The Social Kick Podcast

With all the conversation surrounding the Enhanced Games, we decided to hop on a live show to discuss the pros, cons, and everything in between!   Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

From crossing the Maui channel at age 10 to rocking the American flag cap for Team USA to becoming the first and only person to complete the Maui Nui triple crossing, Becca Mann has lived a swimming life full of triumphs and tribulations too good not to share with the world, so the accomplished novelist and screenwriter pivoted to non-fiction and wrote a memoir - Outside the Lanes: A Pro Swimmer's Story of Resilience, Reinvention, and Redefining Success. Becca joins us for a chat about her life, writing books, and swimming. She's a riot and her energy is contagious. Following a five year break from competition, Becca is back in the pool aiming to get back on the US National team, having moved to North Carolina to join her old friend and World Champion Ashley Twichell in training. Judging by her results thus far, she looks to be right on track.

The Stanford women were on fire this year and it was performances like Caroline Bricker had at NCAAs that led the Cardinal moving up the podium to take the 2nd place trophy back to The Farm. Dropping 12 seconds over the course of 2 years is something age groupers do, not often seen among the elite field who generally are chasing marginal gains and celebrating personal bests by tenths of a second. But not Caroline Bricker. Her self belief, as she explains in this episode, powered her with a winning mindset that she brought to the A final and unleashed on the field to win the 400 IM, pulling away from the Olympic silver medalist in the process to stamp her name in Stanford history as “400 IM U.”   A lot is changing though, with the recent departure of coach Greg Meehan to take the helm at USA Swimming, Caroline updates us on the search process and how other coaches and teammates are stepping in to keep the momentum going into long course season.

NCAA 200 breaststroke champion Lucy Bell, a Stanford junior, didn't even swim that event she ultimately won when the season began. While one of the best individual medley swimmers in the country, driven by a strong breaststroke leg, her “3rd event” at NCAAs had usually been the 200 butterfly. But Lucy's intuition told her to give breaststroke a try so she asked her coaches, got a chance, and on her first attempt put up the fastest time in the country to that point of the season. She would go on to drop time over and over again, ultimately culminating in a NCAA title with a dominant victory. Good reminder to always keep exploring your athletic potential. Lucy Bell is the perfect example that trying something a different way could unlock growth and performance to another level. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

The 2025 college swimming season was a wild one, and to chat about women's swimming and put a bow on the year that was, we're joined by Texas stud freshman Piper Enge and Indiana mega point scorer Miranda Grana to talk all things swimming.    Piper finaled in the 100 breaststroke (5th) at her first ever NCAAs as a freshman and swam short course best times this year, following up on her World Championships appearance in 2024. Texas finished 3rd in the team race following a tight battle with Stanford for 2nd.    Miranda Grana scored 40 points for the Hoosiers in her first year with the program, led by her 3rd place 100 backstroke and 4th place 100 butterfly performances. IU battled Tennessee for the 4th trophy, and took home another large one to display in coach Ray Looze's office.    In this fun episode with two of the brightest young stars in college swimming, we look back on the year of swimming, discuss adjusting to college swimming and to a new program, innovative techniques, the difficulty situation with roster cuts, and expectations for next year.

3rd Annual Men's NCAA Championship Recap Show featuring Will Modglin (Texas), Jonny Marshall (Florida) and Yamoto Okadome (Cal). The dust settled another Texas vs. Cal title race with Texas taking the crown, some of the up and coming stars from the meet sat down for a cross-team chat about the meet and college swimming. Will Modglin scored 23 individual points, highlighted by a team NCAA championship for the longhorns and 3 A final appearance. Modglin had ups and downs, as he was on the national champion 200 medley relay, due to a Florida false start. Modglin had his own disqualification on the dreaded back to breast turn in the 200 IM. Jonny Marshall had 25 individual points, placing 2nd in the 100 back (while breaking the NCAA record). He also was on the meet record 400 medley relay, just missing their own NCAA record which they set at SECs. Yamoto Okadome, the only Japanese swimming competing in the division 1 level got a true taste of the sport, being thrown into the A finals in the 100 and 200 breast. He also experienced the ravenous Cal fans/alumni, cheering on the team in their sweaty bear costumes. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

