While some people remember the 2008 Olympic Trials – the first of many in Omaha – for...

By Wendy Mayer on SwimSwam

Eighteen matches between ranked teams, including three Top 10 affairs, are on tap for Week 7 with the first slated for Thursday night as RV Santa Clara meets up with #11 Loyola Marymount.

The first Top 10 contest sees #3 Pacific head to #2 UCLA for a Friday matchup. The Tigers then face #5 UC Santa Barbara on the road on Sunday afternoon.

#1 Stanford and #8 Cal are off until Oct. 27, but the remainder of the Top 10 is in action. 

#2 UCLA has a full slate with matchups against #3 Pacific on Friday and against #20 Cal Baptist and RV Whittier on Saturday.

#4 USC travels to face #6 Pepperdine on Saturday.

The Harvard Invitational and Penn State Behrend Invitational also highlight the schedule.

Nine teams are slated to meet in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for 18 matches, featuring #9 Harvard, #14 Bucknell, #15 George Washington, #17 Pomona-Pitzer, #20 St. Francis Brooklyn and RV Brown alongside Wagner, MIT, and LaSalle.

Penn State Behrend brings in Gannon, Iona, Mercyhurst for a five-match event on Saturday. It will be the first action for the Lions since Sept. 27.

Iona is coming off a 16-12 win over Wagner on Wednesday. Andrew Brozovic put in five goals in the victory, while Patrick Hudak and German Rodriguez each notched a hat trick.

Gannon brings a 10-game win streak into the weekend, dating to Sept. 14. Mercyhurst will be looking to snap a two-game skid.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Harvard, Penn State Behrend Invites, 3 Top 10 Matches Lead WP Week 7 Slate

By Ben Dornan on SwimSwam

2019 Trojan Swim Invite

• October 4-5, 2019
• Los Angeles, California
• Day 1 Results
• Day 2 Results

While 22-year old Cody Simpson is known by many for being an international singing sensation, what many people don’t know that he once had aspirations to be an Olympic swimmer. In an interview with Coca Cola Australia back in 2016, he detailed his past career as an elite Australian swimmer, prior to his musical stardom, and in the pre-SwimSwam era of predecessor site The Swimmers Circle, he was featured among the most-followed ‘swimmers’ on social media already, at only 14-years old. A son of two parents who were both swimmers, Simpson excelled in the sport from a young age. Beginning to compete at age 10, by 2012 he had won gold medals in the 100 fly and 200 IM at the Queensland Swimming Championships.

Simpson’s musical career took off when he released his debut single “iYiYi” in collaboration with Flo Rida in 2010. He was able to balance his swimming career with his musical endeavors for a couple years, until he and his family decided to move to L.A so that he could fully pursue his music. The decision to commit to his music is one that he says he doesn’t regret and believes has paid off. Simpson has since released three studio albums and has gained quite a massive following world wide.

With his last music release in March 2019, Simpson was recently launched back into the spotlight when he began dating A-lister Miley Cyrus following her split with husband Liam Hemsworth.

In May of 2019 a video was uploaded to a Cody Simpson YouTube channel of the singer swimming a couple laps of butterfly at a lane swim. The video, entitled “Cody Simpson swimming the Butterfly stroke (2019)” showed a promising stroke with some definite room for improvement. He’s leading his stroke with his head, breathing a bit late, and is a bit up-and-down in his body motion, but his results at the meet weren’t bad for someone who isn’t training full-time as a swimmer.

Last week, Simpson decided to make his return to competition by racing at a swim meet at the University of Southern California. Simpson stayed true to his 100 fly roots and swam the event, representing the Trojan Swim Club-CA. He finished 24th out of 29 entrants in the 100 yard butterfly, swimming a time of 51.51 in the final (23.50/28.01).

Simpson also joined Trojan Swim Club’s Daniel Skaaning, Jerome Heidrich and Luca Spinazzola in the 200 yard freestyle relay later that session. They finished in a time of 1:23.55 for 8th place, with Simpson splitting a 21.27.

While he may have been the only international music star competing last weekend, Simpson was join by a couple big names in swimming. Namely, Jacob Pebley, Michael Chadwick, Kendyl Stewart and Marius Kusch were there for Team Elite, along with Olympian and open water power house Haley Anderson for Trojan Swim Club-CA.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Music Sensation Cody Simpson Competes At USC Swim Meet

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

Three-time U.S. Olympian Elizabeth Beisel is part of the cast of the 39th season of CBS’s reality TV show ‘Survivor.’ We’ll be recapping her game weekly… as long as she survives. ‘Survivor‘ is, of course, an edited, pared-down television program that condenses roughly three full days of on-island time into a one-hour program. There’s always more context to what we see, but our commentary is merely to have fun with what we’re shown, not to drag on any specific contestants. 

