🎄✨ The Weekly Freestyle – Christmas Special 2025 ✨🎄

Santa’s come early to The Weekly Freestyle 🎅🎙️ as Alex Sutton dons the Christmas hat and welcomes Luke Withers and a jet lagged Tom Dean back from Australia for a proper festive freestyle!

There are Christmas crackers (pulled correctly), questionable jokes, riddles that may or may not make sense, and gifts straight from around the world including a European Union sweatshirt and golf balls from Royal Sydney ⛳🎁. Drinks are poured, electrolytes are debated, and the festive vibes are flowing.

Tom breaks down a whirlwind travel schedule from Europe to Brisbane, chats racing medleys, new events, PBs, and even opens up about a controversial DQ (yes, that IM turn…). The team also dish out brilliant advice for masters swimmers juggling training with mince pies and mulled wine 🏊‍♂️🍷.

Looking ahead, the 2026 swimming calendar gets a festive preview, before things descend into chaos with Christmas unpopular opinions (when should you eat Christmas dinner?!) and a fiercely contested 2025 Christmas Quiz complete with buzzers, swimming trivia, and a dramatic tiebreaker.

To top it all off, Alex delivers a handcrafted Christmas poem, “A Freestyle Christmas 2025 Fine in Rhyme”, wrapping up an incredible year for the podcast 🎄❤️

Crackers pulled. Hats worn. Freestyle festive chaos delivered.

In this episode of The Weekly Freestyle, I’m joined once again by Charlie Harris - Digital Communications Officer at Scottish Swimming and host of The Aqua Pod let's dive straight into one of the biggest talking points in swimming right now.

Let’s get straight to it… are Team USA trying to sabotage Team GB ahead of the LA 2028 Olympics?

We break down the controversial changes to the Olympic swimming schedule, including the moving of the 200M IM closer to the 4by2oom freestyle Relay final:

• Is this actually allowed?
• Who’s responsible for making these decisions?
• Can Team GB appeal?
• And is there anything Team GB (or other nations) could do in response?

We also look at past examples, from Leon Marchand’s schedule in Paris as he won butterfly and breaststroke gold in one night.

Plus, we lighten things up with a bonus segment: Pool of the Week, as Charlie shares his pick and we discuss what makes a great swimming venue.

As always, thanks for listening and a big thank you to Charlie Harris from The Aqua Pod for joining me once again.

This week we review the short course championships in Lublin, Poland. Luke Withers jumps on the show to discuss the week of racing.

GB took a smaller squad to this champs but does this make for the lack of silverware compared to 2 years ago in Romania?

We discuss the best swims of the week, new names rising through the ranks and even some DQs…

Should we be seeing our best swimmers at all of these major meets?

This week, host Alex is joined by Scottish swimming expert Charlie Harris, the voice behind the popular show The Aqua Pod. Together, they dive into all things swimming, life, and Scotland. Charlie shares his expert take on the ongoing European Short Course Championships offering predictions, highlighting key contenders, and breaking down where the biggest challenges lie.

To top it all off, the duo wraps up the episode with a fun round of “Higher or Lower,” featuring past championship host cities. It’s a lively, insightful, and highly entertaining episode you won’t want to miss!

This week we dive into early season from action from across Europe and America!

Who is looking good, who is looking not so good and we discuss who Team GB's biggest prospect could be this year.

Finally we have some swimming to talk about :)

This week on TWF Alex is joined by Luke Withers who was our undercover podcasting agent at this year's Aquatics GB awards.

Who were the winners and losers? What's the latest goss and why were so many people away? Was it the event of the year!

Host Alex Sutton is joined by none other than three-time Olympic gold medalist Tom Dean for a stacked episode you won’t want to miss.

There’s plenty to unpack starting with Tom’s recent outing at World Championships in Singapore, which didn’t exactly go to plan… but why? Tom gives us the inside story.

We dive into his remarkable seven-year journey at the Bath Performance Centre, reflecting on the incredible success he built alongside legendary coach Dave McNulty a partnership that has brought plenty of success to our shores.

Then it’s onto the next chapter: Tom’s first day at his new training base in Stirling. From fresh faces to first impressions, it’s giving first day at school energy swim bag, nerves and all.

Oh… and we had to talk about that photo. You know the one. How did it happen? What was going through his head? We get the full breakdown.

It’s raw, it’s honest, it’s elite sport behind the scenes.

And as always, thank you for listening!

This week, Alex Sutton is joined by Luke Withers to dive into Aquatic GB’s Transfer Deadline Day with unrivalled insight from across British swimming. From the biggest moves to the behind-the-scenes buzz, we break down what it all means for the season ahead.

We also share a laugh over Tom’s entertaining signing photo at Stirling, one you won’t want to miss, before switching lanes to talk about masters swimming. Whether you’re already competing or just thinking about it, we discuss why masters events are some of the most fun meets around and why you should consider getting involved.

Tune in for analysis, stories, and plenty of swimming chat - it’s another packed episode of The Weekly Freestyle.

This week on The Weekly Freestyle, Alex Sutton is joined by Luke Withers to dive into one of the biggest stories shaking up the swimming world: Ben Proud’s controversial move to the Enhanced Games.

We ask the tough questions:

• Has Proud’s decision tarnished his legacy?
• Has the sport failed one of its brightest stars?
• And what about the health risks that come with this choice?

Plus, we break down all the latest drama from Aquatics GB’s transfer deadline day, who’s on the move, who’s staying put, and what it all means for the future of British swimming.

We're at the halfway point of the World Championships, and the pool has already seen shockwaves. Have Team USA lost their edge? World records are tumbling, but who’s making history? And with the pressure mounting, how are the Brits holding up? They need a medal soon.

This week, Alex is joined by swimming expert and coach Luke Withers to break down the biggest stories so far, assess the standout performances, and ask: who's going to rise, and who's falling behind?

Enjoy and watch the swimming!!!