By SwimSwam on SwimSwam

By Jordan Metz

Read the full story on SwimSwam: A Sacrifice Worth Making

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

Every now and then at SwimSwam, we’ll get a copy of a workout from a major college or professional training group. But with our new series ‘Training Blocks,’ we’re aiming to go deeper, with a set of workouts over a longer period of time. It’s an effort to see how multiple workouts are structured, how they work together, and how the top minds in our sport build out a training block. 

To kick off our ‘Training Blocks’ series, we connected with Indiana University head coach Ray Looze, who served as Team USA’s head coach for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.

Looze passed along some workouts from IU’s mid stroke/mid-sprint group, specifically mentioning several of the Indiana pros who swam these workouts: Blake Pieroni, Zach Apple, Lilly King, Annie Lazor and Ian Finnerty. (“We have a great deal of swimmers who move group to group by day,” Looze noted, “so this is by no means what everyone did in this particular week.”).

Looze also mentioned that this block shows how IU begins the taper process, which has begun for some athletes, but not for others. Looze says that a pre-taper practice involves similar volume and structure, but with less intensity and power. For example, a pulley set might be reduced to 3 hard/1 easy or 2 hard/1 easy depending on where an athlete is during their taper.

Notable abbreviations:

• BT = breaststroke
• BO = breakout
• H/E = hard/easy

If the embedded document isn’t available, wait a few minutes and refresh your page – it sometimes takes a few minutes to appear.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Training Blocks: A Week With Ray Looze & the Indiana Pro Group

By Torrey Hart on SwimSwam

Amy Marren, the 2016 Paralympic bronze medalist in the SM9 200 IM, announced her retirement — in part citing “inconsistency across classifications” — on Facebook last weekend.

“I am so proud of how far Paralympic sport has come,” Marren wrote. “However, there is a long way to go before it becomes a level playing field and this inconsistency across classifications is one reason why I am choosing to step away from a sport I have loved so very much.”

Marren competed in London in 2012, then became a world champion at the young age of 14, when she took gold in the SM9 200 IM at the 2013 IPC World Championships. At the same meet, she took gold in the S9 100m fly and as a member of Britain’s 4x100m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay, and silvers in the S9 100m back and 100m free.

In April 2019, she announced she would represent Ireland, rather than Britain, going forward.

For years now, para swimming has been marred by cases of intentional misrepresentation, which occurs when an athlete intentionally makes their impairment seem more severe in order to be put into a lower disability class.

In an attempt to combat that practice, World Para Swimming announced in late 2017 that it would implement a new classification process, which took effect January 1, 2018 – all athletes were required to undergo a new classification test in 2018 (with the exception of a few special cases, which can be found here). The new process quickly led to renewed chaos.

Marren’s retirement announcement is reminiscent of multiple events over the past two years. Among them, in June 2018, another former S9 British swimmer — Matt Wylie— retired after he was classed up to S10. Prior to that, Britain’s Ollie Hynd expressed that he was “heartbroken” after getting classed up from S8 to S9; he successfully appealed and was moved back to S8, but was moved to S9 shortly thereafter.

At last year’s IPC World Championships, multi-time gold medalist Alice Tai, also of Britain, said she “felt bad” for other competitors after getting moved down from S10 to S8 over the span of three years.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Paralympian Amy Marren Retires at 21, Cites Classification ‘Inconsistency’

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

North Carolina’s high school state championships at UNC in Chapel Hill. We’ll briefly preview the teams & swimmers to watch in all three divisions:

1A/2A (small schools)

• Defending champs: Carrboro girls & NC Science & Math boys
• Psych Sheets

Swimmers to watch:

Tim Connery, Christ the King Catholic High

Junior Tim Connery is probably the biggest national name competing in the small school division. Connery is a SwimMAC standout and future Michigan Wolverine. He’s entered in the 100 free and 100 breast, and his personal bests (44.31 & 53.19) would smash not only 1A/2A state records (45.12 & 56.51) but also overall North Carolina state record (44.62 & 54.47). Connery won the 50 free last year, and could challenge that 1A/2A record if he leads off on the 200 free relay.

Emme Nelson, Community School of Davidson

On the girls side, keep an eye on senior Emme Nelson, the three-time defending state meet MVP. Nelson will go for a four-peat on state titles in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke while looking to break her own state records in those races.

Baylor Nelson, Community School of Davidson

Younger brother Baylor Nelson is a sophomore, and returning after winning the 200 IM last year in a 1A/2A record 1:50.59. He’ll look to reset that record and challenge the overall state record of 1:48.26. His career-best from Winter Juniors is just two tenths off that mark.

3A (middle division)

• Defending champs: Charlotte Catholic girls & Marvin Ridge boys
• Psych Sheets

Swimmers to watch:

Preston Forst, North Guilford

Ranked the #16 recruit in the country among current seniors, Preston Forst could break two state records this week. The distance swimmer and Stanford commit will swim the 200 free (1:37.13) and 500 free (4:22.45), chasing his own 200 free 3A state record (1:38.86 last year) and a two-year-old 500 free record (4:29.30). Further out are overall state records of 1:35.34 and 4:18.70.

Olivia Rhodes, Charlotte Catholic

Junior Olivia Rhodes is in line for two individual state titles as Charlotte Catholic goes for its third consecutive state title. Adding to that intrigue is that Rhodes will chase a state record from her older sister Lauren in 2013. Olivia Rhodes’ seed times (23.34 & 51.58 in the 50/100 frees) are close to state 3A records: 22.92 in the 50 and 50.02 in the 100. The latter record belongs to Lauren Rhodes.

Kaylee Hamblin, Parkwood

Parkwood’s Kaylee Hamblin is the two-time defending 100 breast champ, and comes in just a tenth off of the 3A state record with her seed time. In fact, the junior’s career-best 1:01.20 would actually break the overall state record of 1:01.53 set last year by Ashley McCauley in 4A.

Trevor Torres, DH Conley

Senior and Naval Academy commit Trevor Torres is the top seed in the 200 free and 100 free. In the latter event, Torres is actually seeded just three tenths off the state record of 44.62 set by Sam Hoover last year. That’s the 3A and overall state recod.

