SW Biweekly September 7, 2021 Issue by Swimming World Magazine

Katie McLaughlin: a unique relay legacy Amy Bilquist: a career of elegant resilience

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CONTENTS 008 WITHOUT EXPECTATIONS, CAELEB DRESSEL ENJOYS ‘EXCITING’ RETURN TO ISL by Matthew De George The appeal of the ISL in its first post-Olympics season is not about times. It is about racing and showcasing the newfound celebrity many attained in Tokyo, with the attendant monetary benefits that are few and far between in the sport. It is simply about having fun! 010 KATIE McLAUGHLIN ADDS OLYMPIC MEDAL TO STELLAR, UNIQUE RELAY LEGACY AT ALL LEVELS OF SWIMMING by David Rieder At every level of her career, Katie McLaughlin has been on a big relay in a big moment. She has helped high school relays set national records, college relays set NCAA records and Team USA relays break world records. After all of her relay history the past decades, McLaughlin finally got the chance to show her relay prowess on the Olympic stage. 013 ‘SHOCKED’ COLEMAN STEWART SETS 100 BACKSTROKE WORLD RECORD AT ISL MATCH 2 by Matthew De George Coleman Stewart was sensational for the Cali Condors in ISL’s initial meet of the season, first breaking the men’s 100 SCM backstroke American record leading off the medley relay, then setting the world record the next day in the individual event. 014 AMY BILQUIST RETIRES FROM COMPETITIVE SWIMMING, LEAVING LEGACY OF ELEGANT RESILIENCE by Dan D’Addona Plagued with injuries throughout her stellar career, Amy Bilquist, the 2019 national champion in the 100 meter backstroke, announced her retirement from competitive swimming following her latest surgery to correct a painful arm-numbing injury.

018 TORRI HUSKE, EMBARKING ON STANFORD CAREER, NAMED SWIMMING WORLD HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMER OF THE YEAR by David Rieder Torri Huske from Yorktown High School (Arlington, Va.) finished her high school career by setting national high school records in the 100 yard fly and 200 IM, and by being named Swimming World’s Female High School Swimmer of the Year for the second time (2019, 2021).

020 AIDEN HAYES IS SWIMMING WORLD’S BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL SWIMMER OF THE YEAR by Dan D’Addona Everything appears to be OK for Norman North (Okla.) High School senior Aiden Hayes. He set two national high school records (100 fly and 50 free) this past season. He competed and gained experience at the U.S. Olympic Trials as the fastest 18-year-old in the country in butterfly. And he was named Swimming World’s Male High School Swimmer of the Year.

SWIMMING WORLD BIWEEKLY SEPTEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 17 026 AFTER EXTRA YEAR, SOPHIA HERZOG READY TO ENJOY LAST PARALYMPICS by Matthew De George American Sophia Herzog, a silver medalist at the 2016 Paralympic Games and a five-time medalist (two gold, one silver, two bronze) at the 2017 World Para Swimming Championships, talks about her preparation for the recent Paralympics in Tokyo, where she earned a silver medal in the women’s 100 breaststroke SB6. 027 DAVID POPOVICI BELIEVES THE 1:42.00 WORLD RECORD OF PAUL BIEDERMANN IS NOT UNTOUCHABLE by John Lohn The world record in the men’s 200 meter freestyle is 1:42.00, posted in 2009 by Paul Biedermann, who was aided by the now-banned polyurethane super suits. Before his performance, the record was 1:43.86. Since 2010, when competition was returned from technology to pure skill, only one man has cracked 1:44. But with “time, patience and passion,” Romania’s David Popovici, 16, believes that standard can be broken. 028 FROM REDEMPTION TO SPRINT LEGEND: THE STORY OF DUTCH STAR INGE DE BRUIJN by John Lohn The 2000 Olympic Games Sydney are widely remembered for the home-nation success of Australia, which was spearheaded by teenage sensation Ian Thorpe. But the Games Down Under also served as a redemptive locale for the Netherlands’ Inge de Bruijn, who used the stage to define herself as one of the sport’s legends. 031 THE FAST AND FURIOUS FRENZY OF THE ISL—AND ITS FEASIBLE FATAL FLAWS by David Rieder All the ISL’s bluster about being special does not make a league successful. All the bravado in the world does not make the league more relevant. So despite the ISL’s early positive momentum in Season 3 and its exciting presentation of swimming, there’s still a long way to go to ensure—long-term—that this league will succeed and thrive. 034 POST-OLYMPICS RANKINGS: SWIMMING WORLD’S TOP 25 MALE SWIMMERS by David Rieder 040 HOW THEY TRAIN: TRENTON JULIAN by Michael J. Stott

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INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENTS

022 DESPITE TURBULENT TOKYO OLYMPICS, ZACH APPLE STILL PROVES HIMSELF AS DEPENDABLE RELAY STAR by Dan D’Addona In the span of 48 hours, Zach Apple experienced the full spectrum of emotions a swimmer can go through—from the most impressive and dramatic triumph that brings about Olympic gold, anchoring the U.S. men’s 400 free relay to victory, to the disappointment of failing to qualify in the 100 free and missing the podium in the 800 free relay.

Americas: Matthew De George (USA) Africa: Chaker Belhadj (TUN) Australia: Wayne Goldsmith, Ian Hanson Europe: Norbert Agh (HUN), Liz Byrnes (GBR), Camillo Cametti (ITA), Oene Rusticus (NED), Rokur Jakupsstovu (FAR) Japan: Hideki Mochizuki Middle East: Baruch “Buky” Chass, Ph.D. (ISR) South Africa: Neville Smith (RSA) South America: Jorge Aguado (ARG)

PHOTOGRAPHERS/SWTV Peter H. Bick, USA Today Sports Images, Reuters, Getty Images

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Without Expectations, Caeleb Dressel Enjoys ‘Exciting’ Return to ISL BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

aeleb Dressel didn’t know what to expect Saturday in his International Swimming League Season 3 debut.

For a swimmer who was refreshingly honest throughout his stellar run at the Tokyo Olympics, Dressel wasn’t blowing smoke. Four weeks removed from Tokyo, Dressel admitted he was out of peak racing shape, by his stratospheric standards. But he knew he wasn’t alone in that, so the calculus among his Cali Condors teammates and against his ISL competitors hardly changed. “Before the meet got going, I said, ‘guys if you think you’re out of shape, you’re probably not more out of shape than I am. The person next to you is out of shape. Everyone’s out of shape. But that doesn’t mean to say, I’m not going to race tough and I’m not going to race as hard as I can and I’m not going to execute the best as I can, I’m not going to practice technique in the practices here,’” Dressel said Sunday via a virtual mixed zone. “So I think that’s what makes this team special, a lot of us are in the same boat, but we’re not going to just bow down because we’re out of shape or we don’t feel as good as we normally do. “That’s why it’s exciting, it’s a whole new feel in the water, we execute the best we can and for how well we did, I think it just shows the background training for a lot of us on the team.” Dressel led a dominant Condors performance, the team scoring 707 points to romp to victory in ISL Match 2 over the LA Current, Tokyo Frog Kings and New York Breakers. Dressel admitted he wasn’t at his best, though when your 8

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best yields five Olympic gold medals, there’s a lot of room between that summit and the altitude at which most mortals reside. But that’s part of the appeal of ISL in its first post-Olympics season. It’s not about times, as the broadcast hammered home multiple times. It’s about racing and showcasing the newfound celebrity many attained in Tokyo, with the attendant monetary benefits that are few and far between in the sport. For Dressel, competition against the watch brings the expectations and pressure that were at times uncomfortable in Tokyo. In Naples, racing just the field instead of the entire weight of swimming history seemed an invigorating change. Though he talked in Tokyo about needing a break from swimming, missing out on ISL wasn’t really an option, as one of the sport’s most bankable stars and a leading advocate for the league in the bureaucratic headwinds it faced at formation. Even if he didn’t know how his body would react to the challenge of racing on such a short turnaround from Tokyo, his mind and unparalleled competitive streak were ready for the challenge. “I didn’t know how I was going to react to it,” Dressel said. “I was swimming in the Olympics four weeks ago, so it’s a pretty crazy situation to be in. But I kept falling back on, this is the best way in this moment, the meet I was just coming off of, to be with the Condor team. It really is special to me to be with them in the same boat, everyone getting back into shape, everyone finding their groove again. …

“I was excited to race again, which is weird. I never thought in a million years I’d be in that situation, especially coming off a meet (the Olympics) like that. I love the water. I love the sport. The stuff I think I’m still trying to manage is media, no offense guys, and just a lot of the attention. Racing is fine. I’ve never had a problem with the water.” What Dressel accomplished in the pool in ISL Match 2 is a testament to his greatness and racing fire. He won four individual events – the men’s 100 butterfly, 50 freestyle, 100 free and 100 individual medley, with a 30-point jackpot – and finished second in the 50 fly. He added fly legs on the Condors’ winning men’s medley and mixed medley relays, and anchored the winning men’s 400 free relay. He was second in the meet’s MVP standings with 93 points. Dressel’s emphasis wasn’t on times or chasing world records – he tossed a sidelong glance at that remark in the Zoom session to Coleman Stewart after his fellow Condor’s 100 back world mark. He instead focused on “being with my people,” in a team atmosphere where racing is the currency. Among the highlights was watching Sherridon Dressel turn in an outstanding meet, winning the women’s 50 and 100 backstroke and finish second to teammate Beata Nelson in the skins race. Caeleb Dressel and Sherridon had a conversation during the skins, where Caeleb said his main function was joke-telling and water-getting. And he’d prefer it if the label of

“Caeleb’s little sister” was permanently retired for Sherridon, who showed again (as she did in a stellar collegiate career at Florida) to be her own swimmer. “She rips,” Caeleb Dressel said. “It’s so exciting watching her swim, making her own name. Winning events, she won two events here, which is awesome. It’s so exciting for the girl. She’s only gotten better. I train with her, and I’m really scared of her in practice, especially in backstroke. … So exciting to watch Sherridon swim. We had two years together in college and it was awesome, and that was taken away from me once I graduated, but now I have it back in ISL and she’s doing it on a world stage, and it’s the most exciting thing to see.” For all the time Caeleb Dressel spent this summer swimming to meet external expectations, he sounds ready to take the time in ISL this fall for himself. “The goal coming here – and my coach was adamant, he spoke about this a few times – we’re just coming here to have fun,” he said. “It’s as simple as that. And I know you hear it over and over again, but even more so coming off the Olympics into this: I couldn’t be worried about times or a scoreboard right now, and I think ISL is the perfect place to go and get back into shape, get back into my groove, be around my people again.” ◄

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[ Photo Courtesy: Grace Hollars/USA Today Sports ]

Katie McLaughlin Adds Olympic Medal to Stellar, Unique Relay Legacy at All Levels of Swimming BY DAVID RIEDER

t every level of her career, Katie McLaughlin has been on a big relay in a big moment. She has helped high school relays set national records, college relays set NCAA records and Team USA relays break world records. After all of her relay history the past decades, McLaughlin finally got the chance to show her relay prowess on the Olympic stage. Like nearly every big relay swim, McLaughlin did not disappoint. In the 800 free relay, McLaughlin split a 1:55.38 to help lead the U.S. to the silver medal (7:40.73), along with Allison Schmitt, Paige Madden and Katie Ledecky — finishing behind China (7:40.33) and ahead of favored Australia (7:41.29) as all three teams broke the previous world record in the event. “It is really a great experience. I just felt so lucky to be there and race. It was the most nervous I have ever been for a race, but it was such a different kind of nervous. I felt excited and inspired nervous, not scared nervous or worried nervous,” Katie McLaughlin told Swimming World. She watched Schmitt go faster than she did in the prelims, then the same thing for Madden. “It was really amazing. It is such a blur,” McLaughlin said. “I

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remember when Schmitty finished, I was like ‘OK we are up there. … We are getting somewhere here.’ I don’t remember anything from when Paige was swimming. I wish I remember more. I remember diving in and not being able to feel like my hands. I was like, ‘I hope I am holding on to water right now.’ I remember turning my head to see where everyone was, then wondering why I looked. The emotions were just so high.” Then McLaughlin threw down her stellar split and gave way to Ledecky. “There is no better feeling than finishing my leg with Katie jumping in. That is who you want behind you,” McLaughlin said. “I saw Katie’s first 50 and I ran behind the blocks to watch the end (because you had to get out of the water at the side of the pool). The three of us were just screaming our heads off. Everything was going through our heads. ‘Are we about to win?’ ‘Are we about to beat Australia?’ Katie just whipped it out.” Another 5-10 meters and Ledecky would have likely overtaken the leaders, but the U.S. won a silver medal in the most epic relay of the Olympics. Big Relays Nothing New Katie McLaughlin has put together one of the most unique array of big time relay performances during her career. It started in high school as she led Santa Margarita to the national private school record in the 400 freestyle relay.

[ Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant/USA Today Sports ]

In 2013, she was part of the winning 800 free relay at the Junior World Championships in Dubai, teaming with Quinn Carrozza, Katie Drabot and Cierra Runge to win in a meetrecord 7:59.42. She then won the 200 butterfly (2:08.72) and teamed with future Olympians Kathleen Baker, Gunnar Bentz and Caeleb Dressel in the mixed medley relay, earning the bronze. “We didn’t win but it is kind of legendary that we were all on there,” McLaughlin said. It was far from her final time on a star-studded relay. In 2015, she was on the 800 free relay at the world championships, swimming with Missy Franklin, Leah Smith and Ledecky. “It was about 40 minutes after the 200 fly. I thought I was fatigued, but I wasn’t. I was 17. I think I went a 1:56,” she said. It helped Team USA win the gold medal in 7:45.37. She also won the silver in the mixed medley relay with Ryan Murphy, Kevin Cordes and Margo Geer. In 2017, she was part of a silver medal in the 800 free relay at the World University Games, teaming with Claire Rasmus, Drabot and Ella Eastin. In her time at Cal, McLaughlin made her mark as pulling off a rare double — twice at the NCAA championships. She is one of few swimmers in history to swim the 200 free and 100 butterfly in the same session, and despite it being just a few minutes apart, she earned All-American honors in both events as a junior and senior. But as a senior, McLaughlin’s biggest mark came on the relays as she was on three NCAA championship relays, along with teammates Abbey Weitzeil and Amy Bilquist, with the fourth swimmer different for each relay.

Then at the 2019 World Championships, she teamed with Simone Manuel, Ledecky and Melanie Margalis to win the silver in the 800 free relay with McLaughlin anchoring. She split a 1:55.36 and the U.S. went 7:41.87 to break the American record as they finished ahead of the previous world record, but finished just behind Australia (7:41.50). “I didn’t do the prelims and just kind of got thrown on the end. Katie was sick and they put her in the middle. There is just something about the 800 free relay. You have to be smart with it and I like the strategy that comes with it. That was a really fun relay. The 800 free is my favorite because the 200 is where I am comfortable,” McLaughlin said. “The 800 free was very fun and the Australians beat us and again we were under the world record. I went last on the 800 free relay. That was pretty scary racing Emma McKeon on the end, but it was pretty great. We all came together and went fast.” Then she was again on the mixed freestyle relay and swam being Nathan Adrian, an experience she said she will never forget.

The trio teamed with Maddie Murphy to break the NCAA record in the 200 free relay, then teamed with Ema Rajic to win the 400 medley relay, and the trio finished with Isabel Ivey to break the NCAA record in the 400 freestyle relay (3:06.96) in the final race of McLaughlin’s career at Cal.

“Getting to do the 100 was so much fun,” she said. “I remember laughing because Nathan was before me and he was coming in faster to the wall than anyone I have ever seen, and diving into his wave was really funny. I got to do an 100 free with Nathan.”

“As a whole team, we kind of knew what our strengths were and knew that we could give a little sneak attack and people didn’t see us coming perhaps in the team race,” McLaughlin said. “But we knew. We wanted it to be our best and that showed up in our leadership style that year and we wanted it to be the best season possible. When we did get up for the relays, we did have a job to do together. It was having that fight for our team and showing our appreciation for Cal as seniors and wanting to do it for Teri (McKeever).”

Relay Legacy Continues Now that Katie McLaughlin has added an Olympic medal to her seemingly ever-growing list of relay heroics, she is still planing on adding more to that. She will swim in the International Swimming League (ISL) this year, then decide if she wants to train for 2024.

McLaughlin wasn’t done in 2019.

“I feel like I am finding my place and my role. I am not going

If she does, she could have another huge impact on the U.S. relays. Continued >>

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[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick ]

>> Katie Ledecky, Allison Schmitt, Paige Madden & Katie McLaughlin

to go in there and get an individual medal, but I know my role and how I can help the team,” she said. “That helped me focus my Olympic training on what I can do to actually help the team.” McLaughlin, whose best event at times has been the 200 butterfly, did not swim the event at the Olympic trials, focusing on the 200 freestyle, which paid off as she made the team as part of the 800 free relay. She has been a part of relays and swam every leg of them over the years, though she prefers not to be first. “I like not all starting at the same time if that makes sense. I like diving in and having to just race what my body is telling me to race. It is hard to tell when everyone is starting at a different point,” she said. It is part of the mystique of the relays, which have a unique legacy in the U.S., something McLaughlin is extremely familiar with. For her, it is about doing it for her team and country, always giving her an extra boost of energy before diving in.

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“I would prefer to be on a team and achieving something than by myself. It is a lot cooler to be a part of something where everyone has a part and everyone is relying on you and you are relying on everyone else. That makes it more satisfying for me,” she said. “I would rather be on a podium with teammates and share that moment. I got to share that with Schmitty who has been to four Olympics and won 10 medals, and Ledecky who is the greatest. I want to help be a part of their legacy, too.” And in turn, they are a part of McLaughlin’s legacy. “Everyone is bringing their best in a relay. That is pretty cool to have to race that. If everyone is truly bringing their best, it brings the best out in us,” she said. That was the case when the U.S. team beat the previous world record and took the silver medal, with McLaughlin at her best in her first chance on the Olympic stage. “Sometimes it feels more real than others,” Katie McLaughlin said. “When we were there, little moments like putting on our outfits for opening ceremonies was a moment that it felt real. I don’t think I necessarily feel different. It has kind of set in but at the same time, but it doesn’t feel like my life has changed too much. But I am in a period where I can reflect and that is great. Little things remind me or make me feel special.” Now, one of the most special relay swimmers, with the most unique history of relay dominance, can finally feel as special as she has proved to be in the water. ◄

[ Photo Courtesy: Mike Lewis/ISL ]

‘Shocked’ Coleman Stewart Sets 100 Backstroke World Record at ISL Match 2

BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

hen Coleman Stewart got the text from Braden Holloway Saturday night, he didn’t really have a good answer. Stewart had just set the American short-course record in the men’s 100-meter backstroke, the NC State grad clocking in at 48.91 seconds off the men’s medley relay. And his Wolfpack coach had a valid question: “Dude, what just happened?” If Stewart didn’t have an answer Saturday, the Cali Condor was even more at a loss for words Sunday when he blasted the world record in the event, going 48.33 seconds. Stewart was all-around sensational for the Condors, who dominated ISL Match 2 with a league-record 707 points to get the victory over the LA Current, Tokyo Frog Kings and NY Breakers. Stewart helped the cause at every turn, including a 47-point output in the men’s backstroke skins to clinch the win. Against the clock, though, Stewart was even more impressive. The debut season of ISL in 2019 yielded three world records. That was upped to nine individual world records (in six events) in 2020, but all came in the semifinals and final. A world record in the preliminary matches is stunning; to do it in the opening match of the season is utterly gob smacking. “Short-course meters is kind of my bread-and-butter, just because I kick off the wall a lot,” Stewart said in a virtual mixed zone. “It’s a little different than short-course yards, but I’m glad to be back my wheelhouse. It was pretty cool to get that record.” No less an authority on setting world records than Caeleb Dressel offered the context on just what his fellow Condor achieved.

“This is the fastest person in history for a moment of this sport,” Dressel said. “This is a very big deal, and to do it in the first meet after coming off of Trials, where the goal of Olympic Trials is to make the team, there’s probably a little bit of a downfall there. And to take a break and get back in your groove that quick, it just speaks volumes to this team.” The swim downs the ISL and world record set last November by Energy Standard’s Kliment Kolesnikov at 48.58. The splits: Kliment Kolesnikov, Nov. 21, 2020: 23.80, 24.78 – 48.58 Coleman Stewart, Aug. 29, 2021: 23.45, 24.88 – 48.33 Stewart had gone 48.91 on Saturday to clip .01 off Matt Grevers’ American record from 2015. Sunday, the mustachioed Stewart trounced that, taking it out at a savage pace of 23.45 and holding on to make history and take a full jackpot over the field at 37 points. Like most swimmers, Stewart wasn’t sure what ISL would bring. His summer journey was quite different than most, missing out on the Olympics thanks to the depth of the American field. He was fourth in the 100 butterfly, eighth in the 100 freestyle and just 10th in the 100 back at Trials in Omaha. So to set a best time in the first go-round of the season – that wasn’t on Stewart’s radar. “I had absolutely no idea what to expect,” he said. “This was a complete shock. I was not expecting to go best times, really. Obviously super happy with it.” ◄ BIWEEKLY

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[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick ]

Amy Bilquist Retires From Competitive Swimming, Leaving Legacy of Elegant Resilience BY DAN D'ADDONA

my Bilquist wanted to give her dreams one last shot.

Despite a pain so severe that it numbed her arm, coming on the heels of a separate shoulder surgery, Bilquist decided to swim at the Olympic trials, even though she couldn’t feel her left arm in the water. Stunningly, despite all of those setbacks, she finished ninth in the 100 backstroke at trials, just one spot from making the final. It has been a long road since finishing third at the 2016 trials, one filled with huge obstacles Bilquist constantly had to overcome. That is the legacy she leaves as she retires from competitive swimming — a legacy of elegant resilience that few elite athletes have matched during the past decade. Amy Bilquist has won a U.S. national championship with a broken hand, won International Swimming League (ISL) races with a shoulder in need of repair, and won NCAA relay titles for Cal with fractures in her feet and legs, on top of other injuries. It has been a long road full of these setbacks, each that could have easily made her want to quit or not allow her to get back to the same level in the sport. But each time, Bilquist rose up to not just overcome those obstacles, but become who she wanted to be along the way — a tremendous legacy to leave

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in the sport. “I don’t really think about it as a legacy because it is my life, but I would just love if anyone could learn from me that you are dealt certain cards and there is a way to play them — learning how to play them in a way that makes you better. How are you working on yourself to come back better?” Amy Bilquist told Swimming World. “The legacy I would like to leave is to not just overcome but become. Be better. Become who you want to be and overcome everything you have to overcome to become that person.” Bilquist announced her retirement from competitive swimming after her latest surgery to correct her painful armnumbing injury. “With everything I have gone through, I don’t think I will ever be the same after this surgery. I am not retiring from the sport, but I am retiring from the elite level I have been doing it at,” Bilquist said. “I am definitely a little sad, but ultimately really proud. I didn’t achieve everything I wanted, but I know I gave it everything I had. I gave it every single ounce my body could give it. I gave it all the attention I could give it for 23 years. I gave it my social life. I gave it so much. I am happy with being able to leave the sport and still love it. For me, that is the biggest accomplishment. I have seen so many people go out hating the sport, but I still love it. I am excited to one day be able to get back in the pool and swim

laps again.” The Latest Setback and Triumph After undergoing a shoulder surgery in January, Amy Bilquist was determined to make it to trials and give her dreams one final shot.

“I think I can confidently say that I was disappointed in not making the final or that lifelong goal (of making the Olympic team), but at the same time being so proud of myself for going out there knowing it wasn’t going to be what I wanted. I gave myself the shot that I deserved and (would) be OK if I fail. For me, that was probably the thing I am most proud of, coming to terms with that and being happy and secure in that — knowing I did everything I could with the cards I had been dealt.” Then, she took some time to reflect and get her latest surgery that ultimately ended her competitive career. The surgery involved removing one of her ribs, among other things, in hopes of correcting her dislocated sternoclavicular joint — where the collarbone meets the sternum — which has led to several points of excruciating pain, coupled with numbness and nerve damage. “I found out that I dislocated my sternoclavicular joint (SC Joint). It is the opposite of the AC joint in your shoulder. This is the one in your chest. I dislocated the left side of it. What that essentially did was shift my collarbone up to my chest which began to crowd my shoulder. That put a lot of pressure on my nerves and blood vessels, which is why I was having numbness and a dead arm when I was swimming because I was actually losing blood flow and damaging those nerves,” Bilquist said. Often this is corrected by removing the collarbone, but Bilquist’s doctors decided to remove a rib in hopes of keeping her mobility and allowing her to keep an active lifestyle — even if that doesn’t include competitive swimming. “Unfortunately with the dislocation, the (typical) surgery would (take out the collarbone and) forever mean a difference

[ Photo Courtesy: Mike Lewis/ISL ]

Recovering from that surgery, then still having further issues present themselves just before trials was devastating. But instead of feeling sorry for herself, she focused on doing what she could, amazingly finishing ninth — in an insanely loaded women’s 100 backstroke field in the U.S. — in the face of pain, numbness and lack of a full preparation time in the water. of lifestyle for me. But we did the decompression surgery to cure the outlets that would help my joints set back into place naturally. They went in and did a first ribosection (taking out the top rib altogether) and remove the scalenes on the left side of my neck and got rid of the damaged nerves. That was all in hopes of getting the feeling back in the arm and fingers. Hopefully, that will help with the dislocation problem,” she said. Bilquist has already noticed a difference just days after the surgery, feeling her nerves in her fingers for the first time in months. “Normally when I lift my hand above my head, I would instantly lose sensation. … It was really exciting to feel my fingers again. I think I was so in denial of the thing because it happened right before trials and I wanted to swim fast there that I was telling myself that it wasn’t that bad. But when I was swimming the 100 back at trials, I really didn’t know where my left arm was in the water and that was really scary,” Amy Bilquist said. “Just knowing that I could finally take a step back and realize I had to do this right now. It was nice to know that I was able to have that payoff and know I sacrificed for trials, but didn’t sacrifice too much.” Journey and Lasting Legacy Amy Bilquist started swimming at age 4 and was a competitive swimmer at age 6, swimming for Ryan Kent at the Westside Silver Fins YMCA in Arizona, later swimming for Matt Rankin in the senior group. It was then on to Scottsdale for a six-month stay, training with Kevin Zacher and Bob Platt before moving from Arizona to Indiana and joining Carmel, led by Chris Plumb and Ian Continued >>

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Murray, becoming a U.S. national team member and helping Carmel High School continue its streak of state championships.

[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick ]

She earned a scholarship to swim for Teri McKeever at Cal and after one year in Berkeley, had a stellar, but heartbreaking Olympic trials in 2016. She finished third in the 100 backstroke behind Olivia Smoliga and future Cal teammate Kathleen Baker, missing the team by eight hundredths of a second after overtaking legends Missy Franklin and Natalie Coughlin in the race. She also finished fourth in the 200 backstroke, just four tenths of a second away from the second spot that Franklin earned. Bilquist went on to Cal and became an NCAA champion on five relays for the Golden Bears.

[ Photo Courtesy: Amy Bilquist ]

After battling several injuries, she became a U.S. national champion in the 100 backstroke in 2019 despite a broken hand, and then was one of the pioneers of professional swimming, signing with Arena and joining the ISL where she swam for the LA Current, then for the DC Trident. “There are so many different moments that could have been the best. The best team moment was definitely 2019 NCAAs. That was just a feeling that was never replicated and I don’t think could ever be replicated again,” she said. But Bilquist’s lasting legacy has nothing to do with her times or specific performances in the water, though they have been impressive. It is her resilience in the face of constant painful obstacles that is part of that legacy, as well as her championing of positive body image. It is something the 6-foot-3 Bilquist has dealt with her entire career, first as a tall, skinny kid, then adding muscles and curves as she grew into one of the world’s elite swimmers. “Growing up, when I started to get teased, even by coaches from colleges I wanted to go to. For me, that was such a slap in the face and a rude awakening that I wasn’t just being judged on my times, I was being judged by what I looked like. I think every young athlete is going to reach a point in their life where they are going to second-guess what they look like and as hard as that is, you have to know if this body is helping you become who you want to become. Hopefully the answer is always yes. If people are judging your body, 16

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honestly, you are probably doing something right,” Amy Bilquist said. “People are going to say things are good or bad your whole life. Bodies aren’t good or bad. They are bodies and they are all unique. In order to become the best version of who you want to be, you have to fuel that body and believe in that body.” That is what Bilquist wants to pass on to the next generation. “Being able to come to terms and do those things is what is going to make you the best. My body has changed so much. I am a tall, muscular woman, but at the same time, I have had a lot of scars put on that body and I have been able to cope with those at well. I have one now almost like a necklace,” she said. “But that is not ugly, it is beautiful because it shows a time where I was able to push myself to a point I didn’t think I could be pushed — and I was able to do what I wanted with my body one last time.” ◄

[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick ]

Torri Huske, Embarking on Stanford Career, Named Swimming World High School Swimmer of the Year BY DAVID RIEDER

Torri Huske finished her high school career by setting national high school records in the 100-yard fly and 200 IM, and by being named Swimming World’s Female High School Swimmer of the Year for the second time (2019, 2021). The 18-year-old senior from Yorktown High School (Arlington, Va.) will be moving on to Stanford in the fall, but first, she set an American record in the 100-meter fly at U.S. Trials that earned her a trip to Tokyo to compete in her first Olympics, where she captured a silver medal.

n the 15 minutes or so before any race, Torri Huske prefers not to speak with anyone. The 18-year-old from Yorktown High School and the Arlington Aquatic Club in Virginia might be a newer face on the elite swimming scene, but as she has steadily built to this level, she has refined the approach to racing that works for her. Some swimmers are social beings in the immediate leadup to the race to distract themselves from nerves and pressure, but Huske embraces those feelings, knowing she can channel them into adrenaline. “I just like sitting on the floor and stretching and getting in my own head and getting in my own mindset,” she said. “Sometimes I’ll think about the race. I’ll think about how I’m feeling, like emotionally. It’s just feeling everything that’s around you and the energy. Sometimes, there’s this tension. Everyone’s really anxious before their swim, and I feel like it’s just kind of experiencing the moment, shaking out my body, making sure everything feels good and that I’m loose and stretched out and making sure that I’m warm and that I’m physically and mentally ready.”

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In the past few months, the United States and the world have gotten the chance to see Huske display her physical talents and mental fortitude on the sport’s grandest stages, the Olympic Trials and the Olympics, but before that, she was producing some of the best-ever performances in high school swimming. She broke the national public school record in the 100-yard fly as a sophomore, then as a junior and then a third time her senior year at the high school regional meet. That set her up for an amazing swan song for her high school swimming career. At the Virginia 6A championships in late February, Huske swam a 1:53.73 in the 200-yard IM, breaking a 12-year-old national record of 1:53.82 held by Dagny Knutson. Shortly after, she won the 100 fly in 49.95, breaking not only her own public school record, but the overall national high school record held by Claire Curzan. Just six years after the first overall woman broke 50 seconds in the 100 fly, Huske became the first to do so in a high school swimming competition. Those two record-breaking performances were good enough for Huske to be named Swimming World’s Female High School Swimmer of the Year. “I have been chasing after that for so long,” Huske said of her 49-second effort. “It was kind of just a relief. I had been 50-point so many times, and it was really frustrating, just because I knew I was capable of going under 50, and I had been so close so many times. It was just really nice to finally

look at the clock and see that.” Huske almost broke a third national public school record that day, with her 200 free relay leadoff split of 21.65 coming up just one hundredth short of Abbey Weitzeil’s record. But much more significant for Huske was leading Yorktown to a state championship, the first in her high school career. Yorktown finished with 236 points to defeat runner-up Battlefield by 27. “We’ve been so close to getting first as a team these past three years,” Huske said. “My freshman year, I think we were second. My sophomore year, I think we got third as a team, but we were closer in points than we were the previous year. And then last year, we got second again. We’ve been really trying hard. I feel like we were working for this so long as a team, so it was really nice that it finally happened, especially for my senior year. It kind of came together. It all felt complete.” But even as Huske excelled in her high school competitions this year, the format did not allow her to show just how good she is across a bunch of events. Adding in her club competitions for the Arlington Aquatic Club, Huske finished the short course season with times that would have placed her in the top three at the NCAA Championships in four events— the 200 IM (1:53.73), 50 free (21.39), 100 fly (49.70) and 200 free (1:43.23) — and her times in the 100 free (47.60) and 200 fly (1:53.71) are also elite. Those times will make her immediately one of the best collegiate swimmers in the country when she heads west to Stanford University this fall, and she is sure to be a hugely valuable performer for the Cardinal, looking to return to the top of the national heap after capturing national titles in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Next Step: Becoming an Olympian Huske had clinched the title of top high school swimmer in the country by the end of the spring, but it turns out that was just a small preview of what she would accomplish in 2021. In eight days at the U.S. Olympic Trials, perhaps the most extraordinary performance came from the teenager from Arlington, Va., competing in her first Trials. The meet took place in a pool placed in the middle of an enormous basketball arena, and while she watched the Wave I meet on television, Huske figured she might be intimidated by the setup. But upon arrival, she saw the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb. as “another pool, a little fancier than most,” and the meet did not faze her. Before each race, Huske walked out from the ready room to the blocks quicker than almost any athlete, completely zeroed-in on the moment and the race ahead. She stuck to her pre-race approach, soaked in the energy of Trials and thrived.

As Huske had exploded through her short course performances, her improvement in long course turned her into a contender to qualify for an Olympics. In December 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Huske won the 100-meter fly at the U.S. Open in December 2019, coming out of Lane 1 to swim a 57.48 to beat 2016 Olympian Kelsi Dahlia by a half-second. That effort showed Huske that, yes, she could be an Olympian one day. One weekend racing fellow teenager Claire Curzan in Cary, N.C., in April really accentuated the hype around Huske, as she became just the fourth American to break 57 in the long course 100 butterfly and posted some really swift times in the sprint freestyle events, but no one foresaw the effort Huske had in store for the 100 fly in Omaha. She ended up breaking the 100 fly American record, a nineyear-old mark belonging to 2012 Olympic gold medalist Dana Vollmer, first with a 55.78 in the semifinals and then a 55.66 in the final, more than a second faster than her previous lifetime best. Huske took both races out under world-record pace at the halfway point and showed off her immense power and skill as she crushed the field of her compatriots to qualify for her first Olympics. Huske was careful not to expect to make the team, but she knew that a 55-second effort could be in store if all went well on the day. “I know anyone can have a good race or a bad race, and I can only control myself, and I don’t know how fast you’re going to swim. Obviously, I felt like I had an outside shot,” Huske said. “The field I raced was so amazing, and there were so many amazing swimmers who are so renowned. You never can really control other people, so I feel like I didn’t really expect to make the team, but I was hopeful that I would.” After that, Huske went on to finish fourth in the 100 fly at the Tokyo Olympics, missing out on an individual medal by just one hundredth, and then she helped the United States win Olympic silver in the women’s 400 medley relay. Shortly after the Olympics, Huske inked an agreenement with TYR that made her one of the first college swimmers to sign an endorsement deal. Huske credited her huge 2021 improvement to detailed focus on her open turns, intense strength training and simply having an extra year of growth and preparation when the Olympics were delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But plenty of swimmers show up to Trials physically primed to swim fast. Huske succeeded and excelled because she conquered one of the world’s most high-pressured swim meets, one that derails so many top-notch athletes with seeming ease. ◄ BIWEEKLY

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[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick ]

Aiden Hayes is Swimming World’s Boys High School Swimmer of the Year BY DAN D'ADDONA

iden Hayes was an under-the-radar swimmer coming from an under-the-radar state. But after a stellar high school season and spot at the Olympic Trials, he is putting himself and the state of Oklahoma on the map. It has been quite a year for the teen from Norman High School. Hayes set two national high school records at the Oklahoma state championships and was selected as Swimming World’s Boys High School Swimmer of the Year. “It is a really big deal. Oklahoma doesn’t get the recognition in swimming. It is definitely not the biggest sport, or even top five. But it has started to pick up around the state. It started a few years ago and now Patrick Callan follows that up as one of two Olympians from Oklahoma. It is two Olympics in a row we put someone on the Olympic team. To bring that experience back to Oklahoma is huge. I looked up to Patrick when I was younger and to bring that fast swimming to Oklahoma has elevated our sport as a whole,” Aiden Hayes said. “It was a really big deal. I was obviously excited about it. To be up there with Joseph Schooling, Ryan Hoffer and Caeleb Dressel is pretty awesome. I am really excited about that.” So was Sooner Swim Club coach Kent Nicholson.

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“Oklahoma swimming has always had some top-level swimmers. We have some D-I swimmers but what Oklahoma struggles with is the depth. You will have 2-3 fast swimmers in an event then it will really drop off,” Nicholson said. “But you have these kids who swim super fast and the younger kids are responding to that. We have some fast kids coming up in Oklahoma right now. Aiden was the Oklahoma Athlete of the Year, so swimmers being recognized as the top athlete in the state is a big deal.” On Feb. 25, Hayes took down a pair of national high school records, first lowering the standard in the 50-yard freestyle, and then breaking the record in the 100-yard butterfly. In the 50 free, Hayes produced a winning time of 19.20, which was quick enough to better the 19.24 that Matt Brownstead posted at last year’s Pennsylvania 3A Championships. Following the 50 freestyle, Hayes took down Schooling’s 2013 record in the 100 fly. Touching the wall in 45.47, Hayes clipped the 45.52 that Schooling managed during his days at the Bolles School in Florida. A little more than three years after Schooling set the high school record, he claimed gold in the 100 fly at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. In addition to breaking Schooling’s overall high school record, Hayes cracked the public-school standard of 45.88, set in 2019 by University of Georgia freshman Luca Urlando.

“His 50 free and 100 fly were back to back, normally 15 minute break plus awards, but because of COVID, there was no time to think and he was swimming the 100 fly 12 minutes later. It was an interesting and fun experience. Those national records, I never envisioned seeing something like that,” Nicholson said.

“It was challenging. Our city of Norman did a really good job of supporting us and allowing us an opportunity to swim outdoors. We were able to get in there early with one kid in a lane. We weren’t going to have a pool to go to in September but the city allowed us to swim outdoors until mid-October,” Nicholson said. “One hurdle that we had was we needed one more trials cut. We had a really hard time getting to a longcourse meet to get that last trials cut. We got caught up in a COVID protocol so we couldn’t. But he got to right after New Years. We were then able to not worry about trials for a couple months and we focused on short course and he came into the meet hot.” Hayes has enjoyed a stellar high school career. In 2019, Hayes set a state record in the 50 free after sprinting past the 21-second marker for a final time of 20.09 to break Jake Pearce’s old 6A mark of 20.65. The sophomore earned another gold medal in the 100 back with yet another recordbreaking time of 47.28, taking down David Plummer’s 6A record of 48.42 set back in 2004. “The year started off well. We were able to train pretty frequently. We were ready to go and didn’t need much of a break. We were able to spend a majority of the year working hard. It wasn’t two months of this then two months of that,” Aiden Hayes said. “I felt like we were ready earlier in the year than usual. We did a lot of racing leading up to state. We had lots of opportunities to clean up the stroke and get the race strategy down. Then you had done the preparation. It wasn’t a guessing game, it was just a performance. The meet itself was a lot of fun, not just the records, but getting to race strong my senior year to close it out meant a lot. We were able to taper and go really fast at the high school state meet for the first time in my career.” It wasn’t his only strong meet. He also finished second at Speed Winter Juniors in Seattle in the 100 butterfly and won a TYR Pro Swim Series event. Hayes held state record marks in the 50 freestyle (20.09), 100 backstroke (47.28) and 100 butterfly (46.79) and has been a part of three state-record setting relay teams in the 200 freestyle, 200 medley and 400 freestyle — all before his senior state meet in February. He only got faster from there. Hayes, swimming for Sooner Swim Club, finished 17th in

[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick ]

And Aiden Hayes did this all during a pandemic.

the 100 butterfly at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, in June. He also took 21st in the 200 freestyle and 57th in the 50 freestyle at the Wave II trials. His times are likely to join the junior national team. “Shifting from high school state to trials, we didn’t take any time off. We had our cuts under our belts, so we were able to go right into long-course training. Our focus was 200 fly and 100 fly. It did get a little mentally exhausting that last month. I was in the best shape of my life, but it got a little mentally tiring,” Aiden Hayes said. “I think the meet went really well. It wasn’t super killer performances like the high school records, but it was my highest national meet I have ever competed at. I placed just outside of the B final in both butterfly events and was the top 18-year-old in the country by a second or so. Being able to get that trials experience and racing like that will prepare me for junior worlds and any big meets coming after that. There is no better meet to race at in the U.S.” Nicholson said his trials experience will be pivotal for Hayes’ future. “The meet was successful. We were excited to be there. You have some grown men with all sorts of experience. Racing those big boys is a serious challenge and I though Aiden did a great job stepping up and racing them,” he said. Aiden Hayes will join NC State next year and likely be an immediate point-scorer for the Wolfpack. “I have appreciated the process more this year. As a younger swimmer, it is harder to appreciated meets and training,” Hayes said. “We figured out what we really needed to do to be ready for trials and hopefully we can put that into effect and take my swimming to the next level.” ◄ BIWEEKLY

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[ Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports ]

Despite Turbulent Tokyo Olympics, Zach Apple Still Proves Himself as Dependable Relay Star BY DAN D'ADDONA

n the span of 48 hours, Zach Apple experienced the full spectrum of emotions a swimmer can go through, from the most impressive and dramatic triumph that brings about Olympic gold to the most gut-wrenching disappointment conceivable. The 24-year-old from Trenton, Ohio, had spent years establishing himself as a regular on U.S. international teams, but his first Olympics saw him take on more highprofile roles than ever before. Beginning with his first splash in an Olympic final, the stakes were raised.

switched the order around to have Ryan Lochte go last, which backfired. Other than that, every single U.S. men’s 400 free relay at an Olympics, World Championships or Pan Pacific Championships in the 21st century has had either Jason Lezak or Nathan Adrian on the anchor leg (and most of the medley relays, too).

Of course, Apple was already an experienced veteran, a 24-year-old who swam on relay squads at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships and earned five medals. His first finals relay appearance at the 2019 World Championships saw him split 46.86, the quickest mark in the race, to extend the American lead and propel the squad toward a gold medal. He was also a member of the bronze-medal-winning 800 free relay finals squad.

Because the Americans only had five 100 freestylers on the team instead of the usual six, Apple got a warmup swim in the 400 free relay prelims. Then, in the final, he stepped onto the block with Dressel and Blake Pieroni having finished their legs, Bowe Becker coming to the wall and the American men clinging to a narrow lead over Italy.

But in 2021’s 400 free relay, Apple would inherit the position of anchor. He had finished second in the 100 free at Olympic Trials behind Caeleb Dressel, his 47.72 four tenths clear of the next-best swimmer, and his sterling efforts from the 2019 Worlds supported the thought that Apple could hold his own in high-pressure spots. But consider the history of that relay anchor spot this century: in 2000, Gary Hall Jr. was still the man in the sprint events, and he anchored at the Olympics, and at the 2012 Games, the U.S. coaches 22

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“It’s definitely a coveted spot,” Apple said. “It’s an honor. It’s insane.”

“Bowe was coming in, and he was pulling away from the pack, and I was like, ‘Dude.’ I was looking at my left and right, and I was kind of like, ‘These guys definitely aren’t beating me. We’re probably going to win this race,’” Apple recalled. His tight relay exchange (0.05 takeover time) caused a few nervous heartbeats, but Apple took a two-tenth lead and just crushed the field. He split 46.69, this time the second-best in the field, to give the Americans a commanding lead — and a gold medal.

[ Photo Courtesy: Robert Hanashiro/USA Today Sports ]

“It’s hard to put into words,” Apple said of receiving his first gold medal. “It’s something that you think about. Kids think about it for 15, 20 years and never get to stand on that podium and hear that national anthem. So it’s something that’s super, super special. There’s this music that they play during the walk-out and stuff, and it just makes you want to get emotional. And then you stand up on the podium, and you watch the flags go up, and you’re like, ‘There’s no way this is real. This is insane.’ It’s so wild. It’s a dream come true.”

>> Zach Apple (in pool) celebrates with Caeleb Dressel, Blake Pieroni and Bowe Becker after the U.S. men won Olympic gold in the 400 free relay

From Olympic Glory to Crushing Letdown In Tokyo, that dramatic-as-always 400 free relay win, the signature moment of Apple’s career to that point, was on Monday morning. But unlike some first-time gold-medal winners on that relay in past Olympics, Apple had a lot more racing responsibilities to go, so he would not have long to bask in the glory. Tuesday evening, he was scheduled to return to the pool for two races, the prelims of the 100 free and the 800 free relay. He had finished fifth in the 200 free at Olympic Trials to qualify as a relay alternate. But a group of U.S. coaches, including men’s head coach Dave Durden and assistant coach Ray Looze, Apple’s coach at Indiana, told Apple that he could go straight to the finals relay without swimming in the prelims.

“I told him that if they felt comfortable, then I was comfortable being in that spot,” Apple said. “I have been on that relay at World Championships before. It’s not new to me.” But before he got to the relay, he had a setback in the individual 100 free. Competing in the second semifinal, Apple swam a time of 48.04, not great by his standards but still quick enough to make most any international final in history. Not this time, though. But quickly, Apple had to reset and refocus, with the 800 free relay just an hour and a half away. He was set to handle the third leg, with Kieran Smith leading off, Drew Kibler going second and Townley Haas on the anchor leg. While the Americans had been at least co-favorites in the 400 free relay, they were underdogs in the 800. Great Britain was the clear top choice for gold, while the four-time defending gold medalist U.S. men were just hoping to get on the podium. As it turned out, those efforts could not have gotten off to a better start as Smith led off in 1:44.74, a lifetime best,

and then Kibler split an impressive 1:45.54. The Americans were in second place. Then Apple dove in and looked great… for 150 meters. But on his last length, Apple had nothing left. His split was a brutal 29.00, and he went from first place to fifth. His split was 1:47.31, nowhere close to his 1:46.45 flat-start swim from Trials. Haas put together an impressive anchor leg, but he could not catch Britain, Russia or Australia. The Americans missed the podium in an Olympic relay for the first time ever. Understandably, Apple was gutted. “Having a bit of time to reflect on it,” he said, “I think I let the emotional high of the 400 free relay extend for 36 hours after the race ended. In the moment, I didn’t realize that, but it’s hard.” Proving He Was “That Guy” Outside of his international successes with the U.S. team, Apple might be most associated with the two colleges he has attended, Auburn (for three years) and Indiana (for one year plus postgrad). But Apple is originally from Trenton, Ohio, a town of only 13,000 people about 30 miles north of Cincinnati. And in Trenton, Apple is a hero, regardless of whether one of his relay swims in Tokyo was not his best effort. “I don’t know if anyone knows that I swam on Wednesday,” Apple said. Businesses throughout Trenton painted their windows to support Apple. An ice cream shop created a special dessert called the “Zapple.” Trenton believed in Apple. So did his U.S. teammates and coaches, even after the 800 free relay disappointment “The team and the coaches were just incredible after that,” Apple said. “They were amazing. The coaching staff and everybody didn’t skip a beat, didn’t leave me to be in my Continued >>

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[ Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports ]

to be Olympic champions after a meeting with Durden and national team managing director Lindsay Mintenko. “Dave read us off the splits from the world record relay. It was 52.3, 58.5, 49.7 and 46.8, I think. We went down the line, and every single one of us guys who is sitting there had already been faster at the meet,” Apple said. “We were like, ‘There’s no reason we should not break this world record.’ All four of us have been there. We all are capable. Dave’s big message in that was that we didn’t need to do anything special to win that race. We just need to do what we can do, what we were capable of.” >> The U.S. men finished a disappointing fourth place in the 800 free relay

corner. People are interacting with me and trying to make sure to get me out of my head. Obviously, I was in a pretty bad spot. I just felt… yeah, you know. The guys were awesome. No one was coming up to me and shaming me or anything, even though I felt like it could have been warranted. They were awesome. The coaching staff was the same way.” Apple still had one race left on his program, the 400 medley relay. Dressel was a faster option for the 100 freestyle split, but there was never any doubt Dressel would handle the fly leg. So they needed Apple for free, and even after his poor 800 free relay, Durden and Looze told Apple that they still wanted him for the anchor leg, which Apple called “a huge confidence boost, that they still had trust in me and what I could do.” Apple told the coaches, “I’m still that guy that went 46.6. Nothing has changed in the past six days or whatever that’s going to make me not do that again.” He added, “It was definitely one where I felt like I had something to prove, especially coming off at 800 free relay.” The Americans had never lost a 400 medley relay at the Olympics, but this one would be a tough task. Two years earlier at the World Championships, Duncan Scott had recorded the second-fastest relay split in history to pass the Americans and win a shocking gold medal. The British were poised to be really tough again, with superstar breaststroker Adam Peaty and strong butterflyer James Guy also featured on their squad. And the Americans had barely made the final, qualifying seventh after a rough prelims outing. So the group of Ryan Murphy, Michael Andrew, Dressel and Apple would swim in lane one, but they realized the night before that they didn’t need any superhuman performances 24

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They did just that. Dressel gave Apple the lead, and rather than surrendering any ground to Scott, he extended the margin. He split 46.95 to bring the U.S. home for gold in 3:26.78, taking down a 12-year-old suit-aided world record. It was actually the first men’s long course relay world record to be broken since 2009. “I touched the wall, and Ryan is standing on the side of the pool, right next to the blocks, going nuts,” Apple recalled. “I celebrate a little bit in the water, and he’s like, ‘Dude, get up here. We’re celebrating together.’ I hopped out of the water, and I barely can stand up. But that was awesome.” It was Apple’s second gold medal, a redemption swim for sure, but also a point made. Apple has no intention of surrendering his newly-clinched spot as the trusted relay anchor, and certainly, he has earned the right to go into the abbreviated leadup to the 2024 Olympics as the incumbent in that position, at least in the 100 free. The 200, that remains to be seen how things develop, but there will undoubtedly be some motivation for Apple to try to show his Tokyo relay split is not the peak of his capabilities. But now, as he looks back on his Olympics, Apple realizes that he has already secured a spot in swimming history, permanently, as a swimmer who anchored a gold-medalwinning relay. Despite what happened on the 800 free relay and whatever his future holds in swimming, Apple will be immortalized on YouTube, just like Lezak and Adrian and so many other legends of past Games. “I have watched every Olympic race for the past two or three Olympics, but it’s weird that in a few years, somebody’s going to be going back and watching that race and that’s me. I’m going to be the one the people are watching, and that’s strange. It’s a huge honor.” ◄

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nothing, so just mentally preparing myself to go for another year was hard.”

[ Photo Courtesy: Team USA ]

The plan for 2020 had been to devote the whole year to the Paralympics – a singular, post-graduate focus, then time to revel in whatever she accomplished in Tokyo before finding the next step. Herzog is approaching 2021 the same way, though the suspended animation of her career is uncomfortable at times. In free moments during the spring of 2020, for instance, when she could have been applying for jobs, she had to stop herself, since her summer was a little too booked for job interviews.

After Extra Year, Sophia Herzog Ready to Enjoy Last Paralympics BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

ophia Herzog’s plan didn’t involve the Arkansas River. It didn’t involve a pandemic puppy or an extra year of putting her post-swimming career on hold. But there the 2016 Paralympic silver medalist was in the spring of 2020 anyway. She’d just finished her degree in business communications in the fall of 2019, studying remotely with DeVry University from her home in Colorado. She was ready for one more go at the Paralympics, then the process of starting a career at age 23. The COVID-19 pandemic changed all that. But a year later, Herzog is ready for her final run at the Paralympics in Tokyo, a journey with some unfinished business and an imperative, given all that the last year has been, to enjoy the journey. Herzog labored over the decision to soldier on. She’d won a silver medal in the S6 100 breaststroke in Rio to go with sixth place in the 200 individual medley. She won a pair of golds at the 2017 World Championships and finaled in three events, the highest finish a fourth place in the 100 breast, at Worlds in 2019. The 2020 Tokyo Paralympics was going to be Herzog’s final Games. But whether or not she’d stick it out to 2021 took time to decide. “I gave myself a little bit of time to figure out if I was going to go for this extra year,” Herzog said in July, after Paralympic Trials. “It got a little uncomfortable when Tokyo’s population didn’t want to have the Games, so there was still talks of it not happening. If they were going to postpone it again, if this whole year was going to be that I put off this retirement for

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Instead, she’s resolved to take the year for herself, with time after Tokyo to spend with her partner, Nick, and their puppy, Odie. Odie played a role in Herzog’s fitness routine. With pools shut down in the spring of 2020, the ability to take the rambunctious black lab, adopted in June 2020, out on long walks or bike rides was valuable cross training, mentally and physically. Herzog felt pretty lucky in her training availability. A native of Fairplay, Colorado, and graduate of South Park High School (yes, that South Park), she swam at a pool in Salida, where she now lives, about an hour from her hometown. Training time didn’t return to consistent hours until the fall of 2020, but since then, it has been pretty steady, enough that Herzog didn’t resort to what many other Paralympians have in relocating to the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to find stable pool time. She augmented that work where she could with long hikes and cycling, to keep her mind fresh and occupied as much as anything during 2020. “It’s just the mental strength mostly, and also just being so grateful because there’s so many people that I didn’t realize needed to keep the pool open,” she said. “Being grateful now for the opportunity to swim every single day, that is definitely eye-opening.” “This is going to be my last Games, and it’s not something I can come back to in 10 years,” she said. “It’s not a profession I can revisit, so just enjoying it and soaking it all in and being proud of my performances. … The veterans in Rio kept saying to journal through the Games and I kind of blew it off. But this time I’m definitely going to because in 20 years, I’d love to open that book and see little things that I’ll forget about in the moment and remember that then.” ◄

For full coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, please visit

www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/meet/2020-tokyo-paralympic-games

[ Photo Courtesy: DeepBlueMedia ]

David Popovici Believes the 1:42.00 World Record of Paul Biedermann Is Not Untouchable BY JOHN LOHN

Prior to the introduction of the super suits, the world record in the event was held by Michael Phelps, who clocked in at 1:43.86 at the 2007 World Championships. The time by Phelps bumped Australian legend Ian Thorpe and his 1:44.06 from the record book. It was an epic effort by Phelps, who was preparing for his pursuit of eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. It took Phelps from 2003 to 2007 to go from 1:46 to sub-1:44, with Biedermann needing only 11 months to go from 1:46 to 1:42-flat on the strength of the suits.

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While there is a long way to go before anyone challenges Biedermann’s world record, at least one athlete believes that standard can be broken. In his recent interview on the Inside With Brett Hawke Podcast, Romanian teenager David Popovici addressed the record, while demonstrating an impressive knowledge of the sport.

Popovici’s confidence must be appreciated as he is not limiting himself and is thinking big about the future. His discussion of the 200 freestyle world record can be found at the 50-minute mark of the interview with Hawke, the twotime Australian Olympian whose podcast has generated elite interviews with major names in the sport. ◄

Since 2010, when the super suits were banned and competition was returned from technology to pure skill, only one man has cracked the 1:44 barrier. Frenchman Yannick Agnel accomplished the feat at the 2012 Olympics in London, as his swim of 1:43.14 landed him the gold medal in dominant fashion.

200. I think it’s doable. But, again, we need some time. We need, and I have said it before, and I really like the expression. We need time, patience and passion, and we have them all. Me and my team.”

n argument can be made that the world record in the 200-meter freestyle is the most-untouchable on the books. The mark stands at 1:42.00, posted by Germany’s Paul Biedermann during the 2009 World Championships in Rome, a competition that saw more than 40 world records go down as technology in the form of polyurethane suits ruled the day.

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The 16-year-old Popovici was fourth in the 200 freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics, his swim of 1:44.68 missing the bronze medal by just .02. Also a rising star in the 100 freestyle, where he has been 47.30, Popovici has a bright future that could include record outings. It would be iconic if he tracked down Biedermann. “It is very hard. I am not saying that (it’s not),” Popovici said. “I, personally, think it’s the hardest world record out of all the events. Maybe Phelps’ 400 I.M. comes near Biedermann’s

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relay bronze medal from the World Championships. The next year, she was eighth in the 50 freestyle and ninth in the 100 butterfly at the Olympics in Barcelona. Although de Bruijn did not reach the podium in her Olympic debut, she did enough to suggest that big days were ahead in the sprint and fly. And with another European medal in the 50 free in 1993, the Dutchwoman seemed on pace. But on the road to the Centennial Olympics, de Bruijn lost the fire that is necessary to compete at the highest level. It might have been the best thing for her career. A BENEFICIAL BREAK De Bruijn managed to qualify for the Atlanta Games, but her waning desire led coach Jacco Verhaeren to dismiss her from the National Team roster. It wasn’t an easy decision for Verhaeren to make, as de Bruijn was also his girlfriend. But it was the right call, and one that – eventually – provided a major boost to de Bruijn’s career.

[ Photo Courtesy: Noriko Concept Images ]

“My break in 1996 was good for me,” de Bruijn said. “I didn’t swim for a year. There was no point going to the Olympics because I wouldn’t have enjoyed myself. I wasn’t having fun. After that, I put in the hard work, and I used my talent totally. I just got faster and faster.”

From Redemption to Sprint Legend: The Story of Dutch Star Inge de Bruijn BY JOHN LOHN

The 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney are widely remembered for the home-nation success of Australia, which was spearheaded by teenage sensation Ian Thorpe. But the Games Down Under also served as a redemptive locale for the Netherlands’ Inge de Bruijn, who used the stage to define herself as one of the sport’s legends.

In 1997, de Bruijn shifted her training base to the United States, where she started to work with Paul Bergen. In Bergen, de Bruijn found a mentor who had elite credentials, specifically as the former coach to Tracy Caulkins, and was able to bring out the best in the Dutch lady. In short time, the fire that once burned returned. By the 1998 World Championships, de Bruijn was a finalist in the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly, and she earned three medals at the 1999 European Championships – gold in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly, and silver in the 100 freestyle. A year shy of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, de Bruijn had established herself as a major force. “What has really made a big difference to my fitness is the dryland training (Bergen) has introduced into my program,” de Bruijn said. “I do a lot of running, biking, rope climbing, jump ropes, medicine balls and stretching. Those kinds of things have really made me feel in good shape.”

sually, an invitation to the Olympic Games would generate greater passion for the sport and a moreintense focus on the work that awaits. But not all athletes are wired the same, and as the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta approached, something was missing for Inge de Bruijn. Her training sessions lacked dedication. Sometimes, she would arrive late to practice. On occasion, she didn’t show up at all.

TOP OF THE WORLD The 2000 campaign can only be described as sensational for de Bruijn, whose march to Sydney included world records in all three of her prime events. Overall, de Bruijn broke six global standards en route to her second Olympiad, efforts that enabled her to compete with booming confidence. More were produced in Sydney.

In the early 1990s, de Bruijn was a promising talent for the Netherlands. At the 1991 European Championships, de Bruijn earned a silver medal (100 butterfly) and bronze medal (50 freestyle) in Athens, efforts that complemented a

During her week in Australia, de Bruijn put together one of the most impressive performances by a female in Olympic history. She swept all three of her individual events and set a world record in each discipline. Her world records in the

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freestyle events arrived in the semifinals, with her global mark in the 100 butterfly punctuating her gold-medal effort. She added a silver medal as a member of the Netherlands’ 400 freestyle relay.

The finger-pointing and second-guessing have become the norm in the sport, especially when an athlete emerges from the shadows, or puts together a career surge. In making his assertions, Quick spoke with assurance.

De Bruijn’s triple-gold performance was staggering on the whole, but a closer look at each of her triumphs revealed an even more exceptional effort. None of the Dutchwoman’s races were close, as she prevailed by .19 in the 50 free and .50 in the 100 free. In the 100 butterfly, de Bruijn blasted the competition, her world-record time of 56.61 more than a second clear of silver medalist Martina Moravcova of Slovenia.

“I absolutely do not think that this is a drug-free Olympic Games,” Quick said. “The (International Olympic Committee) should make it the No. 1 priority to make sure the competition is fair. I think it’s very sad. It’s a sad state of affairs when great, great performances in this sport have clouds over them.”

In becoming one of the stars of Sydney, De Bruijn had to defeat some of the top names in the sport. In the sprintfreestyle events, Sweden’s Therese Alshammar was the silver medalist in both distances, with American Dara Torres winning bronze in the 50 freestyle and sharing bronze with countrywoman Jenny Thompson in the 100 freestyle. ACCUSATIONS ABOUND As much as the week was a fairytale, it also included a dark chapter, as de Bruijn’s rise from good to great was suggested to be the result of performance-enhancing drug use. Although he did not identify de Bruijn by name, American coach Richard Quick clearly questioned whether the Dutch star was clean.

Quick’s accusations did not sit well with the Dutch contingent, especially Verhaeren, who again was coaching de Bruijn in a split-time setup with Bergen. Verhaeren declared the suspicions to be fueled by jealousy, and vehemently denied any of his athletes took part in illicit practices. In addition to mentoring de Bruijn, Verhaeren guided Pieter van den Hoogenband to a trio of medals in freestyle events. Van den Hoogenband captured double gold in the 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle, and added a bronze medal in the 50 freestyle. His victory in the 200 free was one of the great performances of the competition, as the Dutchman upended Thorpe. In the media, several comparisons were made between de Bruijn and Ireland’s Michelle Smith, who won three gold

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at the World Champs, where she repeated in the 50 freestyle and 50 butterfly. Just as the 1999 European Championships set the stage for the 2000 Olympics, the 2003 World Champs positioned de Bruijn for her Olympic hurrah at the 2004 Games in Athens. In Athens, de Bruijn collected a silver medal in the 100 freestyle and added bronze medals in the 100 butterfly and as a member of the Dutch 400 freestyle relay. But her best performance was saved for last, as she capped the last day of the meet with defense of her title in the 50 freestyle. Once again, de Bruijn was untouchable in the one-lap sprint, as her winning time of 24.58 was comfortably quicker than the 24.89 of silver medalist Malia Metella of France.

[ Photo Courtesy: Bob Freeman ]

Almost immediately, de Bruijn let out a sigh of relief. Upon finding a rekindled desire for the water and the necessary training to reach the pinnacle of her sport, de Bruijn was rewarded with results to her liking. Not surprising, her farewell was deeply satisfying.

>> Inge de Bruijn and Paul Bergen

medals at the 1996 Olympics. In addition to their gold-medal count, both women enjoyed significant improvement at later points in their careers. To her credit, De Bruijn took the accusations in stride. Throughout the year, as she began toppling world records, she heard whispers concerning her times. But instead of becoming enraged by the allegations, de Bruijn simply defended her training. “I can understand the questions,” she said. “My progress is significant, but I’m not the only one. People have to accept it. People should know that I train like an animal. I had a really rough time with the accusations. I’m a very emotional person and it got to me, but I’ve decided not to read any more newspapers because I know all I was doing was working very hard. If you set world records, they want to chop your head off. They want to take it away from you. Right now, I’m above all those accusations.” ADDITIONAL ACCOLADES Sydney hardly marked the end of de Bruijn’s excellence. At the 2001 World Championships, she tripled again, this time winning the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, along with the 50 butterfly. Two years later, she was dominant again 30

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“This is an amazing feeling,” she said of her repeat. “It is my eighth (Olympic) medal and on the last day of the program, what a climax. I can’t find words to express it. The smile on my face will stay there for a couple more weeks. There has been so much pressure on me given the other results. Finally, I got the gold. I’m just going to enjoy the medal ceremony.” AT PEACE Initially, de Bruijn thought there was a chance she would compete at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, but as a 31-yearold, she was already the oldest individual Olympic swimming champion, a record that has since been surpassed. Ultimately, she didn’t see herself racing in the Olympics at 35 and decided to hang up her cap and goggles. In 2009, de Bruijn was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, her election a slam-dunk choice. Undoubtedly, she ranks as one of the greatest sprinters of alltime. “My career is finished, and I reached the top,” de Bruijn said in assessing her exploits. “I am 33 years old now and a granny in swimming, while my body isn’t recovering so well like it did in the past. I will miss the excitement of hearing the Dutch national anthem on the podium but achieving that is not something that comes easy. I’ve worked hard for my achievements.” ◄

[ Photo Courtesy: Mine Kasapoglu / ISL ]

The Fast and Furious Frenzy of the ISL — And Its Feasible Fatal Flaws BY DAVID RIEDER

wimming deserves a real professional league, and through two full seasons plus the start of a third with the International Swimming League (ISL), the benefits to the sport have been obvious. Elite swimmers have the opportunity to compete in a team setting, the format that former NCAA swimmers always miss in their post-college days. And undoubtedly, the ISL is extending careers. Consider who has found a home in the ISL: of course, the best of the best like Caeleb Dressel and Sarah Sjostrom and many more, but also swimmers past their peak of winning Olympic medals and swimmers who are not among the top two in their country to be able to qualify for an Olympics. All of those swimmers can become important contributors on good ISL teams. Great swimmers who have not been able to fully translate their talents to long course can be superstars in the ISL, like the Cali Condors’ Beata Nelson and Coleman Stewart. Both were standouts in college swimming, at Wisconsin and NC State, respectively, and neither has qualified for any long course international teams, so the short course meters ISL has provided their opportunity to sustain professional careers.

and the team camaraderie is real. On the ISL broadcast of Match #4, Cali Condors head coach Jeff Julian said: “We truly are a team. These guys love each other, even the ones who just joined this year, and you can feel it.” And after winning four individual events and three relays at his first ISL match of the season, Caeleb Dressel seemed relaxed and exhilarated. It was a far cry from the exhausted, drained Dressel who just one month earlier expressed how

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The ISL gives all of these swimmers an opportunity to continue swimming and maximize their potential, while just a few years ago, the financial realities of attempting to make it as a non-superstar pro swimmer may have forced many of these individuals into retirement. And the result has been exciting. ISL meets are fast paced and finals only, two hours of continuous racing. Ten heats of the 200 freestyle does not exactly entice fans to watch more swimming, so the ISL goes race to race to race, with a heavy focus on sprints, five relays mixed in and each meet ending with 50-meter skins competition, a three-round progression with each race separated by three minutes and half the swimmers eliminated after each round. It’s fun and exciting to watch, although obviously exhausting to participate in. Meanwhile, the athletes clearly love swimming in the ISL,

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[ Photo Courtesy: Mine Kasapoglu / ISL ]

preparation and the Olympics themselves. But if you’re trying to build a league and you cannot tell fans which of your star performers will actually be available for a particular meet, that’s not ideal. The blame here falls on the ISL for poor communication but also for the timing of these meets and not somehow making it worth their while for best swimmers in the world to show up. A league where the stars are sometimesparticipants? That’s bush league.

>> Caeleb Dressel & Tom Shields

badly he needed a break after winning five gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics. “I didn’t know how I was going to react to this. I was swimming in the Olympics something like four weeks ago, so this is a pretty crazy situation to be in. The best way for me was to be with this Condor team. It really is special to be with them in the same boat, everyone getting back into shape, everyone finding their groove again,” Dressel said. “I was excited to race again, which was weird. I never thought in a million years I’d be in that situation, especially coming off a meet like that. I love the water. I love the sport.” But the ISL has its issues, and they must be addressed. These are not concerns about the financial viability of the league, which has been called into question. Certainly, that issue bears watching going forward. But right now, that information is not available, so we are not going to speculate. No, the issues are in format, presentation and, of course, timing. First, the season began four weeks after the Olympics ended — you know, the biggest swim meet in the world that only happens every four years – or five. And the ISL, for all of the hype (all its own) about being the future of swimming, is not on the level of importance for the world’s best swimmers as the Olympics and other summer long course championships. That’s just the status quo in swimming, and there’s no momentum for that to change anytime soon. That timing of the season means that many of the world’s best swimmers are arriving to the five-week regular season in Naples, Italy, after minimal training and likely some vacation time after the Olympics. Some of them, at least. Other stars are not in Naples at all. ISL team rosters have been publicly available for months, but we weren’t exactly sure who would be in town until the start lists were released. You cannot fault the athletes here. It’s only natural that many of them wanted a break after the crucible of Olympic 32

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How About Those Twists? Last season, the ISL introduced the concept of jackpots, where event winners could steal away the points of swimmers who did not finish within a certain margin. The ISL also has standard times, which mean that swimmers who go slower than a certain time will receive deductions. The idea was to make sure that teams were not placing non-competitive swimmers into a race knowing that they would still receive back-end points and also to prevent swimmers from taking it easy with points guaranteed. That makes sense, but the jackpots have exacerbated competitive inequities that are already very real within the ISL. We already know who the elite ISL teams are: Energy Standard won the 2019 league title, the Cali Condors were champions in 2020, and the other two teams qualifying for the final have, in both 2019 and 2020, been the London Roar and LA Current. The racing has become slightly more even this year, but there is still a clear spacing of the great teams from the middling teams to the lower-end teams. So when Dressel and Lilly King and their Condors teammates are jackpotting a bunch of swimmers every time they race, Cali just becomes more unbeatable. The rich get richer when they were already pretty darn set to begin with. In this week’s Match #4 in Naples, the Condors actually were challenged for the first time in years. The LA Current briefly held a lead after the final individual events of day one, and Cali only got back in front with excellent medley relay performances. On day two, Cali eventually extended its margin to 49.5 points going into the 50-meter skins, butterfly for women and freestyle for men. After it was over, Cali led by 149.5 points. They gained one hundred points in skins. In the women’s event, Kelsi Dahlia jackpotted all three of her challengers in the second round and then jackpotted her lone competitor, DC Trident’s Linnea Mack, in the final. On the ISL livestream, DC Trident GM Kaitlin Sandeno made clear

[ Photo Courtesy: Mine Kasapoglu / ISL ]

her displeasure that Mack would not be earning points to show for her efforts. Then, Dressel and Justin Ress took both finals spots in the men’s skins, and just for good measure, Dressel jackpotted Ress in the final. So the winner of this match, as competitive as it seemed until midway through day two, was never really in question. And with the jackpots, ISL racing becomes all about times – even though the ISL has made clear they hope to deemphasize times and make swimming about racing and placing. Get all that? Meanwhile, new twists added for this year include checkpoints in 400-meter races, after 100 meters in the 400 free and after 200 meters (butterfly and backstroke legs) in the 400 IM. Swimmers touching first at those checkpoints get big point bonuses, not as large as the eventual race winners but still significant points. The presence of those checkpoints makes for interesting strategy, to see who is willing to take the risk and go out a little faster, but isn’t the point of longer races to see who is best over the entire distance? The league already does not cater to swimmers who specialize in longer events since there is no 800 free or 1500 free — hey, it’s not the swimmers’ faults that those are their best events! Distance is just not considered that exciting, so the ISL skips it. But these new checkpoints hurt distance specialists even more. In its purest form, swimming is about racing to the wall, seeing who is best over a particular distance, not part of a distance. You don’t need gadgets like checkpoints to make racing exciting. The ISL’s goal of “swimming reimagined” is worthy, but some elements of this reimagination are simply not true to the spirit of the sport. The ISL and its Fans On August 25, the ISL announced that select 2021 matches would air on CBS Sports platforms in the United States, and the rest would be livestreamed via an ISL subscription platform. That was one day before the first match of the season (not on television in the U.S.) would commence. But the move to place the streams behind an independent paywall (rather than on a service included with most TV packages or an established streaming arm like CBS’s Paramount Plus) was shortsighted. This season, the ISL has fashioned itself as “swimming’s new home,” and while the post-Olympics start to the season might not be great for the athletes, it was an opportune time to try to build the league’s fanbase. Instead, the move has alienated some potential viewers who simply are not interested in spending the cash beyond their existing cable or streaming

