SW Biweekly March 21, 2021 Issue

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SWIMMING WORLD BIWEEKLY | MARCH 2021 | ISSUE 06 USA NEWS 008 USA SWIMMING EXTENDS CONTRACT OF PRESIDENT & CEO TIM HINCHEY

by Matthew De George

USA Swimming announced that the contract for its president and CEO, Tim Hinchey, has been extended four years through 2025.

009 WIN IN 200 IM AT PRO SWIM SERIES REINFORCES MICHAEL ANDREW’S TRIALS PLAN

by Matthew De George Michael Andrew turned in a winning 200 IM time of 1:58.05 at the TYR Pro Swim Series for the fastest time in the world this year.

010 USA SWIMMING REMINDER OF TECH SUIT RULES FOR 12-AND-UNDER ATHLETES On Sept. 1, 2020, USA Swimming’s Age Group Development Committee put certain restrictions in place as to the types of suits that are allowed for competition for 12-and-under athletes. With competition ramping up around the country, Swimming World shares USA Swimming’s Tech Suit Q&A to clarify what is permissible.

WORLD NEWS 012 CAMPBELL SISTERS, HORTON AND McKEON HEADLINE NSW STATE CHAMPS

by Ian Hanson

In a classic case of déjà vu, Olympic hopefuls will return to the same pool they left 12 months ago when the doors were locked behind them on the final night of the 2020 Championships because of COVID-19.

014 OLYMPIC GAMES IN TOKYO SET TO TAKE PLACE WITHOUT OVERSEAS SPECTATORS

by Liz Byrnes

The Kyodo News agency reported that overseas fans will not be allowed to travel and watch the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. The Japanese government and the organizing committee are expected to meet with the IOC later this month to make a formal decision over the absence of overseas visitors.

015 SUN YANG ORDERED TO PAY WADA LEGAL COSTS WITH DATE FOR RETRIAL STILL NOT SET

by Liz Byrnes

The Swiss Federal Tribunal announced that Sun Yang must pay the World Anti-Doping Agency’s legal costs that were accumulated defending the Chinese swimmer’s appeal against an eight-year ban that was subsequently overturned in December 2020.

016 CUNHA AND OLIVIER TAKE VICTORIES IN MARATHON SWIM WORLD SERIES IN DOHA

by Liz Byrnes

Five-time world champion Ana Marcela Cunha of Brazil and two-time world champion/2016 Olympic bronze medalist Marc-Antoine Olivier of France won the FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim World Series in Doha.

The event was the first international marathon race for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COLLEGE NEWS 018 OLYMPIC DREAM LEADS USC’S ANICKA DELGADO TO SCRATCH NCAAs

by Matthew De George

USC’s Anicka Delgado, who qualified for the 50-100 free and 100 fly at NCAAs, scratched her events so she can swim at the South American Championships and follow her dream of qualifying for the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo to represent Ecuador. Delgado, who swam at the World Championships in 2019, will return to USC next fall.

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020 NCAA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS: YOUTH MOVEMENT SETS THE BAR HIGH

by David Rieder

While this year’s NCAA Championships saw a massive (but expected) shift in the team competition, there was a bit more literal of a changing of the guard. Of all the women competing, half were at NCAAs for the first time.

022 ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP STOLEN: REFLECTIONS OF A DIVISION III SWIMMER

by Megan Balbo

In this commentary, swimmer Megan Balbo has learned some tough lessons after two national championships have been canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. With one year left in her swimming career, she plans to do her best to have fun and enjoy the ride instead of dwelling on what could have been.

023 JORDAN WINDLE POISED FOR HIGHEST PLATFORM AS TEXAS AIMS FOR TITLE

by Dan D’Addona

After missing the opportunity for an epic showdown between Texas and Cal at last year’s men’s NCAA Championships because of the pandemic, Longhorn diver Jordan Windle—the 2019 10-meter platform champion and nine-time All-American—is now focused on his goal to help his Texas teammates win another NCAA team title.

024 14 MONTHS INTO HECTIC COLLEGE CAREER, FIU’s JASMINE NOCENTINI READY FOR FIRST NCAAs

by Matthew De George

Because of COVID-19, Florida International’s Jasmine Nocentini had been out of the water for four months and unable to see her family in Italy for seven months. She’s now looking forward to competing at women’s NCAAs as the lone swimmer for FIU and Conference USA.

025 FOLLOWING BIG TEN WIN, KRISTEN ROMANO, OHIO STATE BUILDING TO NCAAs

by Dan D’Addona

After Ohio State captured back-to-back Big Ten team titles, swimmer Kristen Romano believes her Buckeye teammates can surprise some people at women’s NCAAs.

WATER POLO NEWS 026 USA WATER POLO ANNOUNCES 2021 HALL OF FAME CLASS

USA Water Polo recently announced the 37th induction class for the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.

All those from this year’s five-member class are Olympic athletes who have combined to win nine medals while competing in a total of 15 Olympic Games.

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FEATURES & COMMENTARY 030 2021 SWIM CAMP DIRECTORY 038 THOUGHTS WHILE SWIMMING 6,500 YARDS IN BIRTHDAY SUIT

by Brent Rutemiller

Brent Rutemiller celebrated his birthday by swimming sixty-five hundred yards non-stop...for many reasons.

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On the Cover: ALEX WALSH OF VIRGINIA Photo Courtesy: NCAA MEDIA

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USA NEWS

USA SWIMMING EXTENDS CONTRACT OF PRESIDENT & CEO TIM HINCHEY

BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

U

SA Swimming announced that the contract for President and CEO Tim Hinchey has been extended four years through 2025.

Hinchey’s contract means he’ll guide U.S. Swimming through the 2024 Paris Olympics. He joined USA Swimming in 2017.

“I’m humbled and truly appreciative of the Board of Directors’ support of our organization’s work these last four years and their confidence in my vision for the future,” Hinchey said in a press release. “I continue to relish this opportunity that allows me to work in a sport I love, alongside the world’s greatest athletes, coaches and volunteers. It has certainly been a remarkable and unpredictable journey since July 2017, but I am confident in knowing that the organization is brimming with incredibly skilled and talented people who will help drive our future success.”

“As a lifelong swimmer, Tim’s passion for the sport, coupled with his professional experience and successful track record, made him the perfect candidate for this role, and that remains true,” USA Swimming Board of Directors Chair Bob Vincent said. “In his short tenure, Tim has strategically re-envisioned and re-aligned the organization’s focus, relationship with its members and most importantly prioritized the health and wellbeing of its athletes. Never has the organization been so experienced, nimble and well-placed to address the current challenges withing the youth sports landscape and unique Olympic quadrennial.”

Hinchey has weathered, with mixed reviews, challenges in rooting out sexual abuse within USA Swimming’s ranks, something many national governing bodies have dealt with. Among initiatives piloted under his watch are further development of SafeSport, including the SafeSport Recognized Club initiative, and investment in the Keeping Athletes First plan.

In his three-plus years in charge, he’s created a leadership team that is gender-equal.

He’s authored a long-term plan that includes turnover of long-tenured employees.

There’s also been an overhaul of USA Swimming’s digital platforms and increased commercialization of national-level meets, including professionalizing the Phillips 66 National Championships and the TYR Pro Swim Series.

“Tim has been a tremendous sounding board and advocate for athletes since stepping into the leadership role at USA Swimming,” USA Swimming Board of Directors Athlete Representative and 12-time Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin Hall said.

“I am appreciative of his focused efforts to create new opportunities for the sport’s top swimmers, while also ensuring that additional targeted programs and funds are available at the grassroots level to introduce new children and families to this lifechanging sport.” ◄

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[ PHOTO COURTESY MINE KASAPOGLU / ISL]

WIN IN 200 IM AT PRO SWIM SERIES REINFORCES MICHAEL ANDREW’S TRIALS PLAN

BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

T

he challenge for Michael Andrew, as a sprinter first and a stroke specialist second, has always been narrowing down a program for meets like Olympic Trials.

The shorter the race, the better, generally speaking for the 21-year-old. But off a win in the 200 individual medley at the TYR Pro Swim Series this week, a little length might be his friend if it shows off the breadth of his ability. And it doesn’t hurt that the winning time of 1:58.05 he turned in is the fastest time in the world this year.

That’s certainly the way his parents and coaches, Peter and Tina, view it. As Michael Andrew described the hierarchy of events in the virtual mixed zone via Zoom Saturday night: “If I was to nail it down to three focus events, it would be 100 breaststroke, 50 freestyle, 200 IM. If you ask me, my focus is, I love that 50 free, 100 breast, they’re my two prime (events). And the IM is a big focus just because I can swim all four strokes and I feel like for years, I’ve kind of neglected pursuing that event because it’s such a challenge in terms of endurance for what I’ve always been as that sprinter. My dad would say the 2IM is the No. 1 and my mom would say the same. They love that race; they think it’s a very beautiful race when swum right. Those three are my prime going into trials, and it lays up nicely in the schedule and we’ll see where it goes from there.

improvement on just the final 50 – 29.67 in the morning; 30.01 at night; a goal time of around 28.5 once Omaha rolls around – as a significant part of the process to be yielded in training.

Part of the IM’s allure is where it fits in the schedule. In Omaha for Trials, Andrew will have the men’s 100 breast in the first two days of the tournament with the third day off. The men’s 100 free is on Day 4, and he’ll likely want to throw down at least a prelims time for the relay reckoning.

That leaves the IM on Days 5 and 6, then the 50 free on the last two days, a trials with four events and zero doubles.

Given his value as a relay piece, that could be even more consequential in Tokyo.

At the PSS stop, Andrew won the 100 breast in 1:00.10, besting likely Trials contenders Nic Fink, Kevin Cordes, Will Licon and Josh Prenot, all on the downside of 25 years old.

He swam the 200 free but got a did-not-finish, hopping out midway after setting a fast first 50 time since he wouldn’t swim the 50 on the final day, resting for the IM. “It feels very rookie-like,” Andrew said with a smile. “You don’t get out in the middle of the race. But I probably should’ve finished the 200 for giggles.”

It would seem that the 200 IM presents an opportunity to get to Tokyo. Michael Phelps won gold in Rio. He won’t be in Omaha this year. Fifth at the Games was Ryan Lochte, vying for a fifth Olympics before he turns 37 in August.

The world’s fastest time designation, while nice, doesn’t do much for him, he said. He shouted out Kosuke Hagino in particular for some fast recent swims as likely to topple it. So it’s unlikely to factor into his thinking for Trials.

The last two World Championships, in 2017 and 2019, have featured Chase Kalisz winning medals (gold and bronze, respectively) and Abrahm DeVine in 10th then eighth. For whatever it may be worth at this early juncture, DeVine was second Saturday in 1:59.65, Kalisz fourth in 2:00.79 after having won the 400 IM Friday night.

Andrew said he was hoping to be in the 1:57 range. He sees

“It feels good. I honestly didn’t know that was going to be the fastest time in the world,” Andrew said. “I remember hitting the world and they announced it, and I was like, ‘oh that’s pretty cool.’ I feel like it’ll be short-lived. … It’s always nice to swim the fastest time in the world, and now we get to take that motivation and move on to the next meet and get stronger.” ◄ BIWEEKLY

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[ PHOTO BY MATT RUBEL PHOTOGRAPHY ]

USA SWIMMING REMINDER OF TECH SUIT RULES FOR 12-AND-UNDER ATHLETES

BY SWIMMING WORLD EDITORIAL TEAM

D

ue to competition ramping up around the country, USA Swimming, in a post on its Twitter feed today, reiterated to its younger swimmers, their coaches and their parents what types of suits are allowed for competition for athletes 12-and-under. On Sept. 1, 2020, USA Swimming’s Age Group Development Committee put certain restrictions in place.