4A (big schools)

• Defending champs: Leesville Road girls & Green Hope boys
• Psych Sheets

Swimmers to watch:

Claire Curzan, Cardinal Gibbons

Sophomore Claire Curzan is already a national-level standout. She also set state records (4A and overall) in the 100 fly and 100 back as a freshman last year. Curzan was 51.60 in the fly and 51.88 in the back at that meet. She’s improved both times since then, and could be chasing National Age Group records this weekend in the 15-16 division. The 15-year-old already owns the fastest 15-16 time in history in the 100 fly (50.87), and could topple world record-holder Regan Smith’s 50.58 NAG in the 100 back.

Brooke Zettel, Apex Friendship

Curzan can’t overshadow her TAC Titans teammate Brooke Zettel, a junior and Florida commit who already owns the state’s 200 IM record. Zettel was 1:57.93 last year to set that record and is the top seed by almost a second coming into this meet with an in-season 2:01. Zettel could look to add the state’s 100 breast record. Zettel has been 1:01.77, with the state 4A and overall records standing at 1:01.53 from Ashley McCauley last year. Zettel and Curzan should also have a spirited battle for meet MVP.

Reid Mikuta, Page

On the boys side, Page senior Reid Mikuta is the top seed in the 200 IM (1:52.18) and 100 breast (55.91). The senior Auburn commit should chase his first individual state title, as well as state records of 1:48.26 and 54.47. Outside of high school season, Mikuta has been 1:47.52 and 53.26.

Teresa Ivan, Ardrey Kell

Junior Teresa Ivan is the top seed in the 50 free (23.08) and 100 free (50.14) and is about half a second off of state 4A and overall records in both events.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Curzan, Forst, Connery, Zettel Highlight NC High School State Psych Sheets

By Robert Gibbs on SwimSwam

Rose Bowl Aquatics is a USA Swimming bronze medal level club that serves the Southern California area, and over the years has produced national age group record holders and a bevy of college swimmers.

Former USA national teamer Jeff Julian leads the Rose Bowl Aquatics coaching staff, and BSN Sports Team Ambassador Jessica Hardy spoke with Julian to get a sense of what makes this team special, as well as some of his thoughts on caching in general.

If there’s that one thing that’s clear when talking with Julian, it’s the important of swimming as a “team.” Julian describes his coaching philosophy simply as “TEAM led, process oriented, and driven by growth.”

That emphasis on team permeates all that Rose Bowl Aquatics does and is the key ingredient in the team chemistry.

In the end it’s the people that make the TEAM chemistry special. In hopes of creating the best environment possible, TEAM is always at the forefront of what we do. It has to be a priority and you have to remind them that they are a part of something bigger than themselves. That’s what is special about being a part of a TEAM, and even more important in a sport where too many people believe it to be an individual sport.

Naturally, that focus on the team dynamic means that Rose Bowl swimmers develop the skills necessary to lead in and out of the pool.

I think a lot of that comes from the way we lead the TEAM. When you focus on TEAM, you focus outside of yourself. Being a leader isn’t about what title you may have or not. Being a leader is about caring about those around you and helping them to become the best they can be. By that definition, I think it’s impossible to be a great TEAMmate and not be a great leader. Individuals then find how they lead best from that foundation as they find their voices and confidence.

Coaching can be a tough profession, but for Julian, the struggles come more from the personal side of the profession than the technical side.

That’s an interesting question actually and I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. I’m guessing the idea would be around the coaching aspect but I just don’t see struggles there. I really enjoy leading these swimmers through a process to chase something they would otherwise never think possible. Showing them a process that they can take into anything in life that they do next and teaching them life lessons as the main goal. So honestly my struggles come more from how this career and the expectations on a coach. Only two Sunday’s off is a regular month for most and that’s just not a healthy or sustainable lifestyle. I have any number of thoughts as to what contributes to that, but in the end, my biggest struggle is the expectation, even if most of that comes from my own internal expectation of what I’ve been taught is required.

Julian’s been on deck for years, both at Rose Bowl Aquatics and also as an assistant at his alma mater, the University of Southern California. When we asked him about his favorite coaching memory, he chose to focus on a recent one.

Favorite is always tough, as there are different meanings behind each, but let’s take a very recent one, West Winter Jrs. The TEAM effort there was extraordinary. The girls made a phenomenal jump in level in just one year, going from their top relay of 42^nd, to scoring in every single relay, and finishing 6^th in my personal favorite, the 800 Free Relay. Then on the Boys side they battled down to the last relay, to win the relay, and win the meet by 1/2 a point. This was a process in the making over 2-3 years now, starting with Coach Kristine, and to see them all race like that as a TEAM was an incredible feeling.

ABOUT BSN SPORTS 

Founded in 1972 as a factory-direct equipment company, today BSN SPORTS is the largest distributor of team sports apparel and equipment in the United States, with over 3,000 employees across 80 regional offices. At BSN SPORTS we believe that sports have the power to change lives. At the heart of what makes sports happen are the coaches, teachers and mentors who work with young and old alike to build meaningful lifelong experiences. That’s why our mission is simple. The more time we save coaches with everything they do off the deck, the more time they can spend changing lives. And that’s the real final score.

Get your swimmers in custom team gear with your team’s logo. My Team shop provides a one-stop-shop solution to custom apparel, suits, footwear, equipment and accessories. It’s simple to setup and the My Team Shop platform can even serve as a fundraising solution to earn dollars for your program. To set one up today email us at swimming@bsnsports.comor call 1-877-217-9027.

To learn more about BSN sports visit us at www.bsnsports.com/ib/swimming.

BSN SPORTS SWIMMING ON Instagram – @bsn_swimming

Read the full story on SwimSwam: BSN Sports Swim Team of the Week: Rose Bowl Aquatics

By Giusy Cisale on SwimSwam

WADA, l’Agenzia Mondiale Antidoping, ha presentato una richiesta alla Corte Arbitrale dello Sport affinché l’udienza del processo contro l’Agenzia Antidoping russa si svolga in pubblico.

“Le indagini dell’AMA sulla Russia, e quest’ultimo caso di non conformità, hanno generato un enorme interesse in tutto il mondo”.

