SW Biweekly November 7, 2021 Issue by Swimming World Magazine

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CONTENTS 008 MARK SCHUBERT BECOMES HEAD COACH OF SWIM EL TORO SWIM TEAM by David Rieder Just weks after departing as head coach of the Mission Viejo Nadadores, legendary coach Mark Schubert was named head coach of the Swim El Toro (SET) Swim Team in Southern California. The team is owned by 1996 U.S. Olympian Brad Schumacher. 009 KATIE LEDECKY RACES EXHIBITION AT FLORIDA-GEORGIA DUAL MEET AGAINST MEN, CLOCKS 4:30 IN 500 FREE by David Rieder After training with the University of Florida for a few weeks, Katie Ledecky competed as an exhibition swimmer in the men’s 200 and 500 yard freestyle events. She swam the 12th-fastest time of the meet in both events, but she beat some of the men and ended up recording times not far off her best. 010 A LOOK AT THE USA SWIMMING ROSTER FOR WORLD SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS by Dan D’Addona USA Swimming announced its list of athletes who will represent the U.S. at the 2021 FINA World Swimming Championships (SCM) and the 2021 FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim World Series at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in December. 011 COLEMAN STEWART “CANNOT UNDERSTAND USA SWIMMING’S REASONING” FOR SHORT COURSE WORLDS SNUB by David Rieder In his first ISL match of the season, Coleman Stewart crushed the world record in the short course meters 100 backstroke. However, he was not named to USA Swimming’s team for the Short Course World Championships at Abu Dhabi, and Stewart is not being shy about his frustrations with the process that left him without a chance at a world title. 013 WITHOUT FULL ATHLETE BUY-IN, SHORT COURSE WORLDS REMAIN A SECONDARY CHAMPIONSHIP by David Rieder Among the world’s top swimmers, coaches and decisionmakers, it’s very clear that the World Short Course Championships is considered insignificant—especially compared to the long course version of the meet. 016 11 YEARS LATER, TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA REMAIN THE STANDARD IN MEN’S COLLEGE SWIMMING by David Rieder Coach Eddie Reese at Texas is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA swimming history with 15 national titles. Cal’s Dave Durden, entering just his 14th season, already has four titles plus seven second-place finishes at the national level. These two elite coaches are both guiding two elite men’s programs, the cream of the crop in the sport for an unprecedented period of time.

SWIMMING WORLD BIWEEKLY NOVEMBER 2021 | ISSUE 21 022 CAELEB DRESSEL ANNOUNCED AS CORECIPIENT OF JAMES E. SULLIVAN AWARD; SHARES HONOR WITH SIMONE BILES by David Rieder Five-time Olympic medalist at Tokyo, Caeleb Dressel was named one of two athletes as winners of the James E. Sullivan Award, recognizing the top athlete in the United States in any sport. Gymnast Simone Biles, who overcame significant mental health obstacles to win two medals this past summer, was named a co-recipient of the award. Dressel is the first swimmer to win the Sullivan since Missy Franklin in 2012. 023 HOW CAN YOU BENEFIT FROM A STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR COACH? by Jonathan Edwards A good swimmer-coach relationship involves connection, communication and trust. When you’re able to develop all three of these aspects, your relationship will become stronger, which could lead to faster swimming. 024 JACK MATTHEWS, DARYN WRIGHT LEAD USA DIVING SQUAD FOR JUNIOR WORLDS, JUNIOR PAN AMS by Matthew De George Jack Matthews and Daryn Wright will be part of an eightathlete team competing in the 2021 Junior Pan Ams in Cali, Colombia, Nov. 25-Dec. 5, followed by the World Juniors in Kiev, Dec. 2-9. Dan Laak, USA Diving’s High Performance Director, believes “the future of diving in the U.S. is looking bright.” 025 CUTTING TIME: TIPS FOR IMPROVING TURNS, UNDERWATERS AND BREAKOUTS by Carly McAdam One of the easiest ways to drop time quickly is to improve your turns, underwaters and breakouts. Sloppy transitions can easily add time to a race. Here are some tips and tricks to improve these areas of your swimming during training and in a race. 027 OLYMPIC MEDALIST MICHELE MITCHELL TO LEAD MISSION VIEJO NADADORES FOUNDATION by Matthew De George Michele Mitchell has been named the executive director of the Mission Viejo Nadadores Foundation. She will begin in January 2022 and will oversee the Nadadores’ swimming and diving programs. The four-time AllAmerican from the University of Arizona won silver medals in the 10-meter platform event at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1995. 028 LOUISVILLE CANCELS HOME MEET AGAINST NOTRE DAME AND MIAMI DUE TO COVID-19 CASES by David Rieder

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INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENTS 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)

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Mark Schubert Becomes Head Coach of Swim El Toro Swim Team BY DAVID RIEDER

ust weeks after departing as head coach of the Mission Viejo Nadadores, Mark Schubert has been named the head coach of the SET (Swim El Toro) Swim Team. Schubert, one of the most accomplished coaches in U.S. swimming history from his stint in the 1970s and 1980s at Mission Viejo and later college roles at Texas and USC, stepped down from Mission Viejo in September following the Olympic Games. He was expecting to leave for good at the end of 2021 but chose to stop coaching for the Nadadores this month. Now, Schubert has a new coaching role with the SET Swim Team, owned by 1996 U.S. Olympian Brad Schumacher. Schumacher won gold medals as a member of the 400 and 800 freestyle relay teams at the Atlanta Games, and he later participated on the U.S. water polo team at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. The current staff of the club is listed as Schubert, head coach emeritus and executive director Tim Teeter and assistant coach Barrett Tester. When contacted by Swimming World, Schubert expressed enthusiasm about his new opportunity. “I am so excited! The swimmers are very enthusiastic and fired up about this new team. We are getting new swimmers every day that want to be fast!” he said. Regarding his quick return to coaching after leaving Mission Viejo, Schubert said that Schumacher “gave me a deal I could not refuse. I was looking into opportunities but did not know it would happen so fast. Brad is a great guy to work for!” Schubert, who was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1997, started his first stint coaching at 8

