Summer begins in January: 4:28.13 (59.83, 2:08.13,3:26.88) - 59.83; 1:08.30; 1:18.75; 1:01.25 - 400m medley - McIntosh faster than all but her own and Hosszu's 2016 Olympic gold pace state-of-swimming.ghost.io/the-vortex-j...

24 IOC directors were paid at least $55 million in the 2021-2024 Olympiad, far more than each top-tier Olympic fed, including World Aquatics, got - let alone the stars ... elite athletes. The Inquisitor's Jens Weinreich climbs the Olympic money tree state-of-swimming.ghost.io/ioc-director...

Summer McIntosh & Léon Marchand got their 2026 pace-and-performance tests off to a fast start in the 200m medley finals on day 2 at the Austin round of the Pro Swim series in Texas; and the pace of Katie Ledecky 10 years after 800 WR at the same meet state-of-swimming.ghost.io/the-vortex-j...

Vortex adds: At Austin Pro-Swim, Katie Ledecky clocks the & her 2nd fastest 1500m free ever, Bobby Finke wins men's race in 15:01; Anna Elendt, Regan Smith and Yohann Ndoye Brouard among winners on day 1; Scottish Swimming welcomes £ for school swimming state-of-swimming.ghost.io/the-vortex-j...

ISL's Final Stand In 2018 Legal Action Starts With Face Of Old FINA Taking The Stand state-of-swimming.ghost.io/isls-final-s...

On This Day In History - When Lorraine Crapp (AUS) & Sylvia Ruuska (USA) Took The Pool By Storm, the Australian's run on records in 1956 included the first sub-5min 400 free by a woman, her effort including three other WRs in one race state-of-swimming.ghost.io/on-this-day-...

SOS Carlile Cup For Lifetime Achievement To Aussie Leader & Performance Southern Star Bill Sweetenham state-of-swimming.ghost.io/lifetime-ach...

Triple Olympic champ Nancy Hogshead is our SOS Fair Play Award Winner For 2025. Ending sexual abuse in sport; Fair & Safe Sport for women in context of trans inclusion; Title IX equality in sport. Courage is at the core of the woman and her work state-of-swimming.ghost.io/nancy-hogshe...

SOS Courage Cup To Bobby Finke & the Ellesmere Parents Group & Their Young Swimmers state-of-swimming.ghost.io/sos-courage-...

Timeline - The SOS Daily Trawl of World long-course records set this day throughout history: January 9 - Ilsa Konrads & Jenny Turrall Keep Aussie Distance Ball Rolling state-of-swimming.ghost.io/on-this-day-...

In our latest of an SOS FORUM series into what's holding swimming back - here are some gems from Wayne Goldsmith, inc some short, sharp videos at his Sports Thoughts venture...from tips for mum & dad, & a plea to coaches, to signposts for club officials state-of-swimming.ghost.io/forum-the-bi...

The SOS Carlile Cup For Lifetime Achievement To Dr. Shane Gould: Olympic great from class of Forbes & Ursula Carlile, a swim culture PhD, advocate for & expert on water safety/ drowning prevention & 'athlete transition', elite bubble to rest of life 🐬 state-of-swimming.ghost.io/the-carlile-...

Big step taken to meaningful reform @SwimEngland - it acknowledges Ellesmere Titans, one of Britain's leading clubs, was stripped of affiliation after governors acted on false allegations. Campaigners thanked for their work to improve governance... state-of-swimming.ghost.io/swim-england...

SOS review and awards 2025: Men - The Europeans dominated men's swimming, in pool and open water, at the 2025 World Championships in Singapore, helping the old continental claim the Continental Cup for overall team with the most podium visits of any state-of-swimming.ghost.io/2025-awards-...

SOS review & awards 2025: Women - The Americas topped the count of prizes in the pool & overall, Oceania in open water; In all categories, Oceania, courtesy of the Australian Dolphins, was the runaway winner of our punch-above-weight trophy yet again state-of-swimming.ghost.io/2025-awards-...

Editorial: A grab-and-go raid in Venezuela held hands with more naked imperialist ambition on Greenland this week. Seen from Olympic Heights, any move on European-held territory risks mass boycott of the 2028 Games. Is there an alternative plan? state-of-swimming.ghost.io/shed-no-tear...

In the Vortex: Scotland’s Most Disadvantaged Children Miss Out On Life-Saving Swim Lessons - Debate Ahoy! ; Lochte Olympic Relay Golds raise $385,000; The Peaty Family Feud - Times Radio discussion; WADA's 2026 List of Prohibited Substances & Methods state-of-swimming.ghost.io/the-vortex-j...