Swimming World is providing the Tech Suit Q&A compiled by USA Swimming to help clarify what is permissible.

Q: Does a suit need to have a FINA logo for the referee to approve by marking with a green sharpie if it does not bear a green check mark?

A: No. Any suit that does not have the FINA logo on it is approved for 12&Under use.

Q: Do all approved suits need to have a green check mark to be considered legal?

for 12&Under use?

A: Suits on the approved list for 12&Under use list are approved regardless of if it has the FINA logo or not.

However, an older stock suit that may have the FINA logo on it but does not have the green check mark on it will need to follow the “work around” process (getting the referee mark suit with green sharpie) to be approved for 12&Under use. If the same suit has no FINA logo it, it is approved for 12&Under use.

Q: Can boys still wear “jammers”? The proposed rule says, “Any male or female suit with woven fabric extending to the knee or mid-thigh is defined as a technical suit…”

A: Boys can still wear jammers. The key phrase in the proposal is “woven fabric”. There are plenty of jammer suits available that are not made of a woven material.

A: The green check mark will only appear on suits that have the FINA logo – as we continue to transition the ban rule it will not be on all approved suits as they may be from inventory before the suit banned was in place September 1, 2020. If the suit is on the approved 12&Under suit list and has a FINA logo but no green check mark, it will need to be approved by the meet referee prior to competition and a sharpie check mark placed on the FINA Logo.

Q: Can girls still wear suits down to the knees?

Q: Some approved suits of the same style and brand have the FINA logo, and some do not. Are they both approved

A: No. The only meets where a 12-Under will be allowed to wear a tech suit is one that is in USA Swimming’s

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A: Girls can still wear suits to the knees. Similar to the question above, there are plenty of female suits available that are not made of a woven material.

Q: Can a 12-Under swimmer wear a tech suit at an LSC Championship meet or Zone Championships?

Championship series of meets (Junior Nationals, US Open, National Championships or U.S. Olympic Trials).

Q: Can an LSC now make a rule restricting the use of tech suits earlier than the national restriction that goes into place September 1, 2020?

A: The Age Group Development Committee (AGD) spent the last three years looking at the complexity of this issue from all sides in terms of markings, manufacturing, cost, officiating, retail and more to form this recommendation.

The AGD strongly recommends LSCs hold any legislation until the national implementation date. This will allow for the proper time period for all aspects of the industry to be ready for the implementation.

Q: Should LSCs with existing rules “fall in line” with this rule and timing?

Q: Are there suits that don’t’ have a FINA logo, but are still considered a tech suit?

A: There was unanimous agreement that for this rule to be effective, it will require consistency nationally. It is the recommendation of the Age Group Development Committee that LSCs match this proposal on definition and timing.

A: In the event that a manufacturer chooses not to go through FINA approval on a suit that meets the definition of a tech suit, an additional mark signifying it is not allowed for 12-and-unders will be used. Currently, no companies have a suit in this category.

Q: How does USA Swimming plan to educate parents, coaches and swimmers on what is a technical suit and what isn’t?

A: USA Swimming, with the help of all suit manufacturers, is planning to create an educational piece(s) on suits and what will be legal and what won’t. This campaign will include information to help parents choose the best suit for their young swimmer that is consistent with the American Development Model. USA Swimming will also publish a list of restricted suits. Restriction on Tech Suits for 12-and-Under Swimmers.

Q: What is the marking system to identify a tech suit?

A: The primary identifier will be any suit that has the FINA logo will be considered a tech suit. This will address 99% of the issues today with 12-and-unders and is a marking system that higher-level officials are accustomed to seeing. It is easily identifiable even at a busy meet and does not require any additional cost or production for manufacturers. This will also keep consumer costs lower without adding additional steps in manufacturing.

Q: If, for example, a 12-year-old is entered in an open/ senior meet that is not on the list of exempted meets (i.e. an LSC Senior meet or an Open Invitational) how would an official know that they shouldn’t be wearing a technical suit since there isn’t an age classification for the meet or event?

A: Because most heat sheets list the age of the athlete, it should be relatively easy at the beginning of the meet for the meet referee to look through the heat sheet and identify any 12-Under swimmers entered in the meet/events. The officials would then need to ensure that those swimmers are not competing in a suit with the FINA logo on it. The burden is really on swimmers, parents and coaches to comply with all rule changes. ◄

Q: Are there some suits with the FINA logo that could still work for 12-and-unders?

A: There are currently a small number of suits (less than 5 today) that have a FINA logo but do not meet the definition of a tech suit. Those suits will require an additional visual mark (ex. a bright check mark surrounded by a circle) to signify it is ok for 12-andunder competition.

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[ PHOTO BY SWIMMING AUSTRALIA ]

WORLD NEWS

>> CATE & BRONTE CAMPBELL

CAMPBELL SISTERS, HORTON AND McKEON HEADLINE NSW STATE CHAMPS

BY IAN HANSON

O

lympic gold medalists Kyle Chalmers, Mack Horton, the Campbell sisters — Cate and Bronte— and the unstoppable Emma McKeon will headline a host of Australian swimming’s biggest names who will return to Sydney for this weekend’s NSW State Open Swimming Championships.

In a classic case of déjà vu, Olympic hopefuls will return to the same pool deck they left 12 months ago when the doors were locked behind them on the final night of the 2020 Championships – with COVID 19 changing life as we knew it, forever.

A world thrust into a pandemic spiral that would eventually see the Tokyo Olympics postponed until 2021.

A life in and out of lockdowns, lines of testing, living in hope of a vaccine to cure the masses, saving lives and breathing life back into the Games.

For Australia’s elite swimmers these NSW Open State Championships will be collectively the biggest meet of the last 12 months – Chalmers will come from Adelaide, Horton from Melbourne, the Campbell girls will return to Sydney to reunite with their Knox-Pymble Club mates and Wollongong’s “prodigal daughter” McKeon will be back where it all began.

In the countdown to Christmas and along with coach Simon Cusack and Paralympic golden girl Ellie Cole, Australia’s premier swimming sister act headed home to Brisbane and a safe haven against the pandemic.

They will be amongst 17 Olympians and a dozen Paralympians who have raced in Rio, London and Beijing and who will turn up the heat in a bid to make it to Tokyo against a host of new generation youngsters with nothing to lose.

And they’ll do it in Australia’s spiritual home of swimming – the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre, the celebrated hosts of Sydney 2000.

The NSW States is traditionally the meet where the big guns come out to play and 12 months ago in Sydney, it was Chalmers who produced some of his best performances since Rio as he plotted and powered his way towards a Tokyo assault under his Adelaide-based maestro Peter Bishop.

Chalmers returned home to South Australia and eventually disappeared with his “swag (sleeping bag)” and his footy and drove down the South Australian coast to spend time with his cousin in a sleepy fishing village.

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With pools closed, he would arrange for the construction of a flume pool to be built on the side of his house so he could stay in touch with the water.

But swimming competition is back in earnest and Chalmers will be front and centre for the morning finals format to mirror the Tokyo program and the action kick-starts with the opening heats session.

[ PHOTO BY ANTHONY BURNS APP ]

Shoulder issues would see him undergo surgery on the eve of the Queensland Championships in December – ending a year that he and his Dolphins team mates would rather forget.

>> KYLE CHALMERS

The Olympic 100m champion – as he did last year – has entered the 100 and 200m freestyle and the 100m butterfly after doctors advised him not to race the Relay Blitz meet at the end of the National Event Camp in February on the Gold Coast.

But he had snuck in an eye-catching 48.55 relay split for his cub side Marion at the South Australian State Championships which gave him a confidence boost.

The men’s freestyle events – starting with the 100m will see Chalmers up against fellow Rio relay bronze medallist and 2015 World Championship silver medallist Cam McEvoy and 2019 World Championship relay gold medallists Clyde Lewis and Alex Graham –now club mates at Bond University after Lewis left St Peters Western to join Richard Scarce at Bond University.

And also lining up in every freestyle event from 50 to 800m will be former Bond University Commonwealth Games gold medallist Elijah Winnington who late last year actually left long-time coach Richard Scarce to join Dean Boxall at St Peters.

The women’s freestyle sprint events will see the Campbell girls up against fellow Olympic relay gold medallist McKeon, former world championship backstroke medallist, Rio Olympian and Gwangju sensation Madi Wilson, who has found a new lease of life under Bishop.

SPW young gun Meg Harris will add her youthful exuberance to what will be an exciting final to be in and watch.

They will be joined in the 100 and 200m by TSS “iron woman of the pool” Kiah Melverton – who will contest every freestyle event from 100 to 1500m The women’s middle distance and distance events will only

be missing SPW’s 400m freestyle world champion Ariarne Titmus, who remains on the recovery and rehab trail after her shoulder issues.

Melverton will be joined over 400 and 800m by training partners Maddy Gough and last week’s Australian 5km champion Moesha Johnson and newly arrived to the Gold Coast, triple Fina World Junior Champion Lani Pallister, now at Griffith University – under the watchful eyes of not only her mother and coach Janelle Pallister but head coach Michael Bohl.

Add in the improving talents of Chris Mooney-coached USC Spartans pair Phoebe Hines (200-1500) and Dahlas Rogers and (100-800) and there will be some interesting battles all round.

Then there’s the backstroking women, triple Olympian Emily Seebohm up against the girls most-likely – world short course record holders Kaylee McKeown and Minna Atherton – where anything is possible.

McKeown has been the talk of the town all summer with her stunning record-breaking charge through the short course and long course books – with her world record over 200m backstroke making her the fourth Australian behind Cate Campbell (100m freestyle), Atherton (100m backstroke) and Titmus (400m freestyle) as current SC world record holders.

The backstroke girls and the male and female sprinters over 100m freestyle will all feature on the opening day’s preliminaries with Olympic champion Horton up first in his pet 400m freestyle against an exuberant Winnington, now under Boxall at St Peters Western – who has always swum well in Sydney.

And it could well be a timely return to the “Pool of Dreams” in the countdown to what will be one of the most competitive Olympic Trials on record in Adelaide from June 12-17. ◄ BIWEEKLY

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OLYMPIC GAMES IN TOKYO SET TO TAKE PLACE WITHOUT OVERSEAS SPECTATORS

BY LIZ BYRNES

T

he Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo are to go ahead without overseas spectators, according to reports

by Kyodo News agency.

The Olympics are scheduled to open on 23 July with the Paralympics set to follow from 24 August, a year after Tokyo 2020 was slated to take place but was instead pushed back a year because of the pandemic.

Now it appears that overseas fans will not be able to travel to watch the Games which would also seemingly rule out athletes’ families.

Kyodo says that the Japanese government and the organizing committee are expected to hold a meeting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later this month to make a formal decision over the absence of overseas visitors.

They state that the “government has concluded that welcoming fans from abroad is not possible given concerns among the Japanese public over the coronavirus and the fact that more contagious variants have been detected in many countries, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.”

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On March 3, the representatives of the five organizing bodies, which also include the International Paralympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo metropolitan government, agreed to make a decision on overseas spectators by the end of this month.

They will then make a call in April on the number of spectators to be allowed into venues.

The opening ceremony of the torch relay will be held without spectators as well to prevent the spread of the virus, officials with knowledge of the planning also said Tuesday.

The organizing committee says it is essential to hold the ceremony in the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima behind closed doors, only permitting participants and invitees to take part in the event, to avoid large crowds forming amid the pandemic, the officials said.

After the ceremony at the J-Village soccer training center, about 10,000 runners will carry the flame through Japan’s 47 prefectures before the opening of the Olympics. ◄

[ PHOTO BY PATRICK B. KRAEMER ]

SUN YANG ORDERED TO PAY WADA LEGAL COSTS WITH DATE FOR RETRIAL STILL NOT SET

S

BY LIZ BYRNES

un Yang must pay the World Anti-Doping Agency‘s legal costs that were run up defending the Chinese swimmer’s appeal against an eight-year ban.