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Mission Viejo in 1972, after the University of Kentucky graduate spent a year coaching at Cuyahoga Falls High School in Ohio. Schubert was at Mission Viejo from 1972-85, a period in which the club was unmatched in its success. He then spent three seasons at Mission Bay Makos Swim Club in Florida, and won two NCAA titles in four seasons as the coach of the University of Texas women’s team. He won a women’s NCAA title in 14 successful seasons at the University of Southern California. Schubert was hired in 2006 as the U.S. national team head coach and general manager and presided over the U.S. Olympic team through the very successful 2008 Olympic Games. However, Schubert was let go from the position in 2010 after he came into conflict with USA Swimming’s thenCEO, the late Chuck Wielgus. Schubert joined Golden West Swim Club in California in 2011 and returned to Mission Viejo in 2016, that most recent stint including the guidance of Michael Brinegar onto the U.S. Olympic Team for the 2020 Games in Tokyo. After first arriving at Mission Viejo as a 23-year-old coach, he left for the final time at age 72. Schubert has coached a long list of swimmers onto U.S. Olympic teams, a run going all the way back to the 1970s. His list includes Brian Goodell, Shirley Babashoff, Mary T. Meagher, Tiffany Cohen, Mike O’Brien, Dara Torres, Sippy Woodhead, Rich Saeger, Janet Evans, Brad Bridgewater and Kristine Quance.◄

[ Photo Courtesy: Katie Ledecky / Twitter ]

Katie Ledecky Races Exhibition at Florida-Georgia Dual Meet Against Men, Clocks 4:30 in 500 Free

BY DAVID RIEDER

he has only been training with the Florida Gators for a few weeks, but Katie Ledecky is already back to doing her thing and swimming impressive times in the pool. But this time, it came with a twist: during Florida’s home dual meet against Georgia, Ledecky competed as an exhibition swimmer in the men’s 200 and 500-yard freestyle events. It brought a scenario where Ledecky only swam the 12thfastest time of the meet in both events, but she beat some of the men and ended up recording times not far off her best. Ledecky swam a 1:42.80 in the 200 free, beating one male swimmer and coming in about 2.5 seconds off her best time of 1:40.36 from the 2017 NCAA Championships. That time actually would have placed second in the event at last year’s NCAAs, just a half-second behind Virginia’s Paige Madden. Ledecky then recorded a 4:30.55 in the 500, beating four other swimmers in the race. While she was nowhere close to her 2017 best time of 4:24.06 that is the American and NCAA record, she swam a time that only two other women (Leah Smith and Katie Hoff) have ever surpassed. The time would have won every NCAA title since Ledecky left college swimming in 2018.

Ledecky finished more than 14 seconds behind the 500 free race winner, Georgia’s Jake Magahey (4:16.95), but Magahey was last year’s men’s NCAA champion in the event. She was about six seconds behind Florida’s Trey Freeman (1:34.41) in the 200 free. This is not the first time Ledecky has competed against men in her career. Bruce Gemmell, Ledecky’s coach from 2012 to 2016 at Nation’s Capital Swim Club, pointed out that she competed in such events several times during her high school days, including against Gemmell’s son and 2012 U.S. Olympian Andrew Gemmell. Following the 2021 Olympics when she won four medals and two gold, Ledecky left her training base at Stanford University and relocated to Gainesville to train under coach Anthony Nesty with Gators Bobby Finke and Kieran Smith, both Olympic medalists for the U.S. men in Tokyo. She also became as a volunteer assistant coach for the Gators. Ledecky has a history of thriving while training with men, and the presence of Finke and Smith as well as Nesty’s accomplishments as an Olympic coach and as a college coach were huge draws in bringing her to the University of Florida. ◄ BIWEEKLY

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[ Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher / USA Today Sports ]

>> Lydia Jacoby

A Look at the USA Swimming Roster for World Short Course Championships BY DAN D'ADDONA

SA Swimming announced its list of athletes who will represent the U.S. at the 2021 FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) and the 2021 FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim World Series. Twenty-eight U.S. swimmers will represent the U.S. at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25m), which will take place December 16-21 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Fifteen U.S. swimmers who competed at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be taking the stage, including Olympic gold medalists Lydia Jacoby (Seward, Alaska/Seward Tsunami Swim Team) and Zach Apple (Trenton, Ohio/Mission Viejo Nadadores), among others. American-record holders Torri Huske (Arlington, Va./ Stanford University) and Michael Andrew (Encinitas, Calif./ MA Swim Academy) will also make the trip. Katie Grimes (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada) comes in as the youngest rostered U.S. swimmer at just 15 years old, while Melanie Margalis (Clearwater, Fla./St. Petersburg Aquatics/MAAC) and Tom Shields (Huntington Beach, Calif./California Aquatics) are the lone 30-year-olds on the list. All but six individuals on the U.S. roster will be making their FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) debuts. Andrew, Margalis, Zach Harting (Huntsville, Ala./ Huntsville Swim Association/Cardinal Aquatics), Ryan Held (Springfield, Ill./New York Athletic Club/Sun Devil Swimming) and Kieran Smith (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield Aquatic Club/University of Florida) will all make an appearance after competing at the last championships, which took place in 2018. The U.S. has finished on top of the medal table in each of

