Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Janet Evans and the defending Grand Prix Series champion Missy Franklin headline the list of those competing at the Austin Grand Prix on January 13-15.

Did you know that fat is an essential part of nutrition for the growing athlete? Not only is fat required for normal growth and development, it is an instrumental energy source for exercising children and teens. During exercise, fat is processed (or metabolized) more efficiently than carbohydrate when compared to adults. By mid- to late adolescence, adult patterns of fat metabolism emerge. While children rely more on fat as an energy source during exercise, there is no evidence that increasing fat in the diet has benefits.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a swimming coach in Compton, California named Louis Pecot. His complaint as a coach for over 30+ years in the area was that, despite earlier claims from someone featured on this website, there was swimming in Compton – at least when he was growing up. I interviewed him about his background growing up in South Central LA, as well as future challenges he foresees in the area. Here is Part Two of our interview.

For most Division III athletic programs, money for everything from uniforms to facilities to travel expenses is extremely tight and budgets are lean. Most times, the coaches and athletes – who attend school and compete athletically on their own dime outside of academic and other scholarships and grants – pay for their own expenses. At the University of California Santa Cruz, former swimming alumni have taken it upon themselves to lend a hand – and don a Speedo – to give back to the program by raising funds in the water.

Caroline Burckle keeps her Olympic medal from Beijing close to her heart. But when she started swimming after the 2008 Olympics, she realized she was ready to move on. After going to fashion school and building a great start to her career in southern California, she has moved back home and hopes to build on her experience in her home state.

There is an error in the Olympic Trials Times Standards listed on page 82 of the 2012 USA Swimming Rules and Regulations. The time standards as listed in the rulebook are reversed and the times shown for the women are men’s times and times shown for the men are the women’s times. The time standards for Olympic Trials on the USA Swimming website are correctly listed and can be found here.

There is no more basic piece of equipment in the weight room than the barbell, a straight piece of steel that can provide a workout by itself or by loading plates on the ends. One of the most athletic manipulations of the barbell is the Hang Power Clean.

Balancing high school and competitive swimming is no easy task. Not only are there significant time constraints, but also the pressures with being a prodigal high school athlete. This week we interview Evan Swenson, a 17-year-old swimmer from Loyola High School In Illinois who is relatively new to the rigors of year-round competitive swimming. She has qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 50 freestyle, and trains year-round at NASA. Here is Part One of the interview.

Serum Ferritin is considered to be the best indicator of an athlete’s iron status and essential in the creation of new red blood cells. Red blood cells are responsible for delivering oxygen throughout the body and helping to remove carbon dioxide, both crucial functions during training. An iron deficiency could inhibit the body’s ability to create new red blood cells, remove muscle waste products and obviously have a negative effect on an athlete’s general health, let alone their ability to practice.

Despite the tremendous success she experienced while still in high school – winning gold at Pan Ams as a 16-year-old and just missing the Olympic team the summer before her senior year – Caitlin Leverenz needed a reality check.

I went to the gym yesterday and thought I was in the wrong place. There were actually people working out. Running on treadmills. Stepping on StairMasters. Huffing and puffing, losing extra weight from holiday hedonism. Even as I walked to my beloved lap pool – normally vacant and empty, a lake of chlorine to myself – there were swimmers there, filling the pool, chugging through the water, spitting at each wall, exhausted.

We catch up in 20 Question Tuesday every year or so with B.J. Bedford – now B.J. Miller, with her husband Tom, and their amazing children, Arden and Bronson. The 2000 Olympic medalist always has a keen eye for the goings-on in the sport, so we thought there no time better than now to get an Olympic preview, while taking a trip down Olympic Memory Lane, with one of the sport’s most humble, thoughtful figures to kick off the Olympic year of 2012.

Julia Smit helped key Stanford’s charge back to the top, and she won Olympic silver in the 4x100 free, and bronze in the 4x200 relay in Beijing. She talks about her preparation for 2012, and what amazing twists and turns her life has taken over the years, in this week’s 20 Question Tuesday.

The digital edition of the November-December issue of Splash is now available online and as a mobile app for your iPad and iPhone. Splash spoke with Brad Brockway, head coach of Kingfish Aquatic Club in Waterford, Michigan, about drills and race strategies designed to help train for and navigate the 200 butterfly.

Half of Americans make New Year’s resolutions and the key to success is making your resolutions real and measureable. Swimmers are good at setting training and performance goals, so why not make some nutrition goals that support your training and competition?

The winter edition of Coaches Quarterly is now availalbe. In this issue you'll find the results of the 2011 Zone Select Camp Streamline Study. Also featured are articles on recruiting and keeping age group swimmers as well as characteristics of Olympic sprinters.

France has a pair of the best 400m freestylers in history in Yannick Agnel (7th fastest textile male all-time) and Camille Muffat (4th fastest textile female all-time). At the 2011 AT&T Winter National Championships in Atlanta Ga., both won their respective events, Muffat in a world-class 4:03.64 and Agnel in 3:47.78. We have an opportunity to take a closer look at the underwater video from this event and learn from the best.

There was a time when people thought the best backstroke pull started in deep water and then swept up and then back down at the finish. Video of the best backstrokers in the world shows us differently – that the backstroke pull should start and stay shallow until the downward finish.

On October 23, 2010, Geoff Meyer’s life changed. A former swimmer for James Madison University, Meyer learned that his best friend, Fran Crippen, died during an open water swimming race. Now, the 29-year-old Meyer is back in the pool. He’s making a comeback with a specific goal in mind: Qualify for the Olympic Trials.