Social Kick

Nick Smith works with the world’s best swimmers to find speed anywhere possible.

We hear about the influence of data and science in sports every day. You can’t watch an NFL game without hearing “the analytics say this is the right decision.” So it should come as no surprise that the world’s best swimmers work with experts to find speed anywhere possible. Enter Nick Smith and the field of “movement science.”

He’s worked with Cam McEvoy in his ascent to the top of the sprinting world, as well as other Aussie swim stars like Ariarne Titmus and Shayna Jack to name a couple, with the objective of understanding how the body moves through water, where in the race there is room to improve, and helping craft that improvement. Nick Smith is an expert and is part of why Cam McEvoy told us in Episode #150 about his target time to 15m being a huge priority and how he was able to achieve it en route to his World Championship title in the 50m Freestyle.

Check this one out to learn how Nicholas Smith, Queensland Academy of Sport and Team Australia are leveraging science to achieve results in the pool. Enjoy!

Backstroke star Rhyan White made a bold move to make her 2nd Olympics.

Olympic silver medalist and perennial Team USA member Rhyan White decided to shake things up going into 2024 by leaving Alabama and joining the Wolfpack Pro squad at NC State alongside NCAA champion and World Championship gold medalist Katherine Berkoff and rising NC State star Kennedy Noble.

Together forming arguably the best backstroke group in the world, Rhyan White is betting that the rising Tide (wink) will lift all boats and deliver success yet again next summer at Trials and the Olympic Games in Paris.

But Rhyan White and her new teammates have a difficult path ahead, as the women’s backstroke events might be the most difficult to make the USA team, but since we’re betting Rhyan will again provide Team USA with veteran experience, we’re also betting she steps onto the podium and makes 2024 a year full of hardware.

Enjoy!

Irish Distance Swimmer Daniel Wiffen is a Paris Olympic Medal Threat

Men’s distance swimming is having a moment, and Irish super swimmer Daniel Wiffen ( @WiffenTwins ) is one of the key players making the long races as exciting as ever. 2022 Commonwealth Games silver in the 1500 followed by matching 4th place finished in the 800 and 1500 at 2023 Worlds, Daniel Wiffen keeps delivering higher finishes and faster times as he has ascended to the elite group alongside reigning World Champ Ahmed Hafnaoui, reigning Olympic Champ Bobby Finke, Gregorio Paltrinieri, 400m World Champ Sam Short, Lukas Martens, and Mykhailo Romanchuk, all of whom seem to have a legit chance to win when they step behind the blocks at major championship meets right now.

Could Daniel Wiffen become the first Irish Male swimmer to win an Olympic medal in Paris? Sláinte, Daniel! Go get it!

World Champion Swimmer Claire Weinstein is just getting started

Ask yourself - would you move across the country as a young teenager to pursue your dream? World Championship team member Claire Weinstein did, as she moved from New York to Las Vegas to join the guru of coaching high schoolers, Ron Aitken and the Sandpipers of Nevada. Training alongside other standout swimmers like World Championship silver medalist and Paris Olympian Katie Grimes, Tokyo Olympian Bella Sims, and World 200 butterfly 4th place finisher Ilya Kharun, has boosted Claire Weinstein to the next level, proven by her defeat of G.O.A.T. Katie Ledecky in the 200 free at the 2023 USA Trials.

Coming fresh off a huge life decision, Claire Weinstein recently committed to swim for the Cal Golden Bears, but she can’t look too far ahead since there’s this thing called the Olympics to focus on next summer.

We now know why people said we should talk to Claire Weinstein and they were right, she IS awesome. 

Enjoy!

Breaststroke World Championship Medalist Matt Fallon won’t slow down

Raise your hand if you want to swim a mile breaststroke. Any takers? If so, you are in good company with World Championship Bronze Medalist Matt Fallon saying he would add that event to his program. While secrets abound about how Matt Fallon trains, off the grid relative to most of his Team USA teammates as he trains at University of Pennsylvania, we pulled a few tips and tricks out of him. If you want to learn more about closing speed and are curious how Matt Fallon channels emperor penguin energy to swim fast breaststroke, this is the episode for you.

Will Ilya Kharun be another breakout star at Paris 2024?

If you don’t know his name yet, you will soon. Ilya Kharun just started college and is already a 4th place finisher at the World Championships, and now he is joining forces with Bob Bowman, the mastermind behind current World Champions Léon Marchand and Hubert Kós. How is Ilya Kharun so fast at this young age?

Well, his parents were Cirque du Soleil acrobats and he’s also trained at the best club team in the country, the Sandpipers of Nevada, which has produced several Olympians and World Championship team members in recent years. In this episode, we hear from Ilya Kharun himself to find out what’s between his ears and learn what makes him tick.

Look out for this guy.

Katharine Berkoff’s medals and personality light up backstroke sprinting.

Swimming needs a little personality and World Championship medalist Katharine Berkoff is happy to provide it. With arguably the funniest walkout video at Worlds, Katherine Berkoff likely distracted a few competitors from what they should be focusing on - her ridiculous backstroke speed.

With a lineage of underwater prowess, her infamous dad David Berkoff literally changing backstroke and swimming forever with his legendary “Berkoff blastoff,” Katharine Berkoff is taking the family name to new heights as the former NCAA record holder and first woman under 49 seconds in the 100yd backstroke takes aim at an Olympic berth in Paris and more medals for Team USA in what perhaps will be the most competitive event at the USA Olympic Trials in Indianapolis in 2024. Katharine Berkoff is a riot.

Enjoy!

How did Cameron McEvoy become the fastest swimmer on the planet?

Get strong. Sprint a lot. Go fast. World Champion Swimmer Cameron McEvoy joins the show to tell us how he did it. How he came back from retirement and previously being known more for his 100 free to drop a 21.0 and win the title world’s fastest man.

This one gets pretty sprint nerdy as Cameron “The Professor” McEvoy takes us to school on how he trained for this season which is quite unconventional to most anyone who has ever turned up at the pool to swim some laps. We bet this one will make you use the power rack more, or think about getting one if you don’t have one.

Enjoy!

Cal just hired World Champion coach Josh Huger to bolster their already dominant program

Never stop learning. Be a good person. Have fun. Sometimes improvement and excellence are born from the simplest actions. Josh Huger, coach of World Champions and Olympic Medalists, exemplifies these core tenets of coaching greatness which has led him to the next stop on his impressive coaching journey, as the new Associate Head Coach for the Cal Bears.

Josh Huger arrives in California with a stellar resume as one of the world’s best sprint coaches, and his new athletes have been quick to pick his brain. We had a ton of fun hanging out with Josh Huger, hearing about his coaching journey and experiencing his energetic style first-hand.

Who wouldn’t want this guy to coach them? Enjoy!

Olympic Medalist Natalie Hinds is the glue of USA Swimming

The respect and admiration of your peers means more to many athletes than athletic accolades. How you show up matters more than what you achieve. But then there are those rare athletes who have both the HOW and the WHAT, like Natalie Hinds. Natalie Hinds is an Olympian and TeamUSA captain.

Having had great success as a college swimmer at Florida, she headed to her 2nd Olympic Trials with legit skills to make an Olympic team, but it didn’t happen. So she retired. A couple years later, Natalie HInds got the itch to swim again, this time in a new training group at Georgia, where she found her swag and her speed. She went on to win her first US National title and made her first Olympic team for Tokyo where she collected some hardware for TeamUSA.

We ask every guest who they recommend we talk to next on the show. No joke, half of our guests suggested Natalie Hinds. Watch and find out why.