Questa la dichiarazione del direttore generale dell’AMAOlivier Niggli, che continua:

“È opinione del WADA che questa disputa al CAS debba essere tenuta in un forum pubblico per assicurare che tutti comprendano il processo e ascoltino le argomentazioni”.

Lo scorso novembre, il CAS ha organizzato la sua prima udienza pubblica dal 1999 per la causa WADA contro Sun Yang eFINA.

L’udienza di Sun è durata 11 ore. Durante il processo si sono riscontrati molti problemi di traduzione. Sun Yang riusciva a fatica a comunicare con la Corte ed i suoi avvocati.

Potete approfondire tutto il caso Sun Yang qui:

PROCEDIMENTO CONTRO SUN YANG

Il caso di Sun è stato il primo ad essere ascoltato pubblicamente al CAS.

IL CASO CONTRO L’AGENZIA ANTIDOPING RUSSA

La Russia è stata accusata dalla WADA di non essere conforme al regolamento Anti-Doping.

• leggi qui il nostro approfondimento

Il 9 dicembre 2019, il comitato esecutivo dell’AMA ha deciso all’unanimità di accogliere le richieste del WADA ed ha squalificato la Russia per quattro anni da tutte le competizioni internazionali.

• leggi il caso completo qui

RUSADA si è appellata formalmente alla decisione, nonostante il direttore generale di RUSADA, Yury Ganus, avesse raccomandato di accettare le sanzioni.

• leggi qui la lettera formale di ricorso in appello
• clicca qui per l’approfondimento 

Il presidente russo Vladimir Putin ha dichiarato che la decisione del WADAè “ingiusta” e “va contro il buon senso”.

L’applicazione delle sanzioni sarà sospesa fino all’esito del ricorso.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: WADA Richiede Udienza Pubblica Al CAS Nel Processo Contro Russia

By Gold Medal Mel Stewart on SwimSwam

SwimSwam caught up with Nulo Pet Food Founder and CEO Michael Landa at his masters swimming team’s pool. Michael’s a force for good in the pet food industry, having built Nulo into one of the fastest-growing premium pet food brands in the United States, and he’s a swimmer with deep swimming-roots. Watch this video feature to learn more:

For us, Michael’s easy to find. Nulo’ s based in Austin, Texas, just down the road from SwimSwam’s HQ, and Michael’s reputation precedes him. Austin is a very pet-friendly town. Pets are everywhere, especially in restaurants that cater to your pets with water bowls and pet-specific items on the menu. Most Austinites frequent local pet food stores, and when you ask for Nulo the owners know Michael.

ME: “I’m looking for Nulo dog food, adult breed…”

PET FOOD STORE: “Oh, you want the big bag with Max, Michael’s dog…”

Max is Michael’s big boy, the handsome lab in the featured image above. Max, like Michael, has become a bit of a star, and both are stars in the pet food industry.  Michael launched Nulo back in 2009, and his company has experienced exponential growth.  To understand Nulo, you need to understand it’s really the story of Michael and Max.

While working in the corporate world and living in California, Michael was preparing for an upcoming work trip and was searching for someone to watch his black lab, Max, while he would be gone. With no luck finding an adequate dog-care situation and refusing to leave his buddy behind, he decided to drive to Colorado instead of fly so that Max could join. While in the car, Michael had plenty of time to think about the lack of quality pet care options available and devise a solution. See Michael’s and Nulo’s full backstory here.

My introduction to Nulo came locally. My lab-mix rescue, Tucker, had a nervous tummy. He had digestive issues.  My local pet food store recommended Nulo because it is the only brand with a patented probiotic. The probiotic works. Tucker tried it two years ago, and it’s the only brand we buy now. We love it, and Tucker is fit and healthy.

NULO’S PET + SWIMMING CULTURE

A little over a year ago I was lucky enough to visit Nulo’s HQ, a quick visit to say hi and see my old Olympic buddy Ricky Berens. Ricky and I are from the same neighborhood back in Charlotte, NC, and we now both live in Austin. You probably know Ricky’s a two-time Olympic gold medalist, but he’s also Nulo’s Financial Planning and Analysis Manager.  A casual stroll through Nulo’s HQ will make you feel like you’re at Doctor Dolittle’s Manor. Pets are welcome, well-behaved and cute. In sum, it’s a fun place to visit.  If you’re a swimmer and a pet lover, Nulo feels like home.  Thanks to Ricky, I got a little time to see Michael, and I only had one question. I wanted to know why he was engaging athletes, specifically swimmers, to be Nulo Ambassdors?   Nulo has worked with Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, and Dana Vollmer, and Ricky has appeared in Nulo marketing too.  Michael’s answer was clear and to the point:

“Swimming is a big family, and swimmers, like most people, love their pets.”

Visit Nulo.com or catch up with them @NuloPetFood on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Nulo is a SwimSwam partner, but I’m not a Nulo ambassador. I’m just a fan, like my dog Tucker. 

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Nulo Pet Food CEO Michael Landa Brings Swimming Focus to Business

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

Every now and then at SwimSwam, we’ll get a copy of a workout from a major college or professional training group. But with our new series ‘Training Blocks,’ we’re aiming to go deeper, with a set of workouts over a longer period of time. It’s an effort to see how multiple workouts are structured, how they work together, and how the top minds in our sport build out a training block. 

To kick off our ‘Training Blocks’ series, we connected with Indiana University head coach Ray Looze, who served as Team USA’s head coach for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.

Looze passed along some workouts from IU’s mid stroke/mid-sprint group, specifically mentioning several of the Indiana pros who swam these workouts: Blake Pieroni, Zach Apple, Lilly King, Annie Lazor and Ian Finnerty. (“We have a great deal of swimmers who move group to group by day,” Looze noted, “so this is by no means what everyone did in this particular week.”).

Looze also mentioned that this block shows how IU begins the taper process, which has begun for some athletes, but not for others. Looze says that a pre-taper practice involves similar volume and structure, but with less intensity and power. For example, a pulley set might be reduced to 3 hard/1 easy or 2 hard/1 easy depending on where an athlete is during their taper.

Notable abbreviations:

• BT = breaststroke
• BO = breakout
• H/E = hard/easy

If the embedded document isn’t available, wait a few minutes and refresh your page – it sometimes takes a few minutes to appear.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Training Blocks: A Week With Ray Looze & the Indiana Pro Group

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

2020 TISCA Tennessee High School State Championships

• Friday, February 7 – Saturday, February 8
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
• Prelims 9:30 AM / Finals 6:00 PM (U.S. Eastern Time)
• Live Stream links
• Psych Sheets
• Results available on Meet Mobile

Meet Format

Tennessee is a unique format, splitting the high school meet lineup across two days, with morning prelims and evening finals:

Day 1 (Friday):

• 200 medley relay
• 200 free
• 200 IM
• 50 free
• Boys diving
• 100 fly

Day 2 (Saturday):

• 100 free
• 500 free
• 200 free relay
• Girls diving
• 100 back
• 100 breast
• 400 free relay

Swimmers to Watch

Alex Walsh, Harpeth Hall

Senior Alex Walsh holds state records in the 200 free and 100 breast, but perhaps the biggest storyline is her attempt to retake the 100 back record from younger sister Gretchen. Alex Walsh held the record at 52.80 through last year, but when she jumped out of that event for the 100 breast (just missing her own state record in 59.08), Gretchen snuck in to take the 100 back mark to 51.57. Alex Walsh has been 50.88 in club competition, so there’s a good chance she takes the record back from her younger sister. Alex Walsh will also chase her own 200 free record of 1:45.05 from last year.

Gretchen Walsh, Harpeth Hall

Junior Gretchen Walsh is probably the headliner. Smashing two state records last year in the 100 fly and 100 back, Gretchen Walsh will try two different events this year: the 50 free and 100 free. Walsh already owns the 50 free record at 22.26 from 2018, but she’s been 21.82 in club competition since. Keep an eye on the national high school record of 21.64 set by Olympian Abbey Weitzeil back in 2015. Walsh already owns the independent school national record.

In the 100 free, Gretchen (career-best 47.49) will chase state (48.67, Kristen Vredeveld), national independent high school (48.39, Missy Franklin) and national overall high school (47.09, Abbey Weitzeil) records.

Will Jackson, McCallie

On the boys side, McCallie high looks to defend its state title, won by 40 last year. Defending 500 free champ Will Jackson returns, and looks to add the 200 free after placing second by .01 seconds last year. Jackson has been 1:37.72 and 4:28.24 in those events.

Joseph Jordan, Oakland

Oakland senior Joseph Jordan is in the hunt for an elusive state record. The future Tennessee Volunteer has been 20.54 in the 50 free, and could challenge the 20.21 state record set in 2015 by Trey Freeman. Coleman Kredich, now graduated and moved on to Duke, missed that record by .01 last year.

Ellie Waldrep, Baylor School

Despite Harpeth Hall’s star power and national records last year, it was the Baylor School that won the meet and took home our High School Team of the Year Swammy Award. Now-junior Ellie Waldrep returns from that team after finishing as the runner-up in the 100 back and 100 fly last year. With Gretchen Walsh out of the way in the 100 fly, Waldrep (lifetime-best 53.87) has a clearer path to victory. She’ll battle the other Walsh, Alex, in the 100 back this year, and with a career-best 52.42 from last year, she could be in line for one of the fastest times in state history, even if she takes silver again.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Baylor, Harpeth Hall To Renew Battle, Walsh Chases National Records At TN State

By Giusy Cisale on SwimSwam

La campionessa paralimpica Amy Marren, medaglia di bronzo alle Paralimpiadi di Rio del 2016, ha annunciato il suo ritiro.

Amy Marren ha 21 anni ed ha pubblicato un post su Facebook dove dichiara che il ritiro è avvenuto anche per  “l’incoerenza tra le classificazioni”

“Sono così orgogliosa di quanto lo sport paralimpico sia arrivato lontano”, ha scritto Marren.

Tuttavia, c’è ancora molta strada da fare prima che diventi un campo di gioco omogeneo. Questa incoerenza tra le classificazioni è uno dei motivi per cui sto scegliendo di allontanarmi da uno sport che ho amato così tanto”.

Marren ha gareggiato a Londra nel 2012. E’ diventata campionessa del mondo a 14 anni. Al suo primo Mondiale, nel 2013, ha conquistato:

• oro: 200 metri misti S9
• oro nei 100 metri farfalla S9
• medaglia d’oro staffetta 4x100m stile libero
• oro staffetta 4×100 misti
• argento 100 metri stile libero
• argento: 100 metri dorso

Nell’aprile 2019, annunciò che avrebbe rappresentato l’Irlanda.

LE CRITICHE AL PROCESSO DI CLASSIFICAZIONE

Il nuoto paralimpicoè stato inficiato negli ultimi anni da casi in cui gli atleti hanno fatto apparire intenzionalmente il proprio handicap più grave per essere inserito in una classe di disabilità inferiore.

Nel tentativo di combattere questa pratica, il World Para Swimming ha annunciato alla fine del 2017 che avrebbe implementato un nuovo processo di classificazione. A partire dal 1 Gennaio 2018 tutti gli atleti sono stati sottoposti ad un nuovo test di classificazione.

Il nuovo processo ha però portato rapidamente altro caos.

L’annuncio del ritiro di Marren ricorda i molteplici eventi degli ultimi due anni.

Tra i più recenti, ai Campionati del Mondo dello scorso anno, la pluri medaglia d’oro Alice Tai, anch’essa britannica, ha dichiarato di “sentirsi male” per gli altri concorrenti dopo essere passata dalla classe S10 alla S8 nell’arco di tre anni.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Campionessa Paralimpica Si Ritira A 21 Anni: “Classificazioni Incoerenti”

By Keaton Burke on SwimSwam

A new program at the Swedish Sports Federation’s development center (Boson), is in creation to help visually impaired swimmers. Daniele Cardinale, test and training advisor at Boson, leads development on an invention to use sensors in the pool to make the swimmers turns smoother without a tapper.

Tappers are a crucial aid to a visually impaired swimmer. A personal assistant uses a pole with a soft-tipped end to tap the swimmer. The device alerts a swimmer that the wall is in coming and should prepare to turn, along with notifying them of the wall for the finish.

The product and movement goes by the name Breaking Swimming Barriers. Particularly, the goal is to create increased independence and reduce the cost of leisurely activities for visually impaired swimmers.

“More people should be able to have meaningful active leisure time and better health as their opportunities for independent movement increase,” says Cardinale.

The project is in support with two popular universities in Sweden, KTH and GIH Innovation. They are in collaboration with Deputy Jonas Willén from KTH Health Informatics and Logistics.

They hope to have all the training adapted to swimmers of any impairment and ability by the year 2025 according to Mikael Jansson, the Confederation Manager of Swedish Swimming.  The community is excited about the Breaking Swimming Barriers goal.

“We need to work on finding ways to include para athletes,” says Jansson.

The first prototype is scheduled to be tested in 2020. 

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Swedish Firm Creating New Automatic Flipturn Aid for Visually Impaired Swimmers

By Torrey Hart on SwimSwam

Veteran Jonty Skinnerhas retired from coaching, he told SwimSwam in a statement Tuesday.

Skinner was named associate head coach at Indiana University last spring after the program had lost three of its support staff under head coach Ray Looze after the 2018-19 NCAA season. Skinner said he had planned to retire after last season, which is also when his former boss at Alabama — Dennis Pursley— retired, but that Looze recruited him.

Jonty Skinner. (Photo credit: Indiana Athletics)

“I was essentially retired last May with plans to write a book about Brain Training for Swimming until Ray recruited me to work in Bloomington,” Skinner wrote. “The culture in the IU program is exemplary and there were no end of teaching opportunities in the program.  Since I love teaching as much as I enjoy coaching it was fun. The kids in the program are awesome, and I’ve really enjoyed helping them understand the sport of swimming in a way that allows them to take ownership over who they are and what they do. However, I’ve been coaching for 45 years and few months ago I asked myself how many of those 45 years was I off for more than a week or 2 weeks at any one time.  The answer was hardly ever.  When I faced that fact I knew it was time to start that book.  I’m extremely thankful for my short stint in Indiana and although my departure isn’t super timely, we’ve both benefited from the experience.”

Skinner, 65, is a decorated veteran of the sport with ample head coaching experience. His last stint at Alabama as senior associate head coach was his third with the program; Skinner joined the school as an assistant coach after graduating in 1977, returned as associate head coach and then head coach in the late ’80s, and held his last position there for seven years.

After his first stint with the Tide, Skinner coached the San Jose Aquatics Club to a USA Senior National team championship and five USA Junior National team titles. Under Purley’s watch as director of the USA National team in 1994, Skinner was chosen as Skinner as the inaugural coach of USA Swimming’s Resident National Team, then spent the next eight years as USA Swimming’s director of performance science and technology. From 2009-2012, he worked in a similar capacity for British Swimming.

As a swimmer, the South Africa-native Skinner held the 100 free world record from 1976-1981 and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1985.

Indiana’s remaining paid coaching staff consists of assistant coaches Cory Chitwood, Emily Eaton and John Long. After last season, assistant Kirk Grandmoved to Colorado, associate head sprint coach Coley Stickels replaced Pursley at Alabama, assistant Caitlin Hamilton became the new head coach at Illinois State, and associate head coach Mike Westphal was fired in September after being arrested on intimidation charges.

SwimSwam has reached out to Indiana for further information. 

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Indiana Associate Head Coach Jonty Skinner Retires Mid-Season

By SwimSwam on SwimSwam

Courtesy: LEN Media

OSC outpowered the title-holders as they won the last ten minutes of the Hungarian derby 2-7 and claimed a fine win in the home of FTC which lost for the first time in the season after 23 matches. This gave Recco a three-point lead as the Italians did a clean job in Tbilisi. Among the chasers, both Mladost and Terrassa earned another crucial win respectively to stay in the hunt while Euro Cup winner Marseille seems to bow out from the race for the Final 8 after a third straight loss.

Group B (Tuesday)

Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) v Pro Recco (ITA) 3-13, FTC-Telekom (HUN) v A-Híd OSC- Budapest (HUN) 8-11, CN Terrassa (ESP) v Waspo 98 Hannover (GER) 11-10, CN Marseille (FRA) v HAVK Mladost Zagreb (CRO) 11-14

Standings: 1. Recco 20, 2. FTC 17, 3. OSC 16, 4. Mladost 16, 5. Terrassa 12, 6. Marseille 9, 7. Hannover 3, 8. Tbilisi 0

Recco ticked the ‘compulsory’ task in Tbilisi. This time the match didn’t offer the same scoring festival as the previous one when Recco had won 24-9. The Italians switched to ‘energy saving mood’ once they built a massive 2-9 lead by halftime and added only four goals in the second part.

After cashing in the three points, all they needed was a win from OSC against FTC – and the Hungarian derby went exactly that way. The first half saw more struggles from both teams than fine plays, something insiders expected from a game where two-third of the players were part of the hottest actions at the European Championship, finishing just nine days ago. The host side’s man-up failed spectacularly, and despite these two teams have tremendous offensive power, the first half produced only seven goals (3-4).

Then Ferencvaros caught a better spell, Denes Varga, MVP at the Europeans, showed his class and with a 3-0 run the title-holder took a 6-4 lead. But OSC responded well, fellow European champion Balazs Erdelyi’s magnificent shot from the distance was followed by Balazs Harai’s brilliant finish from a man- up 57 seconds later so it was even before the last period.

Ferencvaros missed another man-up at the end of the third, then OSC netted a quick double, both from nice counters in a span of 64 seconds and this four connecting goals did the damage. Though Gergo Zalanki netted his third but soon he was fouled out (the other gold medallist leftie Marton Vamos sat on the tribune due to illness) and Sava Randelovic just beat the buzzer and the goal-line for 7-9. That was crucial, since the next FTC man-up ended up in another OSC counter and another goal from Gergely Burian. That was decisive, the visiting side won the last ten minutes 2-7, scored four action goals in the last period and grabbed four points in the two games against the title-holder, getting something back it had lost against Marseille at home in
the autumn.

At the same time, Ferencvaros could only get a single point in the two matches against OSC and for the first time in the season they couldn’t reach double digits in scoring – which also halted their unbeaten run in the current season which counted 23 matches in all competitions since September.

Marseille was unable to get out from the downward spiral and suffered a third defeat in a row. Losing to Mladost away and then home in this round seems to be crucial. Though the French took the lead, the Croats replied with four unanswered goals and especially in the second period they were overwhelming in front. They netted six during these eight minutes, mostly from counters and that gave them a 5-9 lead. That was too much to handle for Marseille, which fought bravely and managed to halve the distance by the end of the third at 9-11 but could never come closer. Thanks to this win, Mladost keeps up with OSC and is only a point away from Ferencvaros while Marseille would need to overcome a seven-point gap.

Terrassa and Hannover offered another thrilling match just like their battle in Germany in December. It was tight and balanced from the beginning to the end with the lead changing from time to time. Though Hannover is already out of the F8 race, the Germans pushed hard and were in front even in the fourth at 8-9. Then came Alberto Barroso with two fine goals in 51 seconds and even though Hannover could equalise twice after that, Terrassa had the last laugh as Bernat Sanahuja – silver medallist in Budapest – put away a 6 on 5 with 1:18 remaining. The Germans had two man-ups within the last minute but couldn’t convert either and had to settle for another single-goal defeat, the third one in the season.

Group A (Wednesday)
19.00 Szolnoki Dozsa (HUN) v Spandau 04 Berlin (GER)
19.15 Zodiac Atletic Barceloneta (ESP) v Jadran Split (CRO)
20.00 Sintez Kazan (RUS) v Jadran Carine Herceg Novi (MNE)
20.30 Jug Adriatic Osiguranje Dubrovnik (CRO) v Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE)

Standings: 1. Olympiacos 19, 2. Barceloneta 16, 2. Jug 15, 4. Szolnok 12, 5. Jadran Carine 7, 5. Spandau 5, 7. Jadran Split 4, 8. Sintez 3

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Recco Breaks Three Points Clear As OSC Halts FTC’s Unbeaten Run

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

Ticket sales were down, but revenue was up for the first USA Swimming Pro Swim Series meet of 2020. The meet was held from January 16th-19th, 2020 at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, and is technically the 2nd event of this season’s series after November’s stop in Greensboro, North Carolina, but is the first of the new calendar year.

Last year, the Knoxville meet was also the first of the year, and it served as a drag on overall-positive ticket sales for the season. Last season, USA Swimming reported that 1,200 out of 2,100 available tickets for the event were sold, about 57% of available capacity (the pool technically has 1,284 seats of spectator capacity, but some seats are occupied by media, sponsors, and production-related equipment, and not necessarily available for sale).

This year, USA Swimming said that the meet aw a “single digit decline” in tickets sold, though they pointed to an increase of specialty tickets, including a 78% increase in All Session Premium tickets, which include a VIP experience, as compared to the 2019 meet. In general, all-session tickets saw an increase as well, showing a bigger group of engaged spectators willing to attend the full meet.

USA Swimming believes that the Martlin Luther King Jr. holiday, making the meet the first long weekend of the year, impacted overall ticket sales. Last year, CEO Tim Hinchey cited 3 factors for low ticket sales: the late announcement of the meet (which was not a factor this year), the University of Tennessee not being back from winter break yet (which was also not a factor this year), and that the Tennessee men’s and women’s teams were at an out-of-town dual meet (also not a factor this year).

Last year, ticket sales in Des Moines accounted for $23,900 in revenue. While USA Swimming has not yet released the revenue for this year’s meet (it will likely be included in the minutes for a future Board of Directors meeting), they did say that an increase in athlete and coach attendance from last year’s meet meant that revenue was still on pace for the overall meet.

USA Swimming reported in 2019 that the Des Moines stop in February sold 96% of capacity (2,200 out of 2,300 available tickets), and the Richmond meet (at a much smaller venue) was a sell-out.

In the past, USA Swimming paid hosts a $20,000 management fee in order to entice them to host the series. Last year, however, cities bid for the rights to host a meet in the 5-stop series. The result was 5 new stops that haven’t hosted recently, and, on average, smaller venues for the series, and a lot of public concerns over whether fans would show up to watch smaller fields in cities that are often more remote than traditional hosts like Austin or Columbus. The population of the Knoxville metropolitan area is almost 900,000, ranking the region 646th out of 384 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S, similar in size to Albany, New York or McAllen, Texas.

This year, the series will be in Des Moines in early March and then in Mission Viejo, California, outdoors, in April. The series wraps in Indianapolis in May.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Ticket Sales Down, Athlete & Coach Attendance Up at PSS – Knoxville

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

North Carolina’s high school state championships at UNC in Chapel Hill. We’ll briefly preview the teams & swimmers to watch in all three divisions:

1A/2A (small schools)

• Defending champs: Carrboro girls & NC Science & Math boys
• Psych Sheets

Swimmers to watch:

Tim Connery, Christ the King Catholic High

Junior Tim Connery is probably the biggest national name competing in the small school division. Connery is a SwimMAC standout and future Michigan Wolverine. He’s entered in the 100 free and 100 breast, and his personal bests (44.31 & 53.19) would smash not only 1A/2A state records (45.12 & 56.51) but also overall North Carolina state record (44.62 & 54.47). Connery won the 50 free last year, and could challenge that 1A/2A record if he leads off on the 200 free relay.

Emme Nelson, Community School of Davidson

On the girls side, keep an eye on senior Emme Nelson, the three-time defending state meet MVP. Nelson will go for a four-peat on state titles in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke while looking to break her own state records in those races.

Baylor Nelson, Community School of Davidson

Younger brother Baylor Nelson is a sophomore, and returning after winning the 200 IM last year in a 1A/2A record 1:50.59. He’ll look to reset that record and challenge the overall state record of 1:48.26. His career-best from Winter Juniors is just two tenths off that mark.