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the last two FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) competitions, totaling at least 30 medals in each outing. The USA Swimming coaching staff will be comprised of head coach Dave Salo (Irvine Novaquatics), and assistant coaches Blaire Bachman (University of Virginia), Wyatt Collins (University of Texas), Bruce Marchionda (TAC Titans) and Ozzie Quevedo (University of Alabama). Also taking place in Abu Dhabi, from December 15-16, is the FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim World Series, which will feature a 10K and team relay event. While separate from the World Championships (25m), the open water and pool teams will travel together to UAE. Below are the U.S. athletes competing in the open water event: •

Michael Brinegar (Columbus, Ind./Mission Viejo Nadadores/Indiana University)

•

David Heron (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo Nadadores)

•

Brennan Gravley (Las Vegas, Nev./University of Florida)

•

Dylan Gravley (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada)

•

Joshua Brown (Winter Park, Fla./Highlander Aquatic Club)

•

Katie Grimes (Las Vegas, Nev./Sandpipers of Nevada)

•

Brooke Travis (Newark, Del./NC State University)

•

Mariah Denigan (Walton, Ky./Indiana University)

The USA Swimming representatives at the FINA/CNSG Marathon Swim World Series will be coached by Ron Aitken (Sandpipers of Nevada) and Cory Chitwood (Indiana University). ◄

[ Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

Coleman Stewart ‘‘Cannot Understand USA Swimming’s Reasoning’’ for Short Course Worlds Snub

BY DAVID RIEDER

n his first ISL match of the season, Coleman Stewart crushed the world record in the short course meters 100 backstroke. But despite all that, he was not named to USA Swimming’s team for the Short Course World Championships in December in Abu Dhabi, and Stewart is not being shy about his frustrations with the process that left him without a chance at a world title. After USA Swimming’s announcement of the teams bound for Abu Dhabi Thursday afternoon, Stewart posted about his disappointment to Twitter and Instagram. He wrote, “I was not offered a spot on the short course worlds team by USA Swimming. As the current world record holder in a short course event, I cannot understand USA Swimming’s reasoning behind the decision.” Stewart went on to criticize USA Swimming for picking short course teams based on long course results, calling it “an outdated selection process that has worked in the past, and may continue to work due to the depth of our swimmers, but it leaves off some of the best swimmers America has to offer. USA Swimming has a history of only caring for their toptier long course swimmers, and leaving multiple short course American record holders off the team has only solidified this in my opinion.” Previously, Stewart had revealed on the “Inside with Brett Hawke” podcast that he had not heard from USA Swimming about Short Course Worlds. Both Stewart and host Brett

Hawke expressed surprise and frustration about the situation, especially considering his remarkable efforts over the past few months. On August 29, Stewart swam a 48.33 to lop a quarter-second off Kliment Kolesnikov’s previous record, just one day after he clipped Matt Grevers’ previous American record in the event. Stewart, a former standout for the NC State Wolfpack, went on to have consistent success in the sprint backstroke events all season while representing the Cali Condors. He scored three wins in both the 50 and 100-meter distances plus one win in the 200 back during his month-long stint in Naples, Italy. However, USA Swimming selected its team for Short Course Worlds from its official 2021-22 National Team, which was based entirely on long course swimming. According to the organization’s website, the National Team includes “the six (6) athletes with the fastest times in each individual Olympic event, from the combined results of all USA Swimming or FINA sanctioned competitions, will be named to the roster.” In many events, that resulted in a group similar to the top six finishers from Olympic Trials making the cut. A group which, by the way, did include Stewart — just not for the 100 back. At Olympic Trials, the 23-year-old from York, Pa., tied for fourth in the 100 fly, missing the Olympic team by about six tenths, and he took eighth in a very tight 100 free final, coming even closer to making the team with six Continued >>

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swimmers selected for relay purposes. But in the 100 back, Stewart placed 10th in the semifinals in 53.91. In comparison, Trials runnerup Hunter Armstrong swam a 52.48, and the sixth-fastest American in the event long course, Matt Grevers, has a top time this year of 53.18. So based on those criteria, Stewart was never going to be selected for the 100 back. Maybe the 100 fly, should enough swimmers decline spots, but those spots went to Trials runnerup Tom Shields and the versatile Michael Andrew, the No. 2 swimmer in the country this year. The truth is that Stewart is correct in his assertion USA Swimming has never prioritized Short Course Worlds. It has been years since a short course selection meet was held, and usually, the spots go to whichever top long course swimmers are interested in attending. That comes at the detriment of swimmers who excel in short course but are still seeking a long course breakthrough — like Stewart and Beata Nelson. Nelson had eight individual wins for the Cali Condors this ISL season, and in that span, she broke the American record in the 100 IM (57.90) and fell just a half-second short of Missy Franklin’s decade-old record in the 200 back. Nelson would undoubtedly be a gold-medal contender in Abu

Dhabi, but instead, the American representatives in the 200 back will be Rhyan White and Isabelle Stadden, and Melanie Margalis and Abbey Weitzeil will swim the 100 IM. The first three are excellent swimmers in their respective events, but none have been racing in the ISL all year and accumulating valuable short course meters experience. Weitzeil has been in the ISL, but she is a sprint freestyler, maybe good for a 50 fly thrown into the mix. Most years, the Short Course Worlds are sparsely attended among American and international swimmers. Short course world titles and medals simply do not carry the gravitas of their long course cousins. Same thing with short course records, since many top athletes never mess with short course meters. In 2021, the will be even more down than usual following off the Olympics and the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia has already announced it will not send a representative team. Still, the selection criteria just lack some logic. Especially with so much more short course meters racing to be had in this age of the ISL, why not give the best short course swimmers in the world a chance at some international glory, a chance to bolster their résumé and maybe pick up some cash along the way? That’s a chance that Stewart and others would certainly sign up for. ◄