>> Kelsi Dahlia

investments. Unless someone was already a dedicated ISL fan, they might simply have chosen to pass on watching the non-televised matches. If anything, the paywall pushes swimming fans farther away from the ISL. And as for the ISL’s stated goal of capturing a new batch of fans who are not yet interested in swimming (at least beyond the Olympics) and bringing swimming into the mainstream, forget about that if you have a paywall. There are too many other sporting options out there in the fall for those folks. And even some dedicated swimming fans are not engrossed in the ISL. The decision to go behind the new paywall feels like a quick cash-grab rather than a long-term commitment to the necessary-to-build base of support. Heck, we did not even know what times the matches would begin until the day before the season started. That’s not good for anyone, certainly not the fans. Obviously, the ISL has some very real and incredible positives going for it right now, and for the sake of the exciting racing and of those athletes competing and making a livelihood off the ISL, let’s hope it all works out for this league. But if it is going to grow and keep growing, there must be a fanbase. In the United States, American football reigns supreme among all sports, and since 2019, two upstart football leagues have shut down midway through their first season because of financial issues (although the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was a big factor in one of those abrupt closings). It takes years for sporting leagues to build up their fanbases and become entrenched and safe, and there’s no way the ISL should be considered at that point. All the ISL’s bluster about being special does not make a league successful. All the bravado in the world does not make the league more relevant to longtime swimming fans, let alone attract new supporters to the sport. So despite the ISL’s early positive momentum in season three and its exciting presentation of swimming, there’s still a long way to go to ensure, long-term, that this league will succeed and thrive. ◄ BIWEEKLY

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[ Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports ]

>> Caeleb Dressel

Post-Olympics Rankings: Swimming World’s Top 25 Male Swimmers BY DAVID RIEDER

he title of the top female swimmer in the world has shifted on several occasions this year. Katie Ledecky, Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown have all been considered for that spot throughout the past several months, but at the Olympics, it was 27-year-old Australian Emma McKeon who seized that title by winning seven medals, the most ever by a female swimmer at a single Games. McKeon, who captured individual gold in the 50 and 100 freestyle, led an Australian sweep of the top three spots on our women’s top 25 list, followed by Titmus and McKeown.

World Championships in 2017, but doing so at the Olympics required some big performances, such as holding off Kyle Chalmers in the 100 free (by just six hundredths!) and Kristof Milak in the 100 fly. On the other hand, his 50 free margin of victory was more than twice as big as any other in Olympic history. His three individual golds at one Olympics made him just the third man, following Mark Spitz (1972) and Michael Phelps (2004 and 2008), to capture that many. Years of hype around Dressel culminated at the Tokyo Olympics, and he lived up to every ounce.

But the No. 1 spot on the men’s list? That has not changed. In fact, the man who has held claim to the title of world’s best swimmer since 2017 reaffirmed his standing with a masterful effort in Tokyo, perhaps not his best meet by medal count and records but certainly his signature moment in the sport. This swimmer managed a feat so rare it had only happened three times in the history of the Olympics by just two men.

2. Kristof Milak, Hungary Kristof Milak earns the No. 2 spot on this list after winning two medals at his first Olympics, gold in the 200 butterfly and silver in the 100 butterfly. In the 200 fly, Milak was untouchable, his margin of victory (2.48 seconds) larger than in any other men’s event in Tokyo. He broke Michael Phelps’ Olympic record from Phelps’ eight-gold-medal performance in 2008, and his time was faster than any other man had ever swum. But the world missed out on seeing Milak take a shot at his world record of 1:50.73, and he potentially could have crushed the mark if not for a suit malfunction shortly before the race that Milak said broke his focus. Instead, he saved his amazing effort of the meet for the 100 fly, when he swam faster on the second length than any man ever and nearly ran down Dressel. His final mark of 49.68 made him the second-fastest man in history, ahead of the times Phelps and Milorad Cavic swam in their epic duel at the 2009 World Championships.

As usual, there were a lot of close calls in determining spots on this list, but it was performances in the biggest moments at the Tokyo Games that were the No. 1 factor in placement. 1. Caeleb Dressel, USA Was there really any doubt about who would land in this top spot? In Tokyo, Caeleb Dressel captured individual golds in the 100 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 50 freestyle while leading the Americans to gold medals in the 400 freestyle and 400 medley relays. He broke the 100 fly world record on his way to gold and swam the swiftest 100 fly relay split ever the following day in giving the Americans a medley relay lead they would not relinquish. Dressel has seemed destined to eventually win Olympic gold in all of his individual events for years, ever since he swept all three for the first time at the 34

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3. Adam Peaty, Great Britain In 2021, Adam Peaty got some company. Dutchman Arno Kamminga joined him in the sub-58 range in the 100 breaststroke, and Peaty now sits less than a second ahead of

[ Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports ]

anyone else in history in the event for the first time since 2016. But still, he won his second straight Olympic gold in the 100 breast in Tokyo in 57.37, well off his world record of 56.88 but still well clear of anyone else’s top effort ever. Since making his international debut in 2014, Peaty has literally never lost the 100 breaststroke in any long course race. Sure, you can knock him as a one-event wonder, but he’s one of history’s best swimmers of his margin of dominance in that one event. At this Olympics, he was also the key force behind Great Britain winning a pair of relay medals, gold in the mixed 400 medley relay and silver in the men’s 400 medley relay, splitting well under 57 on both occasions. >> Duncan Scott

4. Evgeny Rylov, Russia Evgeny Rylov has been the world’s top 200 backstroker since earning Olympic bronze in the event in 2016, and now he’s the world’s top backstroke swimmer, period. He took gold in a much-anticipated 100 back, touching out countryman Kliment Kolesnikov with his 51.98. That race included defending gold medalist and world-record holder Ryan Murphy as well as two-time world champion Xu Jiayu, and Rylov got the job done to show his mettle as a big performer in big moments. Later, he won by almost a second in the four-lap race, checking in at 1:53.27, and this finish was not terribly surprising considering the impressive record of quick 200 back performances Rylov has built up in the past four years. His times were one and four hundredths, respectively, off his lifetime bests, but he is among the top five in history in both races. 5. Bobby Finke, USA All of the previous four entrants on this list were predicted to mint gold at the Olympics. 21-year-old American Bobby Finke was not. He was an outside medal chance in the 1500 free at best. His first final of the meet was in the 800 free, and he sat in fifth place for most of the race, even through the 700-meter split. At the last turn, he was fourth, 1.52 seconds off the lead and 1.19 seconds out of third. But then Finke blasted an unbelievable 26.39 split to pass everyone and touch out Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri for gold. Three days later, everyone knew what he was capable of in the 1500 free, and somehow, he was even better on the last 50. He flipped third at the 1450-meter wall, seven tenths off the lead, before coming home in 25.78 and winning by more than a second. Finke was certainly the most unexpected star to emerge from the Games as he not only joined the ranks of the world’s top distance swimmers but currently tops that list. 6. Duncan Scott, Great Britain Performances at the Olympics are the biggest factor in determining spots among this top 25, and unsurprisingly, individual gold medalists typically populate the top spots. But Duncan Scott ranks above several swimmers who did win individual gold because he claimed two silver medals in

very competitive events and was critical to two relay medals, including one gold. Scott entered Tokyo as the slight favorite in the 200 freestyle and blasted off on the last 50, seemingly putting himself in position for gold before countryman Tom Dean touched him out by four hundredths. A few days later, Scott could not quite catch China’s Wang Shun in the men’s 200 IM another furious charge on the last 50. Scott now ranks seventh-fastest in history in both events. In between, Scott anchored Great Britain’s 800 freestyle relay to gold in 1:43.45, and he secured silver for the men’s medley relay with a 47.08 anchor leg. Scott might not have topped the podium on his own in any event, but he was so close twice and so good on two relays that he deserves this high a placement. 7. Zac Stubblety-Cook, Australia The men’s 200 breaststroke looked like it would be one of the fastest races in Tokyo, with a 2:06 possibly required just to earn a medal. Both Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook and Japan’s Shoma Sato had almost broken the world record earlier in the year, becoming the second and third-fastest performers in history, and they would face off with two-time world champion and world-record holder Anton Chupkov. But as it turned out, Sato missed the final and Chupkov ended up fourth. Stubblety-Cook, however, swam to his potential and pulled away from the field on the last 50 to comfortably claim Olympic gold, his final mark of 2:06.38 good for an Olympic record and just off his lifetime best. And while Stubblety-Cook is a 200 breaststroker first and foremost, he was able to supply some 58 splits on Australia’s medley relays, helping his team earn a bronze in the mixed-gender event. 8. Tom Dean, Great Britain Tom Dean, a 21-year-old competing in his first Olympics after debuting on the global stage at the 2019 World Championships, was the gold medalist in the 200 freestyle, where he swam a 1:44.22 to become the sixth-fastest performer in history. Dean was on the radar as a contender in that much-improved and wide-open event, and he swam an Continued >>

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the halfway point but was a second off the pace after the breaststroke leg as Michael Andrew recorded a sterling split there. But Wang quickly caught Andrew on the free and then held off a challenge from Duncan Scott to secure gold in 1:55.00, a lifetime best by more than a second. And Wang now has been faster than any man ever in this event aside from the legendary duo of Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.

>> Florian Wellbrock

excellent race, keeping close enough to early leaders Hwang Sun-Woo and Fernando Scheffer before accelerating off the last turn and barely holding off his teammate Scott to win gold. The next day, Dean led off Britain’s 800 free relay, and while his leadoff split of 1:45.72 was only third-best in the field and well off his gold-medal winning time from the individual event, it was solid enough to let his teammates go to work and pull away for a comfortable gold. 9. Florian Wellbrock, Germany If the two pool distance races in Tokyo were 750 meters and 1450 meters in length, Florian Wellbrock would have won both of them. Instead, he flipped first in both finals but could not change gears and keep pace with his rivals. He ended up fourth in the 800 free behind Bobby Finke, Gregorio Paltrinieri and Mykhailo Romanchuk before earning his first Olympic medal, a bronze behind Finke and Romanchuk, in the 1500 free. Still, he was well off his lifetime best in the mile (he remains the top-ranked swimmer in the world at 14:36.45), and surely he was disappointed to surrender a large lead at the very end. But Wellbrock was not done as he would later compete in the 10K open water event in Tokyo, and he did not give anyone a chance to catch him in that one. Wellbrock swam away from the pack on the last of seven laps of the course to win gold by 25 seconds. Most impressive about Wellbrock was the resilience he showed after two devastating finishes in the pool to still be on his game for open water. 10. Wang Shun, China 27-year-old Wang Shun has been prominent on the scene for years as he took bronze in the 200 IM at the 2016 Olympics as well as the 2015 and 2017 World Championships. But at the most recent Worlds in 2019, he faded to sixth in the event, and he was not considered more than an outside medal shot for Tokyo. He had never broken 1:56 in the 200 IM. But he was the class of the event at the Olympics, qualifying first for the final and then claiming Olympic gold. He had the lead at 36

