Behind the Blocks

It has been a true pleasure to watch our next guest blossom, mature, and leave her mark in the sport. Kaitlin first met Ella Eastin when she was just nine years old and she has played a small part of her massive career. Ella was special, both in the pool and out, from a very young age, and is not done yet. She broke numerous national age group and high school records and began her record-breaking college career at Stanford in 2015. She was a member of three Pac-12 and NCAA championship teams, 12

As a Midland, Texas native, Natalie Hinds was CollegeSwimming.com’s No. 1 recruit out of the Lone Star State in 2012. She then went on to become an All-American sprinter at the University of Florida on multiple occasions. As a Florida freshman, Natalie finished 3rd in the 100-yard free at NCAA's. She was named the SEC Female Freshman of the Year after finishing top eight in all her events. Natalie continued a successful college career having been a 20-Time All-American, 3x SEC champ, 3x SEC academic

Amanda Beard was just 14 years-old when she qualified for her first Olympic Games and walked away as the second youngest swimmer in history to medal with one gold and two silvers. That was just the beginning to a very successful career, in the pool and out. She went on to make the next three Olympic games, competing in a total of four Olympics where she earned seven Olympic medals (two gold, four silver, one bronze).  She has collected a total of twenty-one medals in major international

On episode 3, Kaitlin Sandeno’s guest is Amy Bilquist, five time national champion, American record holder, NCAA record holder, five time international medalist, and 2016 Olympic trials finalist.  They have a candid discussion about her career and aspirations and Amy pulls no punches as she passionately shares her journey which has been plagued by injuries. Amy announced her retirement on August 22, 2021.Host: Kaitlin SandenoFor more conversations from the world of women’s sport including articles,

Kaitlin’s guest this week is reigning NCAA 2019 Swimmer of the Year, 21 year old Beata Nelson. Beata had a very impressive club career before heading to University of Wisconsin where she had an outstanding college reign but with an unfortunate ending as her final NCAA’s were canceled due to COVID-19.  Nevertheless, her impressive accolades consist of three-time NCAA champ, 7X all-American, 5 BIG Ten champion titles, American, US Open, NCAA record holder and she the only American to break 50 seconds

Kaitlin's first guest on this new swimming podcast is Cyndi Gallagher who has been head coach for UCLA Women's Swimming and Diving team for 31 years of the 38 years consisting of head coach, assistant coach and student-athlete. A graduate of UCLA, Cyndi had an impressive career in the water before becoming one of the few coaches in the nation who coached at their alma mater. She set several school records, earned All-American honors and recognized as the university's "Most Valuable Athlete”; not to