Mollie O’Callaghan on World Champs, Aussie Sprint Culture, & Dean Boxall

In the SwimSwam Podcast dive deeper into the sport you love with insider conversations about swimming. Hosted by Coleman HodgesGarrett McCaffrey, 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.

We sat down with Mollie O’Callaghan, the Australian youngster who won 6 medals at the world champs in Budapest. She describes her experience last year in Tokyo swimming and how swimming on only prelims relays kept her motivated heading into 2022. O’Callaghan also reveals that she was not originally a freestyle specialist, her 100 and 200 only coming around to a world-class level in the past 2 years.

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Music: Otis McDonald
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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.

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Gheko
2 years ago

Very modest champion Mollie, So happy she swam so amazing here!🦘❤🇦🇺

Hello
2 years ago

SPW’s culture in the younger squads is toxicicity at it’s finest. Dean’s squad’s culture is a bit different to the rest of the club

Sweeten
Reply to  Hello
2 years ago

So Dean’s squad’s culture is toxicity at its worst?

kevin
2 years ago

4x 100 free relay add Emma scarey

anonymous
2 years ago

She is a great girl. I enjoyed this interview. Happy she is in a supportive training and competing environment.

Pango
Reply to  anonymous
2 years ago

Yes, that’s nice, if true about environment. But other than the token appointment of one female open water coach to international staff, have not seen any documented progress made by Tracy Caulkins-Stockwell or Swim AUS board to address the 46 recommendations of the Independent Commission which examined Swim AUS issues. And the text of the Independent Comm report is still being covered up…

Swammer
2 years ago

Has anyone done a breakdown of Australian women freestyle swimmers’ times at their Trials versus times in Budapest? I believe that with rare exception (maybe Kiah Melverton?), looking at flat starts and accounting for rolling starts in relays, just about every AUS female freestyle swimmer was slower in Budapest than at AUS Trials. It goes to the “fast pool” or “short pool” hypotheses that have been raised here about AUS pools in the past.

Admin
Reply to  Swammer
2 years ago

Yeah but the most likely explanation and the one that doesn’t require a collusive deep state is that the Commonwealth Games is just Australia’s primary meet this year.

Swim Fan
Reply to  Braden Keith
2 years ago

An awfully defensive response–no one said anything about a collusive deep state.If you talk to pool manufacturers,there certainly can be differences in the way pools are measured and constructed across countries, and the touchpads (thicknesses, new vs worn out, etc) that can be utilized at meets. Certainly a relevant question given previous AUS swim time home vs away disparities. Now let’s see the list of all the AUS women swimmers/events where Budapest times were slower, and we will have that data heading into the Comm Games.

Joel
Reply to  Swim Fan
2 years ago

The Adelaide pool was officially measured twice during trials due to the two WRs. You can’t be serious btw.

torchbearer
Reply to  Joel
2 years ago

It is my local pool, feels very long when I am doing laps 🙂

Stephen
Reply to  Joel
2 years ago

which is 54.6807 yards for our friends in Massacre Central.

Verram
Reply to  Swim Fan
2 years ago

Ignorant post ..

commonwombat
Reply to  Swammer
2 years ago

Pallister swam PBs in both 400 & 1500. Did not get to swim 800final.
Harris swam 2 PBs in 50free.
Johnson swam a PB IN 1500.
Wilson’s opening 52.99 leg in 4X100 was faster than her time at AUS Trials.

Troyy
Reply to  commonwombat
2 years ago

Melverton swam a PB in the 800 free and she was faster than trials in the 400 free heats but not the final.
Neale’s split in the 4×200 free was basically a PB.

Not sure why you’re getting downvoted for stating verifiable facts but I guess some are invested in dismissing Australian performances.

Last edited 2 years ago by Troyy
Robbos
Reply to  commonwombat
2 years ago

Commonwombat, this is not fair you are using facts against wild sweeping statements ‘just about every AUS female freestyle swimmer was slower in Budapest than at AUS Trials’.
A bit like me saying Ledecky is carrying the US women’s team, no substance just a sweeping statement.

Go Kamminga Go
Reply to  Swammer
2 years ago

” It goes to the “fast pool” or “short pool” hypotheses that have been raised here about AUS pools in the past.”

Have forgotten 2021 already?

Tell me what happened in Tokyo with regards to Australians swimmers

Tally
Reply to  Go Kamminga Go
2 years ago

11-10-9 to 9-3-8?

jamesjabc
Reply to  Tally
2 years ago

Are you saying 9-3-8 is bad? What I’m seeing is a country with 13x the population barely winning the most events over a tiny country. That’s pretty incredible for the smaller country in my eyes.

Personal Best
Reply to  Tally
2 years ago

You can recite numbers, but apparently have limited comprehension when it comes to English. This is about times at major meets versus trials, not medals won.

Personal Best
Reply to  Swammer
2 years ago

So you’re basically saying Swimming Australia is a deceptive and fraudulent organisation?
And that is based on times just from female freestyle swimmers?
Did the pool suddenly get longer for the male swimmers and non-freestyle swimming females?
WTF?

Lovetoswim
2 years ago

She seems like a lovely person and very mature for 18!

Dressel GOAT
2 years ago

Thanks Coleman for this podcast.

Are we gonna get a SS Breakdown this week and have you (or / Mel) tried to contact Caeleb to get further infos on his situation?

Will he go to Nationals/SC Worlds or will Fukuoka 2023 be his next competition?

(BTW, Spire Institute replaced Dressel’s camp that was supposed to happen this weekend with a Michael Andrew training camp.)

Last edited 2 years ago by Dressel GOAT
Joel
2 years ago

I thought Mollie earnt the most points in the fantasy draft. (Not sharing the most points with anyone else ).

Joel
Reply to  Coleman Hodges
2 years ago

No worries. Mollie got 3 gold and 3 silver plus a WR so I figured she had to beat 3 gold and 3 bronze

About Coleman Hodges

Coleman Hodges

Coleman started his journey in the water at age 1, and although he actually has no memory of that, something must have stuck. A Missouri native, he joined the Columbia Swim Club at age 9, where he is still remembered for his stylish dragon swim trunks. After giving up on …

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