This past year showered the swimming community with a wealth of excitement as the swimming community celebrated boundaries being broken across several major national and international meets, including the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Swimming World continued to produce iconic covers throughout the year beginning with soon-to-be Olympic medalist Cody Miller in January and concluding with 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps as he was crowned Male World Swimmer of the Year for the eighth time in his career. Visit Swimming World Magazine’s Vault to download any of these issues
Relive the 2016 Swimming World Covers:
Swimming World Magazine Covers in Review – 2016
January 2016
ON THE COVER:
At the USA-Europe Duel in the Pool in December 2015, American Cody Miller beat world record holder Daniel Gyurta in the 200 breaststroke (SCM) while trimming 5-hundredths of a second off the American record. The next day, Miller added the U.S. mark in the 100 breast. The Brits may boast a world record holder (Adam Peaty) and a 59-flat 100 breaststroker (Ross Murdoch), while South Africa (Cameron van der Burgh) and Lithuania (Giedrius Titenis) have swimmers who dipped under 59 in 2015. But they all should have formidable American breaststrokers nipping at their heels this Olympic year, including Miller, Nic Fink, Andrew Wilson and Kevin Cordes. (See story, page 26.)
[PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK]
February 2016
ON THE COVER:
At last year’s NCAAs, University of Louisville’s Kelsi Worrell became the first woman in history to break 50 seconds in the 100 yard butterfly—and she did it twice! After breaking Natalie Coughlin’s 13-year-old American record (50.02) in prelims with a 49.89, Kelsi (now a senior) won finals in 046 49.81. With the butterflyer’s career blossoming—two gold medals and a silver at last summer’s Pan-Am Games plus being a part of a world record-setting relay at December’s Duel in the Pool— the 21-year-old’s sights are now set on making the U.S. Olympic team. (See story, page 26.)
[PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK]
March 2016
ON THE COVER:
Texas is favored to capture its second straight men’s NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving championship—and 12th title for Coach Eddie Reese, who would stand alone as the winningest NCAA Division I men’s swimming coach in history. The Longhorns return a truckload of championship finalists, including junior Clark Smith, who won the 500 free last year and has already broken an American record (1000 free) and has come close to another (500 free) this season. (See feature, page 30, plus related story, page 16.)
[PHOTO PROVIDED BY UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS]
April 2016
ON THE COVER:
At 12, Dana Vollmer was the youngest participant at the 2000 Olympic Trials. At 16, Vollmer qualified for the Olympic team and won gold in Athens as part of the 4 x 200 free relay. At 20, she failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympic team. At 24, she won three gold medals in London and became the first woman to break the 56-second barrier in the 100 fly with her winning WR time of 55.98. Now 28—as a wife and mom of a one-year-old boy, Arlen—Dana will be looking to make her third U.S. Olympic team. (See feature, page 26.)
[PHOTO PROVIDED BY TYR SPORT]
May 2016
ON THE COVER:
From the opening event—the 800 freestyle relay—of the 2016 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, Georgia was firing on all cylinders en route to winning its third team title in the last four years. The Lady Bulldogs won the relay by two seconds, captured three individual races—including the 50 (NCAA, American and U.S. Open record) and 100 free by Olivia Smoliga and the 200 free by Brittany MacLean— and scored in all 21 events but two (100 breast and platform diving). (See feature, page 24, and related features, pages 16 and 30.)
[PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK]
June 2016
ON THE COVER:
The U.S. Olympic Trials are finally upon us. Later this month, beginning June 26 and continuing through July 3, about 1,700 qualifiers will compete for the opportunity to represent the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. About three percent of them will leave as Olympians. The other 97 percent will head home having competed in a sold-out arena, in the greatest swim meet ever staged. (See Swimming World’s U.S. Olympic Trials Preview, pages 16-24.)
Photos (from left, bottom to top): Michael Phelps (photo by Robert Stanton/USA Today Sports Images), Missy Franklin (Peter H. Bick), Katie Ledecky (Peter H. Bick), Ryan Lochte (Azaria Basil), Nathan Adrian (Peter H. Bick) and Simone Manuel (Griffin Scott). Original fractal “Color Wisps” (2015) created by Wolfepaw (Peggi Wolfe), wolfepaw.deviantart.com/gallery/
July 2016
ON THE COVER:
The XXXI Olympic Games are only a month away. The opening ceremonies will take place Aug. 5, with the swimming events set to begin the next day. And Swimming World helps you prepare for the world’s foremost sports competition with a 12-page feature this month that focuses on the top contenders from around the world who will be looking to medal in Rio. (See feature, page 18.)
