short Course World Champion Jesse Puts of the Netherlands, 2016 Olympic finalist Andriy Govorov of the Ukraine, Italian Luca Dotto, ex-NCAA star Kristian Gkolomeev of Greece, and the Japanese tandem of Katsumi Nakamura and Shinri Shioura.

Another dangerous one is Russian Evgeny Sedov, who has shown nasty speed early in his career, dipping below 21 seconds in the short course pool six times. He went a PB of 21.74 in April, and looks to be due for a breakout in his first LC World Championship.

Lithuanian Simonas Bilis was in the Olympic final last year, but doesn’t have a sub-23 second swim on record this year. South African Brad Tandy tied for 6th in Rio, but we recently found out he won’t be competing.

TOP 8 PREDICTIONS

Darkhorse: Ali Khalafalla of Egypt, who swims for Indiana in the NCAA, went a PB of 22.12 at the Santa Clara Pro Swim in June. He projects to get under 22 seconds and advance past the prelims in Budapest after tying for 23rd in Rio.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2017 Worlds Preview: A New Champion In Men’s 50 Free

By Karl Ortegon on SwimSwam

With the start of pool swimming coming in just under a week in Budapest, take a look at some world records that will be put on notice at the 2017 World Championships. This isn’t a prediction for world records being broken– rather, it’s a guide to the records that are within striking distance for the top swimmer(s) in that event. Also, note that these are listed in no particular order.

Men’s 800 free, 1500 free

• 800 free – 7:32.12 | Zhang Lin (CHN) | 07/29/2009
• 1500 free – 14:31.02 | Sun Yang (CHN) | 04/12/2012

Italians Gregorio Paltrinieri and Gabriele Detti will be battling for golds in the distance free events in Budapest. In the 1500 final in Rio, Paltrinieri was untouchable at 14:34.57, with Detti settling for bronze (14:40.86). It’ll be more than just gold, though, as Sun Yang’s record is just a few seconds away in the mile. Despite it being the longest pool race, three seconds is no easy feat to drop– still, Paltrinieri was 14:37.08 this April.

Meanwhile, Detti is looking stronger of the two in the 800 with his 7:41.64 from April. The 800 will be a harder record to bust; it’s a suited record from 2009, done by a swimmer who was barely heard from again, and at 2015 Worlds, even Sun Yang was over seven seconds behind when he won gold in Kazan. There’s intrigue here, however, as the men’s 800 is an Olympic event in Tokyo, and guys who have a sweet spot in this race rather than the 400 or the 1500 will be able to spend more time focusing on this intermediate distance.

Men’s 100 back

• 100 back – 51.85 | Ryan Murphy | 08/13/2016

Ryan Murphy was electric leading off the medley relay in Rio, blasting a 51.85 to break Aaron Peirsol’s world record last summer on a relay leadoff. He has not looked the same since Rio, whether that be from the post-Olympic hangover to finishing up school at Cal to transitioning to a pro athlete (or a combination of multiple factors), but he still earned his spot on this Worlds roster and will be a contender for gold in Budapest.

It might not be Murphy who is testing that record, though, but China’s Xu Jiayu. Xu nearly matched Murphy’s record in April, blasting a 51.86 to come within a single hundredth of Murphy’s mark. Besides Murphy, Xu, and Peirsol, no other man has ever broken 52 seconds in this race. In terms of proximity to the record, this is the closest any Budapest entrant has been to a world record this year other than Sarah Sjöström, who was .02 off of the 100 free WR last month.

Men’s 50 breast, 100 breast, 200 breast

• 50 breast – 26.42 | Adam Peaty (GBR) | 08/04/2015
• 100 breast – 57.13 | Adam Peaty (GBR) | 08/07/2016
• 200 breast – 2:06.67 | Ippei Watanabe (JPN) | 01/29/2017

The sprint records will be tested by the man who set them– GBR’s Adam Peaty. Peaty was very close to his 50 record in April at British Trials (26.48), and that’s the event that he’s more likely to break the WR in. He didn’t get to swim a 50 breast in Rio, as it isn’t an Olympic event, but he’ll get a chance to race it this summer in Budapest. His 100 has been great this year (57.79), but it’s looking more plausible to see him set a new WR in the 50 than in the 100.

Meanwhile, in the 200, we finally saw a WR and a sub-2:07 performance from Ippei Watanabe this January. Is it time for a men’s 200 breast WR at a major summer international champs? Did Watanabe’s swim open the floodgates for the flurry of 2:07-speed swimmers in this event to follow suit and drop under 2:07? It doesn’t have to be Watanabe– his teammate Yasuhiro Koseki has been on the cusp of breaking 2:07, and Kevin Cordes has been on fire this year.

Women’s 50 free, 100 free

• 50 free – 23.73 | Britta Steffen (GER) | 08/02/2009
• 100 free – 52.06 | Cate Campbell (AUS) | 07/02/2016

Cate Campbell has left the conversation for the time being, setting her focus on 2018 for now. Her sister, Bronte Campbell, has been strong this year, but not WR-breaking strong. Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström has stepped in as the ultimate sprint weapon, putting all of her marbles in races 100 meters or less. She has been no more than a tenth away from the world records in the 50 and 100 free, and a pinch of salt (rest/recovery) might just put her in world record territory in both sprint free events.