2. Legal costs, set at 2,000 francs, are charged to the appellant. The balance of the advance on costs is returned to him.

The three-time Olympic champion was handed the suspension when the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld WADA’s appeal in March 2020 following the manipulation of a testing sample during an out-of-competition doping test at his home in September 2018.

3. The appellant will pay the respondent foundation compensation of 7,000 francs. for costs. This compensation will be deducted from the sureties spontaneously deposited with the Federal Tribunal Fund. The balance of the amount paid as security is released in favor of the appellant.

During an evening that became increasingly acrimonious, a blood sample was submitted and signed off for testing before being taken back from the chain of custody and smashed with a hammer.

However, that ban was subsequently overturned in December 2020 by the Swiss Federal Tribunal which agreed that one of the CAS judges – Italian Franco Frattini – had made public anti-Chinese comments which led to a questioning of his impartiality.

4. This order is communicated to the representatives of the parties and to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

No date has yet been set for the retrial and at present Sun is allowed to train and compete with the clock ticking down to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. ◄

Although the decision was not made on the merits of the case, it meant that WADA will once more have to present its case to CAS. The Swiss Federal Tribunal has announced its ruling on the court costs which reads: 1. The appeal has become devoid of purpose. The cause 4A_192 / 2020 is struck.

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[ PHOTO BY ANOC WORLD BEACH GAMES ]

>> ANA MARCELA CUNHA

CUNHA AND OLIVIER TAKE VICTORIES IN MARATHON SWIM WORLD SERIES IN DOHA

BY LIZ BYRNES

A

na Marcela Cunha and Marc-Antoine Olivier were the winners of the FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim World Series in Doha.

Taking place in the Qatari capital, the event was the first international marathon race for over a year with Cunha leading the way in the women’s race which got under way at 6am.

The Brazilian touched first in 2:01:30.30 ahead of Oceane Cassignol of France (2:01::30.80) and German swimmer Lea Boy (2:01:31.90).

Also competing were British pair Alice Dearing and Danielle Huskisson who came 12th and 29th respectively as they prepared for the Olympic qualifier in May. Dearing, who will become the first black female swimmer to represent Great Britain at an Olympics should she negotiate the qualifier in Fukuoka, said: “I was really excited to be back racing after 13 months, which was here in Doha in 2020 and it was a really positive result.

“I’ve just spoken to my coach and we know what we need to work on already – I think I was going into the last lap in 26th place and ended up coming 12th – so we’re now looking to make sure I can swim further up and hopefully pick off the same amount of people.

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“I’m really excited by that race and I think it shows everything is going to come together when I need it to and it’s a good confidence booster ahead of the qualification event in May, which I’m really excited to go to and hopefully qualify for the Olympics.”

Rio 2016 bronze medalist Olivier won the men’s race in 1:52:02.40 ahead of Kristof Rasovszky (1:52:05.50) and Olympic 1500 free champion Gregorio Paltrinieri (1:52:07.90).

A large pack came into the final lap before the pace was upped and the whittling down effect occurred.

Among the first finishers were Briton Hector Pardoe who came seventh, his best international result with teammate Jack Burnell in 24th.

He said: “That’s an awesome result! It was a really tough race, with frustrating conditions but I’m glad to get the job done and place in the top 10, winning some prize money as well!

“That gives me a lot of confidence, so it’s now back to training for another 11 weeks before the Olympic qualifier in Fukuoka.” ◄

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[ PHOTO COURTESY USC ATHLETICS ]

COLLEGE NEWS

OLYMPIC DREAM LEADS USC’S ANICKA DELGADO TO SCRATCH NCAAs

BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

N

CAAs was never part of the plan for Anicka Delgado this season. The freshman at USC has geared the last year-plus of her life toward qualifying for the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo to represent Ecuador, as she did at the World Championships in 2019.

It wasn’t until the NCAA decreed in October that winter athletes in 2020-21 would be extended an extra year of eligibility due to season limitations wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic that Delgado began to reconsider taking a redshirt year.

So when the freshman at USC announced last week that she’d scratch her three swims – the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly – so that she can swim at the South American Championships, it wasn’t a case of focusing on what she’d lose at NCAAs. Instead, the view turned to a season she’d unexpectedly gained.

“I wasn’t even planning on going to Pac-12s or swimming with USC at all until they announced it was a free year and I had the opportunity to get some extra racing in,” Delgado told Swimming World last week. “My main goal and what my scheduled kind of looked like this year was training for my Olympic trials and going from there.”

The South American Championships will be held March 14-29 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with swimming contested from March 16-19. The 45th edition of the continental championships is one of a few prized chances to score Olympic A and B cuts. Given Ecuador’s limited swimming depth, a B cut is the goal for Delgado to put herself in better position for a universality spot.

That’s been the goal for Delgado, a native of Laguna Hills, Calif., who is an Ecuadorean citizen through her father and coach, Felipe Delgado. For most of the

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[ PHOTO COURTESY USC ATHLETICS ]

last year, the CIF champion has been training with Felipe at a local country club in a lane by herself. Anicka Delgado had planned to take a redshirt year from USC, do online classes and slog through the year of training with her dad.

solo workouts, with only one objective on the horizon. She said her dad has been helpful in talking away some of the pressure she puts on herself. When it came to the decision to skip NCAAs, USC coach Jeremy Kipp was in full accord.

But the NCAA’s announcement opened up a chance to race with the Trojans, which Delgado leapt at.

“He said, ‘Go follow your dreams and then come back and do everything you need to do in college afterwards,’” Delgado said. “It’s giving me a great opportunity to qualify for the Olympics this year and then go and live out my college years in the upcoming four years that I have.”

The enthusiasm paid off at the Pac-12 Championships with a debut performance to remember. Delgado finished third in the 100 free in 48.44, the only freshman in the championship final. She tied for fifth in the 50 free at 22.28 seconds, was eighth in the 100 fly at 52.72, led off the runner-up USC 400 free relay and anchored the Trojans’ 200 free and 200 medley relays to bronze medals. With fellow freshman Kaitlyn Dobler, the Trojans have a formidable half of a relay to build around for the foreseeable future.

That dream looms large. She visits Ecuador often and has tight ties to family there. She’s gotten a taste of the international scene at Worlds. Upgrading to the biggest international stage she can get, the Olympics would be a dream come true.

“Being able to represent it has made me love it even more,” she said. “And even better, I know it’s made my family so proud, my dad’s side of the family especially. And being able to do that is amazing.” ◄

“That was a great meet for me to go and race,” she said.

“There have been so many meets that haven’t been going on because of COVID, so having the opportunity to go there was great int eh SWIM MART first place because it allowed me to race against great collegiate athletes and get some fast swims in. Not only that, but it also gave me a chance to go and have fun and remember the reason why I started swimming. … Being able to swim on a team was the coolest thing ever. It was so much fun. I just had fun – that’s the one word to describe the entire meet. It was an amazing meet.”

REACH LONG

The race also defuses some of the pressure that Delgado felt building on her

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[ PHOTO COURTESY LUKE JAMROZ PHOTOGRAPHY ]

>> KATE DOUGLASS

NCAA WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIPS: YOUTH MOVEMENT SETS THE BAR HIGH

BY DAVID RIEDER

Freshmen & Sophomores Set the Bar at Women’s NCAA Championships While this year’s NCAA Championships saw a massive (but expected) shift in the team competition, with ACC teams Virginia and NC State finishing first and second after the conference had never previously had a team finish higher than third, there was a bit more literal of a changing of the guard.

Of all the women competing, half were at NCAAs for the first time. In 2020, the NCAA Swimming Championships were among the first cancellations of the COVID-19 pandemic, so last year’s freshmen never got their chance to see how they stacked up against the returning best.

At meet’s end, two of those sophomores, Kate Douglass and Katharine Berkoff, are individual national champions, with plenty more to offer, and two freshmen, Alex Walsh and Phoebe Bacon, won individual titles of their own. That quartet led the way for a large group of young talent that put together a string of impressive performances across the four days, including nine others who finished among the top three in individual events.

“I am really lucky that my class of girls are a really deep group,” Walsh said. “I am excited to race girls like Phoebe Bacon and Isabelle Stadden for the next three years. We all went to different colleges, and that makes the NCAA meet that much more exciting and fun to be a part of.”

Bacon added, “It really shows the freshmen class I’m in and the classes coming up, this meet is going to keep getting faster and faster.”

This whole group will be back for at least two more years, and even though women’s swimming has trended older in recent years as many of the country’s best have moved from collegiate swimming into the professional ranks, don’t be 20

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surprised to see some of these women making an impact in long course during the Olympic summer.

Super-Versatile Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh Lead Virginia No one should be surprised that both Douglass and Walsh won national titles this week—but if anything, their NCAA performances might have not been fully indicative of how talented and impressive both swimmers are.

Since she arrived at Virginia in the fall of 2019, Douglass has been the class of college swimming in the 200 IM. She had the country’s top time last season (1:51.36) and she swam a 1:50.92 in November that made her the third-fastest performer of all time. And yet, Douglass didn’t swim the event this week in Greensboro. After Walsh edged her out at the ACC Championships, the Virginia coaches decided to move Douglass out of the event for NCAAs. The move paid off. On Thursday, Walsh, who ranks fifth alltime in 1:51.53, easily won the NCAA title, while Douglass won the very next event, the 50 free. So the Douglass was on sprint duty for the whole meet, and she ended up adding two runner-up finishes behind the likes of world champion Maggie MacNeil. She now ranks third all-time in the 50 free, sixth in the 100 fly and tied for seventh in the 100 free.

And oh yeah, Douglass also has a 2:03.93 in the 200 breast to her name, and that time from last month would have placed her second to Sophie Hansson in the 200 breast in Greensboro by just seven hundredths. Instead, Virginia went with another sophomore, Ella Nelson, who placed second in the 200 breast, while Walsh placed fifth.

As for Walsh, despite her national title early in the meet, she did not swim at her absolute best this week, as she settled

[ PHOTO COURTESY LUKE JAMROZ PHOTOGRAPHY ]

for fifth in the 200 free in addition to her fifth-place finish in the 200 breast. She, too, had options for her event schedule.

In long course, she is the reigning Pan American Games champion in both the 200 IM and 200 back. Yes, backstroke.

The freshman who swam the 200 IM, 200 free and 200 breast at the NCAA championships actually made her name first as a backstroker, and in long course, she currently ranks 11th all-time among Americans in the 200 back.

So in this duo, Virginia has two swimmers who can basically do anything. No one is second-guessing head coach Todd DeSorbo’s event strategy, not when the Cavaliers just won a national championship by a whopping 137 points. It’s just that as good as Douglass and Walsh were in Greensboro, they are really even better.

Meanwhile, it’s an Olympic year, so it would be remiss to not consider the long course implications. Walsh currently ranks third among Olympic Trials qualifiers in the 200 IM, with having swum a 2:09.01 at the U.S. Open in December 2019. That should put her right in the thick of a tight field that will also include Kathleen Baker, Melanie Margalis, Madisyn Cox and Ella Eastin. She could also be an outside contender in the 200 back.

Douglass? That’s harder to pinpoint. Her strongest lifetime bests in long course include a 57.43 in the 100 fly, 2:12.11 in the 200 IM and 24.99 in the 50 free. The fly time, in particular, is strong, but a crowd of impressive high schoolers led by Claire Curzan along with the experienced Kelsi Dahlia has raised the bar in that event. Certainly, she has yet to show her full long course potential, and she will have her chance in a few months.