As a 5th year, even Jassen Yep didn't think winning an NCAA Swimming title was possible until he touched the wall in the 200 breast. After touching, Jassen Yep let out raw emotion and excitement, resulting in a legendary swimming celly. Although it seems like Yep was an overnight success, there was a lot of hard work behind this win. Yep was an accomplished high school swimmer in California, representing Archbishop Mitty and swimming at PEAK with elite club coach Abi Liu. In high school, he went a 1:57 in the 200 breast to earn a small scholarship at Indiana. At Indiana, Jassen put in work and through various ups and downs, he dropped 9 seconds in the 200 breast to go a 1:48 200 breaststroke, becoming the third fastest performer in history. He is also the best dressed Social Kick guest of all time, rocking a tuxedo on the show and having Olympian Matt King serve him a chilled beverage. Entering the 2025 NCAA Swimming championships, Jassen Yep was convinced this would be his final meet. Lucky for us, he surprised himself, and we'll get to watch him continue his career in the long pool. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

In this special NCAA Swimming recap episode, the Social Kick crew recaps the most memorable moments of 2024-2025 in NCAA swimming season. We discuss the best individual swims (Walsh's 46.97 100 fly, Crooks' 39.83 100 free and many more), the overall environment of women's and men's championship meets, and rumors around the pool deck. Join us for a lively and insightful discussion as we reflect on another great year of NCAA swimming filled with incredible swims, unforgettable moments and a few drinks.  Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

Iona Anderson is a teenage Australian Olympian and one of the best backstrokers in the world. 5th at her first Olympics individually, she came home with silver and bronze medals for her relay efforts in Paris. A native of Perth, West Australia, Iona grew up focusing primarily on gymnastics and didn't even start swimming until age 12, so her rise to be among the elites happened quickly. Perhaps this success in the pool comes from a short term focus, not being distracted by the potential she has down the road as Iona is simply focused on this season, in particular improving her skills off the block and the walls. Iona joined us from her temporary training base in Scotland but will return soon to her main base at the WAIS as she focuses on the build toward Commonwealth Games. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts! 

The best kicker in college swimming   Quintin McCarty, the 2025 ACC 50 freestyle champion, could be looking to sign NIL deals in two sports if the Wolfpack football staff needs any help in the kicking game. While swimmers are getting more athletic every year, we don't often hear about swimmers with hobbies that could potentially unlock legitimate opportunities in other sports. Turns out, Quintin is pretty dangerous with the right leg. The takeaway: high performers enjoy the process of trying, failing, learning, repeating - and this might apply to their primary field (swimming) or any other activity.    But for now, Quintin McCarty is focused on swimming, and that is great news for swim fans. Recently winning his first conference title, Quintin went personal bests in all his events at ACCs and is primed to rack up some points at NCAAs for the Pack.    Quintin thinks he'll still be in great swim shape for the next 20 years too. So, watch out Masters records once he's done wreaking havoc on the college and international sprint game. 

Cal Poly just had its swimming & diving program cut. No other sport at the school was cut. The school president says it will take $25 million to reinstate the program. Current Cal Poly swimmers Jen Reiter and Sabrina Bell joined us to share about the situation they find themselves in, how it came to this, and to ask for help. While scholarships across the nation are being slashed, cutting entire programs is not what the sport needs. Plus, San Luis Obispo is awesome. The facilities are great (2x 50m pools). The team had a good year under interim staff. Would be a real shame to lose this one. The SaveCPSwimdive campaign has begun fundraising and this is the gofundme link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-cal-poly-swim-dive Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

Chlorinated Claire Curzan comes clean about crushing kicks and coaches tricks. In her first year competing for UVA, Claire Curzan, an Olympic medalist and World Champion looks to be on peak form heading into the college championship season. Already an NCAA champion from her freshman season at Stanford, College Claire picked up right where she left off, breaking the NCAA record in the 200 backstroke in-season, building excitement for what may come at her first ACCs. The machine at Virginia keeps rolling.

If you bought $100 of Chris Guiliano stock in ~2021 and held onto it, you'd be a very rich person right now. The man of many freestyle talents has been on a rapid rise dropping chunks of time like he's 10 years old en route to securing 3 individual spots on the Olympic team last summer in the 50-100-200, the first U.S. man to do so since the legend Matt Biondi. Under the radar, Chris developed at Notre Dame, but following the sanctions on the program is now a Texas Longhorn and already among the all-time top 10 performers at UT after his first dual meets. Scary for what's to come for Chris Guiliano as he says he wants to be the best freestyler in the world. Hard to bet against this guy now. We're bullish

Fresh Wolfpack faces. Same Wolfpack speed. Leah Shackley and Erica Pelaez have been racing each other for a few years already wearing American flags on their cap. Now they are in college on the same team and thriving. Backstroke prowess runs deep in Raleigh, so it's no surprise these backstroke standouts found their way to join the bearded baron Braden Holloway to etch their names in NC State lore, but both have skills beyond backstroke and have already shown through the dual meet season they are key contributors for the Pack this championship season. 