It’s difficult to confidently call WRs for sprint events, as a slight hesitation at the start or an extra breath could be the difference between gold and off the podium, the difference between a world record and, well, not a world record. Sjöström has been faster than ever, though, and as a fast in-season swimmer, she might not have huge time to drop– and that’s okay. She only needs hundredths. It’s more likely we’d see a WR in the 100, as she has less to drop and the race is longer than the 50, but with the ferocity she’s been bringing to every race, those WR’s will be shaking in their boots in Budapest.

Women’s 200 free, 400 free, 800 free, 1500 free

• 200 free – 1:52.98 | Federica Pellegrini (ITA) | 07/29/2009
• 400 free – 3:56.46 | Katie Ledecky (USA) | 08/07/2016
• 800 free – 8:04.79 | Katie Ledecky (USA) | 08/12/2016
• 1500 free – 15:25.48 | Katie Ledecky (USA) | 08/04/2015

200 free: Katie Ledecky. Definitely the hardest of these four for her to crack, but she was less than eight tenths off in Rio, and nobody steps up to a challenge quite like her. If she doesn’t break the WR, it might be partly due to her having nobody to push her.

400, 800, 1500 free: Katie Ledecky. No explanation necessary.

Women’s 50 back, 100 back

• 50 back – 27.06 | Zhao Jing (CHN) | 07/30/2009
• 100 back – 58.12 | Gemma Spofforth (GBR) | 07/28/2009

Fu Yuanhui of China was very close to breaking the 50 back WR in Kazan, going 27.11. She leads the world this year with a 27.36, about two tenths ahead of her teammate Wang Xueer (27.55), and it’s going to take a perfect race as its a 50 meter swim. We could also get a surprise swim from Brazil’s Etiene Medeiros, who was the silver medalist in this race in Kazan.

Meanwhile, Canada’s Kylie Masse has been on a tear this year, having turned in a 58.23 already which sits just .11 back from Gemma Spofforth’s suited record. She has the hot hand heading into Worlds, though Emily Seebohm and Kathleen Baker are dangerous a few tenths back.

Women’s 50 breast, 100 breast

• 50 breast – 29.48 | Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) | 08/03/2013
• 100 breast – 1:04.35 | Ruta Meilutyte (LTU) | 07/29/2013

What better way to assert your dominance in a rivalry than by winning gold in world-record fashion? Lilly King and Yulia Efimova have both been very fast this year– they’re the only two swimmers  to have broken 30 in the 50, as well as 1:05 in the 100, this season. Efimova has the edge in the 100, coming in with a 1:04.82 season best to King’s 1:04.95, while King is ahead in the 50 (29.66 to 29.88).

King definitely has the advantage in the 50 over Efimova, as the Russian typically relies on otherworldly back-halves to finish first, making her better in the 100 and 200. The 100 is a toss-up, but Ruta Meilutyte’s WRs in both are definitely in danger.

Women’s 50 fly, 100 fly

• 50 fly – 24.43 | Sarah Sjöström (SWE) | 07/05/2014
• 100 fly – 55.48 | Sarah Sjöström (SWE) | 08/07/2016

Sjöström again, and this time it’s her specialty. She’s just now reaching WR territory in her freestyle, so it would be more expected for her to break WRs in the sprint free than in the sprint fly, where she’s been better and more focused for years. The 100 WR is more in reach– it’s possible that her 24.43 in the 50, on that sunny day in Borås, Sweden, was some sort of Scandinavian swim of utopian proportions. It was the right day, at the right time, so on and so forth.

Looking at it from a more rational perspective, she’s been within .28 of her 100 fly record this year, while her 50 has been off by .33– the 100 is more within reach.

Women’s 200 IM, 400 IM

• 200 IM – 2:06.12 | Katinka Hosszu (HUN) | 08/03/2015
• 400 IM – 4:26.36 | Katinka Hosszu (HUN) | 08/06/2016

Like most of these events, if anyone is going to break a WR, it’s one specific swimmer. For the IM’s, that swimmer is Katinka Hosszu. Hosszu has been good this spring, but not great. She hasn’t been throwing down incredible times left and right like we’re used to seeing her do. Perhaps that’s a good sign– maybe she’s been training so hard that her taper will be fantastic and she’ll blow her own best times out of the water. Or perhaps her years of exhausting Iron Lady meet schedules, where she samples every event on the menu, are catching up.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2017 World Championships: World Record Watch List

By Loretta Race on SwimSwam

2017 FINA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Sunday, July 23rd – Sunday, July 30th
• Budapest, Hungary
• 50-Meter Course
• Event Schedule
• Meet Info
• Omega Results

The smooth flowing freestyle mechanics of Olympic champion Sun Yang are universally praised and have served the Chinese swimmer well on the international swimming stage. In Rio alone, Sun nabbed the coveted 200m freestyle gold medal and came close in the 400m freestyle as well, earning silver in the event.

Since Rio, however, the 25-year-old hasn’t been satisfied and has been on the hunt for even more ways to improve his racing. Already possessing a huge weapon in his distance per stroke and overall freestyle efficiency, Sun looked to his race start as an area of improvement.

Reviewing past performances, Sun’s reaction times fall in the .74-.79 range, while fellow 200m freestyle competitors James Guy and Chad Le Clos clock reaction times off the block more towards the .65 target. May seem like a small opportunity, but when racing come down to hundredths, elite athletes seek out any edge no matter how minute.

