Sanford Gray Thatcher - (Author)

Lessons to Learn When Swimming Seems So Cruel From the Swimming World Archive The 400 IM is a race I only had to swim once to decide it was not my calling. Now when I watch people race it, and love all 16 laps of it, I cannot relate, but I certainly can respect. One such swimmer was shooting for his...

The Excellent Swim Coach (From the Archive) Swimming is very much a sport of observation. Swimmers observe others' strokes underwater during practice and have a lot of time on deck during meets to watch the coach-swimmer dynamics surrounding us. I had 12 swim coaches in my 18 years of swimming. It's...

By Annie Grevers Any swimmer-turned-coach knows the frustration that comes from watching potential wither. It's torture. Sometimes I wish I could use the machine from the Matrix to inject some of my experiences into my swimmers' brains so they would know I'm not lying to them. Swimming Hurts There a...

9 Strange Skills Every Swimmer Acquires Over Time The other day I saw a girl in her volleyball uniform and thought, "Huh, I wonder how different life would be if I had picked a different sport." I'd have different friends, a different husband, different skill sets, a different body, and a different ...

Performance Boosters for Swimmers: What Can Help By Allie Clark and Wilson Josephson, Swimming World College Interns As a new season begins, we’ve taken a look at some interesting foods athletes have adopted as ways of getting the most out of their bodies. These super foods for swimmers may surprise...

6 Ways To Improve Your Flip Turn By Annie Grevers How many times have you been told to be quicker on your walls? Not to hesitate before flipping? Get your feet around faster? Probably quite a few times. Turns are not merely a fun accessory in swimming. They're a crucial part of our sport. How many t...

The Swimmer Knows: 15 Unique Traits and Habits Of the Water World By Allison Peters, Swimming World College Intern Everybody has unique traits that make them tick, but swimmers' quirks are much different from those of your everyday person. Here are 15 swimmer habits that these water-loving, dedicate...

The 3 Types of Swimmer: What Mold Do You Fit? By Annie Grevers (From the Archive) This may be a narrow view, but in the most simplistic language, there are three types of swimmer: The in-season sensation; the taper talent; and the forever fast phenom. Let's dive into a brief case study of each. 1. T...

By Annie Grevers, Swimming World Staff Writer (From the Archive) The teenage years are not necessarily one's most selfless stage in life. Your own swimming career grows ever more important and your swims can begin to dictate how you treat other people. It's not that teenage swimmers are incapable of...

I’ve now been to three Olympic Trials meets as an athlete and two as a spectator. The first two, I only noticed the people who made the team– my heroes. The third I left heartbroken and – as life goes – I started noticing the heartbreaks in every finals heat. Two make the Olympics, six are left home...

5 Ways to Transform Your Breaststroke (Featuring Drills) By Annie Grevers, Swimming World Staff Writer and Lifelong Breaststroker Republished from the Swimming World archive There are many variations of breaststroke: the turtle, the dart, the deep sea diver, the frat boy (arms only), the inch worm, ...

Losing Like An Olympic Champion (Matt Grevers) Originally published on July 1, 2016 By Annie Grevers Like many of you, I'm a Matt Grevers fan. I'm going to make the bold claim that I'm a bigger Matt Grevers fan than you are. Over the past 48 hours, I've read heartfelt tributes to my husband that sen...

Cupping Therapy During this stall in competitive action, Swimming World will occasionally take a look back at epic races, interviews and phenomenons in the sport. Today, we look back at the recovery technique known as cupping, which attracted considerable attention ahead of and at the 2016 Olympic G...

By Annie Grevers, Staff Writer.  Foam rolling. Swimmers have a love-hate relationship with the recovery method. The 18-inch pillar of firm foam, often referred to as "the poor man's massage therapist" is commonly used by athletes to break up tight fascia, or muscle fibers. It can be a highly effecti...

Swimming World Magazine is seeking another gifted group of writers interested in enhancing their journalism skills and garnering valuable experience to add to their resumes. The Swimming World interns from the summer 2017 season submitted stories bi-weekly and delved into feature writing, race analy...

By Annie Grevers, Staff Writer. Swim fans are fascinated by the lives of national teamers, but most fan thoughts revolve around races and what these world-class athletes do for fun. But what about those not-so-fun parts of making the World Championship team this summer? If you’re following any of th...

By Annie Grevers, Swimming World Staff Writer.  Transitioning out of college or professional swimming can be a shock. It takes time to stop feeling guilty about only getting a one-hour workout in when you're used to exerting yourself for two to four hours each day. After getting through that rocky t...

By Annie Grevers, Swimming World Staff Writer Chuck Katis has always been a man on a mission…or rather, a man on many missions. His number one goal: better the world. Number two: better himself. But pretty much all of Katis’s endeavors involve self refinement along with world refinement. Katis be...

By Annie Grevers, Swimming World Staff Writer Some people are considered leaders because they are fast swimmers. Some are considered leaders because of the way they treat others. Some are considered leaders because of their work ethic in practice. Some are vocal leaders. Leadership is a complex cate...

By Annie Grevers, Swimming World Staff Writer If you were fortunate enough to attend the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Nebraska this summer, you may have come across a curious display in the lively Aqua Zone area. A small above ground pool was set up in the center of the massive zone of swi...