Episode link here

Previous recaps:

• Episode 1
• Episode 2
• Episode 3

Post-Tribal: Strategy Getting Complicated

Beisel’s orange tribe returns from Tribal Council after a vote-splitting move to burn an immunity idol last week. The majority targeted Vince, who was suspected of having (and did indeed have) an immunity idol, a major advantage in the game. For insurance in case Vince played the idol, negating all votes against him, the tribe split their votes between Vince and Karishma. The good news is that Vince went home with an idol in his pocket; the bad news is that the tribe telegraphed to Karishma that she’s not in the alliance long-term.

Photo: Robert Voets/CBS Entertainment ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Most of the story here is a ‘showmance’ (a portmanteau for a reality show romance) between Chelsea and Dean. Showmances are usually a quick way to get one or both of you booted, stretching back at least 15 years to a season where a romantic pair effectively ran the game to the final two.

All that is to say there’s not much Beisel in this segment. She hasn’t really been heavily involved in the strategic part of the game yet… but that may be about to change.

Island of the Idols: Do we really care?

Beisel isn’t at the Island of the Idols this week, and it’s not even her tribe sending someone, so we don’t really care for the purposes of this recap. The segment is great, though, as purple tribe sends budding train wreck Noura, and she immediately jumps at the gamble. So Beisel is far from alone in losing a vote in a low-odds gamble.

Noura’s ‘challenge’ is to convince her tribe to let her be the “caller” for the upcoming challenge, a Survivor classic where most of the tribe walks blindfolded around a field full of objects at crotch-level, with one caller barking out instructions. As Rob and Sandra note, Noura would be an absolute disaster of a caller, and her tribe rightly chooses not to select her, despite her horribly convoluted lie about needing to be the caller to give the tribe early info on what the challenge is.

Challenge: Beisel Gets the High-Pressure Caller Role

On the other side, Beisel takes on the high-pressure role of caller – that basically puts you in position to be the tribe’s hero, or the tribe pariah heading into Tribal Council.

This week, the castaways discover there's more to #Survivor than meets the eye. Get ready for an all-new episode on Wednesday! pic.twitter.com/ywrKILQRTG

— SURVIVOR (@survivorcbs) October 14, 2019

For what it’s worth, Beisel seems to stay calm and calls out directions well. Chelsea and Dean really struggle at the art of listening, though. Watching Beisel yell “Dean, go to your right” as he repeatedly turns to the left has to feel so reminiscent of a swim coach telling his age groupers to do a 50 catchup freesytle drill and watching them take off in a multitude of strokes and styles, none of them the actual announced drill.

The tribes are getting up close and personal in tonight’s challenge. #Survivorpic.twitter.com/1tZEk3WmAZ

— SURVIVOR (@survivorcbs) October 17, 2019

Whatever the cause, purple tribe gets a huge lead, and orange tribe looks dead in the water – not good for Beisel.

But maybe it’s fate: Beisel gets a comeback opportunity on the blindfolded puzzle. That’s right, a blindfolded puzzle. Beisel and the purple tribe’s caller, Jason, aren’t blindfolded, but have to direct a blindfolded tribemate to complete a moderately tricky circular puzzle. Purple tribe has a huge lead, but gets one piece away when Jason realizes he’s made a mistake. Beisel surges back, but makes the same mistake Jason did – she and Aaron have to backtrack on the puzzle, and purple tribe ekes out the win like a rapidly-fading 200 flyer who just manages to get to the wall before sinking like a rock.

Survivor Roulette: Everyone is at risk

It’s a brutally complicated finish to the episode, mainly because of Beisel’s former top ally, Missy, who seems determined to complicate what should be a straightforward boot of the person who will clearly flip if and when a tribe swap happens: the recently-spurned Karishma.

The tribe wants to vote Karishma. But Aaron doesn’t trust Dean. So Aaron and Missy hatch a plan to boot Dean.

This is where Beisel gets involved strategically in a big way. Showing that classic swimmer work ethic, Beisel values Dean’s contributions at camp, while Karishma hasn’t really helped the tribe. But Beisel tries to make her move subtly. She gets Elaine on board to keep Dean, then pretty much sells that back to Aaron and Missy as Elaine’s move. It’s smart, because it looks like Elaine is the one counterscheming, not Beisel.

But Missy can’t have things work simply or logically. She gets on a new train to boot Chelsea, a former tight ally in the women’s alliance that so recently looked like an unstoppable majority running the show.

