The Vortex

The Vortex - October 2026: US Marks For Hobson & Kharun In Westmont Heats

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by Craig Lord

published October 31, 2026

The Vortex - October 2026: US Marks For Hobson & Kharun In Westmont Heats — **Luke Hobson - photo by Patrick B. Kraemer**

World short-course record holder and American 200 free No1 Luke Hobson clocked a US short-course record of 1:40.51 in morning heats in Westmont, Illinois, on the last day at Team USA Trials for December's World s/c Championships in China.

Coached by Bob Bowman in Texas, Hobson raced inside his own US open mark of 1:40.62, set in the same venue a year ago. His World and American record stands at 1:38.61, which was good for the Budapest 2024 global s/c crown.

The last morning of heats also saw Ilya Kharun, of the University of Arizona, clock 21.61 t to take down his own US open mark of 21.69, set in the same pool a year ago, and confine to history the 21.99 American record that had stood to Tom Shields since October 2021.

Shields was one of the three athletes who fronted a class action and forced a settlement in the class-action fight with FINA over the right of athletes to earn a living from their sport in competitions organised by outfits - namely the International Swimming League - that are not affiliated to the global governing body but abide by its rules. The League makes its comeback on December 19 in London with an All-Star Match that offers the biggest prize pot from a single session.of racing in swimming history. Those two tales:

And talking of Dean Boxall...

Boxall Drops Aussie GP As ISL All-Star Match Looms On Horizon

**Dean Boxall, by Delly Carr, courtesy of Swimming Australia**

Aussie Olympic coach and St Peters Western maestro Dean Boxall has withdrawn from the inaugural Swim GP event in Melbourne, his move going down in media reports Down Under as a result of his focus on the ISL's All-Star Match a month later in December.

The League is back after a period of inaction largely down to challenges related to Russia's war on Ukraine, home country of the founder of the ISL, Konstantin Grigorishin, the biggest private investor in swimming and its high-performance athletes the sport has ever known. The ISL's last season also ended in acrimony after money pledged to support athletes during Covid had not been paid.

SOS understands that the monies will have been paid in full by the end of this year after an agreement was reached to complete payment of several million dollars to around 300 swimmers in four instalments.

December 19 in London, 2026, will mirror the same day, same city, when and where it all began, with the first ISL teams event back in 2018. The format is different this time, and includes a clash of continents and regional groupings that will tests the USA Vs the Commonwealth, Vs Europe Vs a Squad of Intercontinental picks that add spice too the mix as the team that could upset the balance of power in the match.

Boxall was announced as one of the top coaching team for the Commonwealth squad by the ISL last week:

That commitment is said in a report by Tom Decent in The Age in Australia to mean that Boxall will npc longer be among the four elite coaches Swimming Australia announced that four elite coaches - with Damian Jones, Mel Marshall and Craig Jackson - named as the leaders of separate teams of 20 swimmers at the two-day Grand Prix teams event from November 13. Notes Decent:

"While organisers have assembled a strong field including Olympians Kaylee McKeown, Lani Pallister, Mollie O'Callaghan, Sam Short and Kyle Chalmers, one of their biggest coups was securing Boxall to lead Team Tsunami at the Swim GP.

"The animated coach has become box-office television at major swimming meets since his wild celebration at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when Ariarne Titmus stunned American great Katie Ledecky to win gold in the 400 metres freestyle.

"Boxall was filmed yelling, pumping his fists and grabbing a railing in the stands in one of the Games' most memorable moments.This passion has made him almost as recognisable as some of the Olympic champions he coaches."

Boxall confirmed to The Age that he would no longer lead a GP team but did not elaborate on why, Decent reporting: "Adding to the intrigue is Boxall's appointment as one of four coaches of the Commonwealth team at the International Swimming League's (ISL) All-Star match in London on December 19."

That match is of four teams, 96 athletes, who will be racing for:

"The largest prize pool ever offered for a single night of competitive swimming"

DECENT'S REPORT IN FULL

Swimming Scotland Among Regulators Backing New Specialist Coaching Courses At Stirling University

Stirling University is known in swimming for being the home of the Scotland and Britain High-Performance training centre where the likes of Duncan Scott, Tom team and Angharad Evans hone their formidable skills under the guidance of Great Britain coaches Ben Higson and Brad Hay.

Stirling mates l-r: Tom dean, Duncan Scott and Angharad Evans

Now, the university is launching a specialist performance coaching course in partnership with a range of federations across a spectrum of sports.

Coaches from Scottish Swimming will be joint participants with peers from Scottish Hockey, Triathlon Scotland, Cricket Scotland, Scottish Cycling, Paddle Scotland, Scottish Rugby and the sportscotland Institute of Sport, among others, in the High Performance Coach Developer Programme.

Combining research, reflection and practical application, the programme is designed to enhance the quality of coach development across Scotland's high-performance and pathway systems.

Dr Andrew Mark Gillott, senior lecturer in sport performance coaching at the University of Stirling's Centre for Research and Innovation in Sport (CRIS), said:"It is a privilege to welcome a new group of practitioners who are committed to the support and development of coaches and coaching practice and, ultimately, helping people perform at their best."

By bringing together practitioners from different sports and professional backgrounds, it creates opportunities for shared learning and collaboration.

Director of Sport at sportscotland, Craig Burn, said:"Helping to develop the people and pathways in performance sport is something we are committed to.

"Scotland continues to punch above our weight in performance sport, and that is in no small part down to those working with our athletes.

"The High Performance Coach Developer Programme is a great opportunity for this hugely experienced cohort to take learnings from different sports, and people in different roles, to hopefully apply to their own work.

"That collaboration is crucial in maintaining the skills and expertise we have in the Scotland performance sport workforce."

The Official Statement and Details in Full:

Also in The Vortex:

1 WR - Xu Jiayu - 6ARs, Wave of NRs At China Nationals
Marrit Steenbergen and Sean Niewold Leads The Dutch To Beijing S/S Worlds
Ryan Erisman Gets U.S. S/C Nationals Started With 7:34.84 800 free
Gators Snap Up Brit Ace Matt Richards
Jess Corones Moves On - Swimming's Loss, Football's Gain
Open water: Can You Teach Your Brain To Swim Straight? Seems so ...

In other October Coverage:

VOICE: In a new series, SOS shares, with permission, the wisdom from the book of experience and expertise, as imparted by athletes, coaches and others who've been there and done it.

If you have suggestions or links to examples of swimming voices being used to enrich the sport of swimming, please send a note to: craig.lord@stateofswimming.com

RETURN OF THE INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING LEAGUE