SWIMMING WITH THE POD

Michaela Werner is free diver, who in 2023, set a new world record, becoming the first woman to swim 101 underwater laps of a 25-metre pool in an hour. Born in Slovakia, she moved to Australia at age 19 where she fell in love with freediving. Michaela can swim 200m underwater, can hold her breath for six minutes and is a qualified free-diving instructor and coach.  Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License: Let Me Breathe (Wardub) - Rhekluse Breathe - INOSSI  Breathe - LiQWYD hold your breath - ikkunn  Free Dive - Cymatish  Sapphire - Tobu Photo from Michaela on instagram

Anthony Blazevich is a Professor of Biomechanics in the School of Medical and Health Sciences at Edith Cowan University. He is also the head of the Centre for Exercise and Sports Science Research, so is a fabulous person to talk to about biomechanics, body types and how our physiology affects our ability to move through water. Listen in to hear how you could tweak your stroke for quicker times, and why we still may see many more world records in the pool (and ocean). He has also conducted extremely interesting research on the benefits (or not) of stretching. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License: Biomechanics - Bit Funk & Jason Gaffner Biomechanics - I.D.L.E  Biomechanics - Greyscale Music  Sapphire - Tobu Photo created by me using Bing AI Image Creator

Rebecca Olive is an ocean swimmer whose academic research explores the role of sport and leisure in human and environmental health. In particular, her work explores the practices and cultures of ocean swimming and surfing to understand how human and environmental well-being interact, as well as our relationships to all things blue-space, such as sharks, animals, plastics, pollution and health. Her Moving Oceans website examines how participation in ocean sports shapes our behaviours towards taking care of the oceans. She has also published some fantastic reads in The Conversation - we talk about these two in the podcast: When we swim in the ocean, we enter another animal’s home. Here’s how to keep us all safe. Olympic swimming in the Seine highlights efforts to clean up city rivers worldwide. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License: off-set flippers x - bowdeeni fish x Crocodile Teeth Freestyle - Lajan Slim Olive - evildirk Olive - Słejzi Wysocki Olive Spring @ Imperss Music 2022 Sapphire - Tobu Image from Moving Oceans  

Michelle O’Shea is a Senior Lecturer at Western Sydney University whose research interests dive into the areas of sport, culture and society, particularly with regard to swimming. She has looked into issues such as why swimming lessons for kids are important, as well as the role of the swimming pool in society. Her research particularly examines issues relevant to gender and diversity, and how the pool and the beach, despite the great Australian egalitarian myth, can be quite exclusionary places. Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License: The Magic of Diversity - The Egotwisters Inclusion - Tenshou Kikiko Diversity - Africk Culture Vulture - Vincent Remember Sapphire - Tobu Image from wikicommons