Champions Mojo for Masters Swimmers

What do you do when the body that carried you to Olympic Legend Status changes in the blink of an eye? How do you stop comparing yourself to the athlete you used to be and build unshakeable mental resilience in the face of life-altering obstacles?
In this episode, six-time Olympic gold medalist Amy Van Dyken sits down with Kelly Palace to share how she completely redefined her identity, athletic drive, and relationship with her body after a traumatic 2014 ATV accident left her paralyzed from the waist down. Amy reveals how she transitioned from Olympic sprinter to adaptive CrossFit champion, why comparing your present times to your past self is a recipe for frustration, and the practical mental reframing technique she uses to turn paralyzing race-day nerves into pure excitement. Whether you are navigating an injury, battling an aging body, or seeking the grit to conquer daily setbacks, Amy provides the ultimate blueprint for choosing joy, grace, and relentless forward momentum.
Inside this episode, you’ll discover:
Adapting When Your Body Rebels: How Amy shifted from Olympic sprint dominance to floating and finding peace in the pool with paralyzed legs and minimal core.
Ending the "Old Times" Comparison Trap: Why measuring your current performance against your younger self drains the joy from swimming—and how to give your body grace at every stage.
Reframing Pre-Race Nerves: The physiological trick to turn racing anxiety into explosive excitement behind the starting blocks.
Why Swimming Keeps Getting Faster: Amy’s expert perspective as an NBC Olympic analyst on training quality over junk yardage, hydrodynamics, and modern sprinting speed.
The Training Shift That Saved Her Career: How leaving high-volume yardage for speed work and fun at Colorado State helped her claim four Olympic gold medals in 1996.
The Power of Daily Micro-Wins: How conquering small, frustrating tasks builds true athletic resilience and gratitude on hard days.
Channeling Competitive Fire: How Amy took her sprint drive to adaptive CrossFit and became the second-fittest seated woman on Earth in her mid-40s.
Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.
You can learn more about the Host and Founder of Champions Mojo at www.KellyPalace.com

Breaststroke is notorious for sidelining adult swimmers with groin, hip, and knee strain. But what if joint degradation isn't an inevitable part of competitive aging?
How do you step away from the sport for 13 years, return at age 40, and capture 13 World Aquatics Masters titles and nine individual world records—all while racing the most joint-punishing stroke on the program?
In this episode, City of Cardiff, Wales, UK, swimmer and Freestyle Media Podcast host Helen Gorman joins Kelly Palace to reveal the training routines and mobility habits that preserve joint health in the 50–54 age group. Helen breaks down why breaststrokers can't rely on in-water yards alone, how she maintains pace alongside teenagers without burnout, and the weekly volume balance required to keep joints functioning at an elite level.
Inside this episode, you’ll discover:
The 20-Minute Joint Armor Habit: Why showing up early for mandatory dryland mobility, foam rolling, and hip activation is non-negotiable for long-term breaststroke health.
The 13-Year Layoff Reset: How Helen avoided the frustration trap at age 40 by starting the clock over and setting realistic targets within 5-year age bands.
Surviving "Butting Kicking with the Kids": The tactical boundaries of swimming with elite youth squads—and why Helen avoids double workouts to preserve recovery.
The 200 Breast Back-End Blueprint: Helen’s go-to broken sets and race-pace repeats to build holding power on the final 50 meters.
Technique Over Brute Force: Why elite Masters longevity comes down to holding water rather than muscling through fatigue.
The UK Breaststroke Legacy: Cultural coaching insights from the home of Olympic champions David Wilkie and Adam Peaty.
Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.
You can learn more about the Host and Founder of Champions Mojo at www.KellyPalace.com

If you've ever battled crippling race anxiety, felt air-starved mid-race, or wondered how to fall back in love with swimming, this on-deck conversation with 25-year-old coach and former collegiate swimmer Geffen Chang is a must-listen. Geffen opens up about overcoming panic attacks in the 400 IM, his go-to stretch for breaststroke groin pain, and the mental shift that helped him step onto the blocks purely for himself.
Inside this episode, you’ll discover:
Race-Day Panic Attacks & Air Hunger: Geffen addresses mid-race hyperventilation, anxiety, and the feeling of choking during grueling events (like the 400 IM and 200 Fly), sharing how mental self-talk ("I'm going to be okay") and high practice repetition desensitize fear.
Post-College Burnout & Lost Motivation: Offers a blueprint for transitioning from rigid collegiate expectations (swimming for times/coaches) to Masters swimming for personal joy, autonomy, and fulfillment.
Breaststroke Groin Pain & Tightness: Provides a specific pre-race mobility stretch (wide sumo squat with lateral shifts) to release hip and adductor tension before getting on the blocks.
Event Overwhelm & Multi-Race Endurance: Demonstrates how to mentally approach a heavy, multi-event meet lineup (including long-distance events like the 1500m) as a test of will and celebration of racing rather than pressure for perfection.

