Chris Ballard on Ice Swimming, Cold Water, and The Plunge

In this GMM takeover of the SwimSwam Podcast we have Vern Gambetta, founder of GAIN (the Gambetta Athletic Improvement Network) and Chris Webb, Director of GAINswim. Vern Gambetta is widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of functional sports training, a movement that helped shift athletic development away from isolated machine-based strength work and toward training the whole athlete.

Today on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss last night's Enhanced Games, the Pro Swim stop at Sacramento, and international meets in London and Monaco.

Isabelle Stadden had been a child protege in the pool, representing the USA on the international stage multiple times over, accruing numerous accolades well before she even reached college. Attending Cal Berkeley, Stadden continued to rake in awards and honors, becoming an NCAA All-American many times over during her 5 seasons with the Golden Bears. Weeks after completing her undergraduate degree, Stadden competed at the 2025 US World Trials. In what was supposed to be a springboard for her pro career, Stadden had what she says was one of the worst meets of her life. Her performances in Indianapolis were lackluster and resulted in her first time missing the USA National Team in 7 seasons. After that, Stadden took a long time away from the pool. 6 months removed from her last competition, the Minnesota native decided to give it one more go around, this time doing it for herself rather than feeling the external pressures of performing for a team or to satisfy others' expectations. She moved to arguably the top women's program in the country, the University of Virginia, to train under the 2024 Olympic women's head coach, Todd DeSorbo. Just 4 months into training in Charlottesvillle, she went a 2:05.9 in the 200 back in early March, dropping over a second off of her previous PB of 2:07.28 set in May of 2021. 7 weeks later at the Ft Lauderdale Open, Stadden struck gold again, touching in 2:04.37, becoming the #4 performer in history and #1 in the world this year. Listen to Stadden as she shares her perspective on returning to her sport refreshed, reenergized, and ready for more, looking towards the end of the summer and beyond.

Today on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we preview the Sacramento Pro Swim, Kristof Milak racing at Mare Nostrum, and the inaugural Enhanced Games on Sunday.

12-time Olympic swimming medalist Ryan Lochte is making his coaching debut as an assistant coach at Missouri State, joining Dave Collins’ staff for the 2026–27 season. It is a measured move. Lochte is not jumping straight into a head coaching position. He admits he has a lot to learn. For Ryan, coaching is not some far-flung idea. His father, Steve Lochte, coached for 44 years, and both Steve and Ryan’s mother, Ileana “Ike” Lochte, coached him when he was young. Swimming was not just what Ryan did, it was the language of the house. In this GMM Podcast, Lochte talks about why he is taking this path slowly, why the assistant role matters, and how he hopes to develop into a head coach over time. He also reflects on the influence of longtime Florida coach Gregg Troy, whose program was built on honest work and the kind of discipline that leaves no room for shortcuts. Lochte says he wants to channel that influence now, not as a copy of Coach Troy, but as someone shaped by it.

The fourth installment of the FISU America Games is set for this summer, July 24-26, in Lima, Peru, and Team USA has assembled a highly competitive team to take to South America. Among the USA's 44-strong roster are NCAA scorers, All-Americans, and former international roster members. Led by FGCU's Dave Rollins (Head Coach) and Oakland's Molly Hebzynski (Team Lead), Team USA will look to lead the medal table at this competition that will provide valuable international experience for athletes and coaches alike.

SwimSwam sat down with Rachel Stratton-Mills, the Director of Swimming & Diving at Northwestern and the new President of the CSCAA Board of Directors. Northwestern had a promising season this year, especially on the men's side, which saw them place 4th at the B1G conference champs and score a relay at the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2008. Stratton-Mills discusses the development of her team as their 3rd-year leader and is hopeful that there's much more to come. On the CSCAA side of things, the new president sheds light on the reasons changes were made this year to the NCAA Championship format and why specific changes were implemented, such as eliminating B-Finals and adding a new diving format for finals. Stratton-Mills recognizes that not all these changes were hits, but also talks us through how the new CSCAA NCAA DI Working Group of coaches is moving forward with more meaningful change to the NCAA Championships format.

Today on the SwimSwam Breakdown, we discuss Ryan Lochte starting his collegiate coaching career at Missouri State, Bob Bowman's Pro Group getting numerous additions, and what Van Mathias' ceiling is for this summer.

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