Fresh off of a Dual Meet Attendance Record and in season best times, Camille Spink and Josephine Fuller of the University of Tennessee join us for a pre-championship season update. After a tragic start to the 2023-2024 season with the loss of Coach Matt Kredich's son, the team battled through various ups and downs, finishing fourth overall at the NCAA championship. This season, the Volunteer women are more united than ever, as they enter SECs and NCAAs with bigger goals than just attendance records. With more highs than lows thus far, will this be the year the Volunteer women crack the top-3 at NCAAs? Enjoy a cheerful conversation about rivals in swimming, nose clips, and swimming for something bigger than yourself. And don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

A Legend Among Us Simone Manual, one of the best swimmers of all-time joins us to talk about life, swimming, and giving back. An Olympic and World Champion and pioneering figure as the first black American woman to win Olympic gold in swimming, Simone has quite the CV. But she is charging on, having recently kicked off her season with some rust-busting, “off” events and is settling into her new training base in Austin with Bob Bowman. As one of the greatest “big moment” sprinters to ever stand behind the blocks, Simone surprisingly does not identify as a sprinter. She splits time among training groups and she shares some of the methods that have helped her achieve success. We also get to hear about how Simone is using her platform to celebrate, inspire, and empower both BIPOC athletes through the Simone Manual Foundation and female athletes through her work with TOGETHXR. This was a fun one. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

The fastest teenager ever, Turkish distance phenom Kuzey Tuncelli is already an Olympic finalist and 2x World Junior Record holder in both the long and short course 1500m freestyles and a 2024 World Championship Bronze Medalist. What's the secret to success this young? Kuzey Tuncelli is in love with the process. So much so that he is learning what he can improve, like sprinting, and incorporating the learnings into his program, while also assembling a true professional support staff of coaches, doctors, and physios to maximize his huge potential. Expect this guy to be a factor come the next Olympic Games in L.A. Actually he might make a lot more noise much sooner than that. We're here for it. 

Friends of the pod, the Cal Bears return, this time with a World Championship Bronze medalist and an NCAA Champion in Lucas Henveaux and Robin Hanson. Both elite freestylers with Olympic experience, Lucas and Robin share insights on the ‘24-'25 edition of Cal swimming that has seen 17-straight top 2 finishes at NCAAs, an unprecedented run of success. This year, the attention all seems to be on high profile hires and transfers at Texas and Indiana, and Cal is just fine with the attention being elsewhere. Will this be the year the streak ends? Or will Cal once again arrive in March and remind everyone they know how to get it done in championship meets? Only time will tell, but in the meantime, enjoy a wide ranging chat with Lucas and Robin including how high pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis can take the world record to who the greatest Belgian cyclist is and how swimming could adopt golf's handicapping system. 

Same tree, different branches. Stanford's Aurora Roghair and Charlotte Hook join us for a mid-season update, where the two Cardinal stars are in very different places with their swimming. Aurora is coming off a stellar 2024 year of continuous personal bests, including throwing down some of the top times in the country in the fall as she looks to battle for the podiums in longer freestyle events at ACCs and NCAAs. With a different perspective, Charlotte Hook, a world championship medalist, talks about her path battling injuries and decision to sit out the college season to focus on recovery.

Breaking a Caeleb Dressel record is a hell of a way to celebrate your final season as a swimmer. For Florida star Julian Smith, there may well be more accolades to come with the college championship season still to come. Coached by a former Gator great prior to his arrival in Gainesville, Julian Smith is a classic example of a not so highly touted recruit who bought into a system and soaked up the knowledge of great swimmers and coaches around him to show progress every year and now find himself the 4th person in history to swim 49 seconds in a 100 yard breaststroke. While his decision to move on to dental school after the season has already been made, we can't help but wonder what might be if he were to keep going. Regardless, Julian Smith is putting on a show and honoring that Gator cap he wears proudly. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

Go long or go home. Distance freestyle phenom Jillian Cox is tearing it up this year with nation-leading times, Texas Longhorn school records, and a World Championship bronze medal as a mere redshirt freshman. Already a multi-time US National teamer, Austin native Jillian Cox is now leading a strong Texas distance freestyle contingent that looks to be an absolute weapon for the Longhorns coming into championship season as they aim to disrupt the SEC as the new team on the block and attempt to knock off the Virginia Cavaliers for the top step of the podium at NCAAs. We loved nerding out on swim stuff with Jillian. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

A Social Kick Carnival. The boys from Tennessee joined us to chat fast swimming and share their journeys from Caribbean and Brazilian roots to end up on lethal relays together. Cayman's Jordan Crooks and Brazil's Gui Caribe are coming off a killer World Championships where they went 1-2 in the 50 and 2-3 in the 100 freestyles, including a world record for Jordan Crooks in the 50 free in a barrier breaking 19.90 as he became the first person to swim under 20 seconds. Bahamian Lamar and Trinidadian Nikoli also put down personal bests at Worlds, and the foursome now look ahead to the college championship season to continue their success and lift some trophies for the Volunteers to bring back to Rocky Top.

