Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast · Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast

The Shannon Rollason Podcast Episode 100 - TOP 10 Greatest Swimmers of ALL Time List

·1 hr 36 min·5 clips

Grant Hackett won Olympic 1500 freestyle gold in 2000 and 2004, then raced 2008 with a partially collapsed lung.

1. Off The Blocks Swimming Podcast uses Shannon Rollison episode 100 to run a male-female top 10 swimmers list. 2. Shannon Rollison, Justin Rothwell, and Robbie all take part, and each one reacts differently to the ranking. 3. The episode’s purpose is to test a U.S.-sourced all-time list against the hosts’ own swimming memories and opinions. 4. Shannon says he found the list after watching something like 'Best Boxers of All Time' on YouTube. 5. He explains that the list combines women and men and is not meant to be a definitive world ranking. 6. The hosts repeatedly say the list will 'stir a few people up' and invite disagreement. 7. Number 10 is Kirsten Otto of Germany, who won six gold medals at the 1988 Olympics. 8. Shannon notes that five of Otto’s six golds were world records. 9. Justin describes Otto’s size, her straight-arm freestyle, and her ability to switch between backstroke, butterfly, and sprint freestyle. 10. The discussion also notes that Otto was never tested positive to a banned substance. 11. Number nine is Debbie Meyer, who won three gold medals at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. 12. Shannon identifies Meyer as the first woman to win three individual Olympic gold medals and the youngest Olympian ever to do so at age 16. 13. Robbie says Meyer would not make his own top 10, even while calling her a super talented athlete. 14. Number eight is Christina Aguizegui of Hungary, who won three Olympic 200 backstroke golds. 15. Shannon adds that she also won Olympic gold in the 400 IM and 100 backstroke. 16. The hosts talk about her technical backstroke, her flexibility work, and the fact that her 200 backstroke world record lasted until 2008. 17. Number seven is Grant Hackett, who won Olympic 1500 freestyle gold in 2000 and 2004. 18. Justin and Shannon discuss his 10-year world record, his relay speed, and the 'The Machine' nickname from his early training. 19. The tone is chatty, opinionated, and heavily dependent on personal memory and swim-history references. 20. Listeners who like swimming rankings and race history will enjoy it, while anyone wanting a tightly structured interview may skip it.

As heard by us

A milestone Shannon Rollason episode that turns all-time swimmer ranking talk into a thoughtful, era-spanning debate.

This 100th Shannon Rollason episode focuses on a considered argument about swimming greatness, with Justin Rothwell back as the guest and the talk leaning into the sport's finer details.

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Why you'd press play

Hear a proper swim-history debate from hosts with real lane-side memory.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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