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11. Ahmed Hafnaoui, Tunisia Six spots up on this list was Bobby Finke, who pulled off two of Tokyo’s biggest surprises by winning gold in the 800 free and 1500 free. But Finke was at least an outside medal contender. Ahmed Hafnaoui was not! This 18-year-old from Tunisia had never swum at a long course World Championships. His lifetime best in the 400 freestyle prior to the meet had been 3:46.16, which had him seeded 16th. He dropped down to 3:45.82 in prelims as he snuck into the final as the No. 8 seed. He swam in second place most of the race behind Australia’s Jack McLoughlin, but on the last length, the relatively unknown teenager had another gear left. He won Olympic gold in 3:43.36, becoming just the second Tunisian man to win Olympic gold in swimming following Ous Mellouli and the first man from Africa to win gold in swimming since 2012. 12. Chase Kalisz, USA At the 2016 Olympics, Chase Kalisz tracked down Kosuke Hagino in the 400 IM final, only to finish seven tenths behind him with the silver. At the last World Championships, Kalisz struggled mightily, entering as favorite in both individual medley events but leaving with just a bronze in the 200 IM and ninth-place finish in the 400 IM. He later revealed he had been battling a shoulder injury, but his status was a big question mark as recently as the beginning of June. It turns out that those setbacks in 2016 and 2019 were the fuel Kalisz needed to propel his career, and he delivered this year in his signature 400 IM. Sure, he benefitted from reigning world champion Daiya Seto finishing ninth, but Kalisz took charge of the final with a killer breaststroke leg that gave him a 2.5-second lead going into freestyle. He faded at the end, but he had enough to hang on and capture gold. He was also a medal contender in the 200 IM going into the meet, but he shockingly missed the final, finishing 10th. 13. Arno Kamminga, Netherlands Arno Kamminga was another swimmer who made massive strides in 2021 and really going back to late 2020. He is 25, but he was making his Olympic debut in Tokyo and he had never swum in a World Championships final, topping out at 10th place in four World Championships semifinals appearances in 2017 and 2009. But prior to the Olympics, he became just the second man ever to break 58 in the 100

14. Ryan Murphy, USA The world’s premier backstroker in 2016, Ryan Murphy could not quite keep pace with Russian rivals Evgeny Rylov and, in the 100 back, Kliment Kolesnikov, but he still earned individual silver and bronze medals >> Kyle Chalmers with solid efforts. Most impressive about Murphy, now 26, has been his consistency to be one of the world’s best and often the very best each year since 2016. And perhaps most significantly for Murphy, he led off the U.S. men’s 400 medley relay in 52.31, the top split in the field, as he led the squad to a gold medal and world record. When Great Britain beat the U.S. in that relay at the 2019 World Championships, Murphy’s slower leadoff leg had put the Americans in a hole, but this time, he spearheaded the first men’s long course relay world record since the supersuit era of 2009. 15. Kliment Kolesnikov, Russia Only two men have broken long course world records this year, Caeleb Dressel and Kliment Kolesnikov. Kolesnikov’s accomplishment came in the non-Olympic 50 backstroke, but he performed exceptionally well in two events in Tokyo. He has been one of the best 100 backstrokers in the world this year, too, and he swam a 52.00 to earn silver behind countryman Evgeny Rylov. He entered the Olympics with the second-fastest time in the world in the 100 free and ended up with a bronze medal behind the dynamic duo of Dressel and Kyle Chalmers. The only knock on Kolesnikov is that he could not elevate his performances on relays. Russia was a gold-medal favorite in the 400 free relay but ended up seventh, with Kolesnikov anchoring in a very disappointing 48.45 on the second swim of a double (although the Russian Olympic Committee team was likely out of medal contention by that point). He was much better in the 400 medley relay, with a 47.03 anchor split, but he could not quite catch Italy for bronze. 16. Kyle Chalmers, Australia Four years previously, Kyle Chalmers had been a littleknown 18-year-old when he stormed from behind to win Olympic gold in the men’s 100 free. This time, Chalmers was a 23-year-old veteran ready to match up with Dressel after Dressel edged him for the 2019 world title in the 100 free by just 0.12. This time, Chalmers was again dynamite in the 100 free, and his back-half split of 24.37 was much

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breaststroke (joining Adam Peaty) and the sixth man under 2:07 in the 200 breaststroke. He would go on to earn silver medals in both events in Tokyo, coming through in key moments where others faltered, particularly in the 200 breast. We’ll see if Kamminga is capable another leap forward to get to that gold-medal level, but his two silver medals made him the first man to win medals in both breaststroke events at one Olympics since 2008.

faster than anyone else in the field. And once again, he almost caught Dressel. He swam a 47.08, matching his 2019 Worlds mark, and the margin this time was just six hundredths, a silver medal with no shame. Chalmers also bagged a pair of relay bronze medals in Tokyo as his 46.44 anchor split on the 400 free relay vaulted the Aussies from sixth to third, and he swam the second leg on the 800 free relay squad. 17. Gregorio Paltrinieri, Italy Gregorio Paltrinieri entered 2021 as the gold-medal favorite in both the 800 free and 1500 free. The 26-year-old was reigning world champion in the 800 free and defending gold medalist in the 1500 free, and he swam one of the top performances of the pandemic year 2020 with his European record 14:33.10 in the mile, the second-fastest time in history. But Paltrinieri was diagnosed with mononucleosis just a month before the Games, so he competed in Tokyo at less than 100%. But he still was able to win a pair of medals. After barely qualifying for the 800 free final in eighth place, he held the lead for most of the event before claiming the silver medal in a furious finish. He was a disappointing fourth in the 1500 free, but he later picked up a bronze medal in the 10K, his first-ever medal in the 10K at an Olympics or Worlds. 18. Mykhailo Romanchuk, Ukraine Another European distance star, Mykhailo Romanchuk has often flown under the radar behind the likes of Paltrinieri and Florian Wellbrock. After placing 15th in the 1500 free at his first Olympics in 2016, he finished second in the event at both the 2017 and 2019 World Championships, once each to Paltrinieri and Wellbrock. At the Olympics, the 25-year-old was in the hunt for Olympic gold medals in both the 800 and 1500 free. He earned bronze in a tight 800 free final behind Bobby Finke and Paltrinieri, and then he claimed another silver in the 1500 free. He and Finke both trailed Wellbrock by seven tenths at the last turn, and while Finke stole headlines for his 25.78 anchor split, Romanchuk was really impressive himself at 26.78 to sneak past Wellbrock. Romanchuk did not Continued >>

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this silver medal. McLoughlin joined an impressive legacy of 400 freestyle Olympic medalists for Australia that includes 2016 gold medalist Mack Horton, 2000 and 2004 gold medalist Ian Thorpe and 2004 bronze medalist Grant Hackett in just this century alone. Later, McLoughlin ended up fifth in the 800 free, about three seconds outside of the medal mix as four swimmers distanced themselves from the pack.

>> Mykhailo Romanchuk

>> Jay Litherland

swim his best in either Olympic final, but he still ranks first in the world in the 800 free and second in the 1500. 19. Jack McLoughlin, Australia Jack McLoughlin, a 26-year-old Australian competing in his second Olympics, entered Tokyo as the world’s secondfastest man in both the 400 free and 800 free, and while he did not match that level of performance in Tokyo, he still walked away with his first Olympic medal. He led the 400 free final for most of the race, only to just miss out on gold when Ahmed Hafnaoui rocketed home, but there was no shame in 38

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20. Tomoru Honda, Japan At his last major meet in 2019, Tomoru Honda earned a silver medal in the 200 butterfly. That was the World Junior Championships. Honda did not even qualify for the senior World Championships that year. But in 2021, he won Japan’s only medal in men’s swimming at the Olympics as he placed second behind Kristof Milak in the 200 fly. Despite Milak winning the race by almost 2.5 seconds, Honda was very impressive in placing second. His 1:53.73 moved him to 11th all-time in the race. Definitely not bad for a swimmer who had never broken 1:55 prior to 2021. 21. Florent Manaudou, France Two years ago, there would have been good money bet against Florent Manaudou appearing on a global top25 list. Manaudou, the 50 freestyle gold medalist at the 2012 Olympics and the silver medalist (by 0.01) four years later, retired after the 2016 Olympics but returned to the sport in 2019 to swim for Energy Standard in the International Swimming League. His full skills in the short course 50-meter events will be on full display in the ISL, but Manaudou put together an incredible effort in Tokyo to snare a silver medal in the 50 free, his third Olympic medal in the 50 free in three appearances. He was well off his best (21.19, which ranks tied for fifth all time), and his 21.55 is only fifth in the world this year, but the 30-year-old showed his big-meet racing ability once again. 22. Jay Litherland, USA The first Olympic final of the week, the men’s 400 IM, featured seven of the eight swimmers (all except gold medalist Chase Kalisz) recording slower times than they had in the previous evening’s prelims. But it was about the

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race, and for Jay Litherland, that meant having to overcome a 1.6-second deficit on the last 100 meters to claim silver. Litherland is known for his incredible finishes, and he has used stellar freestyle splits to overcome big deficits at both the 2016 and 2021 Olympic Trials. At the 2019 World Championships, he almost ran down world champion Daiya Seto with his phenomenal last two laps. This time, the 25-year-old Litherland passed five men to take silver and secure a 1-2 finish for the United States. Also in this space, let’s take notice of Brendon Smith, who was actually a few tenths faster on freestyle than Litherland as he came from eighth place at the 300-meter mark to earn bronze.

>> Carson Foster

23. Elijah Winnington, Australia At Australia’s Olympic Trials in June, 21-year-old Elijah Winnington won the 400 freestyle in 3:42.65. That phenomenal effort made him the ninth-fastest swimmer in history in the event and the fourth-fastest Australian behind the trio of Ian Thorpe, Mack Horton and Grant Hackett, all gold medalists in their own right. Winnington also placed second in the 200 free at that meet. No, Winnington was not at his best in Tokyo. As the favorite in the 400 free final, he led through the first 150 meters and then faded back, all the way to seventh. He missed the 200 free semifinals and was dropped from Australia’s 800 free relay in finals, although he did earn his first Olympic medal (a bronze) for his prelims swim. But the Olympics were not the only meet this year, and Winnington remains the No. 1 swimmer in the world in that race. 24. Carson Foster, USA Carson Foster is not an Olympic medalist. Foster is not even an Olympian at this point in his career. He was actually the swimmer Litherland passed with his incredible freestyle split in the 400 IM final at the Olympic Trials. Foster had been in first place through 250 meters and second place after breaststroke before he faded badly coming home. Foster then placed eighth in the 200 free, missing an Olympic relay spot by two tenths. But several weeks later, right as the Olympics were getting underway, Foster swam a 4:08.46 at the Austin Sectionals meet. It is an apples-to-oranges comparison since Foster did not have to exert himself in prelims or deal with the pressures of an Olympics, but that’s the fastest time in the world by more than a half-second and much faster than the time that Kalisz swam to win Olympic gold in the event. Foster ranks ninth all-time in the event. Let’s see if Foster, 19, can continue that momentum moving into the next Olympic cycle. 25. (Tie) James Guy, Great Britain & Zach Apple, USA There are not supposed to be ties on this list, but Zach Apple and James Guy each deserve recognition for their very real

contributions to two gold-medal-winning relays each. Neither man swam in an individual final in Tokyo. Apple placed 11th in a fast 100 freestyle, and Guy scratched his only event, the 100 butterfly, although he likely could have won a medal. But Apple provided the anchor leg of the American men’s 400 freestyle and 400 medley relays. In the 400 free relay, Apple took a tiny advantage and extended it to a lead over challenging Italy, and in the medley, he rebounded from his disappointing individual swim and a rough split in the 800 free relay to hold the field at bay and secure a relay world record. Guy, meanwhile, secured his first Olympic gold medal as he supplied a strong 1:44.40 split on the 800 free relay to give Great Britain a lead it would not relinquish, and he was also the man who took the lead on the mixed 400 medley relay with his 50.00 fly split. Guy also posted a 50.27 100 fly relay leg the next day to help lead the British men to second behind that aforementioned American world record. ALSO IN CONSIDERATION (alphabetical order): Michael Andrew, USA Francisco Burdisso, Italy Thomas Ceccon, Italy Evgeny Chupkov, Russia Jeremy Desplanches, Switzerland Bruno Fratus, Brazil Luke Greenbank, Great Britain Hwang Sun-Woo, South Korea Nicolo Martinenghi, Italy Alessandro Miressi, Italy Matti Mattsson, Finland Noe Ponti, Switzerland David Popovici, Romania Fernando Scheffer, Brazil Daiya Seto, Japan Brendon Smith, Australia Kieran Smith, USA Xu Jiayu, China ◄ BIWEEKLY

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