The Kings Of Perseverance 2025: Cameron McEvoy is the monarch of longevity coupled with big victories, while Kyle Chalmers, James Guy and Duncan Scott are also members of the 2025 podium club with a vault of podiums dating back more than a decade. state-of-swimming.ghost.io/2025-review-...

2025 review: The Queens Of Perseverance 2025: Katie Ledecky, Marrit Steenbergen, Simone Manuel & Simona Quadarella have been making big podiums for > 10 years - & McKeown, Smith, the Walsh sisters, Pallister, Berkoff & Elendt will get there before LA2028 state-of-swimming.ghost.io/2025-review-...

Léon Marchand's 1:52.69 200m medley and Lukas Märtens 3:39.96 400m freestyle, the only solo World long-course records of the year, top the list of the best men's performances in the pool in 2025 state-of-swimming.ghost.io/2025-review-...

Summer McIntosh's 4:23.65 400IM tops a list of six global pioneering swims by women in 2025 and she has three others entries in a top 6 alongside Americans Gretchen Walsh and Katie Ledecky. state-of-swimming.ghost.io/2025-review-...

We continue our 2025 review with the top 3 men's campaigns of the year. The best was a balance of the outstanding beyond the outstanding: it's a snap for David Popovici and Léon Marchand, whose French teammate Maxine Grousset completes our SOS podium state-of-swimming.ghost.io/2025-review-...

"Excellence isn’t fragile—but it does require protection" - Bob Bowman, who has pledged to share some of the principles he's learned "about building environments where performance can last" state-of-swimming.ghost.io/bowman-on-th...

We start our 2025 review with the overall and top 3 women's campaigns of the year. No topping Summer McIntosh for overall campaign of the year; our top 3 is completed by Katie Ledecky, Kaylee McKeown state-of-swimming.ghost.io/2025-review-...

Lincoln Wearing Cracks Kieren Perkins' 1990 Aussie 16 Years 800 Mark: “It’s such a thrill to be able to have the opportunity to race here after training hard, knowing I had Kieren’s record in my sights, that was my goal, to go under it, so I’m thrilled." state-of-swimming.ghost.io/the-vortex-d...

In 2026: Will Olympic Rules Reflect Coventry's Stance That "We Are Protecting The Female Category"? state-of-swimming.ghost.io/olympic-rule...

SOS FORUM: In our series on what's retarding swimming's growth, we dip into AUS Vs The Rest of the World in Brisbane. Its the latest memory jog for World Aquatics to think again about the void in between Olympics and World Champs state-of-swimming.ghost.io/australia-vs...

SOS FORUM: In Part 3 of our look at what's holding swimming back, we consider the wise words of Prof. Margaret Heffernan in 'Wilful Blindness': lessons for Aquatics 'reformists' who have broken their pledge to the late Francois Carrard's code for change state-of-swimming.ghost.io/blindness-wi...

Marrit Steenbergen's back lead-off in golden Dutch 4x50m medley - 24.47 Euro record - would have won the dash at Euro s/c titles; it broke the ER that had stood to Sara Curtis for 2hrs, 4mins. Steenbergen's tally: 6 gold, 8 medals, 6 days: Queen of Lublin state-of-swimming.ghost.io/walshe-ponti...

Italy top the medals with 11 golds at the Euro short-course champs after adding five more titles in the curtain-closer, courtesy of Sara Curtis, Simone Cerasuolo, Simona Quadarella, Alberto Razzetti and a men's 4x50 medley quartet including Cerasuolo state-of-swimming.ghost.io/quadarella-r...

Ireland's Ellen Walshe bagged her 1st senior open gold with storming finish in 200 'fly as the Euro s/c Champs wrap up in Lublin. Debut triumph for Poland's Justina Kozan, too, & a title retained by Swiss ace Noe Ponti ahead of Polish Chmielewski twins state-of-swimming.ghost.io/walshe-ponti...

Italian Sara Curtis claims 1st intl solo title, in a European record 25.49 in 50 back, then 28 minutes later, takes joint silver in 50 free with France's Beryl Gastaldello as Euro s/c hosts Poland celebrates gold for Katarzyna Wasick in curtain-closer state-of-swimming.ghost.io/curtis-cuts-...

The next multi-missions of wonder and awe in the Olympic pool are well underway for the top two turns at Paris 2024. Summer McIntosh 2:02 and Léon Marchand 1:52 - 200 'fly: US Open, in a snap of test sets at a pace very few have ever swum at, any occasion state-of-swimming.ghost.io/mcintosh-mar...

No Stopping Marrit Steenbergen: 5 Golds, With Euro Records No3 and 4 In 200IM & 100 Free: inside Katinka Hosszu's 2014 mark, on 2:01.83 in the 200IM, inside Sarah Sjöström's 100 free mark, on 50.42 in the 100 free + 2017 meet mark of Ranomi Kromowidjojo state-of-swimming.ghost.io/no-stopping-...