Katharine Berkoff and Phoebe Bacon Make Backstroke Statements Like Douglass, Berkoff missed out on her first NCAA championships in 2020, but she was not yet a national title favorite. In her first backstroke NCAA final, the NC State sophomore delivered a championship effort, a 49.74 that made her the fourth-fastest performer ever. A day later, Bacon came out on top in the 200 back, with her 1:48.32 vaulting her to eighth all-time.

Two very impressive swims that would normally set the standard for backstroke heading into an Olympic Trials— except that both are already faces in perhaps the most crowded, most competitive events in the country.

Currently, Regan Smith is the world record-holder in both long course events, the American record-holder in both short course events and the favorite for Olympic gold. In the 100 back, the American rankings consist of Smith, followed by former world record-holder Baker, then Bacon and then 2016 Olympian Olivia Smoliga, all under 59. Fifth in the rankings is Berkoff, who will still receive almost no attention despite a long course lifetime best of 59.29 and her impressive efforts on the college level. Such is the state of women’s backstroke

>> PHOEBE BACON

in the U.S. As for the 200 back, Smith and Baker have been considered the top contenders, with Lisa Bratton, Stadden (third at the NCAA championships in an impressive 1:49.66, Walsh and Hali Flickinger making up the next group. But Bacon has steadily improved in the longer race in recent years. She swam a long course time of 2:08.82 in December of 2019, but her short course times in Greensboro between prelims and finals marked a drop of almost 2.5 seconds.

Before the meet, Bacon told Swimming World that she had been looking forward to showing off her improvement in the 200 back, so while most of the attention on Bacon’s Olympic hopes largely is on her 100 back, her NCAA win shows it’s worth keeping an eye on her prowess in the longer distance as well.

Best of the Rest at NCAA Championships Other swimmers in their first or second year finishing among the top three in Greensboro included Virginia’s Nelson in the 400 IM and 200 breast, Cal’s Stadden in the 200 back, Georgia’s Zoie Hartman in the 200 IM, Kentucky’s Lauren Poole in the 400 IM, Florida’s Talia Bates and Texas’ Kelly Pash in the 200 free, USC’s Kaitlyn Dobler in the 100 breast, Tennessee’s Mona McSharry in the 200 breast and Texas’ Olivia Bray in the 200 fly.

Of that group, particular credit should go to Bray and Texas teammates Pash and Emma Sticklen (another freshman), who finished second, tied for fourth and seventh, respectively, in the 200 fly, to keep the Longhorns alive in the race for team runner-up. Bray took the race out hard and led through the first 100 yards before doing enough to hang on for second.

Expect to hear from all of these swimmers again in the coming months and years, but in the immediate future, the one most likely to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics is McSharry, already an Irish national record-holder who impressed in her first year on Rocky Top. Among Americans, the best chance out of this group would come from 200 freestylers, with six swimmers set to be selected for relay purposes, but neither Bates nor Pash has recorded any notable times in sparse long course racing opportunities in recent years. ◄ For full coverage of the Women's DI NCAA Championships, please visit www.swimmingworld.com/college BIWEEKLY

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ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP STOLEN: REFLECTIONS OF A DIVISION III SWIMMER

BY MEGAN BALBO

A

s my junior year comes to an end, I have reflected on my time as a collegiate swimmer.

It has been a long, rough year for Division III swimming and diving. Two national championships were canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic, and many athletes were left with no season at all. For me and many others, half of our national championship opportunities have been taken away.

teammates as we mourned our loss together. When I found out that the 2021 NCAA Championships had been canceled, I was alone in my dorm room. I went to my teammates and we again found a way to mourn our loss together. We came together and let out our sadness in the best way we could on a snowy, Wednesday evening. We went sledding. It certainly was not how we had all anticipated to spend our night, but it was exactly what we needed. Time together.

As we enter the weekend that the 2020 National Championships were supposed to take place, as well as the planned weekend for the 2021 Women’s National Championships, I have been thinking a lot about what could have been and what we lost. I will preface this by saying that as a Division III swimmer who had the opportunity to race this year, I am extremely grateful.

However, that does not make this week any less painful.

Recalling the memories from last year has not been easy.

When I started this article a month ago, I did not necessarily plan on finding a bright side in all of this. I am now realizing that championships are not the only part of the season that matters. It has been terrible to miss out on them, but the day to day is what is most important. The memories we make together and the laughs that we share make the early mornings and long practices worth it.

At a time like this, it has been really helpful for me to lean on my teammates. The time we are able to spend together and mourn the loss of our championship season has made it just a bit better. I have come to realize that as much as this sport is about swimming fast, it is much more than that. Swimming is about the people and the fun environment we create as a team. These are the people who you spend the most time with, and the people who relate to you on a deeper level than I ever thought possible.

With one year left in my swimming career, I am glad that I have learned these lessons. Going forward, I am going to do my best to have fun and enjoy the ride, because one day in the near future, it will be over. I do not want to spend the rest of my swimming career hung up on what could have been.

Watching Division I and Division II swimmers prepare for their national championships has definitely been difficult, but I am proud of how far I have come in recognizing how I can make the best of the situation I have been placed in. ◄

The day we found out that 2020 NCAA Championships had been cancelled, it felt like the world was crumbling down around me. I was in a classroom surrounded by my

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

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[ PHOTO COURTESY PETER H. BICK ]

JORDAN WINDLE POISED FOR HIGHEST PLATFORM AS TEXAS AIMS FOR TITLE

BY DAN D'ADDONA

J

ordan Windle was prepared to help bring Texas another NCAA title.

The 2020 NCAA Championships was poised to be an epic showdown between Texas and Cal. Windle knew that diving could make the difference in a meet that tight.

But the meet was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic and Windle and his Longhorn teammates had to wait an entire year for another chance at a showdown.

“The goal is to help the boys win another NCAA title,” Jordan Windle told Swimming World.

Windle won the 2019 NCAA title in platform diving. He also is a nine-time All-American diver.

His senior year was much different as the pandemic changed the course of training for Windle, but he dominated at the NCAA Zone championships, winning the zone title on the 3-meter board and platform, while finishing second on 1-meter.

“It really was a roller coaster and still is. I had to travel to Houston to train and California to train. I went to Florida and tried to find places that were open. When everything shut down, I was trying to do mat flips in my apartment. I would do those and send those to Matt Scoggin,” Windle said. “It is hard to stay motivated when you work out by yourself, but we did a lot of weight and band training. It was tough, but we made it through so far.”

The biggest adjustment was mentally.

“The spacial awareness from consistent training is not the same if you can’t keep training regularly,” Windle said. “Our sport is incredibly mental. Once you lose a dive, you have to relearn it. There is that fear of what can go wrong.”

Windle said his coach, Matt Scoggin, helps a lot in that regard.

“Matt is an amazing coach. The best coach I have had my entire career. He was great when it came to recruiting. He made it a real goal to try to get me here. I took that highly,” Windle said. “He has a special way of coaching, coaching everyone the way they need to be coached. I don’t take aggressive coaching well, so he has taken a more fatherly approach in regards to that.”

Scoggin is pleased with the way Windle has responded to that coaching style.

“He is just a great example of someone with big goals who is willing to do the work,” Scoggin said. “One thing I really noticed is I have seen him grow into this tremendous team supporter in leadership.”

The biggest part of that is just staying loose between dives and during training.

“Consistency you have to make sure that diving stays fun,” Jordan Windle said. “Sports are meant to be fun. We enjoy competing. If it becomes a chore, then competing becomes a chore and I won’t be competing the best that I can.” ◄ BIWEEKLY

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[ PHOTO COURTESY FIU ATHLETICS ]

14 MONTHS INTO HECTIC COLLEGE CAREER, FIU’s JASMINE NOCENTINI READY FOR FIRST NCAAs

BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

J

asmine Nocentini had barely arrived in the United States when everything went sideways last year.

for the program. And hopefully next year we’ll be able to bring more people to the meet.”

The native of Padova, Italy, at just 17 years old, joined the Florida International University swimming team midway through the season in January. After about two months of training, and a successful Conference USA championships for the league’s reigning power, COVID-19 brought it all to a screeching halt.

Ever the sprinter, Nocentini has said she’s had no problem adapting from meters to yards, as is an issue for some international swimmers. She’s also enjoying the team aspect of college swimming, FIU coming off its seventh straight Conference USA crown.

No NCAAs. No return to Italy, where her region of Veneto was being particularly hard hit through the spring. Instead, she and her uncle decamped to Wisconsin and she spent four months out of the water. It was more than seven months before Nocentini got to return home and see her parents again before returning to Miami in January for another abbreviated season.

So in comparison to all that, the challenge of swimming at NCAAs seems a little more prosaic.

“Coming from staying at your house, your parents doing everything, and then moving to college and having to do everything by yourself, not even going to practice but going to school by yourself, doing everything and then having to face a pandemic and decide where to go,” Nocentini told Swimming World this week. “I hadn’t been home for seven months. It definitely taught me a lot of things, such as independence and having to solve my problems by myself.”

Nocentini isn’t only the lone representative for FIU at the NCAA Women’s Championships, which start this week. She’s the only Conference USA swimmer in the field, swimming the 50 and 100 freestyle.

It’s the same thing she was facing last year, when she qualified for NCAAs in the same two events. It’s the 10th straight season FIU has qualified a swimmer.

“I’m excited,” Nocentini said. “I know it’s going to be great 24

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“I really like yards. It’s very cool, very short, fast,” Nocentini said. “It’s very different from our type of swimming, let’s say professional swimming or just club swimming, it’s very different especially because you’re not swimming for yourself or individually but you’re focusing more on the team. So sometimes even if you swim the 50 freestyle, maybe the coach thinks you can do a 100 butterfly for the team. It’s more of a team sport. I really like it. The energy that the team brings you, it’s something that’s not there in professional swimming or other types of swimming that are not college, so I think a lot of athletes can have a big benefit from it.”

Nocentini already showed her perseverance at CUSAs, weathering a disqualification in the 50 free where she had been a massive favorite. She went 22.28 in the morning prelims, a time fast enough to get to NCAAs, but was disappointed not to score points for her team with a rolling start in the night session.

That time cushioned the blow of the DQ, just as her performance in the shortened sophomore season has helped make up for a freshman NCAAs that wasn’t.

“I wasn’t sad,” she said. “I wanted to get the experience, also because I was the youngest athlete going to NCAAs at 17. But it would’ve been a cool experience to have, but I know a lot of other people lost the chance, and it would’ve been way worse for seniors that it was their last chance, their last opportunity to have for their four years or three years. It wasn’t that good, but I still have other years to do that.” ◄

[ PHOTO COURTESY PETER H. BICK ]

FOLLOWING BIG TEN WIN, KRISTEN ROMANO, OHIO STATE BUILDING TO NCAAs

BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

K

risten Romano felt she could see the growth coming when she visited Ohio State in high school.

Bill Dorenkott had been in charge of the women’s program for nearly a decade. He’d assume control of the men’s team during Romano’s freshman year.

So while Romano might not have pegged the Buckeyes as back-to-back Big Ten champions by the time her four years had elapsed, she knew something special was on the way.

“The process of becoming this championship team has started with that senior class and has continued to grow and grow and grow,” Romano told Swimming World this week. “And that’s been really special. It’s part of the reason why I wanted to come to Ohio State so bad for my collegiate career because I saw from the time I took my (recruiting) trip, I saw the way the team interacted, and I saw that this team was going to go places.”

Among the places Ohio State is taking Romano is back to her fourth straight NCAA Championships, starting this week. The native of Long Island is seeded fourth in the 200 individual medley, 10th in the 400 IM and 16th in the 200 back at NCAAs. She’s likely to be part of an Ohio State 800 free relay that is seeded third, having set the 200 free school record at NCAAs in 2019.

