Swim Smooth

Swim Smooth
Swim Smooth

Welcome to "Dive into Excellence with Swim Smooth," the ultimate podcast for swimmers of all levels who are eager to enhance their swimming performance and technique. Whether you're a beginner dipping your toes into the world of swimming or an experienced athlete striving for mastery, this podcast is your compass to navigate the vast sea of swimming knowledge. I'm your host Paul Newsome, and together, we'll embark on a journey to unlock the secrets of efficient and graceful swimming.

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

    05/18/2023

    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!

    41 min
  2. Episode 29 - Ross Davenport - 3-time Olympian and FINIS business manager

    02/18/2022

    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

    1h 11m
  3. Episode 25 - Big Rick's Chicks Break English Channel World Record!

    09/10/2020

    Episode 25 - Big Rick's Chicks Break English Channel World Record!

    We're back and pumped today with the achievements of Swim Smooth Manchester's Head Coach, Lucy Lloyd-Roach and her team of four female swimmers who on the 1st September broke the world record to be the first ever female English Channel Relay Team to swim across La Manche in full medley order - backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle - with each team member having to complete 60 minutes of uninterrupted swimming on their given stroke. Lucy swam the butterfly leg as British Master's butterfly champion, with Melanie Holland (a Triple Crown marathon swimmer and 4-way English Channel relay swimmer) doing the honours on the backstroke, Claire Thorne (multiple British Masters Champion) taking the breaststroke leg, and Sarah Hempenstall (Ironman and another British Masters Champion) rounding out the team with the freestyle. The girls made it over to France in a stellar time of 12h17m and recount their training programs, experiences on the boat and their fund raising in honour of Surfers Against Sewage and also the Big Rick's team commemorating superstar marathon swimmer Mark Rickhuss who sadly passed away in 2005 at the age of just 41 from a heart attack whilst supporting another swimmer across the Channel. Paul and Adam also discuss the latest developments at Swim Smooth, both locally and globally with our Certified Coaches, as well as the latest project the team has been working on to really enhance our online / remote coach offering. Paul also celebrates his own 9-year "Channelversary" from the 8th September 2011, which proved to be the fastest of only two swimmers who made it across on the day which the Channel Swimming Association ratified as "the toughest conditions of 2011" - you'll see why here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnevVG4YiwQ  Enjoy!

    1h 19m
4.4
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Welcome to "Dive into Excellence with Swim Smooth," the ultimate podcast for swimmers of all levels who are eager to enhance their swimming performance and technique. Whether you're a beginner dipping your toes into the world of swimming or an experienced athlete striving for mastery, this podcast is your compass to navigate the vast sea of swimming knowledge. I'm your host Paul Newsome, and together, we'll embark on a journey to unlock the secrets of efficient and graceful swimming.

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes, and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada