Kaylee McKeown breaks WR, Cate Campbell is back, Ledecky nearly breaks 15 mins!

USA Swimming's Backstroke Finish Rule Change + Women's NCAA Predictions

Morning, Nerd.

Welcome to the Swimnerd Newsletter where each week we highlight the most interesting stuff going on in swimming. This week...

🌎Fast Swims Around the World
📰 USA Swimming Backstroke Finish Rule Change
📜 Set of the Week from Israeli National Coach, Joni Kopelev
🤡 Swimming Meme of the Week from Jake Swinn

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🏊‍♀️FAST SWIMS AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

To say this was an excellent week for Aussie swimming is quite an understatement. Here are some of the highlight swims from multiple meets:

2023 NSW State Open Championships (AUS)

Elijah Winnington: 400 Free: 3:47.98/200 Free: 1:47.26
W 100 Free: 🥇Shayna Jack: 53.12 / 🥈 Emma McKeon: 53.55 / 🥉 Meg Harris: 53.91
Kyle Chalmers: 100 Free: 48.09
Kaylee McKeown: 200 Back 🤯WORLD RECORD💥 2:03.13/100 Back: 57.84🔥/ 200 IM: 2:08.27/ 50 Back: 27.31

🚨🚨WORLD RECORD BROKEN! 😱🌎
🇦🇺Kaylee McKeown breaks the Women’s 200m Backstroke world record going 0.21 seconds faster to finish in 2:03.14!
The previous Record holder in this event was Regan Smith 🇺🇸 (Gwangju 2019)
📸Delly Carr
— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics)
Mar 10, 2023

Isaac Cooper: 50 Back: 24.38🔥/100 Back: 54.49
Mollie O'Callaghan: 50 Back: 27.38/200 Free: 1:55.27🔥
Ariarne Titmus: 400 Free: 4:01.94/200 Free: 1:55.53🔥
Cameron McEvoy: 50 Fly: 23.82 / 50 Free: 22.08
Emma McKeon: 100 Fly: 57.07 / 200 Fly: 2:07.79
Flynn Southam: 200 Free: 1:47.08
W 50 Free: 🥇 Shayna Jack: 24.26/🥈 Emma McKeon: 24.69/🥉 Meg Harris: 24.74
Matt Temple: 100 Fly: 52.10

2023 Vorgee Brisbane Senior Metro Champs (AUS)

Cate Campbell: 100 Free: 53.52🔥
Zac Stubblety-Cook: 100 Breast: 1:00.70(1:00.46 in prelims)/200 Breast: 2:10.71🔥

Mediterranean Open (FRA):

Tess Schouten (NED): 100 Breast: 1:06.65🔥
Sara Sjostrom (SWE): 100 Free: 53.55/50 Fly: 25.25🔥💥
Marrit Steenbergen (NED): 100 Free: 53.84🔥
Melanie Henique (FRA): 50 Fly: 25.88🔥
Kenzo Simons (NED): 50 Free: 21.87🔥
Hadrian Salvan (FRA): 200 Free: 1:47.31🔥
Arno Kamminga (NED): 50 Breast: 27.29/200 Breast: 2:09.47🔥
Maxime Grousset (FRA): 100 Fly: 52.12🔥

2023 Florida Swimming Spring Senior Champs (USA):

At the Florida Swimming Sprint Senior Champs this week, 🐐 Katie Ledecky swam one event only, the 1650 yd. free. It's clear that she is in top form as she went the fastest time in history by nearly 💥two seconds💥. Her time of 15:01.41 was over six seconds faster than the last time she swam the event at the 2018 NCAA Championships. Ledecky now owns the top seven fastest times in history.

