Ep. 33: Joshua Chen, From the Cornfields of Iowa to a World Junior Champ

When I mention I had a swimmer on my podcast who is a 19.04 in the 50 Free, a 42.30 in the 100, and a 45.95 in the 100 back, one might assume he's swimming for one of the blue bloods in the sport, Cal, Texas, NC State? Nope. Lamar Taylor swims Division 2 for Henderson State. To understand how a guy from the Bahamas ended up at Henderson State and managed to post top-tier times across all of Collegiate Swimming, I invited Henderson State Senior Lamar Taylor on for an episode of the Last One Fast One Podcast. 0:00 Intro 0:56 Findings Henderson State/Recruiting 3:33 Bahamanian Swim Culture 5:33 Finding Swimming 7:28 Life in the Bahamas 8:58 Caribbean Swimming 11:29 Adjustments moving to Arkadelphia, Arkansas 15:36 Henderson State 18:04 Training 20:46 Training with Jack Armstrong 23:13 Why do swimmers pick Division 2? 23:31 Destro Machines 25:53 Going 3/3 at D2 National Championships and perfecting races 28:25 Staying Loyal to Henderson State 30:36 Olympics 36:06 Times this year at Henderson 38:00: Outro This episode is brought to you by Destro Machines go check out their products. https://www.destromachines.com/en_US/

World Junior champ and rising star Joshua Chen joins the Podcast. Chen shares his thoughts on his 100 Breaststroke World Junior title, his recent move to Texas, his commitment to swim at Harvard, and the leadup to Olympic trials. 0:00 Intro 0:30 Iowa 7:10 Destro Machines 7:50 Move to Texas 10:50 Texas Ford Aquatics training approach 15:10 Pro Group at TFA 16:37 Harvard Swimming Commitment 20:55 Junior Worlds 24:04 100 Breaststroke at JW 27:11 Future Improvements 29:50 Iconic Celebration 30:45 200 Breaststroke 32:32 50 Breaststroke 36:13 Olympic Trial's Leadup 41:31 Rapid Fire Fun Questions Go Checkout Destro Machines here https://www.destromachines.com

World Champ Hunter Armstrong joins the podcast. Armstrong does a full debrief on the Fukuoaka World Champs. Listen in to hear the remarkable story of how Armstrong won his first world title for his Grandfather, and the thrilling story of Armstrong's 100 backstroke bronze medal. This podcast is brought to you by Destro Machines. Go check out their products! https://www.destromachines.com/en_US/ 0:00 Intro 0:30 Scotland 2:08 Magic tricks 3:15 Fukuoka 3:30 100 Back 4:40 Coach going to Michigan 5:25 Training Camp 5:50 100 Back 7:15 Destro Machines 7:54 100 Back 11:28 New events for Paris 13:50 Winning a world title for his Grandpa 15:49 Handling adversity 17:40 50 Back breakdown 20:12 backstroke finish rule 21:25 Kolesnikov 23.55 23:00 Rapid fire questions

Stanford swimmer and the 100 fly bronze medalist at the 2023 world champs Torri Huske joins the show! Huske not only breaks down her swims from Fukuoka but also shares her thoughts on the upcoming Pac-12 realignment and much more! This podcast is brought to you by Destro Machines. Go check out their products https://www.destromachines.com/en_US/0:00 0:00 Intro 0:39 100 fly at Worlds 2:31 Underwaters 3:40 Advice for 100 Flyers 4:09 Pac 12 Realignment 5:06 Destro Machines 5:44 More on 12 Realignment 11:28 Redshirt Year 16:49 Relays at Worlds 20:03 upcoming meet schedule 21:01 Taper 22:13 Practice schedule 23:02 Fun questions

World Record holder Summer McIntosh and Tokyo Olympic Champ Maggie Mac Neil join the show to discuss their performances at this year's world champs and share their thoughts on Canadian swimming!

16-year-old Thomas Heilman and 18-year-old Ilya Kharun join the show and discuss their experiences at this year's world championships. Heilman and Kharun dissect their fourth-place tie in the 200 fly and share their thoughts on the meet.

NC State rising sophomore Kyle Ponsler joins the Podcast. Ponsler shares his thoughts on Chengdu 2023 and his outlook on his first World University Games. Ponsler, a Fishers, Indiana native, also breaks down his experience growing up in Indiana, where swimming is essential to Indiana's high school sports culture.

Can Leon Marchand break 3:30? Will Carson Foster ever will an individual title? Can Jordan Crooks prevail when it matters most? Everything Men's NCAA's is unpacked in this episode.

United States world record holder and 2021 US Olympian Hunter Armstrong joins the podcast.  From a near-death experience in the water as a kid to his journey to an Olympic gold medal, Hunter fills us in on everything in-between.   Also, listen to get an inside look at what it's like being a swimming pro as Hunter unpacks the details of swimming with the Cal pro group.  Hunter is living proof it's never too late to start. In this podcast, you'll also hear the story of a kid who placed 13th at state in his junior year of high school to the same 21-year-old who would break the world record four years later.

Returning guest Rush Clark joins the Podcast. This time, Rush Clark shares the story of his mental health journey. Rush shares his own struggles and gives insight into the mental health struggles athletes face across the country.   Disclaimer: This episode does discuss very sensitive topics that surround mental health.