In a week of sewing seeds for summer 2028 blooming in LA, a wave of US Open records is accounted for by 2 super squads, Texas Longhorns + its gathering of the biggest international force of big hitters in 1 program, & the Uni of Virginia sorority of stars state-of-swimming.ghost.io/dazzling-dre...

Germany's Isabel Gose & France's Maxime Grousset set Championship records to win respective 800 free & 100 'fly tussles with Quadarella & Ponti in Lublin; Euro s/c titles also to Damborg (100fly), Ceccon & Cox (100bk), Elendt & Coll Marti ( 200br breast) state-of-swimming.ghost.io/gose-makes-i...

Another Magdeburg-Might distance powerhouse breaks through: Johannes Liebmann, 18, had a best 800 free of 7:54 last year. He made it 7:45 in a 1500m split 2 days ago, & this morning rose from 185th all-time to No11: 7:30.9, 800 World Junior record state-of-swimming.ghost.io/the-vortex-d...

The 200m free honours keep piling up for the Brits, the latest delivered by Duncan Scott, in 1:40.54 for his first Euro s/c title in the event, and training partner Jack McMillan, 0.40sec away at Euro s/c Champs in Poland, bronze to Ireland's Evan Bailey state-of-swimming.ghost.io/scott-mcmill...

Irish ace Daniel Wiffen Plays Cat-&-Mouse With Hungarian Zalan Sarkany Before Pouncing in Last 50 To Retain 1500m Euro s/c crown in 14:13.96 to 14:15.51. Bronze to Germany's Florian Wellbrock state-of-swimming.ghost.io/wiffen-plays...

Dutch ace Marritt Steenbergen downs Hosszu's 2017 ER in the 100IM then Sjöström's 2017 ER & Pellegrini's 2009 meet mark in the 200m free for two Euro s/c golds within 90mins in Lublin. 100IM: from 7th to 2nd all-time; 200 free: from 22nd to 3rd all-time state-of-swimming.ghost.io/steenbergen-...

Dutch ace Marritt Steenbergen is now the second-fastest 100m medley sprinter all-time with 56.26 win, inside Katinka Hosszu's 2017 European record, at continental short-course Championships in Poland; Swiss ace Noe Ponti takes men's gold in meet mark state-of-swimming.ghost.io/steenbergen-...

Germany's Isabel Gose led the way into the final of the 800m freestyle on day 3 of the European s/c Championships in Lublin, Poland, this morning with an 8:13.70 in heats 36 hours after lifting gold in the 400m; second showdown with Simona Quadarella ahoy state-of-swimming.ghost.io/the-vortex-d...

Ireland's John Shortt sets 1:47.89 World junior record in the 200m backstroke for first international senior crown. Neither the standards the 18-year-old set nor the title he won today in Poland have ever been owned by an Irishman before state-of-swimming.ghost.io/irish-histor...

McMillan & Scott Through, Richards Out In GBR fight for the right to get beyond heats of 200 free ... Aussie Legacy Shines On In Euro Waters state-of-swimming.ghost.io/the-vortex-d...

Germany's Isabel Gose breaks Mireia Belmonte's 2013 Euro s/c record for gold in 400m free, and Britain's Jack McMillan upsets Olympic and World champion Lukas Märtens for gold in the men's final as continental s/c champs get underway in Poland state-of-swimming.ghost.io/gold-in-3-54...

Four-time Olympic Gold medallist at a home Games in Paris last year, Léon Marchand has joined Speedo as a global ambassador on a mission to 'use his platform to champion swim culture on the global stage' state-of-swimming.ghost.io/marchand-joi...

Dutch ace Caspar Corbeau rattled the World short-course record with a 55.54 (26.06) in the heats of the 100m breaststroke on the opening morning at the European short-course championships in Lublin, Poland. state-of-swimming.ghost.io/the-vortex-d...

Forum: Thema - Trust: in Part 2 on what's retarding swimming's growth, we consider the governance fortress & flags of "Integrity" & "transparency" flying for all outside the walls to see, while inside the walls, different standards appear top apply state-of-swimming.ghost.io/forum-its-no...

“I feel very fortunate to have had so many mentors. From Turner to Sweetenham, Armiger & Titley, McNulty & Marshall, Furniss to Manley; all these coaches have had a profound, long-lasting impact on my knowledge & experience" - Dr. Mike Peyrebrune - Part 2 state-of-swimming.ghost.io/on-the-trail...

Penny Oleksiak, the 2016 Olympic 100m freestyle champion for Canada, has accepted a two-year ban from competition stemming from three whereabouts failures. state-of-swimming.ghost.io/the-vortex-n...