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[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick ]

Without Full Athlete Buy-In, Short Course Worlds Remain a Secondary Championship

BY DAVID RIEDER

wo months after breaking the world record in the short course 100 backstroke, Coleman Stewart was left off the U.S. team for December’s Short Course World Championships. Instead, the spots went to the top swimmers from this summer’s long course season who were interested in participating, Hunter Armstrong and Shaine Casas. With that selection process, the message was clearly sent that USA Swimming as an organization did not care about Short Course Worlds. Among the world’s top swimmers, coaches and decisionmakers, that feeling is far from an outlier. Need proof? Many of the world’s best swimmers have rarely attended or never attended the meet, even in their prime. Michael Phelps went to one Short Course Worlds, when it was held on U.S. soil in Indianapolis in 2004, and never again before his career wrapped up in 2016.

in the meet regularly, but for many, it’s an afterthought of an event. That’s particularly true when it is held just months after an Olympics, as is the case this year. In 2016, the gold medalist in only one individual men’s event out of 13 at the Rio Olympics showed up to Short Course Worlds (Gregorio Paltrinieri), and the winner of only five women’s events chose to attend (representing just three swimmers). So it’s a great chance to win world titles, a great chance for young swimmers to gain some valuable international experience and even a great chance for veterans to race against good competition and even make some money. But a true world championship? Hardly.

Plenty of top swimmers do participate

[ Photo Courtesy: Mine Kasapoglu / ISL ]

Stars like Adam Peaty, Missy Franklin and Nathan Adrian are among those with just a single trip to Short Course Worlds throughout their amazing careers, and for each one, that appearance came before they debuted (and starred) at a long course World Championships or Olympics. Katie Ledecky, Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell have never been to a Short Course Worlds. >> Adam Peaty Continued >> BIWEEKLY

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[ Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto ]

that relatively few swimmers care about that format. We would love to find out who is really the best in a format where turns and details reign supreme and overall aerobic fitness is slightly deprioritized. But on the other hand, that’s the reality of the swimming world, today and always: the Olympics reign supreme, so 50-meter racing will always be the priority. Short course racing? A top priority and even a key source of income for some. For many others, it’s an entire racing period to ignore.

>> Emma McKeon Simply, a lot of the world’s best swimmers have never embraced short course — or at least short course meters. Most top Americans and some internationals compete in short course yards during their college careers, but that format carries no significance outside the United States. Racing in the 25-meter tank is a wholly different experience than the Olympic-sized pool, so in one sense, it’s a shame

The advent of the International Swimming League (ISL) has brought short course meters racing back into the spotlight, at least to an extent, as even swimmers who had avoided Short Course Worlds jumped at the chance to compete in a true professional league. But even into the third season of the ISL, plenty of short course meters world records and historical top times lists are weak compared to the long course counterparts. Now, the ISL is happening in the same period as the Short Course World Championships for the first time, with the 2021 meet scheduled for December 15-20 in Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, the ISL playoffs begin just days after the European Short Course Championships in Kazan. Not to mention that we’re only three months removed from the Olympic Games, a championship meet into which swimmers put their all as they rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic. So this leaves plenty of swimmers to choose between events, if they even want to race at all right now in this post-Olympics period. Caeleb Dressel, Lilly King and Ryan Murphy will be in the ISL playoffs, but neither is on the U.S. roster for Short Course Worlds. That was a choice these swimmers made, not a flaw in the selection procedures. Helping their teams in the ISL playoffs was a priority, but they deemed the pursuit of short course world titles not worth the time and effort. Meanwhile, Australia has already announced it will not send a full representative team due to the pandemic. Maybe stars like McKeon, Kyle Chalmers and Madi Wilson decide to go following impressive ISL and World Cup campaigns, but rest assured that this would not be a total phone-in if Short Course Worlds carried more prestige. But in the grand scheme of swimming, the meet is insignificant. And until the world’s best swimmers — all of the world’s best swimmers — show that they really care about short course and the Short Course World Championships, those titles and medals will always be worth far less than their long course cousins. ◄

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11 Years Later, Texas and California Remain the Standard in Men’s College Swimming BY DAVID RIEDER

t was the NCAA Championships almost derailed before the meet began. The University of Texas, the secondplace team one year earlier, was favored to capture a national championship as U.S. Olympians Ricky Berens and Dave Walters concluded their stellar careers. But days before, the Texas men were one of three contending teams to deal with an outbreak of norovirus. The swimmers becoming so sick forced meet organizers into scramble mode, and eventually, the meet was delayed one day. In the end, Texas overcame their outbreak of illness and earned coach Eddie Reese his 10th national title and ending a seven-year title-less streak. But the Longhorns had to work especially hard in this one to overcome a surge by a California Golden Bears squad led by junior sprinter Nathan Adrian, a surprising freshman butterflyer named Tom Shields and third-year head coach Dave Durden. The assistant coach at the time was Greg Meehan, he of Stanford women’s fame a few years later. Cal ended up finishing second at that meet, the highest finish for the Bears on the national level since 1986. One year later, Cal took down Texas to win its first national title since 1980, and the Bears repeated in 2012, with Texas again finishing as runnerup. In 2013, the University of Michigan claimed the championship, followed by Cal in second and Texas third, but in the years since, no team besides Texas and Cal has finished in the top

