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The Science and Art of Open Water Swimming

The Science and Art of Open Water Swimming

By: Grant Landers
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The Science and Art of Open Water Swimming explores what it really takes to swim well and safely, in open water.

Hosted by endurance swimming coach and sport scientist Grant Landers, the podcast brings together swimmer stories, coaching insights, and evidence-based science to unpack performance, preparation, and decision-making in unpredictable environments.

Each episode features conversations with open water swimmers, triathletes, coaches, and researchers, covering topics such as training alongside work and family life, adapting to conditions, managing uncertainty, and learning from both success and setbacks.

The podcast is informed by Grant’s work coaching endurance swimmers and triathletes, as well as his research at the University of Western Australia, but it’s intended for the broader open water swimming community.

Whether you’re preparing for your first open water event or refining your performance at the endurance end of the sport, this is where swimmers, science, and the sea converge.

Copyright 2026 All rights reserved. Water Sports
Episodes
  • Does Lighter = Faster? Body Composition and Performance Readiness: A special episode - originally recorded for The Distance Dr: In Practice

    Does Lighter = Faster? Body Composition and Performance Readiness: A special episode - originally recorded for The Distance Dr: In Practice
    Apr 13 2026

    This episode was originally recorded for Dr Kate Baldwin’s podcast, The Distance Dr: In Practice, and is republished here with permission.

    In this conversation, Kate and I unpack one of the most persistent ideas in endurance sport — that lighter is always faster. We explore where this belief comes from, how it has been reinforced through measurement culture and why it is often oversimplified or misapplied in practice.

    The discussion spans body composition, adipose tissue physiology, muscle mass, bone health, injury risk and the limitations of common measurement tools. We also challenge the notion of “race weight,” reframing the conversation around performance readiness - the capacity to train consistently, recover well, remain healthy and perform when it matters.

    While this conversation is relevant across endurance sport, there are particularly important implications for open water swimming, where buoyancy, insulation, thermoregulation, robustness and fatigue resistance all interact with the aquatic environment. Many of the assumptions carried over from land‑based sports simply don’t translate directly into the water.

    This episode will be relevant not only to open water swimmers, but also to triathletes, runners, cyclists, coaches and clinicians who work with endurance athletes and want to take a more contextual, health‑first approach to performance.

    You can find more of Kate’s work on her podcast, The Distance Dr: In Practice or via Instagram @thedistancedr

    And following a helpful nudge to expand beyond Facebook, the podcast can now also be found on Instagram at @scienceandartofows This interview was recorded across Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar and Wadandi Boodja. I acknowledge the Noongar people, including the Wadandi people of the South West, as the Traditional Custodians of these lands and pay my respects to Elders past and present.

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    47 mins
  • Mariko Collins: Waves, Curiosity and Adapting in Open Water

    Mariko Collins: Waves, Curiosity and Adapting in Open Water
    Apr 6 2026
    In this episode, Grant speaks with engineer and open‑water swimmer Mariko Collins about how swimmers move in waves, and what those forces feel like in the body. Drawing on her research and her recent first solo Rottnest Channel crossing, Mariko reflects on adaptation, curiosity, and the psychological challenges that emerge when things start to unravel late in a long swim.

    This interview was recorded on Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar. I acknowledge the Noongar people as the Traditional Custodians of this land and pay my respects to Elders past and present
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    29 mins
  • Glenn Taylor: Lake Argyle, Risk Management and Creating a World‑Class Open Water Swim

    Glenn Taylor: Lake Argyle, Risk Management and Creating a World‑Class Open Water Swim
    Mar 30 2026
    In this episode, I speak with Glenn Taylor, race director of the Lake Argyle Swim, about what it takes to create and safely deliver one of Australia’s most unique open water events. They explore freshwater swimming, reduced buoyancy, big‑lake conditions, risk management, and why Lake Argyle can behave more like an inland sea than a typical lake.

    For more information on the Lake Argyle Swim visit: www.lakeargyleswim.com

    And for more events hosted by Glenn in the Kimberly region of Western Australia, check out this site: www.fitevents.com.au

    This interview was recorded on Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar. I acknowledge the Noongar people as the Traditional Custodians of this land and pay my respects to Elders past and present

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    35 mins
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