The SwimSwam Podcast

After training for 5 years in Italy with some of the best breaststroke specialists in the country, 20-year-old Anita Bottazzo needed a change. She wanted new stimulus both athletically and academically, so she decided to come to the University of Florida. Flash forward one year: Bottazzo has become an SEC Champion, NCAA All-American, and Italian champion, and is pursuing a degree in biotechnology. Listen to how Bottazzo has flourished in Gainesville and what tools she's gained since her arrival in the USA.

Stephanie Balduccini finished her second college swimming season as a Big Ten Champion and NCAA All-American. The Michigan sophomore has found her groove in Ann Arbor, but it wasn't a linear path. Coming into Michigan, Balduccini was actually quite unhappy with her swimming and was considering retirement if she didn't enjoy Michigan.

However, the coaching staff and family dynamic of the team helped her to rediscover her love of the sport. Specifically, she learned to focus on small wins in her day-to-day training and racing, not solely focus on times or results. The 2x Brazilian Olympian discusses the NCAA season, her Olympic experience, and what it means to be "Elite".

SwimSwam sat down with Bob Bowman, the Director of Swimming at the University of Texas, who delivered the Longhorns a national title in his first year at the helm. Bowman, who was coming off of winning a national title with Arizona State the year before, discussed the similarities and differences of winning national titles at ASU and UT, noting that Texas has a storied history of national success that gives a confidence boost to its athletes. Bowman also addressed Leon Marchand's scheduled return to competition, the Pro Swim Series in Ft. Lauderdale, confirming that we may see the 4x Olympic champion in some freestyle events. To round out our conversation, Bowman told a few stories of watching his grandchildren (Boomer, Beckett, and Maverick Phelps) play on their respective soccer and baseball teams, the latter of which their father, Michael Phelps, is the coach of.

Cal Baptist junior Remi Fabiani was a 3x conference champion this year, qualifying for NCAAs and finishing 13th in the 100 free. After NCAAs, Fabiani announced he would be transferring to ASU for his final season of eligibility. SwimSwam sat down with Fabiani to discuss his journey from his home country of Luxembourg to Riverside, California. The sprinter takes us through leaving home, his Olympic redshirt season, and what scoring at NCAAs as a Mid-Major athlete was like.

Today on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss Lukas Martens' huge world record in the 400m Free, 50s of stroke in the Olympics, and USA Swimming announcing Greg Meehan as the new US National team director.