In this episode we're joined by Swiss swimming sensation and butterfly specialist Noe Ponti. Noe just completed a short course season for the ages where he pummeled the 50m Butterfly World Record throughout the World Cup en route to the World Title and he also took down the record that meant the most to him - Caeleb Dressel's 100m Butterfly World Record. This season is just what Noe needed to call 2024 a success, after 4th and 5th place finishes in Paris denied him medals at back to back Olympics. In this chat, Noe takes us behind the scenes of his swimming career from his start as a natural butterflier, to the details of his training regimen, which includes very little sprinting despite Noe now being the fastest 50 butterflier in history. 

Sneakily one of the fastest men to ever sprint, Canadian and Florida Gator Josh Liendo is coming off a career year in 2024. His sophomore campaign at UF included 3 individual event wins at NCAAs, along with leading the Gators to 2 relay wins, building on the already solid freshman year (100 free + 3 relay wins). Somehow that wasn't enough to earn him a Swimmer of the Year, only topped by Leon Marchand with his record performances. Josh continued the momentum in Paris, earning a silver medal with his statement 100 butterfly that nearly won gold, dipping under 50 seconds with a 49.99, only the 5th to ever do that, and at the same time making him the first black Canadian swimmer to win an Olympic medal. Josh nearly had 2 medals, with an under the radar 4th place in the 50 just missing the podium. The perfect Olympic results to feel major accomplishment, while still wanting more. Taught to swim in Trinidad and Tobago til age 11 before moving north, Josh automatically ascended to the exclusive list of Luke's favorite pod guests before we started, but cemented that place during this fun conversation.

The man, the myth, the legend: Jonny Kulow. We sat down with the ASU super sprinter and dug into his journey from a small town in Wyoming to become a freestyle rocket. We discuss his training secrets (or lack thereof!), his signature gym moves, and his favorite Wyoming State record. Plus, we get the inside scoop on the ASU-UofA rivalry, relive the thrilling double swim-off against Adam Cheney at Olympic Trials, and hear Jonny's predictions for the upcoming ASU season, including which underclassmen are poised to make a splash. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

In this episode of Social Kick, we welcome IU standout swimmer Owen McDonald. We delve into his journey from Atlanta to Arizona State, and finally to Indiana University. Owen shares his training secrets, including his favorite event to watch (the 200 IM!), and reveals some hilarious stories about his teammates and coaches. We also discuss his eating habits (hint: it involves a lot of food!), and his intense training regimen with his brother and legendary coach Ray Looze. Plus, Owen gives his predictions for the upcoming NCAA Championships, where he believes it will be a tight race between IU and Texas. Don't miss this insightful and entertaining conversation with one of the brightest young stars in college swimming! Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

In this special year-end episode, the Social Kick crew recaps the most memorable moments of 2024 in swimming. We discuss the best individual swims (including Jordan Crooks's historic sub-20 50 free and Leon Marchand's 4:02 500 free), the most thrilling relays (like the US Women's Medley and the Great Britain Men's 4x200 free), and the most exciting meets (including the NCAA Championships and the Paris Olympics). We also delve into breakout performances from swimmers like Gretchen Walsh and discuss the impact of records like Pan Zhanle's 46.40 100 free. Join us for a lively and insightful discussion as we reflect on a year filled with incredible swims and unforgettable moments. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

So that's a thing now. Rex Maurer has shown the world that even college-aged swimmers can drop nearly 7 seconds in their best event as if he hit a growth spurt. Maybe he did. The Texas sophomore is only a summer and fall semester into his time in Austin following his transfer from Stanford where he had a solid freshman year. But this Longhorn mid-distance crew is different. It is stacked with hitters, as demonstrated with Carson Foster breaking the American Record in the 500 about an hour before Rex decided he'd like that title on his CV. Maybe this reset the 500 freestyle has seen in recent years (see also Leon Marchand's otherworldly underwater freak show 4:02 from 2023) will translate to the long course 400 and finally deliver the much-awaited sub 3:40 that has eluded the world's greatest swimmers since Thorpee. Rex Maurer, the son of an Olympic swimmer and head USC coach Lea Maurer, swam lifetime bests in the 400IM, 1650, and 200 freestyle, all at a mid-season invite, and he is now expected to haul in points for Texas at the 2025 NCAAs as one of THE swimmers to watch in March.