While we have a few minutes, a GOAT update. In a relatively low-wattage meet in Florida today, @katieledecky broke her own 2017 American and US Open records in the 1650 freestyle. She remains ridiculous.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde)
Mar 12, 2023

Edinburgh Invitational (S.C.):

Laura Stephens: 200 Fly: 2:07.41🔥
Tom Dean: 200 Free: 1:46.07🔥💥/100 Free: 49.10
Anna Hopkin: 50 Free: 24.72🔥
Kylie Masse: 50 Back: 27.79
Adam Peaty: 100 Breast: 1:00.20
James Wilby: 100 Breast: 1:00.28
Louise Hansson: 100 Fly: 57.84/50 Fly: 25.94🔥
Simon Bucher: 100 Fly: 51.20🔥

More medals, more pre-British Champs momentum 🥇⏩
@katieshanahan_ (400m IM), @freyaandersonn (200m Free), @FreyaColbert (800m Free) & @adam_peaty (100m Breaststroke) came out on top in their respective finals 👏
Catch up on the full results #EISM23📝👉 swimscotland.co.uk
— British Swimming (@britishswimming)
Mar 11, 2023

The moment I stop having fun with it I’ll be done with it.
— Adam Peaty OBE (@adam_peaty)
Mar 12, 2023

USA SWIMMING RULE CHANGE

USA Swimming sent out a blast on Friday that they were ratifying a rule change in congruence with World Aquatics' rule change regarding the finishing phase of a backstroke race.

The rule now states that "once some part of the head of the swimmer has passed the 5-meter mark (LCM or SCM) or 5-yard mark (SCY) immediately prior to reaching the finish, the swimmer may be completely submerged prior to the touch."

So swimmers and coaches, let's see how creative we can get on these new backstroke finishing rules. Will it be better to resubmerge at five yds/meters?

BRETT HAWKE CLIPS OF THE WEEK

This week on INSIDE with BRETT HAWKE...

This morning at 8AM EST...Dive Inside LIVE!

Women's 2023 NCAA Swimming Championship PREDICTION SHOW with special guest @KyleMillis!

Will Texas be able to take down Virginia or will they make it 3 in a row? Is Stanford ready to pounce? Who will be the meet's most outstanding swimmer? Kate Douglass? Maggie Mac Neil? Lydia Jacoby? Gretchen Walsh? Alex Walsh? Torri Huske? Claire Curzan? Katharine Berkoff?

This evening at 6:30 PM EST...Brett is going LIVE with his old Auburn buddy Dave Durden - the Head Coach of the University of California Men's Swimming & Diving Team.

They will discuss, obviously, Men's NCAA Championships which are a week out.

Tomorrow...Episode #305...

Samantha Arsenault won an Olympic gold medal as part of the 4x200 Free Relay in Sydney.

Winning gold wasn't enough and afterwards, she spiraled into a deep, dark place. Samantha tells her story of how she overcame this from the help of Greg Harden and how she came to understand her true self and heal her relationship with herself.

This interview is about her journey to understanding her inner self and the feelings that come with achieving her dream.

This week's American Swimming Coaches Association talk comes from Olympic gold medalist, Anita Nall. Don't forget to sign up for the World Clinic in Dallas this September!

In, "Girls to Women", Anita Nall discusses the three phases of a young girl's swimming career, the "little girls stage," the "adolescent transitional period," and "womanhood."

She talks about how girls get into swimming for different reasons, how adolescent girls can be difficult to coach, and how adult athletes want to learn and understand what they are doing.

📝 SWIM SET OF THE WEEK

This week's set comes from European Champion turned Israeli National Coach, Joni Kopelev.

8 seconds resisted sprint (using a cord)

12 seconds resisted sprint (using a cord)

25 sprint with a chute

75 easy

1st Round = naked (no equipment)

2nd Round = pull with paddles

3rd Round = fins & paddles

4th Round = fins just kicking

2x25 at 90% effort

50 Recovery

25 Runner or Relay Start

75 Recovery

1st 2 rounds with no equipment. 3rd Round with fins.

🤡 SWIMMING MEME OF THE WEEK

Only 365 of you follow Jake Swinn, the World's Best Swimmemer.

Society when Caeleb Dressel is in the pool
— Jacob (@JakeSwinn)
Mar 6, 2023

Caution this guy says a few curse words...

This is how my dad used to respond if me or my brother said we didn’t want to go to swim practice
— Jacob (@JakeSwinn)
Mar 10, 2023

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