All that chaos aside, Beisel gets a pretty good edit. She’s shown taking responsibility for the tribe’s loss, and her tribemates give her a lot of positive commentary in response. She’s also seen as a level-headed, even-keeled player in comparison to Missy, who seems to be a little overly-aggressive at this early stage of the game.

The ultimate outcome is exactly what Beisel foreshadows at Tribal Council: the plan they go with is the last one they talk about (or the last one they’re shown discussing). Chelsea takes the fall after committing the cardinal Survivor sin of saying she enjoys blindsides – seriously, if a player says they love blindsides, they are getting blindsided that night. It’s Survivor law.

Beisel is again on the correct side of the vote. That’s 3-for-3 so far.

Next Time on Survivor

The teaser shows… a tribe swap. We’ve been expecting one at about this point. The random swap almost always destroys the game of at least one person who had previously put themselves in a good situation. Beisel’s tribe is down 9-7 in overall numbers, so the odds say she’s going to wind up in a minority. Purple tribe has plenty of cracks (and one trainwreck-in-the-making), though, so things are probably going to very dynamic next week.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Elizabeth Beisel on Survivor, Episode 4: The Classic Blindfold Challenge

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

Fitter and Faster Swim Clinics is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.

Brooke Zettel of Holly Springs, North Carolina has announced her intention to swim for the University of Florida beginning in the 2021-22 school year. She wrote on social media:

“I’m so excited to announce my verbal commitment to swim and study at The University Of Florida!! Thank you so much to my coaches, family, and friends who have helped me get here! Go Gators

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

Fitter and Faster Swim Clinics is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.

Courtesy: David Curtiss

The NC State Wolfpack men’s team has had about as good of a 72-hour recruiting period as any team in the history of collegiate swimming. The latest swimmer in the class of 2021 (current juniors) to verbally commit is David Curtiss, who is ranked 7th in our class of 2021 high school rankings.

“I am very excited to announce my commitment to further my academic and athletic career at NC State University! I would like to thank my coaches, family and friends for helping me reach such an accomplishment. Go PACK! #wolfpack”

After #2 Aiden Hayes, #9 Garrett Boone, and #12 Sam Hoover also committed, Curtiss is the 4th swimmer in the top 12 to commit this week.

Curtiss is the 2nd-best sprint freestyler in the class, behind only uncommitted #1 Anthony Grimm (whose primary stroke isn’t actually freestyle). Curtiss will have some work to do to develop a 3rd event at the collegiate level that is up-to-par with his 50 freestyle time, though he’s versatile enough at 100 yards and less that he’s got some options on which direction to go.

Curtiss’ best times in Yards:

• 50 free – 19.70
• 100 free – 44.08
• 100 back – 49.41
• 100 breast – 59.55
• 100 fly – 50.10
• 200 IM – 1:57.10

In long course, Curtiss is one of the fastest 18 & unders in US history – he was only the 3rd 17-18 year old American ever to go sub-22 seconds in the 50 free, swimming a 21.95 in the semi-finals at the World Junior Championships ahead of a 22.14 in finals the next day for a silver medal. That time earned him a spot on the USA Swimming National Team (senior, not junior).

Curtis swims at the Hamilton Area YMCA in Hamilton, New Jersey and for the Pennington School. As a sophomore last season, he was the Easterns champion in the 50 and 100 yard frees, and scored runner-up finishes in the same events at the YMCA National Championships. A year prior, as just a freshman, he won the YMCA National title in the 50 free, swimming 19.75 at just 15-years old.

Keeping in mind that this class is made up of only high school juniors, it already includes a pair of swimmers who go 19.7 in the 50 free (Hayes and Curtiss), a 20.2 (Garrett Boone), and a 20.3 (Sam Hoover). While NC State has expanded to success in essentially every event and distance, the revival of the program over the last decade began with sprint success, and this group fits well within that wheelhouse.

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to Recruits@swimswam.com.

About the Fitter and Faster Swim Tour 

The Fitter & Faster Swim Tour produces swim clinics featuring elite stars of the sport and the most innovative teaching platforms. FFT Swim Clinics can be customized to meet age and skill level of every team and community. Call 786-837-6880 or visit http://www.fitterandfaster.com/ to learn more.

FFT SOCIAL

Instagram – @fitterandfasterswimtour

Facebook – @fitterandfastertour

Twitter – @fitterandfaster

^{FFT is a SwimSwam partner.}

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Wolfpack Grab Another: #7 David Curtiss Verbally Commits to NC State (2021)

By SwimSwam on SwimSwam

Courtesy: Washington State Athletics

PULLMAN Wash.– Washington State will compete in its second home dual meet hosting the Idaho Vandals.

ON DECK

WSU will travel to Stanford, Calif. to compete against Stanford Wednesday Oct. 23.