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two at the national championship meet. Cal claimed wins in 2014 and 2019, and the Longhorns have won the other five meets in that span. The 2020 meet was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Longhorns and Golden Bears were projected to top the standings at that meet, too. A few of these meets have been blowouts in one direction or another, but some have come down to the wire — like Texas’ 2018 national title in Minneapolis. At that meet, Texas had seemingly wrapped up the win halfway through prelims on the final day with five A-finalists in two events compared to just one scorer for Cal, but the Bears then responded with five A-finalists of their own in the next two events while just one Texas man scored. And Indiana, with senior freestyler Blake Pieroni and junior breaststroker Ian Finnerty, was threatening to crash the party. But in the end, Texas prevailed by 11.5 points over Cal, with the Hoosiers just 15 further back. Consider the names that have swum on either side of this rivalry: for Texas, you have Jimmy Feigen, Jack Conger, Joseph Schooling, Will Licon and Clark Smith, among many others. Cal had the generation of Adrian, Shields and breaststroker Damir Dugonjic, and then later, Ryan Murphy, Josh Prenot, Jacob Pebley and Andrew Seliskar among their stars. Of course, it takes deep rosters to win a championship, and we have seen many unsung heroes over the years. For Cal,

[ Photo Courtesy: Andy Ringgold / Aringo Photos ]

swimmers like Justin Lynch, Pawel Sendyk and Michael Jensen have been key pieces to relay championships. Texas can’t forget backstrokers like Austin Katz and John Shebat, sprinters Tate Jackson and Brett Ringgold and the versatile Jon Roberts. Those lists certainly omit some obvious names, and that’s the point. The Longhorns and Golden Bears have been able to find production from so many different swimmers in their pursuit of NCAA titles. Longhorns vs. Bears in 2022

Only one Texas swimmer qualified for the U.S. Olympic team, senior Drew Kibler, while sophomore Carson Foster barely missed on two separate occasions before later recording the world’s fastest time in the 400 IM. Cal has no U.S. Olympians on its current roster after Bryce Mefford chose not to swim a fifth year, but Trenton Julian returns. Julian just missed qualifying for Tokyo and a month later recorded the U.S.’s top 2021 time in the 200-meter butterfly. Redshirt senior Hugo Gonzalez was an Olympic finalist while representing Spain.

[ Photo Courtesy: Luke Jamroz Photography ]

>> Joseph Schooling & Jack Conger Now, at the beginning of November 2021, Texas and Cal are again on a collision course for March, with the NCAA championships set for Atlanta. It looked like men’s college swimming would enter a new era in 2021-22 with Reese choosing to retire from coaching after he extended his own record with a 15th national championship last season, but he changed his mind in June and decided to return to chase his title No. 16.

>>Reece Whitley boost last season, and freshman Jack Alexy will join him in that mix after he finished 10th in the 100 free at Olympic Trials, swimming as fast as 48.69.

But both teams have an abundance of pieces accustomed to delivering big-time performance at the NCAA championships. For Texas, that list includes breaststroker Caspar Corbeau, IMer and breaststroker Jake Foster (Carson’s older brother), fifth-year butterflyer and backstroker Alvin Jiang, distance man David Johnston, sprinter Daniel Krueger, freestyler Peter Larson and IMer Braden Vines, all returning NCAA A-finalists from last season.

In short, these are the deepest and strongest teams on paper, as usual, and no team has the track record of performing at a high level when it counts at the NCAA Championships like the Longhorns and the Golden Bears. Remember, this is a heck of a track record — one that goes back more than a decade! So long that Alexy, potentially the newest star to be part of this rivalry, was only 7 years old the year this college swimming duopoly began.

For Cal, breaststroke star Reece Whitley is still in search of his first individual NCAA title, and last year’s freshman breakout star Destin Lasco is trying to get to that level after nearly taking down Shaine Casas in the 200 back at last year’s meet Backstroker Daniel Carr and IMer/freestyler Sean Grieshop join Julian as a fifth-year swimmers for the Bears. Bjorn Seeliger returns to Cal after providing a sprint

Reese is the all-time winningest coach in swimming history with those 15 national titles. Durden, as he enters just his 14th season, already has four titles plus seven second-place finishes at the national level. These are two elite coaches guiding two elite programs, the cream of the crop in the sport for an unprecedented period of time. ◄ BIWEEKLY

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Caeleb Dressel Announced as Co-Recipient of James E. Sullivan Award; Shares Honor With Simone Biles BY DAVID RIEDER

he James E. Sullivan award recognizes the top athlete in the United States in any sport, and one of this year’s recipients is Caeleb Dressel. Dressel was named a winner of the award at a Friday luncheon, and then he was announced publicly at the Orlando Magic’s evening home game against the New York Knicks. The 25-year-old from Florida has been considered the top male swimmer in the world since 2017, when he burst onto the international scene with seven gold medals at the 2017 World Championships. Dressel followed that up with six golds and eight total medals at the 2019 Worlds, and at his second Olympics in Tokyo, he won five gold medals. Three of those golds were in individual events (the 100 free, 100 fly and 50 free), making Dressel just the third man (following Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps) to win three individual golds at a single Games. He also led the United States to gold medals in the 400 freestyle and 400 medley relay. Dressel was one of two recipients of this year’s award, which was the 91st time it was given. Gymnast Simone Biles, who overcame significant mental health obstacles to win two