Make Swimming Fun! Premier League Swimming is shaking things up down under, with a new type of fast-paced swimming competition in a league format that maximizes the fun and eliminates the boring. Established in 2018, this independent swim league created a swimming product to bring swimming communities together from all around the world to enjoy a pool swimming experience like no other, which includes world-class swimmers like Linnea Mack and Mark Nikolaev, who join us for a fun, laughter filled episode sharing how the PLS works and some brainstorming ideas, including how to improve our draft stock if the Social Kick team elects to make a comeback that no one wants to see. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

That's what we love about these high school swimmers. We keep getting older. They keep getting faster. Record smasher Rylee Erisman, at only 15, is a national record holder, Olympic Trials finalist, and has already donned the sought after black American flag finals cap to collect some gold medals for Team USA. Shortly after the Olympic Trials, she swam a time that would have put her on the Paris Olympic team, and she's only a couple tenths away from surpassing World Record holder Gretchen Walsh as the fastest high schooler ever. We put on our best GenZ impression to relate to this one who absolutely slays. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

They say ‘the game slows down' for the best athletes in sport. Maybe that's why Ryan Murphy always seems to bring out his best swims in the biggest moments, which have made him one of the best swimmers in the world over the last decade. Team USA's stalwart backstroke ace, Ryan Murphy became a superstar in Rio where he swept gold medals in the backstrokes and broke the 100m World Record leading off Team USA's gold medal winning relay, helping to deliver Michael Phelps his final Olympic gold medal. Since then, the young star has become the elder statesman, a perennial captain of the US squad and always adding to his trophy case with more medals collected this summer in Paris. But as time goes by, life evolves, and so it has for Ryan Murphy. A soon to be dad, Ryan joins us for a chat during a period where his other life pursuits are taking priority, although he is still in touch with the water a few times a week. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

There's enough space on this planet for everyone. Syrian refugee and 2x Olympic swimmer Yusra Mardini had some of her life's defining moments depicted in the Netflix film The Swimmers. A member of the inaugural IOC Refugee team, Yusra has become a global figure advocating on behalf of refugees and displaced communities, and through her Yusra Mardini Foundation, helps advance access to sports and education for refugee communities around the world while also helping them excel as they rebuild their lives. Yusra is now enrolled in film school at USC and while competitive swimming has taken a back seat to the many other priorities on her plate, she still makes time to stay fit and enjoy a conversation with some laughs talking about swimming and about life.

Five Olympics and counting! Sprint master Kasia Wilk Wasick returns for another episode to catch us up on the World Cup, where she took the crown for winning the 50m Freestyle at all 3 stops and in the process dialed in her short course race execution that she will carry in the upcoming Short Course World Championships in Budapest. Kasia also shares her experience at the Paris Olympics, where she hoped to win a medal following her bronze medal performance and first time under 24 seconds at the World Championships earlier in the year. The disappointment of not achieving the goal is one many athletes and all humans can relate to, and Kasia provides a great example of how to use those times and benefit from them, as it forced her to reflect on why she swims and to realize the results are only one part of the joy she gets from being an elite competitive swimmer. Kasia is yet another example of elite athletes peaking into their 30s and has no plans to slow down, telling us maybe she has 8 total Olympics to her name when all is said and done. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

Friend of the pod and now 2-time Olympic medalist Ilya Kharun returns to catch us up on his massive summer. Last time we spoke with Ilya a year ago he was making waves in his first college dual meets and training with Bob Bowman at Arizona State. A lot has happened since then. The Sun Devils won their first NCAA team championship, Ilya became an individual NCAA champ in the 200 fly, then Bob Bowman left ASU for Texas, leaving Ilya among some of the prominent athletes that had to make a decision about their future during critical months ahead of the Paris Olympics. Ilya decided to remain at ASU and train with now-Head Coach Herbie Behm, and he went on to realize his potential in a huge way at the Olympics, winning matching bronze medals in both the 100 and 200 fly in Paris, both in personal best times in the Olympic finals. Now Ilya is back on campus with the boys and the face of ASU swimming. With some major losses in the transfer portal (Hubert Kos, Owen McDonald, Zalan Sarkany) and the loss of Leon Marchand, many people are counting this year's Sun Devils out, but Ilya and the squad are motivated and are out to prove the doubters wrong. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

