It was a busy week in London for Bob who was in the mixed zone every day. That meant he caught a lot of swimmers fresh from their finals at the Olympic Trials - we heard some of those interviews on our review podcast, but there was a lot more that we didn't include, so on this extra episode we hear from a host of swimmers about their trials experiences. --------------------- Review, subscribe, share on Anchor, Apple, Google, Spotify or wherever you get your...

It was quite the week in London as Britain's swimmers chased Olympic qualification at the Aquatics GB Swimming Championships. There were two British Records and nineteen swimmers booked their places as of right, with four more also posting nomination times to put themselves in the box seat for selection. All that means there is plenty for Steve, Katie and Bob to talk about as we review the competition. --------------------- Review, subscribe, share on Anchor, Apple, Google, Spotify or...

It's the second most important meet of the year for Britain's Olympic hopefuls as they seek to secure their places at the year's big event at the British Championships in London. It's a meet that doubles as Olympic team trials and as such will determine the make up of the team that heads to Paris. On this episode of the Pullbuoy podcast, Steve and Katie look forward to a make or break meet which promises some scintillating racing with ecstasy and despair in equal measure. For more on how...

A successful week in Doha for the GB team, with 7 medals in the World Championships pool and the all important men's 4x100 freestyle relay spot secured for Paris. In the latest pullbuoy podcast, Steve, Katie and Bob take a look back over a competition that delivered some great racing, a number of great performances and a number of surprises. We also consider what, if anything, these championships tell us about the forthcoming Olympic trials and the Games...

The pullbuoy podcast kicks off its 15th season with a look ahead to the world championships that nobody expected as Doha 2024 hoves into view. Steve and Bob take look at what we can expect, the Olympic relay implications for GB and what it might tell us as we head inexorably to trials season. --------------------- Review, subscribe, share on Anchor, Apple, Google, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts --------------------- Connect on social: - Twitter/X  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@pullbuoy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -...

A fantastic way to wrap up the year's international swimming as Britain topped the medal table at the European Short Course Championships in Otopeni, Romania. 23 medals means a lot for Steve, Katie and Bob to get their teeth into. We also consider the scheduling, 2 per nation rule and answer some of your questions, with a quick peek at some of the notable swims at Scottish Short Course nationals thrown in for good measure. --------------------- Review, subscribe, share on Anchor, Apple,...

It's been a few months since we were last with you and so this is a great time to catch up on the bigger stories in British Swimming over the summer. Steve, Bob and Katie consider changes of training base, comebacks, funding and British Records before taking a look forward to the year ending European Short Course Championships. --------------------- Review, subscribe, share on Anchor, Apple, Google, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts --------------------- Connect on social: -...

It was a game of two halves for Britain's swimmers as there was a veritable avalanche of medals over the last 4 days in Fukuoka, with the tally raised by 6. That gives Bob, Katie and Steve plenty to look back over as the team matched their second best ever performance at a World Championships. We also chat about some epic distance racing, some seriously rapid sprinting, who was the top team of the meet and succession planning, and take on your questions. --------------------- Review,...

The pullbuoy podcast is back once again as Steve, Bob and Katie take a whistlestop tour through the first half of the 2023 World Swimming Championships. It's been fast and furious in Fukuoka and Britain has performed well so far with Matt Richards in particular making his mark. We also consider the 4 world records broken, the controversy over 200IM DQs and the lack of coverage by terrestrial broadcasters back in the UK. --------------------- Review, subscribe, share on Anchor, Apple,...

We're almost at the key meet of 2023 as the competition at the World Championships in Fukuoka loom large. There's plenty for British fans to be upbeat about, and in our preview episode Steve, Katie and Bob cast their eye over the home prospects, as well as some of the other races that we'll be looking forward to. Relays will be vital with Olympic qualification available, so that's a key topic of discussion, while we'll also hear from Tom Dean who talks about taking on a large programme of...

It's a podcast with a bit of a difference for this episode, because we are celebrating an anniversary; 10 years ago this month was the first time that Steve, Bob and Katie stepped into a virtual studio together for a podcast charting Britain's fortunes at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona. On this special episode we recall that first week and the events of Barcelona as well as picking one of our highlights from the last 10 years. Since we're in a nostalgic mood there's also a chance...

For the first time in at least 20 years, we head into the second half of the year having not seen a British Record in the pool. So that set the cogs whirring; which were the oldest British Records in the books? In this special podcast we hear from the holders of those records, Becky Adlington and David Davies who recall their record breaking swims and get expert coaching input from Kevin Renshaw. --------------------- For more from all three guests, check out these podcasts: Becky...