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medals in Tokyo, was named a co-recipient of the award. The award was not given in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic while basketball star Sabrina Ionescu and wrestler Spencer Lee were the co-winners in 2019. Dressel is the first swimmer to win the Sullivan award since 2012, when Missy Franklin won following her four-goldmedal performance at the London Olympics. Previously, Paralympian Jessica Long won in 2006 and Phelps was the winner in 2003 after he won four gold medals at the World Championships and broke world records in four different individual event. In addition to Dressel, the list of Sullivan award finalists included U.S. Olympic swimming teammate Lydia Jacoby, the 17-year-old who won a stuning gold medal in the women’s 100 breaststroke, as well as Paralympic swimmerturned-triathlete Brad Snyder. U.S. water polo star Maddie Musselman was also a finalist. This is the official description for the award, from the Sullivan Award’s official website: “Older than The Heisman (1935), the AAU Sullivan Award honors the outstanding athlete in the United States. It has been presented annually by the AAU since 1930 as a salute to founder and past president of the Amateur Athletic Union, and a pioneer in amateur sports, James E. Sullivan. Based on the qualities of leadership, character, and sportsmanship, the AAU Sullivan Award goes far beyond athletic accomplishments and honors those who have shown strong moral character as well.” ◄

[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick ]

How Can You Benefit From a Strong Relationship With Your Coach? BY JONATHAN EDWARDS

wimming is a sport that requires an immense amount of physical, mental and emotional energy. When you are pushing yourself to your limit every day, it makes it easier to have a good relationship with your coach. Your coach is someone that you see almost every day for hours on end, so being close with them is beneficial. What makes up a good relationship? Connection When you spend such a large amount of time with one person, you will at least form a basic connection. While this connection will begin as acquaintances, it is able to be built from there. If you are afraid to build this relationship with your coach, just remember that this is part of their job. They are more than likely willing to create a relationship with you. A strong connection with anyone requires effort, but after some time, you will form a close relationship. With a connection, the sport will become more fun. You are now doing the sport that you love for a coach that you know has your best interests in mind. A strong connection with your coach will allow you to enjoy swimming to a greater extent. And when you are enjoying what you are doing, it becomes much easier to push yourself. Swimming faster will likely be a benefit of this connection. Communication Effective communication is something that is valuable in any relationship. The relationship between a coach and a swimmer requires communication in order to develop. Your relationship with your coach, like all relationships, will have some ups and downs. Maintaining healthy communication is vital in making sure that these ups and downs do not harm the relationship. If you ever disagree with your coach, communicating this will allow both of you to understand each other. When you develop healthy communication, conflicts may be settled with ease. When there is open communication between a coach and a swimmer, you will develop mutual respect for each other as well. Having a greater respect for one another is formed through communication, which will

also further build a relationship. Trust Trust is one of the most important parts of a relationship that you can have with anyone. If you can share trust with your coach, your relationship will improve tremendously. A simple form of trust can be formed very easily. If you are performing well, you will trust the sets that your coach is writing. Your performance in the pool will then allow your coach to trust you to swim well on relays, and other races with more pressure. Trust can be strengthened through communication, as well as time shared together. When trust is stronger, you will have the confidence to go to your coach when you are struggling with issues in or out of the pool. You can trust your coach with this information and you also value their opinion. Trust will help you appreciate what the sport has to offer on a new level. Let’s talk about more of the benefits. What Are The Benefits? A good relationship involves connection, communication and trust. When you are able to develop all three of these parts of a relationship, your relationship will improve tremendously. With a strong relationship, your coach will become a person that you go to with not only your struggles, but also your successes. You will want to tell your coach about what you thought you did well on a set or during a practice. When you have a strong relationship with your coach, you will find yourself more willing to persevere through practices. There will be a shared respect between each other, and this will allow you to be more authentic to one another. When you have all of these aspects of a good relationship, you will enjoy your time at practice to a much greater extent. You may also find yourself swimming faster in meets. ◄ All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff. BIWEEKLY

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[ Photo Courtesy: USA Diving ]

Jack Matthews, Daryn Wright Lead USA Diving Squad for Junior Worlds, Junior Pan Ams BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

ack Matthews and Daryn Wright have a busy finish to the year, leading the USA Diving delegation to both the 2021 FINA Junior World Championships and 2021 Junior Pan American Games. Matthews and Wright will be part of the eight-athlete team competing in the 2021 Junior Pan Ams in Cali, Colombia, from Nov. 25-Dec. 5. Wright is one of five divers who earned a spot there via medals at the 2021 UANA Pan American Diving Championships in early October. The duo will then travel to Kiev, Ukraine for World Juniors, which run from Dec. 2-9. Among the headliners in this contingent is Max Weinrich, who won the Pan American Championship in October. “We have a great group of young divers,” Dan Laak, USA Diving’s High Performance Director, said in a press release. “As many of these athletes displayed in October at the Junior Pan American Championships, the future of diving in the U.S. is looking bright. We are looking forward to our athletes being top performers both in Cali and Kiev.” The Pan Am Games adheres to the Olympic standard of 3-meter and platform competition. Worlds expands to include the 1-meter springboard, which is not an Olympic event. Wright is the only diver at Worlds who will compete on all three levels. 2021 Junior Pan American Games Roster

• • • • • • 24

Carson Tyler (Moss Farms Diving/Indiana University) platform Quinn Henninger (Mile High Diving/Indiana University) 3-meter Josh Hedberg (Indiana International School of Diving) platform Jack Matthews (Miami Diving /University of Miami) 3-meter Joslyn Oakley (Carolina Diving Academy) 3-meter Kaylee Bishop (Coral Springs Diving) platform BIWEEKLY

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• •

Emilie Moore (Coral Springs Diving) 3-Meter Daryn Wright (Indiana International School of Diving) platform