“I am used to entering the water slowly and trying to catch up from behind over the first half of the course. It’s a waste of strength. If I can just start as quickly as most of my opponents, I sure could swim faster and finish strong,” Sun told China Central Television recently.

At April’s Chinese National Championships, Sun utterly dominated, winning all 5 freestyle events ranging from the 100m to the 1500m. His respective 100m and 200m performances of 1:44.91 and 3:42.16 remain as the world’s top times heading into the 2017 FINA World Championships. As impressive as Sun’s wall-to-wall prowess is, he can easily be pointed to as the last swimmer off the blocks in the 200m distance, per the video below (he’s in lane 4). His launch here is fairly representative of his typical reaction at the start.

Not revealing the actual technique changes that he has made to his start, Sun simply says that he is in ‘great shape’ and ‘pretty confident now’ heading into Budapest.

“The adjustment of my starting technique is part of my preparation. I hope I can test it at big events like the worlds and then hone it to perfection with more intensity in training leading up to Tokyo.”

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Sun Yang Adds Improved Start To His Talent Arsenal For Budapest

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

2017 LINCOLN SECTIONALS

• July 19th-22nd, 2017
• Lincoln, NE
• Psych sheets
• Results on Meet Mobile (2017 Region VIII Summer Sectionals)

17-year old Jackson Allmon of the Council Bluffs Swim Club swam a lifetime best in the 100 free on night 1 of the 2017 Lincoln, Nebraska Sectional Championships.

Allmon swam a 52.74 in the 100 free, which improved upon his previous best time of 53.37. That gives him a 3rd Winter Juniors cut to go with his existing cuts in the 200 fly and 200 free. It also moves him into the top 50 17-year olds nationally in the event this season.

On the women’s side of the pool, Nebraska’sJordan Ehly had an even bigger time drop. The rising senior won the women’s 200 breaststroke by over 7 seconds in 2:30.97. That’s almost a three-second time drop from her previous best time – which was two years ago. She dropped her yards time by more than a second during the NCAA season as well.

Other Day 1 Winners:

• 16-year old Lincoln Select swimmer Alana Palmer won the women’s 100 free in 57.85. She beat out GNST swimmer, and Cal commit, Dannie Dilsaver, who took 2nd in 58.19.
• Lance Culjat from the Omaha Swimming Federation won the men’s 200 breaststroke in 2:22.67 – leading a tight group of 4 at the touch. He was in 3rd place at the last turn, but had the fastest split coming home to win.
• Nebraska’s Jacqueline Jeschke won the women’s 200 backstroke in 2:18.86, leading a 1-2-3-4 finish by the Cornhuskers.
• Missouri’s Alex Walton won the men’s 200 back in 2:06.16. His teammates Griffin Schaetzle (2:06.84) and Daniel Hein (2:08.18) finished 2nd and 3rd.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Nebraska’s Jordan Ehly Drops 3 Seconds at Lincoln Sectionals

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

2017 MINNEAPOLIS SECTIONALS

• July 19th-22nd, 2017
• University Aquatic Center, University of Minnesota
• LCM
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Meet Central

University of Minnesota rising rising senior Conner McHugh set a new Minneapolis Sectionals Record on Wednesday to kick off the 2017 long course edition of the meet. Swimming in the 200 breaststroke, he finished in 2:12.89, more than 3 seconds ahead of his competition, to break the 2011 record of Matthew Elliott by exactly a second. He also got the record in prelims with a 2:13.07.

That swim for McHugh was about four-tenths from his best time, swum at this year’s Worlds Trials.

That made McHugh, in spite of his record-setting swim, one of the few champions on Wednesday to not go a big personal best en route to victory.

Among the swimmers who highlighted that best was Grace Cooper, a 15-year old from Delta Aquatics in Illinois. She swam a 56.38 to win the women’s 100 free and pick up a second U.S. Open cut to go with her 50 free from June. That time is a two-and-a-half second drop from her previous personal best. That swim is also the fastest time by an American 15-year old so far this season, jumping names the likes of U.S. Worlds team member Regan Smith (56.53) and National Age Group Record holder Kate Douglass (56.54).

Other Day 1 Winners:

• Bowen Becker won the men’s 100 free in 50.66. The top 7 finishers in that race are all college students, as were 11 of the top 12. The lone exception was 16-year old Donovan Lahmann from the West Swim Club, who finished 8th in the A-final.
• The women’s 200 breaststroke saw a tie for first between Hannah Hunt of the Fox Valley Swim Team (the same club that produced the United States’ top male breaststroker, Kevin Cordes), and Vanessa Herrman of AquaStorm in North Dakota. They swam matching 2:35.97s. For Herrman, that breaks the North Dakota 17-18 state record in the event by 5 seconds.
• Kelsey Drake took the women’s 200 fly in 2:14.89. Emma Lasecki, a 15-year old from Green Bay, took 2nd in 2:17.26.
• Jack Herron won the men’s 200 fly in 2:01.49. That’s his best time by a second-and-a-half and would have been an Olympic Trials cut in 2016 (2020 cuts have not yet been released).
• Grace Tierney won the women’s 800 free in 8:56.81. She was the only swimmer under 9 minutes in that event.
• Minnesota’s Nick Plachinski won the men’s 800 free in 8:22.81 – four seconds better than his seed time.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Grace Cooper Moves to Top of 15-Year Old US Ranks in Minneapolis

By James Sutherland on SwimSwam

2017 COLUMBUS SECTIONALS

• July 19th-22nd, 2017
• Columbus, OH
• Psych sheets
• Results on Meet Mobile

The opening day of the 2017 Ohio Speed Sectionals in Columbus featured finals of three different events for men and women, along with the women’s 4×200 free relay.