It was an eventful week in Sheffield as the places on the British Team for the World Championships were decided, and not just in the pool. There was an almost unprecedented change to the selection policy midway through the meet, but despite that poolside drama, there was much excitement in the water too. Plenty for Steve, Bob and Katie to get their teeth into then, as we review the ups and downs from the 2023 British Championships, look at the stand out swims and think about relay prospects...

Molly Renshaw recently announced her retirement from competitive swimming after a career, that included two appearances at the Olympic Games, and titles at European and World Short Course Championships. In this episode, Molly opens up about her decision to retire and the emotions that came with it, as well as reflecting on some of the highlights of her swimming career. We delve into her training regime, the ups and downs of competing at the highest level, and the sacrifices she made to reach...

Imogen Clark, the pullbuoy female swimmer of the year for 2022, occupies a bit of an unusual niche in British Swimming as a world class performer often locked out of the major meets by the focus on Olympic events. In this podcast she reveals the frustration that entails, but also how her focus has changed in response, while we also discuss a year that she feels was the best of her career. It was a season that took Imogen to the Commonwealth Games, the European Championships and the Melbourne...

If you've listed to the pullbuoy podcast at all over the past few years you will have often herd debate about why, for all its success in the pool, GB has been flagging in distance events and isn't currently living up to the standards of the past. In an effort to find out why this is and what is being done about it, Steve and Bob went to he man charged with turning the tanker around - British Swimming distance lead Kevin Renshaw. A 3 time Olympic team coach who coached David Davies to 10km...

Having reached her mid-twenties and with the disruption of a pandemic throwing everyone’s plans into disarray, Bella Hindley could have been forgiven for thinking her international swimming career had come to a conclusion before it had even started. But she persevered and this year made her senior international debut at the Commonwealth Games for England as well as being selected to race for GB at the World Short Course Championships. In this episode of the pullbuoy podcast, Bella takes us...

The longest summer of international swimming in living memory came to a close in fine style at the European Championships in Rome. It was a decent showing for GB, including golds for Ben Proud and James Wilby, but the biggest story was of course the 100m freestyle world record from David Popvici. Steve, Katie and Bob reconvene for the final podcast of the season and consider all of the above, plus there’s time to answer a number of listener questions. We've thoroughly enjoyed this summer's...

The last few years have been challenging for Lewis Burras with many mental and physical ups and downs as he sought to find his place in the swimming world. After a few false dawns mixed with some very low periods he found a kindred spirit in coach Zoe Baker and from there has kicked on to have an impressive breakthrough season in 2022.  It’s one that has taken him to a new long course British Record over 100m freestyle and to three silver medals at the Commonwealth Games. In this episode of...

It was a tremendously exciting week of racing in Birmingham at the Commonwealth Games, which generated a fantastic atmosphere in the sparkly new Sandwell Aquatic centre. It was as usual a display of Australian strength in the pool but the home nations acquitted themselves well. On this review podcast, Steve and Katie consider events in the pool from the dominance of Ben Proud to the extensive medal winning exploits of Tom Dean, the finest farewell that Ross Murdoch could have wished for and...

To say that the difference between Hannah Miley's experiences at the Commonwealth Games of 2010 and 2014 is huge is not an understatement. While the former brought with it the challenges of the environment, the latter imposed a whole different set of pressures.  In the final episode of the Commonwealth Games Memories podcast series for 2022, Hannah pulls no punches as she describes dealing with the very different demands of staying fit enough to swim in Delhi and the weight of being the...

With the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth games looming, Bob, Katie and Steve are joined by Commonwealth Champion Ross Davenport to take a look forward to some of the big stories in the pool. We consider the impact of world championships, the unknowns around who is targeting this competition, the potential for new faces to make their names, and we pick out some swimmers to watch. There's also a quick chance to consider the GB team selection for the following European championships and the...

It was a Commonwealth Games like no other when they travelled to the sub-continent for the 2010 edition. While India put on a great spectacle, the cohort of swimmers was beset by an illness that swept through the teams, making it as much a test of resilience as it was speed in the water. Lizzie Simmonds was a medal winning member of Team England that year and recalls a games that presented a completely new challenge. --------------------- Get more Games memories here: Commonwealth Games...

He won three medals in his two appearances for Australia, but the Commonwealth Games were not always plain sailing for Brett Hawke. We pick up the Commonwealth Games memories thread in Manchester to get his memories of the 2002 edition before moving to Melbourne in 2006, as Brett recalls suit malfunctions and health scares that led him to think he was cursed. It’s not all bad memories though with two silvers and a bronze to his name and the chance to bring the curtain down on his career in...