The Most-Read SwimSwam Articles of 2017

Braden Keith
by Braden Keith 12

December 30th, 2017 News

The post-Olympic year, as 2017 was, is always an interesting year. It’s a reset of sorts, where the roar of the Olympic games becomes a building murmur. There’s still a World Championship meet, which dominated the year’s traffic, but there were lots of new faces that emerged at other meets as well. Early in the Olympic cycle, the development and pops can be less predictable.

World Records were broken in 19 events in 2017, and only 9 of those were done at the World Championships. The ledger opened in January, when Ippei Watanabe broke the 200 breaststroke World Record for men, and closed in the last 10 days of the year when Kliment Kolesnikov got the 100 back in short course meters.

A review of the most popular SwimSwam Articles of 2017 reflect the dominance of World Championships. 9 of the 12 most read articles on SwimSwam in 2017 were either the schedule for, or the 8 finals recaps of, the 2017 World Championships.

Tangential to that was Jared Anderson’s editorial about the so-called “Lochte Rule,” where swimmers were being disqualified in medley events (individual and relay) for not quite being on their stomach on the freestyle leg. This rule was rarely enforced before Lochte decided to swim a great distance underwater on his back during the freestyle leg of the IM races at the 2015 World Championships. FINA has since softened the rule, but not before it cost Ella Eastin a spot on the U.S. team for the World Championships.

Other topics that people were interested in in 2017 included high school recruiting. As swimmers commit earlier-and-earlier, people are more-and-more interested in who the top swimmers are and where they’re going. This year was the highest they’ve ever rated.

The most popular coaching change was Augie Busch’s hiring at Arizona (which included both high views, and comments), though David Marsh’s departure from SwimMAC also caught attention.

There were also emotional stories in 2017 that drew the attention of the community. Our most-read article was Missy Franklin’s outpouring at the LEAD Sports Summit in Austin about her battle with depression; while the passing of one of the country’s top club coaches Jason Turcotte drew the community to share their memories and condolences.

The most-watched race video in 2017 wasn’t even of a World Record – it was Pavel Sankovich swimming an entire 50 free underwater. Lily King’s World-Record-Setting 100 breaststroke at Worlds was next.

And lest we think that the Olympics are confined to once every 4 years – the 37th most-read SwimSwam article of 2017…was the roster reveal for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team. Go figure.

Below, check out the 50 most-read articles of 2017. Below that, we’ve split them out roughly into 3 categories: the most-read news articles, the most-read training/lifestyle articles, and the most-read meet recaps.

Most-Read Articles

Most viewed articles
# Article
1 The Lochte Rule Is The Worst Rule In Sports
2 Full 2017 FINA World Aquatic Championship Schedule
3 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 7 Finals Live Recap
4 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap
5 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap
6 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 6 Finals Live Recap
7 10 Reasons Why Swimmers Are The Best Kids
8 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap
9 NISCA Releases 2016-2017 High School All-American List
10 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap
11 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 5 Finals Live Recap
12 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 8 Finals Live Recap
13 Why is a Swimming Mile only 1650 Yards?
14 9 Steps to Teaching Swim Lessons
15 The Top 9 Swimming Pool Games: #3 Sharks and Minnows
16 2017 U.S. World Trials: Day 1 Finals Live Recap
17 FINA Votes to Alter Rules, Soften “Lochte Rule”
18 Top 20 NCAA Swimming Recruits in the Girls High School Class of 2018
19 The Official SwimSwam 2017 World Champs Preview/Predictions Tracker
20 All The Links You Need For The 2017 FINA World Swimming Championships
21 Top 20 NCAA Swimming Recruits In The Boys High School Class of 2018
22 8 Nutritional Recommendations For Swimmers
23 9 Signs You Have a Swimmer’s Body
24 2017 U.S. World Trials: Day 2 Finals Live Recap
25 10 Things Non-Swimmers Will Never Understand About Swimming
26 Dynamo Coach & CEO Jason Turcotte Passes Away
27 2017 U.S. World Trials: Day 5 Finals Live Recap
28 2017 U.S. World Trials: Day 3 Finals Live Recap
29 WATCH: Pavel Sankovich Goes 22.73 50 Free… Underwater
30 16 Tricks and Tips to Swim Faster, Train Smarter and Crush Your Goals
31 2017 U.S. World Trials: Day 1 Prelims Live Recap
32 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 1 Prelims Live Recap
33 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap
34 2017 U.S. World Trials: Day 4 Finals Live Recap
35 WATCH: Female Swimmers Model Like Victoria’s Secret Angels
36 2017 U.S. Worlds Trials: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap
37 2016 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Complete Roster
38 USA Swimming Announces 2017-2018 National Team
39 Missy Franklin Battles Back From Depression: GMM presented by SwimOutlet.com
40 California Bans University Travel To 8 States, Including Texas
41 Augie Busch Named Head Coach At Arizona
42 Race Video: Watch Lilly King Break World Record in 100 Breast Final with 1:04.13
43 Dressel Closes in on Phelps’ World Record with 49.86 100 Fly
44 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap
45 2 Breaststroke Techniques and 3 Key Timing Tips
46 3 Highly Recommended Pre-Race Meals for Swimmers
47 Watch Caeleb Dressel’s American Record, 100 Free Gold, in Budapest (Race Video)
48 Sydney Pickrem Exits Pool After Fly Leg In Women’s 200 IM Final
49 David Marsh Out At SwimMAC
50 First Looks: Ranking the Incoming NCAA Men’s Classes of 2022

