Swimming World Magazine Covers in Review – 2021
It is a yearly tradition for Swimming World to provide a look back at its magazine covers for the past year. After 2020, we saw a renewed hope with the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. In addition to international coverage, Swimming World continued to highlight the top individuals and stories of the year, some of which were featured on the magazine’s cover. Here is a glance at who graced the front page of the magazine, along with the reasoning for selection. Without further ado, Swimming World presents the 2021 covers in review.
Back issues of Swimming World can be purchased here.
Olympic contender Michael Andrew opened 2021 on the Swimming World cover. Andrew has been target of criticism the last 7 years- over turning pro at 14, his unique training style (USRPT), his training plan, and more.
Emma McKeon was ready to hang up her goggles after not qualifying for the 2011 Australian Olympic team. In addition to returning to competition she has become an inspirtation to the next generation of Australian swimmers.
Junior Texas A&M swimmer Shaine Casas had everyone wondering who he was in early 2021. Especially after he claimed the top-spot in the 100-meter backstroke during the 2019 NCAA Championships.
After her break-out Olympics in Rio, Lilly King is training hard for Tokyo this coming summer. She will still speak her mind, tell you how she really feels, and she’s still a winner, a dominant force in sprint breaststroke.
Days before their coach, Eddie Reese, officially announced his retirement from coaching after 43 years, the Texas men’s team won their 15th men’s NCAA national team championship.
Still producing elite-level performances, Nathan Adrian, now 32 and pursuing his fourth Olympic Games, has the opportunity to further his already lofty reputation. And whenever his days in the sport come to an end, Adrian will be viewed for his excellence in the sport as an athlete, teammate and ambassador.
Hungary’s Kristof Milak, best known for his prowess in the 200m butterfly, and also the No. 4 performer in history in the 100 fly at 50.18. As the Olympic Games are set to begin in Tokyo, it is not preposterous to suggest that Milak could threaten the 1:50 barrier.
Torri Huske finished her high school career by setting national high school records in the 100 yard fly and 200 IM and by being named Swimming World’s Female High School Swimmer of the Year for the second time (2019, 2021). The 18-year-old senior from Yorktown High School (Arlington, Va.) will be moving on to Stanford in the fall, but first, she set an American record in the 100 meter fly at U.S. Trials that earned her a trip to Tokyo to compete in her first Olympics.
Caeleb Dressel, Team USA’s golden boy who put on a show in Tokyo, netting five gold medals and two new world records.
16-year-old Romanian sprinter David Popovici. It’s rare for a male that young to emerge as a global force, watching his career develop is going to be a whole lot of fun.
Brazil’s Ana Marcela Cunha captured Olympic gold in Tokyo and repeated as the world’s elite open water swimmer in both 2019 and 2021.
December – Caeleb Dressel and Emma McKeon
The December issue of Swimming World honors the world and regional swimmers of the year. This year Dressel and McKeon were named as the Swimming World Swimmers of the Year. Dressel took home five gold medals and McKeon three gold and one bronze during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.