3A (middle division)

• Defending champs: Charlotte Catholic girls & Marvin Ridge boys
• Psych Sheets

Swimmers to watch:

Preston Forst, North Guilford

Ranked the #16 recruit in the country among current seniors, Preston Forst could break two state records this week. The distance swimmer and Stanford commit will swim the 200 free (1:37.13) and 500 free (4:22.45), chasing his own 200 free 3A state record (1:38.86 last year) and a two-year-old 500 free record (4:29.30). Further out are overall state records of 1:35.34 and 4:18.70.

Olivia Rhodes, Charlotte Catholic

Junior Olivia Rhodes is in line for two individual state titles as Charlotte Catholic goes for its third consecutive state title. Adding to that intrigue is that Rhodes will chase a state record from her older sister Lauren in 2013. Olivia Rhodes’ seed times (23.34 & 51.58 in the 50/100 frees) are close to state 3A records: 22.92 in the 50 and 50.02 in the 100. The latter record belongs to Lauren Rhodes.

Kaylee Hamblin, Parkwood

Parkwood’s Kaylee Hamblin is the two-time defending 100 breast champ, and comes in just a tenth off of the 3A state record with her seed time. In fact, the junior’s career-best 1:01.20 would actually break the overall state record of 1:01.53 set last year by Ashley McCauley in 4A.

Sam Hoover, Chapel Hill

Junior Sam Hoover out of Chapel Hill is the defending state champ in the 100 free and 100 breast. He also set the state 100 free record last year at 44.62, just sneaking under the state’s former all-time mark of 44.64. Hoover comes in seeded second in the 100 free and has swapped the 100 breast for the 200 free, where his career-best 1:37.84 should make him one of the top finishers.

Trevor Torres, DH Conley

Senior and Naval Academy commit Trevor Torres is the top seed in the 200 free and 100 free. In the latter event, Torres is actually seeded just three tenths off the state record of 44.62 set by Sam Hoover last year. That’s the 3A and overall state record. Torres and Hoover should be set up for two outstanding battles.

4A (big schools)

• Defending champs: Leesville Road girls & Green Hope boys
• Psych Sheets

Swimmers to watch:

Claire Curzan, Cardinal Gibbons

Sophomore Claire Curzan is already a national-level standout. She also set state records (4A and overall) in the 100 fly and 100 back as a freshman last year. Curzan was 51.60 in the fly and 51.88 in the back at that meet. She’s improved both times since then, and could be chasing National Age Group records this weekend in the 15-16 division. The 15-year-old already owns the fastest 15-16 time in history in the 100 fly (50.87), and could topple world record-holder Regan Smith’s 50.58 NAG in the 100 back.

Brooke Zettel, Apex Friendship

Curzan can’t overshadow her TAC Titans teammate Brooke Zettel, a junior and Florida commit who already owns the state’s 200 IM record. Zettel was 1:57.93 last year to set that record and is the top seed by almost a second coming into this meet with an in-season 2:01. Zettel could look to add the state’s 100 breast record. Zettel has been 1:01.77, with the state 4A and overall records standing at 1:01.53 from Ashley McCauley last year. Zettel and Curzan should also have a spirited battle for meet MVP.

Reid Mikuta, Page

On the boys side, Page senior Reid Mikuta is the top seed in the 200 IM (1:52.18) and 100 breast (55.91). The senior Auburn commit should chase his first individual state title, as well as state records of 1:48.26 and 54.47. Outside of high school season, Mikuta has been 1:47.52 and 53.26.

Teresa Ivan, Ardrey Kell

Junior Teresa Ivan is the top seed in the 50 free (23.08) and 100 free (50.14) and is about half a second off of state 4A and overall records in both events.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Curzan, Forst, Connery, Zettel Highlight NC High School State Psych Sheets

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

Every now and then at SwimSwam, we’ll get a copy of a workout from a major college or professional training group. But with our new series ‘Training Blocks,’ we’re aiming to go deeper, with a set of workouts over a longer period of time. It’s an effort to see how multiple workouts are structured, how they work together, and how the top minds in our sport build out a training block. 

To kick off our ‘Training Blocks’ series, we connected with Indiana University head coach Ray Looze, who served as Team USA’s head coach for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.

Looze passed along some workouts from IU’s mid stroke/mid-sprint group, specifically mentioning several of the Indiana pros who swam these workouts: Blake Pieroni, Zach Apple, Lilly King, Annie Lazor and Ian Finnerty. (“We have a great deal of swimmers who move group to group by day,” Looze noted, “so this is by no means what everyone did in this particular week.”).

Looze also mentioned that this block shows how IU begins the taper process, which has begun for some athletes, but not for others. Looze says that a pre-taper practice involves similar volume and structure, but with less intensity and power. For example, a pulley set might be reduced to 3 hard/1 easy or 2 hard/1 easy depending on where an athlete is during their taper.

Notable abbreviations:

• BT = breaststroke
• BO = breakout
• H/E = hard/easy

If the embedded document isn’t available, wait a few minutes and refresh your page – it sometimes takes a few minutes to appear.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Training Blocks: A Week With Ray Looze & the Indiana Pro Group

By Torrey Hart on SwimSwam

Veteran Jonty Skinnerhas retired from coaching, he told SwimSwam in a statement Tuesday.

Skinner was named associate head coach at Indiana University last spring after the program had lost three of its support staff under head coach Ray Looze after the 2018-19 NCAA season. Skinner said he had planned to retire after last season, which is also when his former boss at Alabama — Dennis Pursley— retired, but that Looze recruited him.

Jonty Skinner. (Photo credit: Indiana Athletics)

“I was essentially retired last May with plans to write a book about Brain Training for Swimming until Ray recruited me to work in Bloomington,” Skinner wrote. “The culture in the IU program is exemplary and there were no end of teaching opportunities in the program.  Since I love teaching as much as I enjoy coaching it was fun. The kids in the program are awesome, and I’ve really enjoyed helping them understand the sport of swimming in a way that allows them to take ownership over who they are and what they do. However, I’ve been coaching for 45 years and few months ago I asked myself how many of those 45 years was I off for more than a week or 2 weeks at any one time.  The answer was hardly ever.  When I faced that fact I knew it was time to start that book.  I’m extremely thankful for my short stint in Indiana and although my departure isn’t super timely, we’ve both benefited from the experience.”