ABOUT THE OPPENENT

The Cougars will face the Vandals for the 28th time in series history with WSU claiming third place over Idaho’s fourth place finish in the relay meet that the Cougars hosted at the start of this season. The last dual meet between the two school’s dates back to the 2013-14 season where WSU came away with a ten-point victory over the Vandals in Idaho.

LAST TIME IN THE POOL

The Cougars traveled to Fresno, Calif. to compete in the Chick-Fil-A Invitational where WSU took fourth overall in the Invitational. Leading the team with three top five finishes senior Ryan Falk finished fourth in both the 1650 free and the 200 free, with a fifth-place finish in the 500 free. SophomoreKeiana Fountaine notched three top ten finishes with her highest finish being third in the 200 free. Juniors Taylor McCoy and Mackenzie Duarte both had two top ten finishes along with sophomore Lauren Burckel also finished two times in the top ten with a third-place finish in the 200 breast. The Cougars relay teams had four top ten finishing with a third place finish in the 800 free relay.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Washington State Set to Host Idaho

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

Fitter and Faster Swim Clinics is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.

University of Florida women’s swimming and diving have scored their third verbal commitment for the class of 2025. After Brooke Zettel and Micayla Cronk, Georgia Bates announced her intention to swim for the Gators in 2021-22. Her sister Talia Bates is a freshman this year on the Florida women’s team.

“I’m so proud to announce my verbal commitment to swim and study at The University of Florida!! I’d like to thank my family, coaches, friends, and Hank for all the support. I can’t wait to be a part of such an amazing group of girls!! Go Gators!!

By SwimSwam Staff on SwimSwam

An informal case study of 98 swimmers from 4 NCAA swimming & diving programs has revealed a certain level of anxiety among survey respondents in pre-race preparations. The survey was done by SwimSwam contributor Olivier Poirier-Leroy as part of his Your Swim Book program.

98 swimmers from 4 NCAA swimming & diving programs were asked to fill out an anonymous survey. While the programs aren’t named in the results, Poirier-Leroy did share that they were two Division II universities and two Division I ‘Power 5’ schools.

Among the results of the survey:

• Swimmers who report feeling scared “most” to “all of the time” when racing at big meets – 42%
• Swimmers who have trouble managing their emotions when under pressure – 56%
• Swimmers who think they spend too much time worrying about what might go wrong in competition – 76%
• Swimmers who have specific goals for the season – 67%
• Swimmers who know what they have to do to achieve their goals – 52%
• Swimmers who have a clear idea of what they need to do on a daily basis to succeed – 29%
• Swimmers who regularly visualize themselves being successful – 62%
• Swimmers who regularly use self-talk to conquer hard workouts – 56%
• Swimmers who believe that they elevate their performance when a competitor goes fast – 58%
• Swimmers who feel unconfident when comparing themselves to other swimmers – 67%

While the sampling methods from the study limit the ability to paint the results as overarching, some of the anxiety statistics align with broader studies about teens and young adults in the United States. According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly one-third of all adolescents in the U.S. have had an anxiety disorder, and that the rates are increasing. The average age of survey respondents was just under 20 years old.

Poirier-Leroy believes that by placing a greater emphasis on a “process-based mindset” and “framing anxiety as excitement,” athletes can better deal with pre-race emotions for better performances.

Read more about Poirier-Leroy’s analysis of the survey responses in his full post here.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Survey of 4 NCAA Swimming Programs Reveal High Levels of Pre-Race Anxiety

By Robert Gibbs on SwimSwam

Editor’s Note: SwimSwam is not on the voting panel for the CSCAA Dual Meet Rankings, but the rankings are posted as a courtesy to the CSCAA. See our most recent women’s Power Rankings here and men’s Power Rankings here.

Defending champions for both men and women, Queens, top the first edition of the 2019-2020 CSCAA coaches poll. On the men’s side, Indianapolis and Delta State rank 2nd and 3rd, reversing their finish order from the 2019 NCAA Division II championships. On the women’s side, UC San Diego narrowly clipped Drury, last year’s runner-up, for the #2 spot. UC San Diego finished 6th last year.

Keep in mind that these polls differ from our power rankings in that typically focus on duel meet strength, rather than championship performance.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Queens Men and Women Rank #1 in CSCAA Division II Preseason Poll

By Robert Gibbs on SwimSwam

Editor’s Note: SwimSwam is not on the voting panel for the CSCAA Dual Meet Rankings, but the rankings are posted as a courtesy to the CSCAA. See our most recent women’s Power Rankings here and men’s Power Rankings here.

