Earlier this week, we revealed the most-read SwimSwam articles of 2023 – the stories that got you clicking.
Below is the list of the most-commented on SwimSwam articles of 2023 – the stories that got you talking.
As usual, the list is dominated by live recaps, including the World Championships. People were much-more engaged in 2023, as people emerged from the fatigue of a chaotic 2022 post-COVID scramble. The first live recap of the 2023 World Championships received 1,744 comments, which is more than double day 1 of the 2022 meet.
In fact, all but Day 2 of the 2023 World Championships got more comments than last year’s top comment-receiving article.
The most-commented on non-recap article of the year was Cate Campbell‘s cross-Pacific barbs at the Americans. The revival of the Australian-US rivalry was one of the hottest topics in swimming this year and the hottest topic in the SwimSwam comments (repeatedly). Campbell’s controversial interview, interestingly, was only the 150th most-read article, in spite of being the 16th most-commented on article.
Other highly-discussed news topics included Claire Curzan‘s transfer from Stanford to Virginia (which accounted for the #38 and #41 items on this list), Michael Andrew missing the World Championship team, and World Record swims from Kaylee McKeown, Summer McIntosh, and Evgeniia Chikunova.
Cate only proved something that every non-American but particularly us Aussies have known all along: Americans have absolutely no sense of humor.
To be honest, I think the cowbells are a damn good idea. They warn swimmers not to step in all the Americans’ BS.
Americans have no sense of humor yet I can’t think of one Australian comedian…
Haha way to prove someone’s point yet again an American getting triggered at a harmless joke 😂
Love C1. Americans are so easily triggered, like damn 😂
Lol so clearly people still haven’t gotten over the cowbell thing then. Really proving CC’s point
list of articles without recaps?
I’m actually impressed that it’s nearly all about actual swimming
Just rewatched the interview “we did not have to hear star-spangled banner ring out through the stadium” Swimone has her so gagged lol
Cate shouldn’t have let it slip how much the noisy cowbells bugged her. She probably isn’t the only Aussie bugged out by cowbells.
Now she and the Aussies are going to hear the clang clang clang of cowbells more than ever.
Didn’t seem to affect them in Fukuoka
Nah, cowbells are now a victory knell reminding everyone how easily Cate got under the skin of fragile US fans