The SwimSwam Podcast

Hannah Bellard turned heads last weekend when she topped the 200 fly field at the Indiana-Michigan dual meet. The reigning Big Ten Champion in the event, Bellard touched in 1:50.72, a Michigan school and Big Ten Conference record and the top time in the country by over a second, not to mention a huge PB for the junior.  When we sat down with Bellard to discuss the swim and her season, we got an interesting piece of insight. In the spring of 2025, the rising junior felt like she was just going through the motions with her swimming. This was after winning a Big Ten Title in the 200 fly and becoming an NCAA All-American in the same event. After talking with her coaches, they decided it was best if Bellard take a month off and not compete in the summer. After coming back in the fall, the now junior felt refreshed and reenergized by her sport. After seeing this swim in January, it certainly seems like that break is continuing to pay dividends for the Michigan Wolverine. 

Cody Miller signing onto to the Enhanced Games was a curveball, but not wholly unexpected, which is partly why we asked Miller to come on the podcast. For the record: SwimSwam has no commercial or financial affiliation with the Enhanced Games. We are covering it journalistically. That will make some people uncomfortable. But discomfort isn’t a disqualifier, especially when the moment is this consequential.

In this GMM Podcast, we sit down with Jake Gibbons, a talented young coach at one of the most powerful prep programs in swimming history, The Bolles School. Jake’s connection to Bolles is personal. He swam for the Bolles Sharks from 2013 to 2015, absorbing the culture, the expectations, and the weight of a program that has produced Olympic champions and global stars. From there, his path wasn’t linear. He detoured briefly through Yale before landing at Texas A&M, where his career sharpened into leadership as much as performance. At A&M, Jake captained the team, earned multiple CSCAA Scholar All-American honors, and etched his name into the Aggie record books with a 9:05.38 in the 1000-yard freestyle. He was also awarded the Texas A&M Distinguished Letterman Award, the school’s highest recognition for athletics, scholarship, and leadership.

There’s a certain quiet confidence that comes from longevity. You don’t need to thump your chest when the résumé does the talking. This GMM podcast brings together Thad Schultz, one of the most experienced coaches in swimming, and Erkhes Enkhtur, a rising international talent rewriting Mongolian swimming history books from the lanes of SPIRE Academy.

Recently, at the Katie Ledecky Invite, a swim meet hosted by Nation's Capital Swim Club and named for their most notable alumna, history was made. Katie Ledecky herself participated in the last night of competition, swimming in the 1,650 freestyle. The 14x Olympic medalist wowed her hometown crowd as she threw down a monstrous 14:59.62, breaking her own American and US Open records in the event and making her the first woman in history to dip under the 15-minute barrier. This swim not only rippled across the entire current swimming landscape, but it will undoubtedly inspire swimmers for years to come. SwimSwam spoke with two young girls, Milly Birch and Emma Stein, who were at the venue during this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Milly, 14, swam in the lane next to Katie during the 1,650 while Emma, 11, was on deck watching with her friends. Listen to how Katie Ledecky is not only breaking down barriers for herself, but showing many more that they can do the same.