Continuing the trend we saw with the Division I and Division II polls, the first CSCAA Division III polls of the 2019-2020 keeps the respective defending champions, the Emory women and the Denison men, ranked #1 as the season gets underway.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Defending Champions, Emory Women and Denison Men, Top DIII CSCAA Preseason Poll

By Retta Race on SwimSwam

A twin-engine Alaska Airlines flight carrying a high school swim team went off an airport runway while trying to land yesterday, October 17th.

Alaska Airlines flight 3296 from Anchorage to Dutch Harbor landed at Unalaska-Dutch Harbor Airport but went off the runway as it tried to stop. 42 passengers were on-board, including 3 crew members when the incident occurred at 5:40pm local time. Weather conditions at the time were described as low visibility amid light rain. (CNN)

City Manager Erin Reinders said she was at the airport to welcome the evening flight and witnessed the incident.

“We watched one [landing] attempt, and [the plane] was going with the wind, [approaching] from the Hog Island side [of Mount Ballyhoo]. Then it went back up [for] a second attempt. It went with the wind again. It did land, so all the wheels were on the ground. And then it wasn’t stopping. It was slowing down, and it was apparent that it was slowing down, but it wasn’t stopping.” (Koco News)

ABC is reporting that 2 passengers were critically hurt and 10 others were treated for injuries. However, the superindent of the swim team’s school, which is located in Cordova, Alaska, told CNN that all students and chaperones are accounted for and are OK.

“At present, all students and chaperones are accounted for and are OK, albeit a bit shaken up,” read a statement posted by superintendent Alex Russin on the school district’s website Thursday night, saying that they were eating pizza and would be “well looked after.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team to investigate the incident.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Alaska High School Swim Team On Airplane That Went Off Runway

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

The Cali Condors have added Tate Jackson to their roster midway through the 2019 season of the International Swimming League. Jackson is a first year pro out of the University of Texas and specializes in the sprint freestyles.

View this post on Instagram

Introducing Tate Jackson!⁣ ⁣ 2-Time NCAA champion ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Big 12 and University of Texas Record Holder 100 Free (41.06 SCY)⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 2019 US Nationals Bronze Medalist 100 Free (47.88 LCM)⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 2019 World University Games Silver Medalist 100 Free⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Tate was born in Paris, France on Feb 4, 1997. He lived in Iowa prior to moving to Texas in 2012 to further his swimming career. He swam for the Univeristy of Texas from 2015-2019, in Austin where he still lives and trains. Tate collects hip-hop vinyl and enjoys video games and rock climbing.

A post shared by Cali Condors (@calicondors_isl) on Oct 18, 2019 at 8:08am PDT

Jackson, who is an American but was born in Paris, made his first big international-level splash at the 2018 US National Championships where a 48.20 in the B final of the 100 free was the 2nd-fastest time of the meet – though because it was done in the B final, he didn’t make the Pan Pacs or World Championship team via the swim.

He built from that swim into his senior season at Texas, where in yards he swam 18.79 and 41.06 in the 50 and 100 freestyles. That 100 free time is the University of Texas and Big 12 Conference Record in the event. At the 2019 World University Games, he took a silver medal in the 100 free (48.29) and later, at US Nationals, he swam another lifetime best, going 47.88. That ranked him 10th in the world across the season, tied with Vlad Morozov.

While he has not short course meters racing experience, Jackson was one of the best remaining male swimmers available on the market to join the ISL.

Tate Jackson‘s lifetime bests:

While the Condors have the world’s top sprinter, Caeleb Dressel, on their roster, who won the 50 free, 100 free, and 50 free skins race in Naples, they don’t have great depth in the discipline. Without Dressel in Indianapolis, for example, their men’s 400 free relays finished 5th and 6th, respectively. That improved a little in Naples, to 2nd and 7th, but having to use swimmers like Mark Szaranek and Jan Switkowski on their B relay still shows a lack of depth.

Individually, Jackson will battle with Justin Ress and Bowe Becker for the #2 sprint freestyle spot for the Condors. Ress finished 5th in the 50 free in Naples (21.76), while Becker was 6th in the 100 free (47.69). Jackson also is worth of consideration for a 100 butterfly spot for the Condors: their #2 behind Dressel in Naples John Shebat (who trains with Jackson at Texas) was 7th in 51.81.

After their first 2 meets of the season, the Condors sit in 2nd place overall in the league, but first among American teams. That’s crucial, as teams are selected for the final based on continental, not global, rankings – the top 2 from the US and the top 2 from Europe each will advance to the final in Las Vegas in December. The Condors will be back in action on November 16th and 17th at the University of Maryland.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Cali Condors Add Mid-Season Sprint Depth with Tate Jackson Signing

By Retta Race on SwimSwam

7th CISM MILITARY WORLD GAMES

• Saturday, October 19th – Wednesday, October 23rd (swimming portion)
• Wuhan, China
• Games website
• Entries

The opening ceremony for the 7th International Military Sports Council (CISM) Military World Games took place today in host city Wuhan, China. The World Military Games are a multi-sport event that has taken place every four years since 1995.

Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the People’s Republic of China and Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission, met with heads of defense ministries and military leaders from various countries for the ceremony, honoring this year’s theme of ‘Military Glory, World Peace.’

Swimming competition gets underway tomorrow, Saturday, October 19th, where several International Swimming League (ISL) participants will be competing here in China as opposed to in Lewisville, Texas.

You can refresh yourself on the American roster for these Military World Games here, and also see a sampling of the notable talent per nation below.

Brazil – Brandonn Almeida, Jhennifer Conceicao, Leonardo De Deus, Joao Gomes Jr, Vivane Jungblut, Etiene Medeiros, Lairssa Oliveira, Fernando Scheffer, Pedro Spajari

China – He Junyi, Ji Xinjie, Li Guangyuan, Li Zhuhao, Liu Yaxin, Qin Haiyang, Wang Jianjiahe, Wang Shun, Yan Ziebei, Yang Junxuan, Zhang Yufei, Zhu Menghui

Egypt – Ali Khalafalla

France – Charlotte Bonnet, Melanie Henique, Damien Joly, Fantine Lesaffre, Marc Antoine Olivier, Jeremy Stravius

Germany – Lisa Hopink, Maximilian Pilger, Damien Wierling, Poul Zellman

Italy – Linda Caponi, Nicola Roberto, Niccolo Bonacchi, Giacomo Carini

Luxembourg – Raphael Stracchiotti

Poland – Konrad Czerniak, Anna Dowgiert, Pawel Kowecki, Kacper Majchrzak, Filip Zaborowski

Russia – Anton Chupkov, Anna Egorova, Vladislav Grinev, Oleg Kostin, Daria Ustinova

Serbia – Velemir Stjepanovic

Switzerland – Jeremy Desplanches

Vietnam – Anh Wen Nguyen

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Anton Chupkov, Wang Jianjiahe Among Swimmers Headed To Military World Games

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

Brazil’s swimming federation, the CBDA, has cut down from 60 employees in 2016 to about 11, only one of them full-time. That’s a new effort to cut down the federation’s massive debts.

Brazil’s SporTV reports that the staff has been cut down significantly under new president Luiz Fernando Coelho, who took over last month. Coelho will perform his job at the federation via Skype and will not spend federation money on travel expenses. The organization has cut down to just one full-time contract, with 11 total employees and a payroll of less than 50,000 Brazilian Reais (or about $12,099 in U.S. dollars).

Per SporTV, that’s a significant change from the numbers under two previous presidents:

• In 2016 under Coaracy Nunes, the CBDA employed 60 people.
• In 2018 under Miguel Cagnoni, the CBDA employed 34 people with a payroll of 171,583 Reais.
• The new system under Coelho will employ 11 people with a payroll of 50,000 Reais.

The CBDA still owes a debt of 8 million Reais to the Brazilian Olympic Committee – 6 million of that was accrued under Nunes, who was removed under allegations of fraud. Almost 2 million more came under Cagnoni’s watch as a product of the CBDA’s failure to properly document travel expenses. The federation chose to remove Cagnoni from his position last month, just days after he resigned over health concerns in his family. But officially removing him from his post passed the presidency to Coelho, rather than to Ricardo Prado, whom Cagnoni officially passed his powers to when he resigned.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Brazil: CBDA Cuts Down To One Full-Time Employee To Pay Massive Debts

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

The high school class of 2020, only a month or so into their senior year, got an early start to recruiting this year. Thanks to NCAA rules changes, legislated in April 2018, that allowed prospective student-athletes to begin taking official visits in their junior year of high school, many swimmers and divers in the class of 2020 made their college decisions much earlier than their counterparts from the class of 2019. With another three-and-a-half weeks until Signing Day 2019, we have written about 507 verbal commitments to NCAA Division I, II, and III, NAIA, and CIS programs.

Among the 507 verbal commitments about which we have already reported are 18 of the top-20 boys and all 20 of the top-20 girls:

Below you will find all the articles we have published to date about verbal commitments from the high school class of 2020. As always, you can sort by club team, college, conference, home state, school, LSC, etc. (We’re adding articles every day, so keep refreshing this page to get the latest articles!)

(NOTE: If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to Recruits@swimswam.com. Do not leave it in the comments below.)

You can read all the articles here.

High School Class of 2020 Verbal Commitments

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Over 500 Verbal Commitments Already from the High School Class of 2020

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

Fitter and Faster Swim Clinics is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.