Photos (from top right, clockwise): Cate and Bronte Campbell (photo by R-Sport/MIA Rossiya Segodnaya), Adam Peaty (Ian MacNicol), Marco Koch (Gian Mattia D’Alberto/La- Presse), Sarah Sjostrom (R-Sport/MIA Rossiya Segodnaya), Brittany MacLean (Vaughn Ridley/Swimming Canada), Florent Manaudou (R-Sport/MIA Rossiya Segodnaya),
Kosuke Hagino (Delly Carr) and Katinka Hosszu (middle) (Peter H. Bick).
August 2016
ON THE COVER:
Yes, OFF TO RIO WE GO! And, yes, Katie Ledecky is definitely ready… and so are her American teammates, as are the world’s greatest swimmers who will be battling for medals and striving for best times beginning Saturday, Aug. 6. In this month’s issue, Swimming World reviews the U.S. Olympic Trials with a seven-page photo gallery. And everything you need to know as you prepare to watch the XXXI Olympiad is included in an eight-page analysis—including our medal predictions. (See features, pages 12 and 22, plus a related feature on page 20.)
[PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK]
September 2016
ON THE COVER:
By winning six more medals in R io, Michael Phelps’ historic totals have grown to 23 gold and 28 overall in five consecutive Olympic Games from 2000 to 2016! He even made history by becoming only the second swimmer ever to carry the American flag and lead the USA contingent at the opening ceremonies. Oh, and he also finished in a three-way tie for the silver medal in the 100 fly—another Olympic “first” for the greatest Olympian of all time who insists that these Games will be his last. (See feature, page 10, plus our 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics photo gallery, pages 12-28.)
[PHOTO BY ROB SCHUMACHER-USA TODAY SPORTS]
October 2016
ON THE COVER:
Team USA won 16 Olympic gold medals in Rio—and 33 total medals, including at least one in 29 of 32 events! No fewer than 38 of its 45 swimmers won at least one medal, while 18 Americans went home with multiple medals. The standouts for the U.S. included the obvious names (Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky), some newer faces (Ryan Murphy, Maya DiRado, Lilly King, Simone Manuel) and even a 35-year-old Anthony Ervin (pictured on the cover), who won his second gold medal in the men’s 50 free—SIXTEEN years after his first. (See feature, page 16.)
[PHOTO BY ROBERT HANASHIRO-USA TODAY SPORTS]
November 2016
ON THE COVER:
Open water swimmers enter the water for the start of the women’s 10K marathon swim in the Rio Olympics at Fort Copacabana. The Netherlands’ Sharon van Rouwendaal captured the gold medal and was named Swimming World Magazine’s 2016 Female Open Water Swimmer of the Year. A Dutch swimmer was also named the male SOY—Ferry Weertman—who along with van Rouwendaal, became the first swimmers from the same country to sweep Olympic gold medals in Olympic swimming’s longest race. (See feature, page 16, plus other open water-related stories on pages 19, 22, 46 and 48.)
[PHOTO BY JACK GRUBER-USA TODAY SPORTS]
December 2016
ON THE COVER:
We at Swimming World always look forward to working on the December issue because it includes our World and Regional Swimmers of the Year. It’s also an opportunity for us to review what we believe are the 10 Best Performances of 2016. We’re certain you recognize that guy on the cover—Michael Phelps. And, yes, our 15-member international panel selected him as our Male World and American Swimmer of the Year for the eighth time in his legendary career. With Phelps insisting he is retired for good, Swimming World—and the “swimming world”—will miss him, but wish the “Greatest of All Time” the very best. (See features, pages 16-23 and 24-27.)
[PHOTO BY ROB SCHUMACHER-USA TODAY SPORTS]
isn’t it a bit odd that most of these covers are pictures of male swimmers? The only woman I can see is Dana Vollmer…
Did you not see Kelsi Worrell? Or Katie Ledecky? Or the Georgia women’s team? Or the women on both the June and July issues?
Merry Christmas