The most notable name in action was former Louisville Cardinal Andrea Cottrell, who won the women’s 200 breast in a time of 2:30.17. Cottrell was recently a finalist in all three breaststroke events at U.S. World Trials in June, finishing 6th in all three. Palomo Marrero of FAST (Firestone Akron) took 2nd in 2:34.31.

The men’s event was won decisively by Jacob Foster of the Mason Manta Rays, who clocked 2:15.98, two seconds clear of runner-up Jonathan Rutter (2:18.10) of Powel Crosley.

Amanda Smith of the Northern KY Clippers came back on Sophia Tuinman in the women’s 200 back, negative splitting the race to win in 2:15.17. Tuinman was out fast in 1:06.10, and though she was passed by Smith, managed to hold off Emily Slabe (2:15.69) for silver in 2:15.56.

In the men’s race, Kyle Maas of Michigan Lakeshore Aquatics won in 2:02.22 to knock over five seconds off his prelim swim from lane 2. Top seed from prelims Brad Shannon of Ohio State took 2nd in 2:03.57.

Both 50 free finals had the winner and runner-up separated by just three one-hundredths. In the women’s race, Madison Myers of FAST triumphed over Maria Coy of Ohio State, 26.12 to 26.15. The men’s event saw Parker Neri of Upper Arlington claim victory in 23.34 ahead of Ohio State’s Nathan Christian (23.37) and Justin Dunn (23.42).

To close out day 1 the Ohio State women won the 4×200 free relay in 8:16.06, led by a 2:03.19 anchor from Meg Bailey. The Clippers took 2nd in 8:20.41.

After day 1, Ohio State leads the men’s scoring with 203.5 points, well ahead of the Cincinnati Marlins (144.5). The Northern KY Clippers (247) hold a less decisive lead over Ohio State (224.5) on the women’s side. Combined, Ohio State holds over a 100 point advantage.

Team Scores

Men

1. Ohio State Swim Club, 203.5
2. Cincinnati Marlins, 144.5
3. Mason Manta Rays, 86

Women

1. Northern KY Clippers, 247
2. Ohio State Swim Club, 224.5
3. Mason Manta Rays, 127

Combined

1. Ohio State Swim Club, 428
2. Northern KY Clippers, 316
3. Cincinnati Marlins, 229.5

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Cottrell Wins 200 Breast To Open Columbus Sectionals

By SwimSwam Partner Content on SwimSwam

TYR Sport is proud to announce the signing of world record
holder and Olympic bronze medalist Rikke Møller Pedersen.

Hailing from Odense, Denmark, Pedersen is no stranger to competition, making her first Olympic appearance in 2012. As a national team member she has stood out in both major European and international competitions and has held the title of world record holder in the 200-meter breaststroke since 2013. Rikke earned her first Olympic medal at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as part of the 4 x100-meter medley relay. During this race the Danish team broke the European record with an impressive time of 3:55.01.

Rikke joins a growing roster of standout swimmers including 12x Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte, 4x Olympic gold medalist Matt Grevers, 5x Olympic gold medalist Dana Vollmer and 4x Olympian and Danish record holder Jeanette Ottesen. In addition, TYR Sport is a committed partner of the Danish Swimming Federation.

“I am proud to be joining the TYR family,” began Rikke. “I look forward to many more amazing swims and am confident that with TYR as my sponsor, this is just the beginning.”

Matt DiLorenzo, Chief Executive Officer of TYR Sport added, “Team TYR is proud to welcome Rikke Møller Pedersen to our roster of professional athletes. Through her impressive career Rikke has proven to be one of the world’s most competitive breaststroke specialists, and we cannot wait to support her talents moving forward.”

About TYR

Named for TYR, the Norse god of warriors, our company is committed to cultivating a culture of greatness, both in and out of the water. Through vision and American ingenuity, we have become a brand synonymous with the athlete.

From the planning stages to the production floor, everything we do revolves around synthesizing creativity, experience and competition. For us, engineering the most advanced performance products is more than just a goal, it’s a requirement.

Swimming Press Release courtesy of TYR Sport, a SwimSwam partner.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: TYR Sport Signs Olympic Bronze Medalist Rikke Møller Pedersen

By Sanuj Srivastava on SwimSwam

2 Baar World Champion Rah Chuke Camille Lacourt Is Baar Fina World Championship Me Participate Krenge Joki Unki Last Race Hogi Aur Iske Baar Wo Retirement Le Lenge. 19 Saal Ke Justin Ress Is Baar World Championship Me Kuch Alag Kar Skte Hai, Justin Ress Ne Grevers Ke Sath 100 Aur 200m Back Stroke Ke Rio Gold Medalist Ryan Murphy Ko Pichle Month Us Nationals Me Hra Chuke Hai, Aur Ryan Murphy Is Baar Budapest Me 50m Backstroke Bhi Nahi Kar Rhe Hai To Ye Ek Golden Opportunity Bhi Hai Justin Ke Liye.

