In the SwimSwam Podcast dive deeper into the sport you love with insider conversations about swimming. Hosted by Coleman Hodges and Gold Medal Mel Stewart, SwimSwam welcomes both the biggest names in swimming that you already know, and rising stars that you need to get to know, as we break down the past, present, and future of aquatic sports.
2020 Olympic medalist and Speedo Athlete, Bella Sims, experienced something all swimmers do, a challenging meet. Hers was, of course, a consequential one–the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. Many fans expected a strong performance in Indy after Sims’ lights-out NCAA Championships this past spring. Spoiler alert! Sims was not sick and did not miss her taper at Olympic Trials. From her perspective, and her Sandpipers’ club coach. Ron Aitken, the reason was very specific. Sims unpacks it all in this podcast, talks about her competition ahead at this week’s SPEEDO SUMMER NATIONALS, and she charts her future.
EDITOR UPDATE: SwimSwam Editor-in-Chief Braden Keith covered the Bella Sims stroke change back in November of 2023.
In the pursuit of perfection, some of the best swimmers in the world have changed their technique – especially when they head to college with a new coach. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.
World Record holder Katie Ledecky did it when she went to Stanford, and now Olympic medalist Bella Sims seems to be undergoing a similar transition in her freshman year at the University of Florida.
Many thanks to 12-year partner Speedo USA for making this podcast happen!
Follow Speedo USA on Instagram here.
Follow Bella Sims on Instagram here.
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Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com
Opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the interviewed guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the hosts, SwimSwam Partners, LLC and/or SwimSwam advertising partners.
Mel is such a good interviewer. Bella will be fine. These athletes cant always be on when it comes down to one meet. I think this is going to propel her to have a hardcore world championships next year.
LA 2028? Ah, there is the 2025 World Aquatics Championships to look forward to.
It doesn’t sound like Aitken and Nesty collaborate.
Why would that be the expectation going in?
There’s a lot of swimmers on the team, each one can’t really keep having check ins with their club coach
Gotta give Bella a lot of credit for this interview since most swimmers only do interviews when things are going well.
But at the same time, I kind of get why most swimmers refuse to be interviewed after a bad meet. It’s hard to come across as likable when you’re seen as whining or blaming others for your failures.
I was a bit surprised to hear that Bella say that she’s headed back to Florida this fall. Without naming names, it sure sounded like she was taking a lot of shots at the Florida coaching staff for the breakdown of her stroke. Can the relationship and trust be rebuilt?
In any case, I’m glad the interview ended on… Read more »
I was a little surprised too. But it sounds like she has done a lot of introspection and has identified what went wrong and what she changes she needs to focus on next year. Having a game plan might be what gives her the confidence to head back to Florida in the fall.
This interview is so well done. I wish Bella all the best, she is so thoughtfully addressing these questions by Mel. I feel like we can really hear the emotion in her voice. Thank you Bella for sharing these insights and continuing to be a role model for athletes.
It won,t happen but would be interesting to hear an honest interview with her Florida coaches.I understand coaches can,t be 100 percent honest on social media for a variety of reasons.
…Bella was successful at NCAAs… Training-wise, once you are inside the Olympic Trials bubble, things can go sideways, problems with your stroke can become more pronounced. The timing is unfortunate, but it’s something all swimmers manage over their careers. Bella, her coaches, all of them, will figure this out.
Bella was solid at NCAAs, but she added 4 seconds in the 500 FR and was just off her bests in her 2 other individual events. I doubt that meet was what she was hoping for, even with PBs leading off the 400 FR & relays.
Agree – she was off her bests in key events the whole year, and the NCAA performance told me not to expect strong results at Trials. Trials was not a one-off poor performance, it’s a trend.
Interview w Aiken would be more enlightening. That wont happen either.
When in doubt, follow Katie Ledecky’s decision to take a gap year in 2016. It paid off.
Talented swimmer; and easily young enough to go for 2028. At Trials, she entered just about every event outside of breaststroke. Maybe would have worked better to go all in on about 3-4 (200/400 Free, 400 IM, 200 back?) of them and not to scratch over and over depending on the day.