• Coaches: Sean McCarthy, Michelle Sandelin, John Fox, Jenn Hess (also team leader), Sara Paul (medical) 2021 Junior World Championships Roster Men’s Group A • Max Weinrich (Dominion Dive Club) 3-meter, platform • Jack Matthews (Miami Diving/University of Miami) 1-meter, 3-meter • Joseph Victor (Ripfest/Princeton) platform Men’s B Group • Joshua Sollenberger (Indiana International School of Diving) 1-meter • Max Miller (Woodlands Diving Academy) 3-meter • Kaden Springfield (ACES Diving) 3-meter, platform • Tyler Wills (Ripfest) platform Women’s A Group • Margo O’Meara (Ripfest) 1-meter, 3-meter • Daryn Wright (Indiana International School of Diving) 1-meter, 3-meter, platform • Chloe Bishop (Coral Springs Diving/University of Texas) platform Women’s B Group • Avery  Worobel (The Woodlands Diving) 3-meter, platform • Jaiden Lynch (Mission Viejo Nadadores) platform • Bailee Sturgill (RipFest) 3-meter • Katerina Hoffman (Nebraska Diving Club) 1-meter Coaches: John Wingfield, Mandy Eby, Gabi Chereches, Sean McCarthy, Leslie Adams (team leader), Dr. Amor Adams (medical), Steven Zook (medical) ◄

[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick ]

Cutting Time: Tips for Improving Turns, Underwaters and Breakouts BY CARLY McADAM

ne of the easiest ways to drop time quickly is to improve your turns, underwaters and breakouts. Sloppy transitions can easily add time to a race. When you’re performing them well off every wall, those seconds add up quickly. But, it’s not always easy to focus on making them fast. We’ve all been there. You’re in the middle of a tough set, lungs burning, and all you’re thinking about is making that interval. The last thing you want to worry about is doing a perfect turn, strong underwaters or a crisp breakout. Here are some tips and tricks to improve your turns, underwaters and breakouts during training and in a race.

all the way into your turn is essential to prevent loss of speed.

How to Improve Turns

1. Focus on both your “up” and “down” kicks Swimmers often think solely about the down kick when doing a dolphin kick, but the up kick is a great opportunity to add even more speed to your underwaters. Instead of thinking of the up kick as moving your feet back into position for your down kick, think of it as another opportunity to increase your power.

1. Don’t look up before your turns Many swimmers look up at the wall just before their turns, which makes sense. You want to see the wall, gauge your distance and start your turn at the right time. However, lifting your head up just before your turn adds resistance and immediately slows you down. Instead, use the “T” on the bottom of the pool to gauge your distance from the wall. You’ll be able to get into the wall more quickly and your head position will be ideal for quickly tucking into a flip turn or staying low on an open turn. 2. Think about accelerating into the wall It’s easy to slow down as you’re heading into a turn, and you might not even realize that you’re doing it. When you’re tired, a turn feels more like a time to take a moment of rest rather than a moment to pick up the pace. In order to prevent this, think about increasing your speed from the flags into the wall and attacking your turn. Keeping a strong and consistent kick

3. Work on explosion outside of the pool Pushing off the wall after a turn should be explosive. You can condition your legs outside of the water to maximize power when pushing off of the wall. Weighted and bodyweight squat jumps help build up your leg muscles and simulate pushing off the wall. Streamline squat jumps can even more closely simulate your body position when pushing off the wall. How to Improve Underwaters

2. Be consistent in training It’s nice to have great underwaters on the first lap of your race, but it’s even better to have consistent and strong underwaters throughout your whole race. Don’t slack off on underwaters during practice. Work on staying consistent and training to have great underwaters even when you’re tired. Try doing the same number of underwaters off of every wall while practicing your event at race pace. 3. Use a tempo trainer Increasing the speed of your dolphin kicks can help make your underwaters more efficient and your breakouts more Continued >>

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explosive. Try using a tempo trainer to speed up your underwaters and keep the pace consistent all the way up to your breakout. How to Improve Breakouts [ Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr ]

1. Make your first stroke powerful It’s easy to glaze over your first stroke because you’re thinking about getting to the surface and racing. But, a lot of power and speed can come from having a strong first stroke. Try practicing your first stroke from a standstill position in the pool. The lack of momentum will force you to take an especially powerful stroke. 2. Break out at the right time Breaking out too early or too late can cause you to lose momentum from pushing off the wall, slowing you down. Practice breakouts at race pace and keep track of exactly how many underwaters you plan on doing or how long your pull-down will be. Performing breakouts in practice exactly as you expect to swim them in a race will help you make sure you won’t break out too early or too late in your race. 3. Don’t take a breath on your first stroke This one may seem obvious, but it’s easy to forget when you start to get tired. Breathing on your first stroke can cause you to lose the momentum you gained from your explosive turn and strong underwaters. If you start building good habits and commit to not breathing on your first stroke for just a few practices, pretty soon you won’t need to think about it anymore. Dropping time from a race isn’t easy, but focusing on improving your turns, underwaters and breakouts is a great place to start. ◄

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff. 26

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Olympic Medalist Michele Mitchell to Lead Mission Viejo Nadadores Foundation

BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE

ichele Mitchell, a two-time Olympic medalist diver, has been named the executive director of the Mission Viejo Nadadores Foundation, it was announced last week. Mitchell’s position oversees the Nadadores’ swimming and diving programs. She will begin the role in January 2022. Mitchell followed her outstanding athlete career by earning a master’s degree in sports administration and a Ph.D. in education psychology from the University of Arizona. Mitchell was hired as the Nadadores’ head diving coach in 2017. She led the squad to its first team diving national title in 18 years and has grown membership by 300 percent. She also helped Mission Viejo host the 2018 USA Diving Grand Prix as well as various invitationals, regional meets and the AAU Western Nationals. “I am honored to have been selected as the Executive Director for the Nadadores,” Mitchell said in a press release. “Since the grand re-opening in 2018, the program has returned to the