Niche Experts Ke According Ek Prediction List Tyar Ki Gyi Hai:-

Men’s 50 Back Current Records:-

World Record Holder: Liam Tancock, GBR (2009) — 24.04
Championship Record Holder: Liam Tancock, GBR (2009) — 24.04
American Record Holder: Randall Bal (2008) — 24.33

2015 World Champion Holder : Camille Lacourt, FRA — 24.33
2017 World Champion Prediction: Justin Ress, USA — 24.41

Swimming World Predictions

David Rieder Ke According 2017 World Championship Me 50m Backstroke Ke Medalist:

Gold Medal: Xu Jiayu, China
Silver Medal: Camille Lacourt, France
Bronze Medal : Justin Ress, USA

John Lohn Ke According 2017 World Championship Me 50m Backstroke Ke Medalist:

Gold Medal: Xu Jiayu, China
Silver Medal: Justin Ress, USA
Bronze Medal: Camille Lacourt, France

Andy Ross Ke According 2017 World Championship Me 50m Backstroke Ke Medalist:

Gold Medal: Xu Jiayu, China
Silver Medal: Camille Lacourt, France
Bronze Medal: Matt Grevers, USA

Join Us:-

• Google Plus:- SwimSwam Hindi

• Facebook:- SwimSwam Hindi

• Pintrest:- SwimSwam Hindi

• Flipboard:- SwimSwam Hindi

• SwimSwam Hindi Whatsapp :- +91 81879 96947 Or SwimSwam Hindi

Rules:-

• Sirf Swimming Related Topic Hi Group Me Dale.
• Swimming Related Questions Ya Apni Swimming Video Group Me Share Kar Skte Hai
• Swimming Ke Alawa Koi Bhi Message Krne Wale Ko Group Se Remove Kar Diya Jayega

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Budapest Me 50m Backstroke Me Hone Wale Champions Ki Prediction List

By Loretta Race on SwimSwam

While visiting Japan this week, Vice President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), John Coates, spoke briefly to the topic of Olympic swimming and timing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. As with past editions of the Summer Olympics, swimming finals at the 2020 Tokyo Games will most likely take place in the morning local time in order to accommodate America’s broadcasting network, NBC.

“I think there is a possibility that swimming will be the same as Beijing,” said Coates. (Asahi.com)

The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China saw its pool event prelims held in the evening local time, with semifinals/finals held in the following morning session. The shift from normally held morning prelims and evening finals was to accommodate NBC’s request that finals for the event be shown ‘live’ in the USA.

The swimming schedule was a subject of debate at the most recent edition of the Games in Rio, with prelims starting at 1pm local time and finals beginning at 10pm. This allowed America’s East Coast to view the action live at 11am eastern and 9pm eastern, respectively. Tokyo is 13 hours ahead of eastern, whereas Beijing is 12 hours ahead.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Tokyo 2020 Swimming Finals May Be Held In Morning, Like Beijing

By SwimSwam on SwimSwam

Courtesy of Stuart Dustan

“We have always done it that way”, is a phrase I have heard uttered far too often by coaches in response to a challenge of their training methods. In a previous article I highlighted the importance of hanging a question mark over your strongest held beliefs; in this post, I challenge you to put it into practice.

I have posed a number of questions to you below and I would like you to answer them, however, I have one condition for this exercise – I would like you to assume that, whatever answer you provide, it is wrong. I want you to try and act as your own devil’s advocate. Find the flaws, the weaknesses, the limitations of your answer; assume that they exist – more often than not, if you look hard enough, you’ll find them. By becoming aware of the pitfalls in your programme you can refine, remove and replace the practices which do not stand up to this self-scrutiny.

Make yourself prove your answer. Don’t accept cop-outs such as “That’s what everyone else does,” or, “That’s what we have always done”. Instead, I would implore you to employ reason based on logic, science, scientific rationale and, evidence.

For each of the questions I have posed, I have included a potential ‘cop-out’ answer and, a possible alternative answer – a ‘devil’s probe’. Here goes.

Why are some of my* swimmers progressing and improving significantly better in comparison to other swimmers within the same lane? 

Cop-out: Some swimmers work harder than others. 

Devil’s probe: I have not created a programme which is sufficiently individualised for each athlete within the lane. I have not recognised the vast physiological and psychological differences which can exist between each athlete. 

Why do I have swimmers who regularly become injured, particularly in the shoulder region? 

Cop-out: It’s an excuse swimmer’s utilise when the going gets tough.

Devil’s probe: My programmes consist of vast swimming distances which are applying an unnecessarily large amount of pressure on the swimmer’s shoulders’. My dryland programme is having a detrimental effect on the swimmer’s performance in the water.

Why are my swimmers not meeting my performance expectations? 

Cop-out: The athletes are not trying hard enough. They don’t listen. 

Devil’s probe: I am overtraining my athletes. I am not communicating my technical instructions effectively. I am not creating an environment in which the swimmer’s wish to engage. 

Why is it that during races my swimmers fail to replicate the technique we have worked on in training? 

Devil’s probe: I have been ignorant of the link between technique and velocity – I have prescribed paces slower than race-pace for my swimmer’s to practice their race technique. 

