Ice swimming is a strange outpost on the edge of our sport. It’s real, growing, and intense, but still outside the formal World Aquatics structure. In this GMM takeover of the SwimSwam Podcast, we sit down with Chris Ballard, author of THE PLUNGE: Maverick Swimmers, an Unlikely Quest, and the Transformative Power of Cold Water. The book drops June 9th from Simon & Schuster.

Today on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss the Ft. Lauderdale Open, Chase Kreitler resigning from Pitt, and movement in the NCAA

Today on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss the potential change to the NCAA format, big moves in the transfer portal, and the Ft Lauderdale Open.

Yesterday, Mitch Dalton was announced as the new head coach for Brown University women's swimming and diving. Dalton has spent the last 6 seasons at Texas, where he will leave as the associate head coach for the women's team. During his tenure with the Longhorns, they finished in the top-3 at the NCAA Championships every season. We spoke with Dalton about his move and his vision as a first-time head coach in the NCAA.

This past weekend, Olympic champion Matt King swam a lifetime best in the 100m Free, touching at 47.7. Then he posted a screenshot to his Instagram story of a text that was sent about him...

2024 Olympian David Johnston recently announced his transfer from Texas to the University of Florida. The NCAA Champion explained there were 3 big reasons why he chose to leave Austin for Gainesville. One was plain and simple: the money. Johnston acknowledges that he didn't plan to be competing in the NCAA this long and sees why some would call it unfair. However, with the rules being what they are and new NIL opportunities sprouting up, Johnston wanted to go somewhere that could offer him income that could potentially supplement his future as he strives to qualify for the 2028 USA Olympic team, and it just so happened that UF was that place. In this conversation, Johnston is exceedingly honest about the fact that he is doing what is best for his career with this move, not only in the short term but moving toward LA28. In Gainesville, he will be training with arguably the best distance group in the world, swimming alongside Katie Ledecky, Bobby Finke, Ahmed Jaouadi, and Ahmed Hafnaoui, to name a few. He also opens up about dealing with the shoulder injury that sidelined him for the entire 2025-26 NCAA season.

Join Coleman Hodges as he goes event-by-event to preview the 2026 Men's DI NCAA Championships this week in Atlanta.

Join Coleman Hodges as he goes event-by-event to preview the 2026 Women's DI NCAA Championships this week in Atlanta.