The Big Ten freshman of the year has grown her program at NCAAs each year. She was due to swim all three events at last year’s canceled meet but instead gets that chance this year.

Romano said she’s going to opt for a fifth year, made possible by the NCAA in October. So even this NCAAs won’t be the senior’s last. But she approaches it with a sense of urgency

that is reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s something that’s in the past that I’m not super upset that it didn’t happen, but I also know that because I didn’t have that opportunity last year, this year is going to be all that much more special,” Romano said. “I know the entire team we were going to take to NCAAs last year is going to be pretty amazing. That gives us a lot of confidence going into this NCAAs, knowing what we could’ve put together last year, a little disappointed that that didn’t happen but knowing that we have that in us.”

Romano said she’s learned a lot in her time out of the pool in 2020. It’s what accentuates her appreciation of what the Buckeyes did at Big 10s, scoring 1,584 points to easily outdistance Michigan (1,326.5). The teams behind them like the Wolverines and Indiana might have more top swimmers, but Romano loves the way her team battles – the “little things every day of the season that our entire team did” – across the lineup. That’s what led them to the title, even as some might have doubted them.

On the heels of NCAAs, Romano has a chance to qualify for the Olympics for Puerto Rico. She’s hoping to head to the island for a national long-course meet at the end of April. She holds five Puerto Rican records and represented the island in the 2019 World Championships in the 200 IM. But first things first: Romano believes Ohio State can surprise some people at NCAAs. “It’s just using that toughness that we’ve gained, that I’ve gained, over the past season in dealing with all the fluctuations and all the different little bullets we had to dodge with COVID and everything,” she said. ◄ BIWEEKLY

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USA WATER POLO ANNOUNCES 2021 HALL OF FAME CLASS USA Water Polo is proud to announce the 37th induction class for the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame. All those from this year’s five-member class are Olympic athletes who’ve combined to win nine medals competing in a total 15 Olympic Games.

Tony Azevedo, a record five-time Olympian and 2008 Olympic silver medalist, is joined in the class by his Beijing medal winning teammate and three-time Olympian Merrill Moses. A member of the first-ever women’s Olympic water polo team, Ericka Lorenz—also a two-time medalist at the Games—will be inducted alongside two members of the next generation. Three-time Olympic medalist and two-time Gold medalist Kami Craig enters the hall with her golden teammate from London 2012 and Rio 2016, four-time NCAA champ Courtney Mathewson.

Tony Azevedo

Considered perhaps the greatest men’s water polo player the United States has ever seen, Tony Azevedo’s career almost never happened. Born in Brazil, Azevedo overcame a life-threatening neck injury as a child to emerge from water polo-rich Long Beach, CA, under the guidance of aquatic legends like Klaus Barth. Taught the finer points of the game by his dad, Ricardo—a longtime player and coach at the National Team level—Tony served as a ball boy at the 1996 Olympic Games in 26

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[ PHOTO COURTESY STANFORD ATHLETICS ]

WATER POLO NEWS

>> TONY AZEVEDO

Atlanta, a moment that foreshadowed what was to come. On the heels of a dominant prep career at the storied powerhouse Long Beach Wilson, Azevedo made his Olympic debut as a player in the 2000 Sydney Games, just months removed from his senior prom. The 18-year-old Azevedo then embarked on a transformational run with Stanford University that saw him win two NCAA championships and set an almost certainly unbreakable record of four-straight Cutino Award honors as the college game’s best player. He returned to the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 while launching an international club career that spanned more than a decade capping up for top clubs across Europe and Brazil including JUG, CAN Bissolati, and JK Primorac among others. Domestically, Azevedo hauled in countless titles for the New York Athletic Club. In 2008, he captained a U.S. team that returned to the Olympic podium for the first time in 20 years, claiming a Silver medal at the Beijing Games. He continued to serve as captain at the next two Olympic Games, culminating his career in a full-circle moment back in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

A five-time Pan American Games Gold medalist, Azevedo added FINA World League Silver medals and ended his career as the all-time leading scorer in FINA World Championship history. He remains entrenched in the game as co-founder of 6-8 Sports—which merges water polo and technology— conducting camps and clinics around the country.

Merrill Moses

By Olympic water polo standards, Merrill Moses got a late start in his favorite sport. As a teenager Moses made the switch from the football field to the pool and never looked back. He brought the bravado and confidence of a star quarterback as a goalkeeper to Team USA Water Polo in a career that spanned over 15 years. An All-CIF selection at Peninsula High School in California, Moses headed to Pepperdine University for college, launching a lifelong bond with Waves head coach and water polo legend Terry Schroeder. The brash Moses promised to win the starting goalie spot as a freshman… and did. Two years later he guarded the cage as Pepperdine claimed the 1997 NCAA Championship. Not long after, he started competing with Team USA but after being the final cut for the 2004 Olympic roster, Moses stepped away from the game. Two years later Schroeder—then a member of the Team USA staff—lured him out of an office and back to the water and the two teamed up for history in 2008. Frequently repeating a promise to “shock the world,” Moses turned in a goalkeeping performance for the ages as the ninth-ranked Americans surprised everyone with a Silver-medal finish.

He’d go on to start in goal for Team USA at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, adding three Pan-American Games Golds and two FINA World League Silver medals to his resume. Abroad Moses capped up for professional clubs in Spain, Italy, and Croatia while earning multiple titles at home for the New York Athletic Club. He launched his collegiate coaching career in 2012, returning to his alma mater. Serving

as associate head coach, once again alongside Schroeder, Moses most recently helped the Waves claim Golden Coast Conference championships in 2016 and 2019 while reaching the NCAA Championship semifinals in 2019.

Kami Craig

An absolute force at the two-meter position, Kami Craig is considered one of the best centers ever in an international career that spanned 10 years with Team USA. Hailing from the Santa Barbara area, which is well known for producing strong women’s water polo players, Craig quickly emerged as a talent to watch in the National Team pipeline. Kami credits her resilience and tenacity to the diagnosis of her learning differences at an early age, and she became a fierce advocate for herself in the classroom while carving out a legendary career in the pool. At USC Craig became the top player in the country, twice winning Cutino Award honors as the college game’s MVP. At the same time, her National Team career got off to a great start as she claimed a FINA World Championship in 2007 as a teenager. The next year, as the youngest member of Team USA, Craig was part of a Silver-medal effort at the 2008 Beijing Games. While it was a stinging result for the heavily favored Americans, the result only galvanized her dedication to the red, white, and blue. From there the titles would stack up in rapid fashion. In 2009 a second World Championship arrived in Rome, and she capped her career with the Women of Troy to the tune of a NCAA title in 2010.

In 2012 Craig played a major role in a breakthrough effort for Team USA: the program’s first Olympic Gold medal. Most notably, Craig delivered pivotal goals in a semifinal victory to keep the Gold-medal dream alive. She followed that performance with another World Championship in 2015 and then finished her international career with a second-straight Olympic Gold at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. The final staggering tally of championships saw Craig add three Pan American Games titles, two FINA World Cup titles, and nine FINA World League Final crowns to her Olympic and World title hardware. A member of the Pac-12 All-Century Team, Craig carved out a strong club career at home with the New York Athletic Club, winning multiple titles while also capping up abroad for the likes of Firenze and Olympiacos.

Never far from the pool deck, Craig stays engaged with water polo by conducting camps and clinics while mentoring young athletes from a variety of sports.

Courtney Mathewson

The ultimate sharpshooter, Courtney Mathewson’s perimeter accuracy combined with a fearless determination made her a vital piece of the USA Women’s National Team from 2010 to 2016. The only thing as consistent as Mathewson’s shot was her winning record. Arriving at UCLA in the mid-2000s out of Anaheim Hills, Mathewson comfortably transitioned from a smaller high school program to the most dominant women’s program of the moment. Her focus in Westwood was singular, CONTINUED >> BIWEEKLY

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Ericka Lorenz

A multi-sport star as a teenager in the San Diego area, Ericka Lorenz might have been just as successful on the softball field or volleyball court where she earned All-American and AllCIF honors respectively while at Patrick Henry High School.

Luckily for water polo, “Monkey” (as she was known among teammates) chose the pool—and at precisely the right time.

Tabbed as an emerging star in the National Team pipeline, Lorenz didn’t put much immediate stock in being invited for a tryout with Team USA in the fall of 1999 just as she was launching her collegiate career with the University of California, Berkeley. However, her senior team performance went so well that she put college on hold while contending for a ticket to the 2000 Olympic Games, the first to feature women’s water polo. Just 19 years old, Lorenz was part of 28

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[ PHOTO COURTESY SWIMMING WORLD ARCHIVE ]

and Mathewson avoided National Team overtures on her way to winning four-straight NCAA crowns under Head Coach Adam Krikorian. In 2008 Mathewson won the Cutino Award as the college game’s top player and embarked on a professional career in Spain. A year later Krikorian took over the controls for Team USA and Mathewson began training with the reigning World Champions in 2010. After helping the squad to its first FINA World Cup crown in 31 years that summer, Mathewson cemented her spot in Team USA lore in 2011. On the brink of elimination in the 2011 Pan American Games’ Gold-medal match with Canada, Mathewson willed the team back with three second half goals to force a shootout where >> ERICKA LORENZ the United States prevailed, allowing them to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. A year later, Mathewson helped Team USA reach the top of the podium, claiming the program’s first Olympic title. The squad followed with another World Cup crown in 2014 and a FINA World Championship in 2015. Mathewson wrapped her career with a second-straight Olympic crown at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. Her winning ways included a second Pan Am Games Gold and six FINA World League titles. A Pac-12 AllCentury Team selection, Mathewson competed domestically for the New York Athletic Club, earning multiple titles there.

She’s stayed close to water polo conducting camps, clinics, and swimming lessons in southern California.

that history-making squad that claimed Silver in Sydney, helping build the foundation for what has become the most dominant program in the world. Lorenz then returned to Cal and fast became a top player nationally, racking up 81 goals in two seasons. She also remained entrenched with Team USA, and in 2003 was part of the first FINA World Championship in program history. That led to a second Olympic Games appearance in 2004, where the squad earned Bronze in Athens. As her international career accelerated, Lorenz launched her club career abroad as well, competing with the likes of Ortigia-Siracusa in Italy. She battled through injuries to take part in a banner year with Team USA in 2007 as the women claimed another FINA World Championship, another Pan American Games title, and qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics—all without losing a single match.

An attempt at a third-straight Olympic Games for Lorenz was unfortunately halted due to shoulder and knee injuries leading to her retirement in 2008. But her mark was most definitely left on the squad as a dynamic player who helped usher in a new era for women’s water polo internationally.

She’s remained close to the water these days, initially as a lifeguard in Huntington Beach, CA, and now serving as an Ocean Lifeguard Specialist for Los Angeles County. ◄

The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with USA Water Polo

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SWIMMING WORLD PRESENTS

2021 SWIM CAMP DIRECTORY The listings on pages 30-37 are advertisements.

AADVANCED REMOTE SWIM CAMPS

THE ARETE SWIM CAMP & CLINICS

THE BOLLES SCHOOL SWIM CAMPS 2021

Bob Prichard, Director 4 Tara Hill Road Tiburon, CA 94920 415-435-9880 bprichard@somaxsports.com www.somaxsports.com/swimcamp.php

Coach Chuck Warner, Camp Director Arete Swim Camp 1050 Dellwood Rd. Martinsville, NJ 08836 areteswimcamp@gmail.com www.areteswim.com

Peter Verhoef, Coach 7400 San Jose Blvd.

