Getting beaten up by riot police. Setting his alarm 4 hours too early before the biggest race of his life. Not being able to walk for 4 days just weeks out from his last Olympic Games. These are just a few of the challenges 3x Olympian, Olympic bronze medallist and 100m Freestyle World Champion Brent Hayden shares on today's podcast.

00:47 Brent's achievements
05:22 Focus on the things you can control
06:54 Back spasms leading up to the 2012 Olympics
14:55 Sport is unscripted
16:11 Beaten up and arrested by riot police after 2004 Olympics
28:54 It doesn't need to look pretty
35:17 The best swimmers are the ones that are always open to change
37:19 Key pillars of sprinting
50:26 Astra Athletica

This week I’m joined by Rory Buck to discuss the intricacies of swimming and coaching. Rory Buck is an ex-competitive swimmer turned coach, who went from being a collegiate swimmer to representing South Africa at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Turning to coaching to learn more about swimming, Rory now coaches from Dubai. Join us as we discuss topics such as swim culture, the right age to start swimming, a feel for the water, mentality, sighting, effort in swimming and self-perception as well as much more.

01:10 – Rory’s competitive background.
04:30 – Dubai and swim culture.
06:50 – The right age to start swimming.
11:30 – Putting effort into swimming.
20:00 – Confidence in the water.
27:30 – Developing and maintaining a feel for the water.
38:00 – Swimming in a triathlon.
42:00 – Sighting in open water.
52:50 – Watching triathletes and reflecting.
01:01:10 – The mindset and delusions.

This week’s podcast features Jason Hamilton as our guest. An athlete and triathlete
who I met during Hell Week last year in Thailand, Jason joins us to speak about his
journey as a swimmer, and how he trained to qualify in the World Championships.
We cover topics such as winter swimming locations, using structure to keep yourself
focused while training and exactly what made Jason swim faster.
Join us as we reflect on progress and setting goals as a swimmer.
02:20 – Jason Hamilton.
04:00 – Qualifying for World Championships.
06:00 – What makes you faster.
07:12 – Nathan Shearer
11:00 – Structure to keep focus.
13:14 – Ongoing goals.
15:00 – Winter training locations.

In today's episode, We are joined by Angela Naeth who is a professional triathlete. If you are someone who enjoys thinking and reflecting on your sport, your life and things around that, I think you will really enjoy this episode. Angela is a very genuine person and she is someone who has done a lot of thinking and reflecting on her own over the past eight years that she has been racing triathlon. We talked about some ways that she has overcome anxiety around racing and performing, something that she dealt with in the early days of her triathlon career. She also mentions a book that she has read five or six times that she has been able to use and get a lot from when it comes to becoming a fearless and competitive racer.