Mary-Sophie Harvey is a Canadian Olympian and one of the world's most versatile swimmers. A two-time Olympian, Mary-Sophie has accomplished a feat that few swimmers do - swimming her best time in the Olympic final. However, for Mary-Sophie it was somewhat bittersweet because she left the Paris Olympics having finished in 4th place in 4 different events. On the positive side, being 4th in the world is amazing, but Mary-Sophie will be hungry for a taste of her first Olympic medal as she looks ahead to Los Angeles 2028. Mary-Sophie has just completed a strong World Cup season with some key wins while showcasing the rare versatility that puts her among the world's best swimmers in every stroke. Up next are the Short Course World Championships where Mary-Sophie is a threat in so many events, she asked for our opinion on which events she should swim. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

Do you ever get bored swimming? He doesn't. Do you ever get tired swimming? He doesn't. Do your shoulders hurt swimming? His don't. This man has swam 358.2km (222.6 mi) in a single week, earning him the Guinness World Record for most meters swum in a week in a 50m pool. No stranger to ultra endurance mega efforts, Spyros Chrysikopoulos has also taken on gnarly open water marathon challenges that require him to swim for 30+ hours straight across the open ocean, and he has also once swum over 90km in a single day!! So what have you accomplished today?

John Mason is a much sought after TV host and correspondent. His natural on-screen energy and versatility have established him as a regular personality in the European & international markets, particularly in Olympic aquatic sports. John has been the face of the FINA Swimming World Cup Series for the last four years. In addition, he has covered some of the biggest events in the world for Eurosport, BBC Sport, Channel 5 and FINA TV including, the European Championships, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, and Diving World Series. John was born in Australia and after graduating from Charles Sturt University, he moved to London and started his career as a model. Shortly after, he served as the host of the Elite Model Look Competition – a worldwide search for the next fashion superstar. He is an avid competitive Crossfitter and enjoys being creative in the culinary art world. John prides himself on staying connected to the trends in pop culture, music, and travel – he has been to thirty-two countries and counting. As an out gay man, he is also an activist for LGBTQI visibility and human rights.

In this episode, we sit down with South African breaststroke sensation Tatjana Schoenmaker Smith, one of the most accomplished swimmers of her generation. At just 27 years old, Tatjana has already etched her name in swimming history, from breaking the world record in the 200m breaststroke at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to becoming a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a world champion, and the most decorated South African Olympic athlete of all time. We dive into Tatjana's incredible journey, from her roots in Johannesburg to representing South Africa on the global stage at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics. Tatjana shares insights into her breakthrough moment in Tokyo when she shattered the 200m breaststroke world record with a 2:18.95, a feat that cemented her legacy. She talks about the highs and lows of competing at the top level, including her record-breaking gold at the 2023 World Championships—making history as the first South African woman to claim gold in swimming at the World Swimming Championships. We also discuss how Tatjana continued to evolve through the quad—balancing her focus between Olympics, World Championships, and Commonwealth Games. From her stellar performances in 2022 to her return to form in 2024, Tatjana provides a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to stay at the top of the sport. Plus, we talk about the unique challenges and rewards of representing South Africa on the world stage. Tatjana's journey is one of resilience, determination, and immense success. Listen for insights from arguably the best breaststroker of all-time.

Going best times is all a swimmer can ask for right? Well, it may make a bittersweet Olympics, if you go best time at an Olympics (where few go best times) but you fall in your place from semi-finals to finals. Pieter Coetzé had a bittersweet Olympics, but his young career has been far from bittersweet. Coetzé made the South African Olympic team at the age of 17, rising through the ranks and recently winning the 100 and 200 short course meters backstroke at the 2024 World Cups, earning him $56,500, not bad for 3 weeks of work. Although Coetzé may make it seem easy, wearing his golden necklace while racing and not knowing his stroke count, he has worked hard to achieve the success he had at his young age. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

Ice in his veins! Olympic finalist Keaton Jones only needed one year at Cal to bridge the gap from being an elite junior to one of the world's best, as he snagged the 2nd Olympic spot in the 200 backstroke at the USA Olympic Trials. At his first Olympic Games, Keaton put together solid performances through the rounds to finish 5th in the Olympic final in Paris, just shy of the podium. Not bad for a college freshman. Keaton Jones is also a pioneer in the sport of Ice Swimming! He's a multi-time world champion in this niche sport that Keaton believes has a real chance at becoming a winter Olympic sport. So much so that he will take time out of his upcoming college season schedule in January to travel to the World Ice Swimming Championships where he is projected to haul in a slew of more medals to add to his frozen hardware collection. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