If this resonates, subscribe to Champions Mojo, share the episode with a swim buddy, and leave us a review so more masters swimmers can find it. Thank you for listening!
Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.
You can learn more about the Host and Founder of Champions Mojo at www.KellyPalace.com

Are you worried that your best performances are behind you? Do you ever step up to the blocks—or walk into a room—and feel entirely underestimated because of your age or size? Or worry that your time out of the water will prevent you from success?
This week on Champion's Mojo, we are sitting down with a true generational talent who is completely rewriting the rules of super agers and performance in athletics. Jeannette Brits, a 65-year-old Australian powerhouse, recently did the unthinkable: she shattered the women's 65-69 age division world record in the 800-meter freestyle by almost 30 seconds, clocking a breathtaking sub-10-minute time and also broke the 200 and 400 world records as well.
But Jeannette didn't achieve this by being the tallest, the strongest, or the most naturally gifted swimmer in the water. Standing at 5'3" (160cm) and having taken a massive 30-year hiatus from the sport to raise a family and build a career, Jeannette relies on a ferocious work ethic, a "dog-with-a-bone" racing mentality, and the courage to train daily with a squad of men 15 to 20 years her junior.
If you've ever felt like the deck is stacked against you, or if you are looking for the motivation to finally make your own comeback, Jeannette’s story is the ultimate blueprint for relentless endurance.
In this episode, we dive into:
The Comeback Blueprint: How to successfully and safely return to high-level training after decades away from your sport.
Using Doubt as Fuel: The exact mental framework Jeannette uses when competitors judge a book by its cover and expect her to go to the back of the lane.
Outworking the Advantage: How to overcome a lack of natural height or physical leverage through sheer grit, technical focus, and brutal consistency.
The HRT Conversation: Jeannette's candid reality on achieving world-dominating endurance without Hormone Replacement Therapy.
Balancing the Grind: How mixing grueling 27km pool weeks with joyful, soul-filling ocean swims keeps injuries and burnout at bay.
Tune in to discover why it's never too late to get back in the water, toughen up, and completely surprise yourself.
If you loved this episode, please consider leaving us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts— more masters swimmers can find the show.
Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.
You can learn more about the Host and Founder of Champions Mojo at www.KellyPalace.com

With over 50 World Records and a Masters Hall of Fame induction, you might think the average swimmer doesn't have much in common with the legendary David Guthrie—but you’d be surprised.
At age 66, he considers himself as fragile as a "teacup." He’s battled debilitating injuries, navigated career curveballs, and learned from his fair share of training mistakes. So how do you continue breaking world records across three straight decades when your body keeps trying to break down?
In this pool-deck interview from the Pegasus Masters Meet in Dallas, TX, Hall of Famer David Guthrie breaks down his exact philosophy on race-pace training, tissue recovery, and why most Masters swimmers are training completely wrong.
Inside this episode, you’ll discover:
The Junk Yardage Trap: Why obsessing over daily total volume leads to a "glide path to stagnation"—and how to shift toward quality intensity.
The World-Record 4x50s Set: David’s exact "bread and butter" workout to build 200m race pace and condition your mind for late-race pain.
The "Teacup" Athlete Dilemma: Why elite adult swimmers are constantly on the verge of breaking down.
The Sleep Position Fix: The surprisingly simple posture tweak that eliminated 18 months of severe SI joint and lower-back pain overnight.
Harvesting Low-Hanging Fruit: Why chasing marginal gains in your best stroke is wasting your time—and where your biggest speed breakthroughs are actually hiding.
Stingray Paddles & Life Lessons: David’s entrepreneurial comeback story and his ultimate advice on taking care of your future self.
Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.
You can learn more about the Host and Founder of Champions Mojo at www.KellyPalace.com