Morning, Nerd.

Welcome to the Swimnerd newsletter, your swimming Sherpa.

Now, let's get into the good stuff:

• 🏊‍♂️ USA World Team Trials Awards & Caeleb Dressel Race Analysis

• 💪 Foundations of Swimming Strength with Deniz Hekmati

• 🤡 Swimming Meme & 📜Swimming Set of the Week

🏊‍♀️ USA WORLD TEAM TRIALS 🌎

Check out Bobby Finke's last 5 strokes in the 4 IM to almost catch Chase Kalisz...

QUICK THOUGHTS

Before the start of the meet I wrote that..."On the Men's side, I think the big takeaway will be how thin we still are in the distance events (400/800/1500). This is definitely where the "opportunity lies" for Paris 2024 on the Men's side. Who will emerge alongside Kieran Smith & Bobby Finke?" It was a couple of college swimmers, Charlie Clark (800 & 1500) and Trey Freeman (400), that took advantage. But how thin are we compared to the rest of the world in these events? Well, Germany has 4 dudes under 7:50 in the 800 Free -- we have 1. Luckily, our top dawg is the reigning double Olympic gold medalist.

On the Women's side, with no Simone Manuel, I was anxious about the women's sprint free events and relays, opining that UVA would fill a bunch of roster spots. But, they didn't fill as many as they could have. Paige Madden revealed she has Hashimoto's disease, and not only has it been acting up, but she was sick a couple weeks before trials with the flu. She's been a huge important 4x2 swimmer for Team USA. Kate Douglass got 5th in the 100 and of course qualified in the 2 Breast. Alex Walsh placed 6th in the 200 Free and won the 2 IM. Gretchen Walsh didn't make it back to Finals in the 100 Free and got the dreaded 3rd place in the 50 Free by .01 just missing out on qualifying. And, Team USA is without familiar veterans like Abbey Weitzeil & Olivia Smoliga.

AWARDS

Women's MVP: Claire Curzan and Torri HuskeStanford might have lost Katie Ledecky last year but they still have the two of the best female swimmers on the planet in Torri and Claire. And while Ledecky will always be the GOAT in the distance events, she's not a relay monster like these two.

Claire & Torri will be an intricate part of almost every relay in Budapest. Claire is one of most versatile female swimmer in the world with the ability to swim 3 of the 4 strokes at the highest level. The coaching staff can move her around in case anything happens. 

With no Emma McKeon or Maggie MacNeil, the opportunity for both of them to podium in multiple events is ripe for the picking.

Men's MVP: Caeleb DresselDressel continues to perform all while changing up his stroke technique (see Brett's breakdowns below). He won his 4 events (50/100 Free, 50/100 Fly) and will be on all the relays minus the 4x2.

Swim of the Meet: Hunter Armstrong's 50 BackstrokeWhen you go the fastest a human has ever gone, you win Swim of the Meet. For such a tall guy, it's hard to believe his turnover is this fast.

He's not just a backstroker, either. His sprint freestyle has evolved over the last year which is tantalizing for Team USA. He will swim on the 4x100 Free Relay (48.25) as well as the MR. He's got a chance to bring home 4 gold medals. Hunter, according to SS, is now a professional, foregoing his final two years at Ohio State.

Heartbreak of the Meet: Ross DantRoss Dant's 400 Free was crushing to watch. Going into the final 50 meters, he was in the lead! But Trey Freeman did what he did in prelims - descended his final 3x50's - to get his hand on the wall first.

Team of the Meet: The University of Florida & Sandpipers of NevadaKatie Ledecky won the 200/400/800/1500 with her 800 in sub 8:10 fashion. Natalie Hinds also made the team. On the Men's side, Florida won every freestyle event from the 50 to the 1500, going 1-2 in the 400. 

Even without Olympic silver medalist Erica Sullivan swimming, the Sandpipers of Nevada still put 3 teenagers on team. Breakout 15 year old Claire Weinstein collected 2nd in the 200 Free behind Ledecky. This time around, though, Coach Ron Aitken was named to the Team USA coaching staff.

Foundations of Swimmer Strength with Coach Deniz Hekmati

Today on Inside with Brett Hawke, we've got Swedish strength & conditioning coach, Deniz Hekmati! This is a very informative s&c conversation that touches on...

• where to begin with s&c for swimmers

• sprint strength vs. distance strength

• transferring strength on land to speed in the water

• reducing the risk for injury

Coach Deniz holds a MS in Exercise Physiology and is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist working with swimmers from teenagers taking their first steps into the competitive world to Olympic-level athletes. Residing in Norway, Deniz currently also serves as the Strength Physiologist for one of the nation's largest swimming clubs, Lambertseter Swim Club. He is also the author of Foundations of Strength Training for Swimmers – a complete guide to develop swimming power and manage injuries.  

CAELEB DRESSEL RACE ANALYSIS

Brett broke down Caeleb's 50/100 Free and 100 Fly races. You don't want to miss these.

Caeleb Dressel 50 Free

Caeleb Dressel 100 Free

Caeleb Dressel 100 Fly (surprise analysis from Tom "Beefy T" Shields)

SET OF THE WEEK

Andi Manley's 10K Simulation

Andi Manley is the Director of Swimming at Loughborough University. Check out this monster of a set, as Tobias & Hector prepare for the 10k. This was done in a 50m pool with the goal of simulating the 10k -- in the video you will notice how bunched up the swimmers are.

Is this too long for you? I turned this into a Swimnerd Masters practice, as we are preparing for our 3 open water races this summer...

🤡 SWIMMING MEME OF THE WEEK

Jake Swinn has finally been knocked off his high horse by the President of Swimming Twitter, Kyle Sockwell. 

THE SWIMNERD SUMMER BUNDLE IS BACK!

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