Saratoga, California’s Jassen Yep has made a verbal commitment to Indiana University for 2020-21. A two-time USA Swimming Scholastic All-American, Yep is a senior at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose. He trains year-round with Peak Swimming. Maxwell Reich and Tristan DeWitt have also verbally committed to the Indiana class of 2024.

“I’m very proud and excited to announce my verbal commitment to study and swim at Indiana University. I firmly believe that the teachers, coaches, and teammates at IU can help me to pursue my passion for swimming. I want to thank Coach Abi Liu, my other coaches and teammates at PEAK Swimming, all my teachers and friends, and of course my amazing family for their support and for helping me become who I am today. Go Hoosiers!”

Yep came from behind to eke out a win in the 100 breast by .02 with 54.89 at last spring’s CIF Central Coast Section Championships. He came in 9th in the 100 fly (50.38) and swam breast (25.52) on Mitty’s 200 medley relay, as well. Yep went on to the California State Meet the following weekend and finished 4th in the breaststroke.

Yep had a successful long-course season this summer, culminating in back-to-back appearances at Phillips 66 Nationals and Speedo Juniors. At the latter, he placed 13th in the 200 breast. Yep ended the summer with PBs in the 50/100/200 free, 100 back, 100/200 breast, 200 fly, and 200/400 IM. He qualified for Winter U.S. Open in both the 100 breast (1:03.87)  and 200 breast (2:18.33).

The Indiana breaststroke group has boasted such names as Lilly King, Cody Miller, Ian Finnerty, and Emily Weiss in recent years. Yep will overlap two years with Zane Backes and one with Gary Kostbade and Matt Jerden, all of whom scored at B1Gs last year. Yep’s best times would have made the C finals of the 100/200 breast at the 2019 conference meet.

Top SCY times:

• 200 breast – 1:57.42
• 100 breast – 54.30
• 200 IM – 1:52.26
• 400 IM – 4:00.58
• 200 fly – 1:51.35

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to Recruits@swimswam.com.

About the Fitter and Faster Swim Tour

The Fitter & Faster Swim Tour produces swim clinics featuring elite stars of the sport and the most innovative teaching platforms. FFT Swim Clinics can be customized to meet age and skill level of every team and community. Call 786-837-6880 or visit http://www.fitterandfaster.com/ to learn more.

FFT SOCIAL

Instagram –@fitterandfasterswimtour

Facebook – @fitterandfastertour

Twitter – @fitterandfaster

^{FFT is a SwimSwam partner.}

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Summer Juniors Breaststroke Finalist Jassen Yep (2020) Sends Verbal to Indiana

By Gold Medal Mel Stewart on SwimSwam

The 2019 Year In Review prints in early November. Get SwimSwam Magazine to inspire your swimmer, swammer, swim-fan or coach.

2019 Year In Review Issue

The 2019 Year In Review issue is a must-have for all of your swim-fan needs. This issue comes in at nearly one pound. It is 172 pages (and all issues over 2020 will be 172 pages or higher).

Regan Smith is our cover. After her stunning 100 and 200 back world records at the 2019 World Championships we memorialize her in history with this keepsake cover feature.

Inside you will get the massive Year In Review section, plus see the Top 10 NCAA Swimmers Looking to Make Waves at the 2020 Olympics. That’s just a taste of this 172 page issue. Subscribe to see and read it all. If you subscribe today, you will receive issues through the 2020 Olympic Preview, our biggest issue over the last four years.

If you are not a subscriber, now is a good time to sign up. Start off with the Regan Smith cover, and stay with us through the 2020 Olympic issue (a massive issue we are already building out).

With your yearly subscription, you receive over 600 of pages of swimming’s highest quality content, and another 2,500+ pages of digital issues, going back to the first issue produced.

With your subscription today you get the:

