The SwimSwam Podcast

By SwimSwam

In the SwimSwam Podcast dive deeper into the sport you love with insider conversations about swimming. Hosted by Coleman Hodges and Gold Medal Mel Stewart, SwimSwam welcomes both the biggest names in ... more

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The podcast currently has 1,587 episodes available.

Best of The SwimSwam Podcast

The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

Number 1: Jack Alexy on Popovici, Milak, Pan Zhanle and the Road to LA2028
Jack Alexy joins this GMM takeover of the SwimSwam Podcast to break down his Pan Pacific Championships performance and where those swims place him in a very elite, very crowded global sprint field. Alexy won the 100 freestyle in a Pan Pac Championship Record of 47.14, took silver in the 50 free in 21.42, and delivered a pair of sub-47 relay anchors for Team USA. He split 46.78 on the winning 4x100 freestyle relay and 46.97 on the winning 4x100 medley relay. And, of course, Alexy owns the 100 free American Record at 46.81, set at the 2025 World Championships. But the international competition has only gotten faster.
August 28, 202647min
Number 2: 2026 Euros & Pan Pacific REVIEW | SWIMSWAM BREAKDOWN
Join as we go IN DEPTH and discuss everything European and Pan Pacific Championships.
August 17, 20261h 17min
Number 3: Sam Short Reflects on Dominant Season & Historic Swims, Looks Toward Distance World Records
Sam Short had a historic summer that saw him break numerous barriers and top the podium nearly every time he got in the pool. At the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Short swept the 400-800-1500 freestyles and led off Australia's winning 4x200 free relay. Two weeks later, at the Pan Pacific Championships, he swept the same three events, breaking Ian Thorpe's 400 free meet record from 1999 and Grant Hackett's Australian record in the 1500 from 2001. Today, Short sits down with SwimSwam to reflect on his remarkable consistency throughout the season and dissect his best races. We also speak about Johannes Liebmann's newly minted 14:26 world record in the 1500 and which world record Short would break if he could pick one.
August 20, 202658min
Number 4: Regan Smith on Training Under Bowman, Chasing the Perfect Taper, and the Road Ahead
In this GMM takeover of the SwimSwam Podcast, we sit down with 8-time Olympic medalist Regan Smith after a 2026 season that has been fast, revealing and, at times, frustrating. At the Pan Pacific Championships, Regan came away with gold in the 200 backstroke, silver in the 50 and 100 back, and a fourth-place in the 200 IM. But the results don’t tell the whole story. In both of her signature backstroke events, Regan was faster in prelims than in the final. She went 57.86 in the 100 back prelim before finishing second in 58.11, then dropped a 2:04.13 in the 200 back prelim before winning the final in 2:05.57. For one of the most consistent swimmers in the world, that morning-to-night disconnect stands out. We dig into what happened at Pan Pacs and what Regan learned from it. And Regan is her on own harshest critic. In this podcast she's thinking through her season, noting her frustration that she trained repeated 8k color sets ahead of the Fort Lauderdale Open and ripped a 57.4 100m back--but tapers for Pan Pacs and doesn't get under 58 at night in the finals. Through that lens, we look back at 2026 and the bigger picture. Regan has been remarkably consistent in the 100 back, repeatedly racing in the 57-second range while carrying a heavy training load. In the 200 back, she is once again approaching the 2:03.35 lifetime best she set as a 17-year-old in 2019. And the most interesting developments happened outside Regan’s traditional events. She set lifetime bests this year in the 200 freestyle (1:56.9) and 400 IM (4:35.7), while also producing elite times of 55.94 in the 100 fly and 2:04.73 in the 200 fly. We ask about her expanding event range and how it figures into her training and schedule under coach Bob Bowman.
September 07, 20261h 4min
Number 5: Gretchen Walsh Opens Up On Losing A World Record, Chasing More, And The Road Ahead
In this GMM takeover of the SwimSwam Podcast, we have Gretchen Walsh, fresh off her haul of seven medals at the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships: five golds and two silvers. And Pan Pacs was arguably her weakest overall competition of the year. In 2026, Gretchen made the choice to travel and race fast everywhere: Beijing, Rome, Fort Lauderdale, U.S. Nationals and Pan Pacs. She noted that she took for granted all the racing she did as an NCAA star, and she wanted that experience back. The results were impressive, but Gretchen is candid that she was not satisfied with her times at Pan Pacs. She talks through that frustration and explains how she evaluates a meet where the medal count says one thing but her own expectations say something else.
September 01, 202636min