This week on the GMM Podcast, we’re diving into the deep end of storytelling with Ben Brostoff, author of Trials: A Novel of Olympic Swimming Dreams and Redemption. It’s a swimming novel for swimmers written by one.
TRIALS follows three swimmers — Hunter Banks, Connor Mahoney, and Miles Green — whose lives are intertwined by one defining moment: the 2004 Olympic Trials, where all three break the world record in the 400 IM. What follows is a two-decade journey through triumph and heartbreak, doping scandals, supersuits, world records, marriage, loss, and the relentless chase of a dream that refuses to die.
TRAILS is raw, funny, and painfully real. It captures the emotional cost of chasing excellence when the stopwatch is both your god and your enemy.
In this podcast we cover:
- Ben’s own swimming background and what pulled him back to the sport as a writer.
- Why he chose fiction, and why the story had to include parents and coaches, not just swimmers.
- How real-world moments from the pool shaped the book.
- The nonlinear structure of Trials and what it says about ambition and redemption.
The book’s surprising success, four weeks at #1 in Amazon’s Swimming Category, over 1,250 copies sold, and a loyal following among swimmers, parents, and coaches. The holidays are coming up fast! TRIALS could be that one swimming gift for your swimmer, swammer, or swim coach.
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Many thanks to Swimoutlet.com for their 13 year partnership and support of this swimming news and media.
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This is a Gold Medal Media production presented by SwimOutlet.com. Host Gold Medal Mel Stewart is a 3-time Olympic medalist and the co-founder of SwimSwam.com, a Swimming News website.
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.
Sounds like an interesting novel. Thank you!