Jacksonville, FL 32217 904-256-5216 VerhoefP@bolles.org www.Bollesswimming.org

Camp Dates: Feb. 1 - Dec. 31, 2021

Super-Strokes & Skills Clinics: To Be Determined

Elite I Camp: June 6-13 Elite II Camp: June 13-23

Our 2021 private remote camps accommodate up to three swimmers from the same family. Each five-day camp teaches one stroke. We teach swimmers to swim efficiently like world record holders (our swimmers have set 11 world records and have won 43 gold medals) by using frame-by-frame underwater stroke analysis and our exclusive drills, stretches and exercises. Swimmers have reduced their stroke count 30-50%.

We teach parents how to teach their kids.

A parent will record videos and supervise practices as we talk and watch via Zoom. During dryland sessions at home, we will analyze underwater strokes via Zoom, measure strokespecific flexibility and then teach stretches and exercises to relax muscles that are restricting breathing, shoulders, hips and legs.

A complete camp description can be found at www.somaxsports.com/swimcamp.php.

The fee for each private remote camp is $13,500 for all instruction, our custommade Powerbelts and a 2,500-yard practice laminated drill card.

Camp Dates: To Be Determined: June 20-24?? at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, N.J. We are uncertain whether the ARETE Swim Camp will launch its 24th year due to health considerations around COVID-19. Our intense instruction led by three-time USA National Team Coach Chuck Warner has helped transform more than 4,000 swimmers. For 18 consecutive years, ARETE has sold out most sessions. Our four core objectives are: Immediate Skill Improvement, Self-Esteem Development, Teamwork and “WOW Experiences.”

Each swimmer is filmed underwater and has permanent access to their own recording. A coach analyzes each stroke with each swimmer using our camp workbook. A key aspect of our camp is our “Inner Engineering Curriculum,” and we have a coach-to-swimmer ratio of 1:9 or better.

Coach Warner’s experience includes: • Four-time Big East Conference Coach of the Year •

Author of …And Then They Won Gold; Four Champions, One Gold Medal; EDDIE REESE: Coaching Swimming, Teaching Life

•

Former president of the American Swimming Coaches Association

For experienced competitive swimmers 13 and over

Camp sessions will focus on elite training in a team environment that includes technical teaching Dryland sessions focus on swimmingspecific strength and conditioning Olympic Camp: June 23-July 3

For experienced competitive swimmers 13 and over

Coaches and athletes will focus on the training, teaching and competitive aspects that make up competing at the Olympic level with daily viewing of the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials as they happen Dryland sessions will focus on swimmingspecific strength and conditioning Campers will compete at the Bolles Classic Swim Meet (entry fees/USA Swimming registration included) Speed Camp: July 5-11

For competitive swimmers 13 and over

•

Swimmers will explore the technical and physiological aspects of swimming faster

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Individual technical instruction and video sessions will be included for each camper, and practices will feature measurable and specific sets to focus on speeds for events ranging from 50 to 800 meters

•

Dryland sessions will focus on plyometric and power movements

2019 Clinic Fees: $215 all three/$85 per.

2019 Camp Fees: $590-710 commuter/$765-900 resident (early registration discounted). Ages: 7-18.

COMBINATION OPTIONS FOR AFOREMENTIONED CAMPS AVAILABLE

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CHECK OUT OUR CAMP LISTINGS ONLINE AT WWW.SWIMMINGWORLD.COM/CAMPS 30

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[ PHOTO COURTESY LARRY THORNTON ]

2021 SWIM CAMP DIRECTORY / CONTINUED FROM 30 Day Camp: June 8-17 (Day Sessions) Dates: June 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16 and 17 •

Technical one-day camp for swimmers age 12 and under

•

Camp will include teaching, training and camp activities

•

Registration is limited to 30 participants per day

Note: Be assured COVID-19 procedures are in place to mitigate risks and keep campers as safe and healthy as possible.

See display ad on page 33.

CAMP CHIKOPI Founded 1920 For Boys aged 7-17 Colette Duenkel 373 Chikopi Rd., Magnetawan, Ontario, POA 1PO Canada 705-387-3811 (In Season) • 954-566-8235 (Off Season) campchikopi@aol.com www.campchikopi.com https://www.facebook.com/CampChikopi/ https://www.instagram.com/campchikopi/

national, university and high school champions.

It was voted “one of the best boys sports camps in Ontario.” Ahmic Lake is a quiet, pristine freshwater lake. Chikopi has over 2,000 feet of waterfront, offering multiple swimming options; a 50-meter swimming pool built into the lake and three sandy beaches.

Our swimming program covers every level— beginning with our respected water safety and learn-to-swim program to our admired and highly competitive swim team. No matter which level of swimming your son is at, he will improve with our personalized program, tailor-made to fit his ability and needs.

Located on 400 acres of the Almaguin Highlands, we offer over 30 land and water sports, all of which complement our swimming program. As well as specializing in swimming, soccer and triathlon, Camp Chikopi offers unique activities such as open water swimming, wilderness mountain bike trails, competitive war canoe and canoe tripping.

Campers range from boys who are here to have fun playing sports and being outdoors to gifted athletes. We have programs to fit everyone’s needs and fulfill their summer goals.

Chikopi is extremely proud of our diversity and inclusiveness. We are very international and welcome every nationality, language and custom at Chikopi. It is an excellent opportunity for boys to be technology-free and immersed in a variety of cultures.

Our wilderness location and rustic setting add to the extraordinary experience that a summer at Chikopi provides.

THE WORLD’S FIRST SWIM CAMP FITTER AND FASTER SWIM CAMPS

Two-Week Camps: June 30-July 14 July 14-28 July 28-Aug. 11 Three-Week Camps: June 30-July 21 July 28-Aug. 18 Four-Week Camps: June 30-July 28 July 14-Aug. 18 Five-Week Camps: June 30-Aug. 4 July 14-Aug. 18 Six-Week Camps: July 30-Aug. 11 Seven-Week Camps: June 30-Aug. 18 Specialty session pre-arranged with directors Camp Chikopi is a unique mix of a traditional and competitive sports camp. Chikopi was founded in 1920 by U.S. Olympic swimming coach Matt Mann II. We are renowned for being the world’s first swim camp and the oldest competitive sports camp in the world.

Chikopi has a long history of Olympic,

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www.FitterandFaster.com When: Year-round Where: 40+ states, Canada & Bahamas Elite Clinicians: 150+ Fitter & Faster safely produced more than 100 swim camps in 40 states during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company reduced session sizes and practiced detailed safety protocols.

Fitter and Faster’s high volume of camps has enabled their clinicians to achieve an experience and competency level that is unmatched in the industry.

As a year-round organization that produces swim camps anytime and anywhere—they are able to cap their session sizes at the smallest volume of any swim camp in the world. That means more expert-level attention for your swimmer.

• Each camp has a specific, unique curriculum centered around technique and race strategy •

Your instructors are in the water, demonstrating and making corrections.

•

Each camp is an enriching experience where swimmers with professional clinicians who have competed in college, World Championships and Olympics.

•

Participants engage in conversations about technique, race strategy, balancing school

and swimming, nutrition, psychology, training, taper and other aspects of life in and out of the pool that have made your clinicians successful.

Visit FitterandFaster.com to find a swim camp or to request one near you.

See display ad on page 31.

GOLD MEDAL SWIM CAMPS AND CLINICS Courtney Hart, Head Coach Georgia Tech Swimming and Diving 404-867-3766 buzzswimming@gmail.com www.goldmedalswimcamp.com Link to registration page: https://portal.campnetwork.com/Register/ Register.php?camp_id=397055 Head coach and two-time Olympic gold medalist Courtney Hart invites you to take part in our Spring Clinics and Summer Camps.

The Gold Medal Swim Camp coaches are some of the best in the business. With two former Olympians, former national team members, experienced collegiate coaches and Georgia Tech Swimming & Diving team members, the camp promises to have some of the best technical instruction available in a camp setting.

Camp Dates: June 7-10 Session 1 July 6-9 Session 2 CAMPS: This year, our Competitive Swim Camp is a commuter-style camp that will include a water session, technical instruction, video work and dryland instruction.

Swimmers will be in the water two-plus hours each day and hear from some of the best coaches in the business.

Our camp is located at the Campus Recreation Center (CRC) at the Georgia Institute of Technology at 750 Ferst Drive.

Clinic Dates: Saturday April 17 Starts and Turns Sunday April 18 Freestyle and Backstroke Sunday April 25 Butterfly and Breaststroke Saturday May 8 Starts and Turns Sunday May 9 Freestyle and Backstroke CLINICS: Our clinics are designed to provide competitive swimming technique training for intermediate to advanced competitive swimmers. Our clinics are two-and-a-half hours long, to the point and full of information!

Get ready for the summer competition season with one of our focused clinics. Get individualized attention from our former Olympians and collegiate coaches.

Our clinic is located at the Campus Recreation Center (CRC) at the Georgia Institute of Technology at 750 Ferst Drive.

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SWIM CAMPS E X P E R I E N C E T H E E XC E L L E N C E

Elite Camp I

Elite Camp II

June 6–13

June 13–23

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JOIN THE TRADITION

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L I V E T H E PA S S I O N

For experienced competitive swimmers Camp sessions will focus on elite training in a team environment that includes technical teaching Dryland sessions focus on swimming specific strength and conditioning

Olympic Camp June 23–July 3

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Coaches and athletes will focus on the training, teaching and competitive aspects that make up competing at the Olympic level with viewing and updates from the US Olympic Trials as they happen.

Dryland sessions will focus on swimming specific strength and conditioning.

Campers will compete at the Bolles Classic Swim Meet (entry Fees/USA Swimming Registration included)

BOLLES SHARKS SWIM CAMP ADVANTAGE n

Speed Camp July 5– 11

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Swimmers will explore the technical and physiological aspects of swimming faster Individual technical instruction and video sessions will be included for each camper and practices will feature measurable and specific sets to focus on speeds for events ranging from 50 to 800 meters Dryland sessions will focus on plyometric and power movements

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Learn from Bolles coaches with Olympic swimming and coaching experience.

Live, eat, train and learn on the beautiful Bolles riverfront campus with swimmers from around the world.

Classroom sessions, Dryland training and FUN Camp activities/ outings are all included.

Transportation shuttles to/from the Jacksonville International airport are included on check-in and check-out days.

Due to COVID-19 there is a limited number of dorm rooms available.

If you and/or your family are interested in staying in a nearby hotel, we can direct you to one offering a discounted price.

Registrations will open online in December.

Be assured COVID-19 procedures are in place to mitigate risks and keep campers as safe and healthy as possible.

Combination options are available for all camps listed. Camps listed are overnight camps. Camps are for athletes 13 years and older. Must be 13 on or before final day of camp.

For information contact: Jeff Pishko, Senior Assistant Coach (904) 256-5215 | PishkoJ@Bolles.org

www.BollesSwimming.org

2021 SWIM CAMP DIRECTORY / CONTINUED FROM 32 LONGHORNS SWIM CAMP Jon Alter, Camp Director The University of Texas P.O. Box 7399 Austin, TX 78713-7399 512-475-8652 • Fax 512-232-1273 longhornswimcamp@athletics.utexas.edu www.LonghornSwimCamp.com Four one-week sessions from May 24-June 19 43 years of excellence! Headed by threetime Olympic and Texas head men’s coach Eddie Reese, 2019 World University Games and women’s coach Carol Capitani, former USA Swimming National Junior Team Director and assistant women’s coach Mitch Dalton and 2018 Team USA Pan-Pac and assistant men’s coach Wyatt Collins, the Longhorns Swim Camp is the most exciting camp in the country! Guest coaches and speakers include Olympians and national team members Ian Crocker, Josh Davis, Colleen Lanné-Cox, Garrett Weber-Gale, Townley Haas, Whitney Hedgepeth, Will Licon, Madisyn Cox and Jimmy Feigen. Open to male and female competitive swimmers, ages 8 to 18.

Camp is held at the Jamail Texas Swimming Center on the University of Texas at Austin campus, home to 23 NCAA team champions.

Facility includes an indoor 50-meter by 25yard pool, a 25-yard by 25-meter pool and a BRAND NEW 50-meter by 25-yard outdoor pool.

Four training groups based on age and ability, with a 1:7 coach/swimmer ratio in technique sessions.

Daily training includes challenging longcourse sessions Monday-Friday mornings; technique sessions Monday-Thursday afternoons and evenings, with start/turn work included. Classroom sessions on technique and race strategies held. Underwater video of each camper analyzed by a coach. Daily social activities and field trips offered. Multiple-week stays include planned weekend activities with supervision. Experienced, mature, adult staff provides 24-hour supervision. Cost: Overnight Camp $1,070; Day Camp $970. Complete camp information and online registration available at Longhornswimcamp.com.

Per NCAA rules, sport camps and clinics conducted by The University of Texas are open to all entrants. Enrollment is limited only by age, grade level, gender and capacity restrictions as specified by each camp. NCAA guidelines prohibit payment of camp expenses by a representative of The University of Texas’ athletics interest. NCAA rules also prohibit free or reduced camp admission for prospects (9th grade and above).

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MICHIGAN SWIM CAMP at The University of Michigan 8160 Valley View Drive Ypsilanti, MI 48197 734-845-8596 umswim1@gmail.com www.michiganswimcamp.com or www.camps.mgoblue.com/swimming Four sessions open to any and all entrants, limited to age and 195 campers per session in Canham Natatorium at the University of Michigan. A staff of 60+ and three instructional sessions per day ensure the individual attention necessary for significant improvement.

Coaches Mike Bottom, Dr. Josh White, Rick Bishop, Sam Wensman, Nikki Kett, Kurt Kirner and Roger Karns are directly involved in coaching and teaching campers.

All campers HD-filmed, 1:1 analyzed, and receive a written stroke analysis. Optional custom video and/or Kistler start-and-turn analysis available for an additional fee. Choose the Intensive Training Track or the Technique Development Track. World-class staff provides leadership and mentoring that encourage each swimmer to strive for excellence in and out of the pool.

While the status of summer camps for 2021 is uncertain, we will resume hosting athletic camps when it is safe to do so. Please continue to follow us on mgoblue.com for the latest updates. Stay safe and Go Blue.

NAVY SWIMMING CAMPS 2021 Bill Roberts, Camp Director Navy Swimming Camps 2021 566 Brownson Rd., Annapolis, MD 21402 410-293-5834, 410-293-3012 Fax 410-293-3811 navyswimmingcamp@usna.edu www.navyswimmingcamp.com or www.navysports.com Facebook search: Navy Swimming Camp June 15-19 Session I June 21-25 Session II Clinics: June 19 & 20 (see website for 2021 clinic offerings) Now going into our 23rd season, expect direct results by being part of the 2021 Navy Swimming Camp this summer! Our principal goal is to provide you the very best in individual instruction, evaluation, camper experience and safety/supervision. The purpose of our camp is to offer you a unique environment to learn and develop your competitive strokes, including all related starts, turns and finishes.

Navy Swimming Camp is a stroke-intensive camp. Swimming campers will receive individual attention. Additional training sessions are offered to all needing to maintain conditioning while at camp. Video analysis, dryland activities designed to improve individual fitness levels, performance, training, goal-setting, leadership presentations and the Severn River boat cruise are all part of the schedule for 2021. Also, outstanding and accomplished guest speakers

and presenters all scheduled for this year’s edition of the Navy Swimming Camp.

Campers will learn, train and reside in an amazingly safe and unique environment on the grounds of the United States Naval Academy.

Additionally, teamwork and leadership are important points of emphasis for every camper.

The Navy camp is led by an experienced camp staff while providing the very best in 24-hour supervision.

See www.navyswimmingcamp.com for greater detail, including brochure, application, daily schedule and frequently asked questions.

Cost for each camp: $725/commuter camper (ages 8-18), $775/extended day camper (ages 8-18), $825/resident camper (ages 9-18). All campers receive a NAVY swimming shirt & an exclusive NAVY backstroke flag. Go Navy!

2021 NEAL STUDD SWIM CAMP AT FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY Dan Carrington, Camp Director Florida State University 2560 Pottsdamer St. Tallahassee, FL 32310 850-644-5946 dcarrington@fsu.edu www.fsuswimcamp.com June 14-18 Session 1 June 21-25 Session 2 The Neal Studd Swim Camp at Florida State University is a camp that focuses on giving each swimmer, ages 7-18, the tools to improve his or her overall technique. The camp focuses on fitness, stroke technique, starts, turns, nutrition and mental training.

Each camper will receive specific instruction on all four strokes, turns and starts. There will be classroom sessions on these principles as well as talks on nutrition. We will also have champion swimmers come in to talk to our campers.

Our goal each session is to give your camper the tools to improve his or her swimming as well as give them a renewed love of the sport!

We love to hear from our campers each year that they have a “renewed love of the sport” and/or that they “were so excited to drop time.”

We’ve earned a reputation with the clubs of our campers returning to their teams with better technique, improved fitness and more confidence!

Additional camp information can be found at: https://www.fsuswimcamp.com/

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2021 SWIM CAMP DIRECTORY / CONTINUED FROM 34 UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO SWIMMING CAMPS Lisa Ebeling, Camp Director University of Northern Colorado 970-451-1476 Lisa.ebeling@unco.edu www.uncswimmingcamps.com June 28-July 2 Session 1 July 12-16 Session 2 UNC Swimming Camps are designed to teach athletes the technical aspects of swimming to help them achieve success at the next level. The main focus of our camp is on stroke analysis and technique for starts and turns through in-depth video review. We also provide elite high-altitude training sessions, team building activities, nutritional education, competition preparation tools and mental training.

We group athletes according to skill level, and are able to accommodate swimmers of all levels, ages 8-18.

UNC Swimming Camps are open to any and all entrants (limited only by number, age, grade level and/or gender).

Join Coaches Lisa Ebeling and Brody Lewis to learn the techniques used by NCAA and Olympic champions. Camps are filling fast, so register now to reserve your spot!

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SWIMMING CAMPS

THE RACE CLUB 2021 UPCOMING SWIM CAMPS https://theraceclub.com/swim-camps/swimcamp-details/ Swimmers will focus on all strokes, swimming starts and swimming flip turns while improving freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly swimming techniques. Learn four different types of dryland training, the science of swimming and the five disciplines of fast swimming. Develop seasonal planning, mental training and swim race strategy techniques that are sure to give you an edge over your competition.

Whether you’re a beginner, Masters or a competitive swimmer, we recommend that all campers attend every swim camp session to gain a comprehensive knowledge of our methodologies to improve your swimming technique.

The Race Club Swim Camps are unlike any other swim camps or clinics. Sign up for the sessions you’d like during a camp. We coach a morning and an afternoon session on each scheduled camp day. Morning sessions are three hours at $250 per session, and afternoon sessions are two hours long at $150 per session.

We encourage all campers to attend all eight sessions to gain the full benefit of The Race Club methodology. If you register 30+ days before the camp start date, you will receive a $200 discount off the full camp rate of $1,600.

Link to camp info: https://theraceclub.com/ swim-camps/swim-camp-details/

http://www.pittswimmingcamp.com/ Pittsburgh Swim Camp Dates: June 13-17 June 20-24 Our swim camp is designed to inspire competitive swimmers to develop their strokes and training while swimming under the guidance and experience of some of the best collegiate coaches in the country!

University of Pittsburgh head coach and 1996 Olympic gold medalist, John Hargis, along with his coaching staff will instruct campers how to develop their strokes, starts and turns. We will also instruct campers on how to maximize daily training while at camp and when they return to their home club. Each day will consist of water workouts plus a classroom session to watch and analyze swimming videos, as well as other topics such as preparing for college, sport nutrition and goal setting. Camp will also include individual stroke analysis and instruction via video review, and a low camper-to-staff ratio.

We will be taking additional measures based on guidance from our local health department and the Pitt Athletics department to limit any COVID exposure.

Campers can also purchase additional video analysis that includes all four strokes, starts, turns and underwater kick footage.

Video analysis is done by collegiate coaches and delivered to the camper digitally for unlimited playback.

Cost: $500. Additional camp information can be found at: http://www.pittswimmingcamp.com/

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SPIRE INSTITUTE & ACADEMY 440-466-1002 info@spireinstitute.org https://www.spireinstitute.org Stroke Camp Dates: June 6-10 June 13-17 June 20-24 Aug. 8-12 Start & Turn Camp Dates: May 28-30 June 11-13 June 18-20 Aug. 13-15 SPIRE offers five-day Stroke Camps and three-day Start & Turn Camps for ages 12 and older. These competitive swimming camps are either boarding or non-boarding and are for competitive swimmers.

Stroke Camps are structured around a philosophy of teaching skill acquisition and development in all four competitive strokes as well as starts and turns. Two daily water sessions are led by a world-class staff.

Workouts are structured to improve stroke technique with a combination of drills, skills and training.

Each athlete will have opportunities to enhance all phases of competitive swimming

through individualized attention from our excellent coaches and counselors. Individual stroke analysis, dryland instruction and lecture sessions will give the campers one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date training camp experiences available in the United States.

The Competitive Start & Turn Camp will only focus on starts and turns. Emphasis is about turning these often-overlooked skills into a true competitive advantage. Swimmers will receive intensive instruction on the forward and backstroke starts with safety being a priority.

Fast, legal turns for all four competitive strokes and the IM transition turns will be covered. Each athlete will receive individual attention from a staff of outstanding coaches and instructors.

See display ad on page 35.

STR SPEEDWEEK SWIM CAMPS USING SCIENCE TO IMPROVE TECHNIQUE swimmingtechnology.com Are you: • looking for a significant time drop?

• serious about improving your technique?

• hoping to reduce or eliminate shoulder pain?

• ready to compete at the next level?

• interested in extending your swimming career to college?

If you are, then an STR SpeedWeek is your best swim camp option! We are the only camp with scientific studies that confirm the effect of our technique improvement strategies.

In the morning classroom instructional session, swimmers learn specific cues to see and feel so they can swim like MONA, a biomechanical model of optimal technique.

The following pool session includes deliberate practice strategies to help the swimmers optimize technique—short swims at a slow stroke rate with lots of individual feedback.

In the afternoon, swimmers are tested in the pool and analyzed in the classroom with Aquanex—our patented system that captures synchronized underwater video and hand force data. This science-based analysis is unlike anything else in the world of swimming, giving swimmers the information they need to fine-tune their technique and make drastic time drops.

You will learn to: • Optimize the non-breathing head position • Control the base of support to minimize resistance and maximize propulsion • Benefit from elbow flexion at the beginning of the pull • Vary the arm index of coordination in freestyle • Minimize shoulder stress on the freestyle and butterfly arm entry • Reduce fluctuations in body velocity in breaststroke and butterfly • Gain extra propulsion on the freestyle push phase • Eliminate wasted arm motion in backstroke • Practice deliberately to make technique changes quickly

The STR bottom line: We guarantee we can show every swimmer how to swim faster.

SpeedWeek helps you make technique changes based on scientific data rather than opinion. Our campers have incomparable progress and learn practice strategies that help them continue to improve on return to normal training.

Each SpeedWeek is limited to 12 swimmers to ensure maximum individual attention by Dr. Rod Havriluk, world-renowned biomechanist and technique expert. Dr. Havriluk is internationally recognized for his unique approach to accelerating skill-learning and preventing shoulder injury. He is a frequent conference presenter (ASCA, ASCTA, BMS, FINA, IOC, ISCA, USAS, USMS, USSSA) and is widely published. In 2015, he was selected by Swimming World Magazine as one of the top 10 individuals making an impact on swimming.