The Olympic champion in the 200 backstroke, Hubert Kos, takes a break from his busy gaming schedule to hangout with us on Social Kick. For the second year in a row, the Hungarian superstar emerged from the biggest meet of the year with the gold medal around his neck, this time on swimming's biggest stage at the Paris Olympic Games, adding to the storied legacy of Hungary as a swimming powerhouse. The move to train under renowned coach Bob Bowman continues to pay dividends for Hubert Kos, who alongside training partner Leon Marchand, makes the move to Austin following their coach's departure from Arizona to lead the Texas Longhorns. In this episode, we unpack the mentality Hubi Kos used to calm his nerves, swim free, and win Olympic gold. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

In the midst of the 2024 World Cup season, we check in with the voice of the World Cup himself, broadcaster and former World Record holder Bobby Hurley. Bobby has commentated for the last 7 World Championships as well as myriad other swimming events such as the World Cup. As a swimmer, Bobby Hurley racked up a list of accolades. A World Champion and World Record Holder, Hurley represented Australia from 2008-2017, becoming one of the world's most versatile swimmers. He won 24 national titles in events ranging from the 50m Backstroke all the way up to the 1500m Freestyle, a rare combination of aerobic engine and sprint power. Bobby raced at many World Cups himself, but the format and schedule were quite different then. Sadly, the money hasn't changed much since he swam. In this episode, we get Bobby's thoughts on the World Cup action so far and how the series could evolve and grow. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

It's shades of orange everywhere for Dutch Olympic breaststroker Caspar Corbeau. When representing The Netherlands, he wears a true orange and for Texas, it's the burnt variety, but it was the medal he wore around his neck this summer in Paris that was a magical bronze. Already a many time NCAA finalist among the top breaststrokers and IMers in college swimming, the dual-citizen for the US and Netherlands, Caspar Corbeau, decided to change his scenery before the final year preparing for the Olympics and crossed the pond to train with compatriot and world-class breaststroker Arno Kamminga and the Dutch national team in Amsterdam. That decision paid off, as Caspar took a leap forward from college standout to one of the best breaststrokers in the world in the process. The 6'7” double-earring wearing super athlete unsurprisingly came from an athletic family - his parents both elite college swimmers themselves in their day. He hasn't ruled out a return to finish his college eligibility just yet, so we shall see what the future holds. One thing is certain - Caspar is on the rise

Ever frustrated with turns and just wish you could swim in a straight line? For USA Olympic swimmer Mariah Denigan that is the dream. While the majority of her training still takes place in a pool and she has represented the USA internationally in longer distance pool races, Mariah Denigan has established herself among the best in the world in open water races. Mariah has represented Team USA at the last couple World Championships, including a 6th place finish in 2023 where she surged in the second half of the race and earned an invitation to the Paris Olympics. Dubbed by her coach, legendary Indiana University's Ray Looze, as having a “pain tolerance that's off the charts,” Mariah Denigan is at her best in the critical closing stages of races. For a coach that has developed many Olympic medal winning athletes including the likes of Lilly King, Cody Miller, Annie Lazor, Blake Pieroni, and more - she must be one tough competitor. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

Irish goodbye? More like Irish hello! Ireland made its presence known in the pool at the Paris Olympics with a huge swim for a bronze medal in the 100 breaststroke from two-time Olympian Mona McSharry, delivering Ireland's first medal of the 2024 Olympic Games. Along with compatriot Daniel Wiffen, Mona McSharry and team Ireland had La Defense Arena rocking as Irish flags dominated the crowd at moments throughout the epic week of racing. A highly accomplished junior swimmer, Mona McSharry had an impressive resume with international medals before arriving at the University of Tennessee. In Knoxville, she continued her rise as one of the best swimmers in the NCAA, helping the Vols to key relay and team points. For this conversation, Mona joins us from the camper van during an epic road trip across the USA that she's taking and enjoying some well-deserved time away from the pool Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

The NFL and swimming are not the same. In a world where coaches have a very short leash, a team that has a couple down years of performance along with some key high-profile athlete departures can be enough to sound the alarm. Thankfully, perhaps because its a sport based on longer term success over a 4-year period or greater, we were not robbed of the ultimate triumph we witnessed in Paris. For Greg Meehan, the last few years have been anything but easy. The longtime Stanford Head Women's Coach has been at the helm of some of the greatest NCAA teams ever assembled with names like Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel, Maya Dirado and Ella Eastin. But following the dominance of that unprecedented era, the program naturally regressed a tad. Some elite swimmers elected to find a change of scenery (Ledecky) and then other big names came to The Farm, only to leave early with medium results (Regan Smith and Claire Curzan). That put a lot of pressure and negativity on the Stanford program with many questioning its future, including its leader Greg Meehan. But great coaches have ups and downs just the same as athletes. Every team they coach is not the same. Every year comes with a new set of challenges and circumstances - and opportunities. In Paris, Greg Meehan and his star pupil Torri Huske celebrated. Huske's dramatic 100 fly victory over world record holder Gretchen Walsh, along with her other individual and relay performances culminated in Huske becoming the winningest American swimmer at the Games. And with that, Huske and Meehan put all the doubts to rest, and one of the best coaches in the world today has yet another Stanford gold medal for recruits to hear about so he can keep building the machine. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