prominence it once held in both swimming and diving. I want to continue the Nadadores’ legacy as a top-notch organization in Mission Viejo, while engaging the thousands of alumni and citizenry, all of whom have fond memories of this place. I invite the world to return to Mission Viejo. This is a unique relationship between a city who understands the value of aquatics and a club with a long, storied, successful history. I am delighted to continue the work to move us forward toward 2028.” Mission Viejo has long been one of the premier clubs in the nation, but it is undergoing a seismic shift. Iconic coach Mark Schubert, long a fixture on the staffs of USA Swimming teams for international meets, has announced he is stepping away from the team. Schubert led the club’s rise to prominence starting in the 1970s. Mitchell was an outstanding diver and is an International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree. After a standout career at the University of Arizona as a four-time All-American, she won silver medals in the 10-meter platform event at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. Mitchell returned to Arizona as the head diving coach for 17 seasons. She also worked for five years in the athletic department there. He other professional endeavors include as a television commentator for diving and as the former chair of USA Diving’s board of directors. ◄

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[ Photo Courtesy: Jeff Reinking | Louisville Athletics ]

>> Nicolas Albiero

Louisville Cancels Home Meet Against Notre Dame and Miami Due to COVID-19 Cases BY DAVID RIEDER

he Louisville Cardinals were scheduled to host Notre Dame and the Miami women’s team Friday afternoon, but the meet is off due to issues with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The team announced that the meet was canceled “due to a handful of recent positive COVID-19 cases” in a very short statement. No further details were available. The meet will not be made up, and Louisville is next scheduled to compete in its mid-season invitational at Purdue beginning on November 18. Louisville has swum in three meets this season. The women and men’s teams each finished second to Michigan in the SMU Classic in mid-October between a home dual meet

against Xavier and a road trip south to Knoxville to take on Tennessee. The team was ranked seventh in the preseason CSCAA men’s poll and 13th in the women’s, and the men in particular got a big boost when Nicolas Albiero, the reigning NCAA champion in the 200 fly, chose to return for his fifth year of racing for Louisville. Albiero is the son of head coach Arthur Albiero, currently in his 18th season with the program. COVID-19 has been a constant threat to swimming and diving programs across the United States, although the virus has slowed down over the past two months after a significant surge fueled by the delta variant late in the summer. Louisville was forced to shut down practice early in the season due to issues with the virus, but there had been no reported COVID issues with the Cardinals in more than two months prior to this cancellation. Louisville has actually competed in four different conferences during Albiero’s tenure: Conference USA, the Big East, the American Athletic Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Louisville men won the program’s first-ever ACC team title last year by edging out six-time defending champion NC State, and the group finished a very strong fifth at the NCAA Championships behind Texas, Cal, Florida and Indiana. The Cardinal women placed 13th on the national level in what was the team’s first NCAAs without Kelsi Dahlia or Mallory Comerford in a decade. ◄

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[ Photo Courtesy: Anthony Ervin / Instagram ]

Anthony Ervin Honors Late Father With Swim Around Charleston to Raise Money for Veterans BY DAN D'ADDONA

nthony Ervin wanted to honor his father, Jack Ervin, a veteran who recently died.

The Olympic gold medalist organized a swim around the city of Charleston, South Carolina, to honor him and raise money for the South Carolina Dept. of Veterans Affairs on Sunday. Ervin posted about the event on Thursday. “On Sunday some friends and I swam 12.5 miles around the city of Charleston in remembrance of my dad, Jack Ervin. By far, the furthest distance I’ve ever swam in a day—but i didn’t do it alone. I’m filled with love and gratitude for all of you that were with me or shared memories of my dad,” Anthony Ervin wrote. The relay consisted of friends: Aloha Ambassador Elliot Ptasnik, distance legend and Olympian Erik Vendt, retired Navy SEAL Captain Tom Dejarnette, and open-water swimmer Jody Wesgate (who only learned how to swim as an adult a few short years ago). We were supported by boat from skipper Duane and Navy Commander Jim Rund, where the flag wave proudly throughout the day. Ervin gave special thanks to Kathleen Wilson, Grand Slam open-water swimmer and organizer of the #swimaroundcharleston. “We were supported by friends, family, and swimmers from around the world, heard from retired servicemen around the country, from USA Swimming, from staff and swim teams of the US Naval Academy and West Point, and even from a 4-star widow. We raised well over $10,000 for the South Carolina Dept. of Veterans Affairs, and thousands more for VA’s in other states across the country. To all who donated: thank you! 100% of every dollar goes towards veteran needs,” Anthony Ervin wrote.

The full text from his Instgram post: On Sunday some friends and I swam 12.5 miles around the city of Charleston in remembrance of my dad, Jack Ervin. By far, the furthest distance I’ve ever swam in a day—but i didn’t do it alone. I’m filled with love and gratitude for all of you that were with me or shared memories of my dad. Our relay consisted of friends: Aloha Ambassador Elliot Ptasnik, distance legend and Olympian Erik Vendt, retired Navy SEAL Captain Tom Dejarnette, and open-water swimmer Jody Wesgate (who only learned how to swim as an adult a few short years ago). We were supported by boat from skipper Duane and Navy Commander Jim Rund, where the flag wave proudly throughout the day. Special thanks to Kathleen Wilson, Grand Slam open-water swimmer and organizer of the #swimaroundcharleston We were supported by friends, family, and swimmers from around the world, heard from retired servicemen around the country, from USA Swimming, from staff and swim teams of the US Naval Academy and West Point, and even from a 4-star widow. We raised well over $10,000 for the South Carolina Dept. of Veterans Affairs, and thousands more for VA’s in other states across the country. To all who donated: thank you! 100% of every dollar goes towards veteran needs. ◄ BIWEEKLY

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