Swim Smooth

Episode 32 - Andy Donaldson - Cook Strait Swim World Record Holder

Join us today in a candid and fun discussion as we chat with Andy Donaldson, the world record holder for the Cook Strait Swim and a great ambassador for the sport who's on his way to becoming the first and fastest swimmer to complete all Oceans Seven swims within 12 months. The podcast was filmed live and can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taR7J3TJTM8&t=1315s To contribute/help with Andy's noble endeavours to raise awareness of mental health issues via swimming, please visit: https://www.teamblackdog.org.au/fundraisers/oceansseven Enjoy!

Episode 31 - Dave Radcliff - one of the world's most successful Masters swimmers on how to "use it or lose it"

Last week – when I flooded everyone’s inbox with news that Swim Smooth was back (sorry, not sorry – as the kids say!), a gentleman from Oregon in the USA reached out to who informed me he’d just turned 89 years old the week before and that swimming was what was keeping him going in later life. He described his life in three parts: 1. His youth was the first third, he said, when he was very successful in both the pool and open water. This time included the dream of most all athletes, to be a member of the US Olympic team. He swam the 1500 in the Melbourne Games in 1956. 2. The second third would be his Masters Swimming in both the pool and open water. During this third he was honoured with an introduction into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame. 3. The final third is now, Dave said – dealing with the likely diagnosis of a rare neurological condition called ALS. Wikipedia states that, ALS or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a rare neurological disease that affects motor neurons—those nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. Voluntary muscles are those we choose to move to produce movements like chewing, walking, and talking. Despite these challenges, Dave says that when he swims he tries to be Smooth and steady. He says, he’s not fast but he feels smooth and comfortable and that it is still a great feeling to just get in and try to glide through the water. Swimming has enabled Dave to keep a certain level of fitness. Mentally it is keeping him active with a positive attitude about life. So Smooth Swimming is a must for me, Dave says. Dave Radcliff from Oregon in the USA, a 1956 Olympian and someone who has held every master’s swimming world record from 50m to 1500m freestyle for the 75-79 and 80-84 age groups, when he returned to swimming in 1995 at the age of 61. Dave’s 1500m freestyle World Record time at age 80 was 22:16.90, only 3 minutes slower than his time in the 1956 Olympics. He’s here today to talk to you about the importance of using it, or losing it! Enjoy!

Episode 30 - Rob Hutchings, The Downriver Nomad

We've got a cracker of a podcast for you this week - a fireside chat with Rob Hutchings, author of The Downriver Nomad [http://adventuresoutsidethelanes.com/downriver-nomad/], as he tells his story about dealing with the adversity of an alcoholic parent, the heartache of trying to adopt a child, and how he's found solace in his open water swimming pursuits and his own triathlon adventures, including swimming the length of the Clutha River in New Zealand, a distance of 256km! Rob has some profoundly deep messages in this podcast about discovering within yourself what swimming is all about to you, about how to find challenges without necessarily having to enter competitions, and how to really embrace the joy and release that swimming provides. As a chiropractor and also a regular yoga and pilates student, Rob offers up some great advice with respect to a more rounded approach to your swimming with regards to injury prevention and rehab too. We hope you enjoy!

Episode 29 - Ross Davenport - 3-time Olympian and FINIS business manager

Today we're joined by Ross Davenport - 3-time Olympian, 2-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, former European record holder and now FINIS international business development manager. We talk about Ross's childhood as a wannabe soccer star, his break at 12yrs old from swimming and the pivotal moment that saw him return to the pool fully committed and ready for action. Interestingly enough, former podcast superstars Rebecca Adlington and David Davies have also have similar hiatus periods in their adolescent years only to return more fired up than ever. Ross's interview is a great one to listen to with your kids in this regard as there are some excellent life and moral stories to be gained. As Ross discusses right at the start of the show, Paul was Ross's key referee for landing his role with FINIS, a position in which Ross has been in for over 8 years now. Ross's passion and enthusiasm for swimming really shone through when Paul first met Ross at the Loughborough University in 2013, shortly after Ross had retired from competitive swimming. During that meeting as part of one of the Swim Smooth 3-day Coach Education Courses, Ross blistered through an amazing 100m kicking set in well under 1:05! Crazy. The coaches loved it! From there, FINIS CEO, John Mix, was looking for someone who understood swimming and the company's training aids and Ross was Paul's obvious first choice for the role. After a trip over to California for the interview, John was suitably impressed and the rest, as they say, is history. We hope you enjoy! Paul

Episode 28 - what does fighting on the front-line of COVID-19, shoulder injury and learning a 2-beat kick have in common? Dr Jess Potter, that's what!

In today's podcast, we speak with Jess Potter, our online video analysis competition winner from a couple of weeks ago. The conversation with Jess - a respiratory specialist from London, UK who's been fighting on the front-line over the pandemic - was so engaging that we thought you might benefit from her story in podcast form, if you wish to see the video analysis, please pop over to this YouTube link [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suw-6G4Uwkc]. The video analysis commences at ~20 minutes into the clip. In it, we discuss the following: 1. how Jess's hand entry has led to some shoulder injury woes and how to fix them 2. how Jess's pull-through on her left precludes her from being able to breathe bilaterally as comfortably as she'd like 3. how Jess has been unable to master a 2-beat leg kick for marathon swimming because of her catch and pull through...fix these up though and she (and you!) could be onto a winner! Enjoy!