Some of the club swimmers attend a session and always seem distracted – why are they not concentrating? 

Why do my age-groups swimmers appear to peak at age 16-17 followed by a decline in performance? 

Cop-out: Young adult life catches up with them, they prioritise their social life over their swimming life. 

Devil’s probe: The performance of those swimmers have relied on the improvements which come from growth during puberty; it shows the training programme has not been as effective as I thought it was.   

Why do I struggle to retain swimmers between the ages of 16-18? 

Cop-out: This is due to the external pressures experienced by teenage swimmers, e.g. academic pressures. 

Devil’s probe: I have reduced my athletes to swimmers rather than appreciating their life outside of the pool. My programme does not accommodate for these other areas of life. I have placed a disproportional emphasis on quantity of swimming over quality. 

Are all my training practices in line with current evidence and research? 

Cop-out: I don’t care, all my practices have been learned from very successful coaches and from methods which everyone else uses.

Devil’s probe:  No, I haven’t been equipped with the skills to carry out research of sport science so I avoid it. I am ignorant of the scientific process. Some of my practices conflict with scientific evidence and scientific rationale. 

Should I allow my ideas to be challenged by colleagues and other coaches? 

Cop-out: No, I’m a level 3 licensed coach!

Devil’s probe: Yes! It’s one of the best ways to find the weaknesses in my training programme. My beliefs and opinions are not infallible – I could be wrong. 

This is not a post on how to improve your programme, instead, I hope it has revealed to you that your programme can be improved. If nothing else, employing the devil’s advocate and utilising self-evaluation can reassure you that you are on the right track IF your ideas, training and methods can stand up to thorough scrutiny.

Yours in Swimming,

SwimCoachStu

*I have noticed some controversy with using the phrase “your swimmers” or “my swimmers”. It has been claimed that no coach owns a swimmer and that said terms are too possessive. I think that this response is an overreaction and, is a tad pedantic. The swimmers are the coaches responsibility during a session and, they tend to lead the team – thus they are in a position whereby they are – in essence – the coach’s swimmers.

About Stuart Dustan

Residing in Scotland, Stuart has been coaching for numerous years and has belonged to a variety of clubs across the country. He started his coaching career with Forres Bluefins ASC moving on to Perth City SC whereby he worked alongside one of the most experienced coaches in Scottish Swimming, assisting with the development of a number of successful swimmers including an Olympic medal-winner. Stuart now spends his time coaching within a large swimming club in Dundee (Dundee City Aquatics) and, he is also a long-term member of the executive training team within one of the only specialist sprint clubs in the UK – Free Style SC. Free Style utilises an evidence-based and scientific approach to training. Stuart has experience as a researcher in Medical Science and he utilises this experience to critically review scientific literature related to athlete performance. He can often be found on Twitter engaging in respectful, yet critical debates with other coaches on swimming science (@SwimCoachStu).

Read the full story on SwimSwam: “We Have Always Done It That Way”

By Reid Carlson on SwimSwam

This September at the United States Aquatic Sports Convention in Dallas, TX, the USA Swimming Board of Directors will vote to finalize proposed changes to the structure of the Board of Directors.

Per a letter from Jim Sheehan, Chairman of the USA Swimming Board of Directors, the proposed changes will “re-vamp Board structure and mindset.”

The 2017 Governance Assessment, conducted by outside consultant Bill Charney at Charney Associates in Denver, CO, saw ten “key recommendations” drafted for the Board of Directors. Following the release of assessment, Sheehan sent out his letter to members of USA Swimming, endorsing the recommended changes to the Board of Directors. Some of the most notable recommendations pertain to Board size and constituency. Establishing “a broader strategic focus and forward-looking mindset,” will be achieved in-part by making the Board smaller in size.

The Board will be cut down to 15 voting members, consisting of 10 “at-large” members elected by the House of Delegates (HOD), plus three athlete members selected by the Athletes Section of the HOD, the Chair of the National Team Steering Committee, and the Immediate Past Board Chair. In all, 11 of the 15 will be selected by the HOD.

The House of Delegates is comprised of members from each LSC who vote on recommendations and rules changes, determining the outcome of rules changes after recommendations have been filed from different staff and committees within USA Swimming. A full list of the proposed rules changes is available here.

The Immediate Past Board Chair, a position Sheehan will likely occupy following the 2018 convention when his term ends, will remain as an ex-oficio member through 2020. Thereafter the immediate past chair becomes an at-large and will also gain a voting seat on the 15-member Board–if these recommendations are ratified.

The Chair of the National Steering Committee (Jim Wood) also stands to gain a voting seat on the Board. However, unlike other board seats, these positions will not be eligible for 2-consecutive four-year terms, and their terms as voting ex-oficios will instead “automatically be extended until they fulfill the respective ascension of offices.”

At present, the Board consists of 23 voting-members, plus 13 ex-oficio members that do not vote. There is no voting role for the Immediate Past Board Chair on the current Board of Directors, though they do serve as an ex-oficio. (Page 43 of the Governance Assessment provides a table of board positions and term lengths.)

Additionally, the Board will no longer include fixed seats for representatives from outside organizations such as the NCAA, FINA, YMCA, USMS, ASCA, etc.