• 2015 Year in Review (Michael Phelps cover) as a digital magazine (print is sold out)
• 2016 Swimsuit Issue (Ryan Lochte cover) as a digital magazine  (print is sold out)
• 2016 Olympic Preview (Michael Phelps cover) as a digital magazine (print is nearly sold out)
• 2016 College Preview (Katie Ledecky cover) as a digital magazine
• 2016 Olympic Year in Review (Michael Phelps cover) as a digital magazine (print is nearly sold out)
• 2017 Swimsuit Issue (Anthony Ervin cover) as a digital magazine (print is nearly sold out)
• 2017 Superhero Issue (Nathan Adrian cover) as a digital magazine(print is sold out)
• 2017 College Preview Issue (Simone Manuel cover) as a digital magazine(print is sold out)
• 2017 Year In Review as a print magazine (Caeleb Dressel cover) as print magazine (print is nearly sold out)
• 2018 Women in Swimming  (Mallory Comerford cover) as a digital magazine (print is nearly sold out)
• 2018 Summer Preview Issue (Caeleb Dressel cover) as a digital magazine (print is nearly sold out)
• 2018 College Preview Issue (Ella Eastin cover) as a digital magazine
• 2018  Pro Issue/Year in Review Issue  (Ryan Murphy cover) as a digital magazine (print is nearly sold out)
• 2019 Spring Issue as a print magazine (Kathleen Baker cover) as a digital magazine
• 2019 Summer Preview (World Championships Preview with Michael Andrew cover) as a digital magazine
• 2019 College Preview as a print magazine (Beata Nelson Cover) as a digital magazine
• 2019 Year In Review as a print magazine (ReganSmith cover) as a print magazine
• 2020 Spring Issue as a print magazine
• 2020 Olympic Preview Issue as a print magazine (our biggest issue over four years)
• 2020 College Preview Issue as a print magazine

_{Already a subscriber? Go to swimswam.com/magazine/digital-access, type in your email/password and view the digital magazines.}

See seven reasons to love SwimSwam Magazine for our upcoming issues. 

ONE

You want the Regan Smith cover. We memorialized swim stars with beautiful covers you have to hold  in your hands to appreciate.

TWO

All issues have a big theme, one topic we cover in-depth.  The 2018 Year in Review was all about THE YEAR OF THE PRO.

THREE

If you subscribe, you can also buy back issues.  On the subscription page, check the box by any of the back issues to add them to your order. *Note, our first issue, the 2015 Year in Review, has sold out.Going forward we will not print additional runs. Once an issue is sold out, it is gone and only available on our digital platform.  Printed back issues are limited to what is in stock.

Many print back issues are sold out. Once a print issue sells out, it is gone forever (other than on our paid digital platform).  If the print issue is not on the BACK ISSUE checkout page, it is gone. 

FOUR

Magazines are massive. The 2016 Olympic Year in Review came in at 172 pages. The 2019 Swimsuit Issue is 196 pages. SwimSwam magazines come in at nearly a pound.  We deliver big issues. Period. 

FIVE

The quality is high. SwimSwam Magazine has perfect binding (like a book), heavy card stock, and an expensive cover finish. If you haven’t subscribed, you simply don’t know. You feel it the instant you touch the magazine. The texture is amazing, and you’ll love how heavy it feels in your hands. Issues are nearly a pound.

SIX

Our covers are ideal for your coffee table or nightstand. Make a statement, show your swimming love, show that your sport is great and worth the respect it deserves.  Adorn it with SwimSwam Magazine.

SEVEN

SwimSwam Magazine named one of the 30 Hottest Launches of 2016

Competitive Intelligence of Media Leaders (MIN/Mr. Magazine) named SwimSwam Magazine one of the 30 Hottest Launches. Criteria for making the 30 Hottest list included:

• Design
• Creativity
• Audience reaction
• Industry reaction

OUR MAGAZINE MISSION

To knock you over with each issue, producing a must-have magazine that feels like a collector’s item.

To produce unique features never before seen in swimming media.

To present swimming like it should be, the greatest sport on earth.

At SwimSwam, we love the sport, and we love changing the paradigm of how it’s presented. For far too long swimming magazines have been the same, and it is our goal to deliver something spectacular, a magazine you will be excited about getting every single time a new issue is released.

Subscribe to SWIMSWAM MAGAZINE here.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: How To Get The 2019 Year In Review Magazine With The Regan Smith Cover

By Coleman Hodges on SwimSwam

FORM is swim goggles with a smart display. FORM is a sports technology company with a simple mission: to break down the barriers between what swimming is and what it could be.

After the ISL meet in Indianapolis, we couldn’t resist driving the hour down to Bloomington to see what Indiana was up to. While many of their pros were already en route to Italy getting ready to compete in the 2nd ISL meet, a handful of them were still present and training with the college team.

There were 3 main groups on this Monday afternoon: Ray Looze’s breaststroke group, Cory Chitwood’s mid group, and Jonty Skinner’s sprinters. See below for full workouts:

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Practice + Pancakes: New Coaches on Full Display at IU PM Workout

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

Fitter and Faster Swim Clinics is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.

Fullerton, California sprinter Lily Olson has announced her verbal commitment to the University of Illinois for 2020-21. She will join Laurel Bludgen in the class of 2024.

“I am very excited to announce my commitment to swim and study at the University of Illinois! I wouldn’t be where I am today without the constant love and support of all those around me and can’t wait to join such an amazing team at a great school. Also very happy to be returning to my birth state! GO ILLINI