Skinner, 65, is a decorated veteran of the sport with ample head coaching experience. His last stint at Alabama as senior associate head coach was his third with the program; Skinner joined the school as an assistant coach after graduating in 1977, returned as associate head coach and then head coach in the late ’80s, and held his last position there for seven years.

After his first stint with the Tide, Skinner coached the San Jose Aquatics Club to a USA Senior National team championship and five USA Junior National team titles. Under Purley’s watch as director of the USA National team in 1994, Skinner was chosen as Skinner as the inaugural coach of USA Swimming’s Resident National Team, then spent the next eight years as USA Swimming’s director of performance science and technology. From 2009-2012, he worked in a similar capacity for British Swimming.

As a swimmer, the South Africa-native Skinner held the 100 free world record from 1976-1981 and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1985.

Indiana’s remaining paid coaching staff consists of assistant coaches Cory Chitwood, Emily Eaton and John Long. After last season, assistant Kirk Grandmoved to Colorado, associate head sprint coach Coley Stickels replaced Pursley at Alabama, assistant Caitlin Hamilton became the new head coach at Illinois State, and associate head coach Mike Westphal was fired in September after being arrested on intimidation charges.

SwimSwam has reached out to Indiana for further information. 

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Indiana Associate Head Coach Jonty Skinner Retires Mid-Season

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 Pro Swim in Knoxville, SwimSwam headed just north up Lexington to see what the University of Kentucky was up to. On this Tuesday afternoon, they were mostly doing various forms of 200 pace work. I focused mostly on the women’s side of the pool, and got to see Kentucky’s famed “Backstroke U” group in action.

The set was 4 rounds of 3×75 @ :55 seconds, trying to hit 200 pace. Between Asia Seidt, Caitlin Brooks, Ali Galyer, and Sophie Sorenson in this UK backstroke core, it was a sight to behold.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Practice + Pancakes: Kentucky Throws Down Short Rest 200 Pace

By Torrey Hart on SwimSwam

In a Q&A hosted by NBC Olympics on reddit, Olympian Haley Anderson addressed a question regarding open water conditions for the upcoming Tokyo Games.

Reddit user marco_esquandolas posed the following question:

“I work for a labor union. I was shaking my head at the past Olympics at the health conditions open-water swimmers had to risk simply in order to compete in the sport’s most prestigious event. Do you think part of the bid evaluation process should focus more on water quality standards? Should minimum standards for bacteria, etc. be stronger? Do you worry about the health risks? Is this a live topic of discussion among your fellow competitors?”

Anderson gave the following answer, saying athletes have voiced concerns that have “gone unheard”:

“It’s something that we have had to deal with in the past and are still dealing with now. For Tokyo our event is not only being compromised with water quality (e. coli) but also water temperature (84-86 F) Which is very unsafe. There is also no plan B venue, which in my opinion should be non negotiable. It’s something we have discussed among competitors but we also have spoken out and gone unheard so far. It’s hard to go into the Olympics being concerned for our safety because I am not confident in FINA (aquatic governing body) or the IOC (international olympic committee) to have the same concern for the athletes.”

Last August, athletes including three-time Olympic medalist Ous Melloulivoiced their concerns after participating in an Olympic open water test event in Odaiba Marine Park, Japan. “That was the warmest race I’ve ever done,” Mellouli said at the time. “It felt good for the first 2km then I got super overheated.” Japanese swimmer Yumi Kida added that the water was “a little stinky” and that clarity was poor.

In October, Anderson and fellow veteran and 2020 qualifier Ashley Twichell were set to represent the United States in the inaugural World Beach Games in Doha, but both the U.S. and Canada pulled out of the event due to anticipated high water temperatures.

The race went ahead with 28 women and 28 men competing, however, and officially reported water temperature was at 30.9 degrees Celsius, or 87.6 Fahrenheit. The water was just barely inside of FINA’s acceptable range for official competition: 16-31 Celsius, or 60.8-87.8 Fahrenheit. The race took place in the same body of water where Fran Crippen died during a 2010 FINA Marathon Swim Series while racing in hot conditions.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Haley Anderson Says Tokyo Open Water Condition Concerns Have ‘Gone Unheard’

By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam

Fitter and Faster Swim Camps 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.

Charlotte, North Carolina native Victoria Dichak has announced her intention to swim for Towson University next fall.

“I am so incredibly excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and swimming careers at Towson University. I felt right at home the second I stepped on campus and everyone was so welcoming and supportive. I can’t wait for what the future holds in both the pool and the classroom and I am so honored for the opportunity to spend the next four years with this amazing team and coaching staff. Thank you to my family, friends, teammates, and coaches for guiding me along the way. GO TIGERS!!”

Dichak is a senior at Charlotte Catholic High School where she specializes in freestyle and IM. Last February, she competed at the NCHSAA Class 3A State Meet in the 500 free and 200 IM, finaling in the latter. Outside of high school, Dichak swims for SwimMAC Carolina. She updated her PBs in the 100/200/500 free, 100 back and 200 IM in December at the ATOM Winter Invite, placing among the top-8 in the 100/200/500 free, 100/200 fly, and 200 IM. She wrapped up the 2019 LCM season at the USA Futures Meet in Greensboro where she competed in the 100 free, 100 fly, and 200 IM. Earlier in the summer she had gone best times in the 100 free and 50/100 back.

Dichak will suit up for the Tigers with fellow class of 2024 commit Samantha Casolo. She is quite close to scoring at the conference level; it took 56.27/2:05.89 to get a second swim in the butterfly events and 2:06.14/4:34.39 to score in the IMs at the 2019 CAA Championships (the CAA only scores an A final and a B final).

Top SCY times:

• 100 fly – 57.13
• 200 fly – 2:06.68
• 200 IM – 2:07.95
• 400 IM – 4:36.06
• 100 back – 58.09
• 200 back – 2:08.40
• 100 free – 52.41
• 200 free – 1:53.87

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.

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Read the full story on SwimSwam: SwimMAC’s Victoria Dichak (2020) Makes Verbal Commitment to Towson