This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss the ISL Final and the controversy that surrounded it, Thomas Heilman's NAG record siege in Greensboro, and Daiya Seto training in Scottsdale.

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We sat down with Blaire Bachman, the associate head coach at the University of Virginia. Bachman takes us through her thoughts on the hoos’ performances at the 2021 Tennessee invite, their mid-season rest meet, as well as how training has been for the defending national champions (on the women’s side) this fall. We then delve into Blaire’s coaching journey and she gives us key insights on what she’s picked up over the course of her 10+ year career so far.

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Music: Otis McDonald

Condor's GM Jason Lezak along with World record-holder Kelsi Dahlia and American record-holder Justin Ress sat down with SwimSwam to digest the ISL final. Cali was the defending champions from 2020 and came up just short of their 2nd team title, losing to Energy Standard in a back-and-fourth match by just 12 points.

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In a razor-thin battle with the Cali Condors that saw the clubs trade the lead back and forth during the final day of competition, Energy Standard clinched the Season 3 ISL championship title thanks to the efforts of Ben Proud and Adam Barrett in the men’s butterfly skins. Energy Standard’s Sarah Sjostrom finished as the leading scorer in the final with 61 points, followed closely by Fink (59.5) and Cali’s Hali Flickinger (51.0).

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We sat down with two-time Olympic medalist and Team Speedo athlete Hali Flickinger.  This Cali Condors swim star has been busy since Tokyo.  In this podcast Hali dives into the past, detailing her journey to the Olympic podium since her days competing at YMCA Nationals.  Hali's a workhorse, grinding in practice to compete on the biggest stage in sport in the 200 butterfly and 400 IM.  The move to train under iconic swim coach Bob Bowman paid off, but she did not expect to train through a pandemic on her road to the Olympic Games.  Hali gets raw and real in this interview explaining the ups and downs, and how she managed her mental health.  Her Speedo MAKE WAVES moment includes her mental health management. She leaned into her swim-family, her Olympic teammates, a special crew that assembled nightly during the Games. Listen for the name of this unique group of elite women. You'll appreciate the power of this sisterhood.

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Music: Otis McDonald

We sat down with Olympic bronze medalist in the 100 fly, Noe Ponti. The butterfly specialist is fresh off of breaking 4 new Swiss records at the Swiss SC championships. Ponti was public on his Instagram that winning his bronze medal was fairly life-changing and prompted him to depart from NC State after having been in the US for just a few weeks this fall. Ponti speaks on how being at home in Switzerland brings him happiness and will therefore be staying there for the foreseeable future.

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Music: Otis McDonald

This week on the SwimSwam Breakdown we discuss the upcoming ISL Grand Final (Eindhoven), Minnesota Invite (Minneapolis), and US Open (Greensboro), where many, many swim stars will competing in one pool or the other.

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We sat down with Energy Standard's Siobhan Haughey and head coach Tom Rushton after their dominating win in Match 5. Haughey described her prep work for the ISL playoffs as well as her thoughts on her new Asian and ISL record in the 200 free. She even recalled Sarah Sjostrom telling her that she (Haughey) could break Sjostrom's world record in the 200 free.

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We sat down with McKenzie Siroky, the now 2x defending Michigan state champion in the 100 breast. Siroky just made headlines last week by taking down the Michigan state record in the 100 breast at 1:00.48, previously held by NCAA All-American Miranda Tucker. McKenzie explains why she's committed to playing DI hockey over swimming in college and what her daily life looks like during high school swim season (when she is still playing hockey).

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Music: Otis McDonald

Arena signed 17-year-old phenom and Olympic breaststroke champion, Lydia Jacoby, the brand’s first sponsorship deal under the new NCAA NIL (name, image and likeness) rules that came into effect on July 1st, 2021. The day arena made the announcement, Lydia topped SwimSwam traffic, pulling more eyeballs than the ISL match and the college invite coverage. In other words, this Alaska native has real star power.

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