Most-Read News Articles

# Article
1 The Lochte Rule Is The Worst Rule In Sports
9 NISCA Releases 2016-2017 High School All-American List
17 FINA Votes to Alter Rules, Soften “Lochte Rule”
18 Top 20 NCAA Swimming Recruits in the Girls High School Class of 2018
19 The Official SwimSwam 2017 World Champs Preview/Predictions Tracker
20 All The Links You Need For The 2017 FINA World Swimming Championships
21 Top 20 NCAA Swimming Recruits In The Boys High School Class of 2018
26 Dynamo Coach & CEO Jason Turcotte Passes Away
29 WATCH: Pavel Sankovich Goes 22.73 50 Free… Underwater
35 WATCH: Female Swimmers Model Like Victoria’s Secret Angels
37 2016 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Complete Roster
38 USA Swimming Announces 2017-2018 National Team
39 Missy Franklin Battles Back From Depression: GMM presented by SwimOutlet.com
40 California Bans University Travel To 8 States, Including Texas
41 Augie Busch Named Head Coach At Arizona
42 Race Video: Watch Lilly King Break World Record in 100 Breast Final with 1:04.13
43 Dressel Closes in on Phelps’ World Record with 49.86 100 Fly
47 Watch Caeleb Dressel’s American Record, 100 Free Gold, in Budapest (Race Video)
48 Sydney Pickrem Exits Pool After Fly Leg In Women’s 200 IM Final
49 David Marsh Out At SwimMAC
50 First Looks: Ranking the Incoming NCAA Men’s Classes of 2022

Most-Read Lifestyle & Training Articles

Overall Rank Article
7 10 Reasons Why Swimmers Are The Best Kids
13 Why is a Swimming Mile only 1650 Yards?
14 9 Steps to Teaching Swim Lessons
15 The Top 9 Swimming Pool Games: #3 Sharks and Minnows
22 8 Nutritional Recommendations For Swimmers
23 9 Signs You Have a Swimmer’s Body
25 10 Things Non-Swimmers Will Never Understand About Swimming
30 16 Tricks and Tips to Swim Faster, Train Smarter and Crush Your Goals
45 2 Breaststroke Techniques and 3 Key Timing Tips
46 3 Highly Recommended Pre-Race Meals for Swimmers

Most-Read Recaps

Overall Rank Article
2 Full 2017 FINA World Aquatic Championship Schedule
3 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 7 Finals Live Recap
4 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap
5 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap
6 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 6 Finals Live Recap
8 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap
10 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap
11 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 5 Finals Live Recap
12 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 8 Finals Live Recap
16 2017 U.S. World Trials: Day 1 Finals Live Recap
24 2017 U.S. World Trials: Day 2 Finals Live Recap
27 2017 U.S. World Trials: Day 5 Finals Live Recap
28 2017 U.S. World Trials: Day 3 Finals Live Recap
31 2017 U.S. World Trials: Day 1 Prelims Live Recap
32 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 1 Prelims Live Recap
33 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap
34 2017 U.S. World Trials: Day 4 Finals Live Recap
36 2017 U.S. Worlds Trials: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap
44 2017 FINA World Championships: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap

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CBswims
6 years ago

You guys must have so much fun with the stats. I like subset 2, Most Read News Articles, b/c of the has the actual view counts – and since it has the original rank from Most Read, you can extrapolate a little bit.

It is also possible subset 2 gives a window into age demographics with 3 of the top 6 in this list being High School related articles…

I’d be curious to know if the LCM SCY disparity holds true year to year.

cbswims
Reply to  CBswims
6 years ago

It’s too late – I’ve already downloaded those juicy stats and now shopping them to the highest bidders.

Go Bearcats
6 years ago

If this becomes a very highly read article, is it updated to add itself or placed on next years?

bobo gigi
6 years ago

I’m surprised to see no NCAA live recap in the top 50.

samuel huntington
6 years ago

these stats appear to show people care about LCM more than SCY – NCAA meet recaps nowhere to be found

Pvdh
Reply to  samuel huntington
6 years ago

Well…the Americans are the only ones that pay attention to the NCAA season. You add all those people to the international fan base for the major LCM meets. Why exactly would the NCAA recaps match up….?

samuel huntington
Reply to  Pvdh
6 years ago

because I assume most of the people going to this website are American?? Plus even casual international observers I’m sure would be interested at least a little.

Teddy
6 years ago

A stat I would like to see is athletes ranked by amount of articles they are mentioned in

bobo gigi
Reply to  Teddy
6 years ago

Maybe Dressel, Ledecky, Andrew? Sjöström was very present too this year.

bobo gigi
Reply to  bobo gigi
6 years ago

Sjöström was very present this year too. And Kolesnikov probably wins the month of December.

ellie
Reply to  bobo gigi
6 years ago

And Joseph Schooling, thanks to the contribution of Mr. Crooked Donald.?

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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