It is important to note that the proposed changes will not take effect until the 2018 elections at the USAS Convention. The following passage is an excerpt from the 2017 Governance Assessment:

“Observations and recommendations for Board consideration are presented throughout the report, including 28 recommendations addressing various facets of the governance role (approximately one-third of which are minor/procedural issues). A compilation of all 28 recommendations (summarized) appears in Section Five [page 58].

Key recommendations, briefly summarized, include:

1. As would be inherent with Board approval of these recommendations, making an explicit commitment to transitioning from its current operations-focused structure, to serving the membership and growing the sport with outstanding, accountable performance as a governance-focused Board of Directors.
2. Before the end of 2017, the Board should establish the criteria, methods and timeline it will use to evaluate performance of, and provide constructive feedback to, the new CEO.
3. By Spring 2018, develop/adopt a “Governing Policies Manual” clearly outlining performance expectations for the Board and for the CEO/operating organization.
4. Effective with the 2018 elections, transition the Board’s structure and composition as follows;
   1. Board size to be 15 voting members, serving up to 2 consecutive 4-year terms (staggered). Composition (post-transition) including 10 “at-large” Board members elected by the House of Delegates (HoD), plus: 3 athlete members elected by the Athletes Section of the HoD; the Chair of the National Team Steering Committee; and the Immediate Past Board Chair.
   2. The Board will have and elect three officers from among its own members: Board Chair, a Vice Chair and a Vice Chair – Audit/Financial Oversight. The Board Chair will serve one 4-year term. The Vice Chairs may serve up to 2 consecutive 2-year terms, though at the beginning of year 3 of the Board Chair’s term, the Board will elect a Vice Chair/Chair-Elect, who will automatically become the Board Chair 2 years later.
   3. Board members may serve a maximum of 2 consecutive 4-year terms. The exception to this term limitation will be for the Chair Elect, Board Chair and the Immediate Past Board Chair, whose terms will automatically be extended until they fulfill the respective ascension of offices.
5. A Nominating Committee will be established and charged with recruiting, vetting and proposing 2 or 3 highly qualified nominees on the ballot for each Board’s seat open for election. The Committee will have 9 voting members, including 2 athletes, 2 coaches, 2 current Board members, 2 individuals of “independent” background but with a demonstrable connection to swimming, and 1 representative selected by the USA Swimming Foundation Board of Directors.
6. Strengthen the “wholeness” of the 15-member Board by eliminating the fixed Executive Committee (“board within a board”). Virtual meeting technology makes such an “authority to act for the Board between meetings” structure unnecessary.
7. To ensure appropriate exercise of fiduciary responsibilities, revise the Rulebook to clarify that the Board is to have authority for budget approval/oversight.
8. Similarly, the Board of Directors is to have authority to revise the Bylaws, with stipulation, however, that the House of Delegates retains authority over the Rules of Sport, changes to membership fees and changes to the number of voting Board members, or to the number of which are elected by the full House of Delegates. (NOTE: Upon completion of the proposed transition, the House will elect 11 of the Board’s 15 voting seats.)
9. The Board is to commit to integrating “Board Development” practices, to continually elevate its governance skills and understandings to best serve the sport and the membership. These include, but are not limited to, thorough orientation/“on-boarding” of new Board members, on-going governance education/training opportunities for the entire Board, periodic Board self-assessment practices, etc.
10. To elevate the value of Board meetings, and better use Board member’s abilities in deliberative conversations rather than listening to “report-outs,” the Board Chair will establish agendas in accordance with an Annual Board Work Plan, with strategic governance objectives adopted by the Board each year.”

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2017 USA Swimming Governance Assessment & Recommendations Overview

By Lauren Neidigh on SwimSwam

You can find links to all of our event-by-event previews and a compilation of our predicted medal-winners here.

2017 FINA World Championships

• Sunday, July 23rd – Sunday, July 30th
• Budapest, Hungary
• 50-Meter Course
• Event Schedule
• Meet Info

Sun Yang (Photo: Satiro Sodré)

As we head into the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, China’s Sun Yang looks like the man to beat in the men’s 200 free. Yang, who won gold in this race at the 2016 Olympics, is the only man to have broken 1:45 so far this year with his 1:44.91 at the Chinese National Championships. He was also the only man to break that barrier in Rio last summer when he went a personal best 1:44.63 in the semis and nearly matched it with a 1:44.65 in the final.

This time around, however, we could see multiple men dip below 1:45. One of the first swimmers to come to mind is South Africa’s Chad Le Clos, who took silver in Rio. With his fly-and-die strategy, Le Clos has used his killer front half speed to produce a best time of 1:45.20, and he’s been getting better and better since he placed 6th in this race at 2015 Worlds. If he’s nailed his strategy or built up more endurance for that back half, he could be up there challenging Sun for gold, but he may still be toying with his race plan.

Another Olympic medalist will be in the mix, as Korea’s Park Tae-Hwan, returns to Worlds after missing the meet in 2015 due to the 18-month ban FINA imposed on him for a positive doping test. In November, he threw down a 1:45.16 at the Asian Games, marking his fastest performance since 2012. Park had a disappointing performance at the Rio Olympics, which came shortly after his suspension ended. Now that he’s fully back into the swing of things, another medal could be in the cards for him.

James Guy (Photo: Tim Binning)

Up-and-comer Townley Haas (USA) and defending World Champion James Guy (GBR) are also among the medal favorites here. Haas is the 2nd fastest performer in the world this year after throwing down a personal best 1:45.03 for a dominant victory at U.S. Nationals. Guy, who won the event in a personal best 1:45.14 in 2015, has already been 1:45.55 this season. Guy’s teammate Duncan Scott has been on fire this season, and his personal best 1:45.80 from British Nationals makes him a likely finalist.

It could take anywhere from a 1:45-high to a 1:46-low to squeeze into the final. Japan’s Kosuke Hagino would be a medal threat if he could match his personal best 1:45.23 from 2014, but he hasn’t been close to that this season and isn’t entered in the event at Worlds. Team USA’s Blake Pieroni (1:46.30) and Italy’s Gabriele Detti (1:46.38) have nearly identical season bests, while Australia’s distance star Mack Horton isn’t far behind in 1:46.83. Russia’s Alexander Krasnykh (1:47.12) returns after making the final of this race at 2015 Worlds and in Rio, but like Hagino, he’ll need to get much closer to his personal best 1:45.69 to final.

The mystery player in this is former European champion Velimir Stjepanovic. He’s hardly raced since Rio, and hasn’t been under 1:48.25 in this 200 free. Unless he’s been saving up for the meet, he’s unlikely to be a factor in the final.

TOP 8 PREDICTIONS:

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2017 Worlds Previews: Dogfight for Podium Spots in M. 200 Free

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

Texas A&M swimmer Sarah Gibson, who completed her last year of eligibility in the 2016-2017 season, has been named the overall CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for NCAA Division I athletics. The voting members of the Academic All-America committee, the CoSIDA board of directors, and the CoSIDA staff vote from among the athletes named Academic All-Americans on the award. Gibson was previously named the Academic All-American of the Year for the At-Large group of sports, and that honor has now been extended across all Division I sports.

She is the first Aggie in any sport to win this award since Kip Corrington in 1987.

“It’s a great time to be an Aggie!” Gibson said. “Every practice, homework assignment and team experience at Texas A&M is truly making my dreams come true. It is unimaginable that I have had the opportunity to be chosen for this award, graduate with honors, and represent my country at the FINA World Championships within a few short months.  I can only thank the long list of people – be they friends, teammates, coaches, professors, or support staff – whose efforts have propelled me forward.”

The award is based on a combination of academic and athletic contributions, and Gibson has both in spades. She has a perfect 4.00 GPA as a biomedical engineering major in the classroom, and in the pool was the 2017 SEC Swimmer of the Championship and is a member of the USA Swimming National Team.

Gibson won SEC titles in 5 events in February: the 100 fly, 200 fly, 500 free, 400 medley relay, and 800 free relay. She also won a pair of relay medals at the 2016 Short Course World Championships.

In total, she has 5 SEC individual titles, 15 NCAA All-American titles, and is the Texas A&M school record holder in the 200 free, 100 fly, 400 free relay, 800 free relay, 200 medley relay, and 400 medley relay. Individually, she was 4th in the 100 fly and 7th in the 200 fly at last year’s NCAA Championships. She’s currently in Budapest making final preparations for the long course World Championships, where she will swim the 50 fly, 100 fly, and probably the 400 medley relay.

She is a 3-time CSCAA Scholar All-American, a two-time Texas A&M Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and Texas A&M’s nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Texas A&M’s Sarah Gibson Named CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Yea

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

The complete entries book for the 2017 FINA World Championships have been posted online. While the information has been available for a while on the FINA app, the official start lists organize and include seed times, and make the information much easier to read.

• See the full start lists here.

Below are a breakdown of entries that we’ve gone through:

• Katinka Hosszu has 6 entries at 2017 World Championships
• Le Clos racing only 2 of 3 fly events in Budapest
• Mireia Belmonte may race 7400 meters in Budapest

Also of interest, Japan’s Kosuke Hagino will have only 3 entries – the 200 back, 200 IM, and 400 IM – swapping in the 200 back for the 200 free that he swam in Rio (and placed 7th in).

Swimming at the Danube Arena in Budapest will start on July 23rd and run 8 days through July 30th.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Full Entry/Start Lists for 2017 World Championships Posted

By Kierra Smith on SwimSwam

The power was out at Danubius Grand Hotel in Budapest today. About a ten minute drive from the competition venue, many teams are staying at the hotel for World Championships including Japan and Canada.

A pipe burst in the hotel at around 2am this morning (July 21st).  Swimmers on the first floor of the four story hotel woke up to their rooms flooding from the ceiling. Many had to be moved to either a temporary room or a room on the top floor. The power and water were out at the hotel until 2pm.

This is only a minor speed bump of adversity but many were affected with un air-conditioned rooms, no plumbing, and no lights. The power is currently back on at the Danubius Grand and the problem seems to be solved. World Championships start in two days on Sunday with the Women’s 100m fly. You can find the links to race previews here. 

While the Danubius Grand is mostly reserved for teams this week, it typically rents for around $100/night. Tripadvisor ranks it as the #68 hotel out of 334 in their database in Budapest. They list it as a 4.5 star (out of 5) hotel.

Racing in the pool starts on Sunday, July 23rd.

Editor’s note: Kierra Smith is a member of Team Canada.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Power Out at World Championship Team Hotel