Check our website for more info: swimmingtechnology.com

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY AGGIE SWIM CAMP Shannon Clark, Camp Director aggieswimcamp@gmail.com www.aggieswimcamp.com May 23-28 (Sunday-Friday) May 30-June 4 (Sunday-Friday) June 6-9 (Sunday-Wednesday) TECHNIQUE CAMP The Aggie Swim Camp offers super stroke technique, great counselors, a world-class, newly renovated facility and lots of fun! The Texas A&M head men’s and women’s coaches, Jay Holmes and Steve Bultman, are on deck every day to work with campers one-on-one and in small groups to maximize the camp experience.

Campers receive detailed stroke work with a highly experienced coaching staff and a low coach-to-swimmer ratio in every group. Campers also receive extensive filming with voice-over stroke instruction on all four strokes. Filming includes above water, below water, starts and turns as well as one-on-one video analysis with camp coaches daily. Take home your DVD, and watch it with your coach at home.

Outside of the pool, campers reside in a beautiful off-campus dorm and enjoy great recreational activities away from the pool as they create new friendships and meet swimmers from all over the world.

The Aggie Swim Camp is open on a firstcome, first-serve basis to any individual who

satisfies the age, grade level and/or gender requirements set forth in the registration materials.

Male and female swimmers (ages 8-18) of any ability level are welcome to attend. It is highly recommended, but not required, that swimmers have competitive experience prior to attending.

Visit our website at: www.aggieswimcamp.com to register online.

TOTAL PERFORMANCE SWIM CAMPS AT KENYON COLLEGE & CALVIN COLLEGE 740-398-4464 www.tpscamps.com Competitive Stroke Camp at Kenyon: June 13-17 Session 1: $675 overnight $510 day (space limited to 75) June 17-20 Session 2: $525 overnight $375 day (space limited to 75) June 20-24 Session 3: $675 overnight $510 day (space limited to 50) Competitive Stroke Camp at Calvin: June 13-17 Session 1: $675 overnight $510 day (space limited to 50) Elite Distance Camp at Kenyon: June 20-24: $775 overnight $610 day (space limited to 25) Elite Breaststroke Camp at Kenyon: June 20-24: $775 overnight $610 day (space limited to 25) Elite STRENGTH Camp at Kenyon (NEW CAMP OFFERING FOR AQUATICS): June 24-27: $425 overnight $310 day (space limited to 25) Elite Coaching Camp at Kenyon (NEW CAMP OFFERING FOR AQUATICS): June 25: $99/coach (space limited to 75) Elite Fly/Back Underwater Camp at Kenyon: June 27-July 1: $775 overnight $610 day (space limited to 50) Elite Sprint Camp at Kenyon: June 27-July 1: $775 overnight $610 day (space limited to 50) The Total Performance Swim Camps— hosted in 2021 at Kenyon College and Calvin College—are back! As we have since 1980, Total

Performance offers swimmers of all abilities an opportunity to learn how to take their swimming to the next level from some of the nation’s top coaches. This year, we offer two camp models: the Competitive Stroke Camp and the Elite Camp. NEW in 2021 is the firstever Total Performance Strength Camp and Coaches Camp.

COMPETITIVE STROKE CAMPS feature nationally ranked collegiate coaches, two pool sessions per day with a focus on training and technique, critique sessions in all four strokes, starts and turns with personalized takehome video analysis, special guest speakers that include Olympians and top DI coaches, educational classroom sessions and fun social activities. The Competitive Stroke Camps are directed by nationally ranked collegiate coaches and are open to all competitive swimmers, ages 10-18.

ELITE CAMPS are intensive, stroke-specific programs that provide elite swimmers, ages 13-18, with cutting-edge training and techniques in each specialty, data-driven classroom sessions and swimming-specific drylands. These camps feature nationally and internationally ranked headliners as well as top collegiate coaches.

NEW in 2021 are the Total Performance Elite Strength Camp and Elite Coaches Camp.

ELITE STRENGTH CAMP will feature top strength coaches from around the country and will focus on: 1.) How to develop swimmingspecific strength and power, and 2.) How to establish proper technique. Advanced critique sessions for all aquatic athletes.

Guest speakers will include Olympians and top coaches, educational classroom sessions and fun social activities.

ELITE COACHES CAMP will be a oneday training camp for high school and club coaches. The camp will focus on: 1.) Coach development, 2.) Team development—building a program, and 3.) Culture—establishing a healthy environment for athletes.

Kenyon College and Calvin College feature safe campuses and world-class facilities that have been rated in the Top 20 by the Princeton Review. Overnight camps provide 24-hour supervision by our staff of collegiate swimmers and coaches, providing greater opportunities for mentorship during the week.

More than most years, space is limited. Call 740-398-4464 or visit: www.tpscamps.com for more information. 

CHECK OUT OUR CAMP LISTINGS ONLINE AT

WWW.SWIMMINGWORLD.COM/CAMPS BIWEEKLY

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FEATURES & COMMENTARY

THOUGHTS WHILE SWIMMING 6500 YARDS IN BIRTHDAY SUIT

BY BRENT RUTEMILLER

T

here was literally a new moon on the horizon at 4:45AM as I stood by the edge of the pool. Dark skies, light rain, and 46F degrees of temperature surrounded me as I dipped my goggles into the water. I stood there contemplating my belly button for a minute embracing the elements.

“Brent, you really don’t have to do this,” I said to myself. “There are better ways to celebrate your birthday.”

Sixty-five hundred yards non-stop was my goal. I will let you figure out why I chose that number.

Swimming a straight 6500 is more a medicine than a workout. It is more meditative than a challenge. It is more of a celebration of life than a bodily punishment. It is more of an ageless example than a timeless feat.

I did it for many reasons. To show that age is relative to the state of mind. To show that one can thrive in the middle of a pandemic. To set an example to those younger as to what old is not. I did it for my newborn grandson, so that someday he may be inspired to challenge himself with high goals. I did it for my wife who just survived a stage two cancer scare. I did it because I can.

I count no laps when I swim, nor do I look at a pace clock. I wear no hand paddles, fins, pull buoys or listen to music. Long ago, I convinced myself that If a person can run 5 miles, why can’t I just swim 5 miles.

I also learned that if I don’t get in the water the first thing in the morning, I will not swim that day.

So with all that in mind, I started my Apple watch and Finis Smart Goggle and jumped in, feet first of course.

“Okay, let’s do a 3000 warmup, 500 swim, and then a 3000 warmdown,” was my first thought as I sped through the first 300 yards with my mind all over the place.

“Just find a rhythm. 3 cycle breathing. Long exhales. Streamline off the wall. Get into the moment. What was the meaning of my dream last night anyway? How can

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I take my mind back there? Hey, what is that on the bottom?

Is that a giant snotball? Check it out on the flipside. It’s now over by the underwater light floating about a foot off the bottom. Passed it. Circle back. There it is again, but it is moving over to the next lane. Good,” I tell myself.

Looks like one of the early masters just came on deck.

Must be 5:15ish. I must be 1700 yards into it. Most master swimmers will now start filing in to their covid pre-assigned lanes.

After every lap I glance around the pool to see who is showing up for their practice. In a knowingly poor technique fashion, I lift my head on each turn to grab a breath and to spot slow walking, parka hidden faces emerge from the forehead temperature taking station. They all are wearing masks, which is now eerily normal. This is the rain or shine crowd.

Most don’t know I have been swimming for 45 minutes. My mind studies their everyday rhythm. Some sit bundled in a chair. Others, clad only in swimwear, swing their arms in a stretching ritual that probably has not changed since their college days.

This is my version of bird watching and it is a good distraction from the constant flipping back and forth. They will be doing traditional sets. The same ones they have been doing for years, with just a slight variation of either a kick, pull, swim or perhaps a swim, pull then kick or even a pull, kick then swim on ascending or descending sendoff in a ladder sequence at an easy/hard hard/easy progression.

My mind goes back to writing those workouts just like I did 30 years ago as a national team coach for USA Swimming. As I return from my mental time travel, I see that all the masters have stopped and are now hanging on the wall waiting for their first set. From years of note taking, I know that the time is now 5:40AM. I have probably logged 3000 yards without even looking at the clock.

I lose my concentration and come back into the moment and realize that I am only halfway toward my goal. I start to question myself as I usually get out at this point. But today is special.

I slog through the water trying to get back into a rhythm. I become more aware of the present. Things that I would not be mindful of start paining me. My right shoulder twinges on recovery, so I work on extension and try to recruit different muscle groups. I now realize that my left chin has been scraping my left shoulder for an hour during breathing and I now have chafing there.

Then The Big One Hits “A cramp in my right calf. Damm! Stop pointing your toes Brent! Don’t push off the wall so hard. Straighten your foot.

Kick with the toes curled. You can’t stop,” I tell myself.

The cramp releases and then moves to my left calf. “Brent, you are dehydrated. Idiot. I told you to bring water, but Nooooooo! You did not want to stop your swim.”

The cramp stops for now and then I sense one in my thigh.

That is a deal breaker. My pace slows to “First Aid” speed.

I deal with it as I send my mind back to high school when I would get huge cramps. We called them charlie horses and I had a stable of them. My coaches did not know about hydration then. We did not have water bottles on deck.

If you told me about electrolytes back then, I would have thought you were going to shock me into swimming faster.

I don’t know how long my mind travelled in that reflectionary period. But when I came back into the present, I could see blue sky breaking through the gray clouds above as the sun was starting to rise. I knew that I was probably 5000 into my swim by now.

5,000 yards was the maximum straight swim for me in preparation for today’s swim. I was now in new waters. I began to name all the presidents backwards and forwards to take my mind off my swim. “Now did Tyler or Taylor follow Polk? How did Chester Arthur become President?” Grover who?”.

I thought about all the greater challenges that so many people have faced over time and those that are having tough circumstances now. I thought about over 500,000 people dying in the United States from covid and the families affected. I thought about the kids locked away from school.

I thought about business being closed for good and all the lost jobs. I thought about the recent story of the grandmother being allowed to hug her grandchild for the first time after her covid vaccination and how important that is to all of us. I thought about the declining years of my own mother now 94 and in skilled nursing. Her only visits are via zoom calls. I thought about all those hardships around the world and how trivial my foolish challenge of just swimming 6500 yards was at the moment. I realized that there was no distance I could swim that could parallel those that overcome real life challenges. I thought about it all and how petty my personal challenge was.

It was then that I told myself that I could peek at the clock to get this over. If the clock showed I had swum for a straight 1 hour and 45 minutes, I was probably closing in on 6000 yards. It read 6:28AM. I peeked at the Apple Watch and it said 6,025 Yards. I knew I was there. I swam 75 yards to take it up to 6,100 and then decided to swim a 400 IM in my mind. It was one of my college specialties. Mentally, I saw myself back at Eastern Kentucky swimming the first 100 fly. I transitioned from fly to back and then to breast even though I was still swimming freestyle. With 100 freestyle to go I was now mentally and physically bringing it home. I hooted and hollered to no one’s understanding as I touched the wall.

I did it because I could for all of those who can’t but should.

PS: Oh! And as far as the “In Birthday Suit” headline. Well, I want to thank John Mix and FINIS for sending me the new swimsuit for my birthday that I wore (Seen twirling in the lead image for this story. Sorry for the clickbait!) and a new set of Smart Goggles that became my hidden running clock. ◄ BIWEEKLY

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parting shot The Greensboro Aquatic Center played host to the 2021 Women's NCAA Championships.

For full coverage of the Women's & Men's NCAA Championships, see the April 7th edition of SW Biweekly, the May issue of Swimming World Magazine or visit www.swimmingworld.com/college [Photo Courtesy: NCAA Media]