I sat down with Anastasia Pagonis, the 16-year-old para national teamer who recently moved to the Olympic Training Center to live and train full time. Pagonis was fully sighted until age 9 when her vision slowly started to regress. After becoming blind by age 14, and going through a deep phase of depression, Pagonis was able to get back in the pool and start chasing her Olympic dream once again.

Pagonis has also started to have quite the social media presence, providing content in an effort to change the way we see blind people.

Follow Anastasia on Instagram here.

• Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify

Music: Otis McDonald

2020 Olympic Head Coach for the Women's Swim team Greg Meehan took the time to walk SwimSwam through what moving into the now 2021 Olympic year will look like. Meehan explained that it takes a lot of time to develop a 4-year plan, especially planning for that year leading up to an Olympic Games. Meehan said it might look different now that, potentially, there could be an extra 6 weeks added on to that "Olympic year".

• Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify

Originally published on March 27, 2020.

I sat down with Jesse Moore and Matt Crispino, two of many William & Mary alumni who have gone through the swim program and come out to accomplish great things in the swimming realm. W&M has a history of producing talented coaches and swimmers for decades, yet the program is set to be cut at the end of the acedemic year. Jesse and Matt explain the importance of this program and why they were so quick to act on its behalf. With the help of alumni, they were able swiftly launch a website to raise funds in an attempt to save the program.

Visit the Save Tribe Swimming Website here.

• Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify

Music: Otis McDonald

Matt Biondi has always been a huge proponent of swimmers earning money throughout history. This started when Biondi was a competitor himself, and now as a member of the Athlete's Alliance, he looks to band swimmers together in order to negotiate for fair pay. Biondi talks about the process of building this alliance, as well as the turning point for him in his 7-medal 1988 Olympic Games and the "Dash for Cash" race that himself and Tom Jager were apart of.

• Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify

Originally published April 29, 2020.

We sat down with Chris Ritter, the founder and CEO of Ritter Sports Performance and SURGE Strength. Ritter shared his insights on swimming specific dryland, and a few of his stories training elites during his time at SwimMAC with David Marsh. If you want to learn more about SURGE Strength, follow the links below:

• Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify

Music: Otis McDonald

RECENT EPISODES

Ray Looze has been in swimming for a long time, having done his collegiate time at University of Southern California and participating in the 1991 Pan American Games. Looze looks backs fondly on his 2 favorite swimming stories from his time competing: the first was winning 2nd place in the 400 IM at the NCAA Championships, making a 1-2 sweep in the event for USC. The other was at those 1991 Pan Am Games, when Cuban Mario Gonzalez made an extraordinary comeback to take gold in the 200 breast on his home turf over both American swimmers.

• Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify

Originally published April 25, 2020.

I sat down with Sam Hoover, the #7 recruit on our top 20 list for the class of 2021. He told me about the recruiting trip to NC State that included himself, David Curtiss, Aidan Hayes, and Garrett Boone, all of whom ended up committing to NC State shortly after. He also goes into detail about his North Carolina HS state meet where he went 43.1 in the 100 free, what he's been up to during quarantine, and what it was like growing up in a UNC household.

• Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify

Music: Otis McDonald

I sat down with the freshman phenom from Virginia, Kate Douglass. Douglass took me through her age group swimming days, where she admitted that she was always pretty versatile and open to swimming most events. She comments on her breakout freshman season at UVA and explains how the environment at Virginia was a big part of her growth as a student-athlete. 

• Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify

Music: Otis McDonald

I spoke with Rockwood Swim Club in St. Louis, Missouri as they’re one of many swim clubs working through the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 2 coaches on the call as well as 3 swimmers, ranging in age, to make things really interesting and give a lot of different perspectives. Topics covered included how they’re feeling during this time stuck at home, how they’re coping with very little structure, and their favorite swimming memories.

• Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify

Originally published May 2, 2020.

I say down with Spartans Aquatic Club head coach Karl Krug, who explained what it was like being one of the first teams in the country to run a sanctioned swim meet after the COVID-19 shutdown. Krug also talks about his coaching philosophy and how he draws a lot of inspiration from his own swimming days at Auburn under coach Brett Hawke. And just for fun, he delves into some of his fondest memories while training at Auburn with the likes of Cesar Cielo, Fred Bousquet, and Matt Target. 

• Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify

Music: Otis McDonald