The Weekly Freestyle

This week we are joined by Piers, Tom and Ronnie who have plenty of experience and opinions on the world of swimming.

Today’s episode hosted by Luke Withers is one for the swimming purist.

With plenty more hot takes to follow!

This week we go behind the scenes and on deck as we hear about the recent British team's attempt to take the channel world record.

George Taplin world record holder, international athlete and all round nice guy makes his second appearance on the podcast.

Away from the channel attempt we hear about George's incredible swims up in the Lake District and his take and knowledge on attempting to plan a challenge like this.

Enjoy!

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This week TWF has the pleasure of welcoming CEO of the Swimming Teachers' Association, Dave Candler onto the podcast.

Dave has spent his career in the world of aquatics and has most recently just reached a decade in his current role at the helm of the STA.

Throughout the episode we get into Dave's journey within in the world of aquatics and how things have changed while he's been in the role. We discuss how great being a swimming teacher is and the power of swimming.

In this episode of The Weekly Freestyle, Alex is joined by Luke Withers to chat about the new swimming season, the Arena League, and some of the big events coming up in the swimming world.

They also discuss the LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Olympics, the upcoming World Championships in Budapest, and the challenges of swimming in Brisbane’s crocodile-filled river!

The pair also look ahead to an exciting British Channel swim relay, including the team’s preparations, the 10-day window, and the possibility of setting a new British record.

A relaxed chat about swimming, competition, teamwork and what’s coming next.

This week Alex and Luke catch up on the recent swimming news headlines.

We discuss the different types of swimming social media.

And Ryan Lochte is making a comeback is he thinking of being in LA 28??

Enjoy 😃

On this week's episode we wrap our review of the amazing European Champs. This week's episode focuses on the best performances in the pool across Europe.

We see Sara Curtis transform backstroke - will others follow suit? Could Leon break the world record in his tenth best event?!

This week we discuss the European Championships (PART 1)

From our top European performances, our relays and we have the pleasure to Luke Guy joining the podcast too.

This week Luke is joined by Tom Dean as they discuss the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

The pair discuss the home nations performances and Tom’s swims too. How do Tom’s medal rank when compared to others that he’s won in his career?

Luke highlights some other great performances across the pool too

This week Alex and Luke discuss Euro

juniors.

Charlie Harris joins Alex to look back at a weekend of fast swimming in Edinburgh at the Scottish National Open Championships and the standout performances making waves across the sport. They discuss impressive swims from Katie Shanahan, Angharad Evans, Duncan Scott and more, before turning their attention to the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome, where world records continued to tumble and the international standard reached new heights.

With Glasgow 2026 fast approaching, Charlie also shares an insight into Team Scotland’s preparations for the Commonwealth Games, from training camps and relay racing to the balance between building excitement and keeping athletes focused ahead of the biggest meet of the year. As Team Scotland’s swimming and judo media officer, he offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to prepare for a home Games.

The episode also marks an exciting new chapter for the Aqua pod, with the launch of the new video podcast series leading into Glasgow 2026. Charlie reveals what’s planned over the coming weeks, featuring conversations with past and present Scottish swimming stars as we celebrate the legacy of Glasgow 2014 and build towards another unforgettable summer.