Could you imagine having mononucleosis and COVID-19 at the biggest competitions of your life? What about missing the Olympic team by one spot in arguably your best event? How about missing the team by two spots in your next best event? With his back against the wall, David Johnston dropped over 10 seconds and finished second in the 1500 - meters to make his first Olympic team. David joins us to share his remarkable journey to make his first Olympic team, but also his journey which has included numerous obstacles, which have shaped him, not shaken his self-belief. It may seem he has come out of nowhere, it didn't happen overnight, as David also reflects on being a 16-year-old kid who didn't have a sectional cut. He talks about how he used that as motivation, along with setting goals and having belief in his coaches. Join us for a motivating and powerful conversation, a must listen to for any 16-year-old who wants to be better and anyone looking to overcome obstacles!

Two time Olympian, by the age of 18, Katie Grimes joins us in the latest episode of Social Kick. Katie talks us through the experience of swimming at the 2024 US Olympic Trials, having already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the 10k. Was there less pressure? We talk Paris, from the river eels to the 1500 and 400 im swims in the pool. How did Sandpipers of Nevada Coach Ron Aitken prepare her for all of this? We end on her talking college and her next choice. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

2x Olympic Medalist Carson Foster returns to chat about making his first Olympic team, his performance in Paris, and how he's adjusting to Bob Bowman workouts. Last time we spoke to Carson a couple years ago (Ep. 112), he was coming off a breakout meet winning individual silvers in the IMs at the 2022 World Championships and the stage was being set for his redemption after narrowly missing the Tokyo Olympic team. Fast forward to 2024, the IM races at US Trials were Carson's to lose, and he delivered by winning the IMs and adding a new credential to his name - Olympian. While Carson's performances in Paris were good by any objective measure (an individual bronze and a relay silver), he wants more and knows he has potential for more. The good news is, Carson is getting a new coach at the perfect moment. Following the retirement of legendary coach Eddie Reese, Bob Bowman has taken over the training program for Carson Foster and will bring with him the 4x Olympic gold medalist Leon Marchand and 200 backstroke Olympic champ Hubert Kos, giving Carson the excitement of a new, proven training program and an opportunity to chase people at practice instead of being chased all the time. They love to hunt in Texas, and that's exactly what Carson is ready to do.

Ever wonder how fast someone could swim if some of the rules were lifted? Nike believed someone could run a marathon under 2 hours, which Eliud Kipchoge achieved with the help of pacers, drafting, and carbon plated shoes. A similar event took place in triathlon, with Olympic Champion Kristiaan Blumenfelt completing an Iron-distance triathlon in under 7 hours. In this episode, 2x 100 freestyle Swimming World Champion James Magnussen joins us to share his current pursuit - breaking the unofficial WR in the 50 freestyle in the Enhanced Games. This time, a team of experts is testing the limits of human potential yet again, but with one additional restriction lifted, the permitted use of substances that are banned for use in Olympic and elite International competitions. While the permitted use of PEDs makes the Enhanced Games quite controversial, James Magnussen explains how the team behind the Enhanced Games and their expert medical staff are prioritizing athlete health and safety well above and beyond anything he experienced during his career as the best in the world competing for a storied and well-funded swimming nation in Australia. Enjoy and don't forget to subscribe for weekly podcasts and daily shorts!

While she was only 8 years old when she chose her Instagram handle @alexandrathebeast, it's clear now how a young Alex Shackell foresaw a bright future. In this episode, teenage Olympian Alex Shackell tells us what it's like to return home to high school as an Olympic Gold Medalist. Already a relay member of the World Championship team last year, Alex Shackell shared with us how her training changed over the last year that led to her earning an individual Olympic spot on Team USA in the 200 fly, and how that training and swimming at Trials in front of a hometown crowd gave her the confidence to be super relaxed and laughing with Regan Smith in the ready room before the final. Alex Shackell also shares what it was like to share her first Olympic Games experience with her brother Aaron on the team in Paris, but she also tells us how she holds Aaron accountable in practice and is not afraid to show some tough love to anyone who needs to be kept in line, including family.