The Vortex

The Vortex - October 2026: Boxall Drops Aussie GP As ISL All-Star Match Looms On Horizon

The Vortex, our monthly compilation of news, views & links to external coverage of the sport, is available as part of our offer of free content emailed to those who register as 'free' registered readers under subscription. Thanks for your support for our work

by Craig Lord

published October 30, 2026

The Vortex - October 2026: 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Aussie Olympic coach and St Peters Western maestro Dean Boxall has withdrawn from the inaugural Swim GP event in Melbourne, his move going down in media reports Down Under as a result of his focus on the ISL's All-Star Match a month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:

October 28

1 WR, 6ARs, Wave of NRs At China Nationals

China’s national swimming championships in Beijing produced a wave of record-breaking swims from established stars and newcomers alike: one world record, six Asian records and several national records went down. The meet also served as the selection trial for the World Aquatics Short-Course Championships, which Beijing will host December 1-6.

Xu Jiayu was the standout. He broke the world record in the 50m backstroke with a 22.03 blast while leading off his squad's mixed medley relay. That beat South African Pieter Coetze’s mark of 22.09 set recently on World Cup Tour:
Xu Jiayu also lowered his own Asian 100m backstroke record twice, the first in the solo and then while leading Zhejiang to an Asian record of 3:36.00 in the mixed 4x100m medley relay, the split 48.54, a touch inside the career high he clocked three days earlier.

It represents a new flowering for an 'old' star of Chinese swimming - what Xu told the Olympic Channel.

Other highlights from China s/c nationals:

Zhang Yufei set an Asian short-course record of 54.87 seconds in the women’s 100m butterfly, her fourth gold of the event. Her earlier wins came in the 50m butterfly, the 100m medley and the mixed 4x50m freestyle relay, where Jiangsu set a national record. She said Asian records keep falling at nationals because the team’s overall standard has risen.
Zhang Zhanshuo took his third gold with an Asian record of 7:28.61 in the men’s 800m freestyle, after earlier wins in the 400m and 1,500m.

Zhang Yufei:

🇨🇳张雨霏 Zhang Yufei
SCM 100Fly 54.87 AR

FeiFei becomes the first Asian woman to break 55 seconds in the 100m Butterfly🦋🫶🙌 pic.twitter.com/aKOa1bgDCH
— 競泳NEWS (@swimcoverage) October 27, 2026

Zhang Zhanshuo

🇨🇳张展硕 Zhang Zhangshuo
SCM 800Fr 7:28.61 AR

ZZS smashes the Asian Record by a massive 4.15 seconds🔥🔥🔥
Absolutely stunning🤩🤩 https://t.co/1kUqVDC0SJ pic.twitter.com/DD2SJg8ABY
— 競泳NEWS (@swimcoverage) October 27, 2026

In other action:

Fifteen-year-old Hu Qianhe from Hunan won the 200m breaststroke in 2:18.39 in her first short-course meet, after only a month of practice. She broke a 25-year-old national youth record and qualified for the world championships. Seventeen-year-old Sun Mingxia set a national youth record of 56.96 in the 100m backstroke.

More details:

Meanwhile, not far from nationals...

Pooling their knowledge: Olympic champions share life lessons

Ye Shiwen and Wang Shun, both Olympic medley champions, of 2012 and 202one, respectively - each not without controversy attached - spoke to students at Beijing University of Technology this week as part of the Meet the Champions Lecture Series, the South China Morning Posts reports.

In summary: Rather than celebrating their medals, they talked candidly about failure, setbacks and the mental resilience elite sport demands.

Wang, the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist, recalled being teased as “Mr Bronze” because he kept finishing third. He told students that hitting a wall in training is no different from failing an exam or watching a project collapse, and that learning to manage negative emotions is the key to staying on course. Now competing in his thirties, he credited better sports science, a strong support team and refusing to let age define his limits. He likened an athlete’s career to an electrocardiogram, with ups and downs that are entirely normal.

Ye, who won two golds at London 2012, described the deep slump that followed her early success and how hard it was to start again from zero. She said the experience changed how she sees success. She once thought only winning proved her worth, but now believes giving everything without regret is success in itself.

The pair also led a “Champion PE Class.” Ye guided students through a tricky shoulder coordination drill, which drew plenty of laughter.

Both were optimistic about Chinese swimming’s future. Ye praised the depth of young women’s medley swimmers, including rising star Yu Zidi. Wang said the healthy competition within the squad bodes well for a sport that offers more than 30 Olympic golds.

The article in full (Tu Jiayi, China Daily – Hong Kong Edition, 29 October 2026)

Steenbergen and Niewold Leads The Dutch To Beijing S/S Worlds

Marrit Steenbergen and Sean Niewold will lead a 15-strong Dutch team to the World Short Course Swimming Championships in Beijing, December 1-6.

The squad was selected on the strength of performances at Dutch Qualifiers in Rotterdam and, for the likes of Steenbergen and Niewold, efforts on the Silk Road World Cup tour.

The Netherlands Team:

Women

Marrit Steenbergen – 50, 100 and 200 freestyle, 50 and 100 backstroke, 100 and 200 medley
Maaike de Waard – 50 butterfly, 50 and 100 backstroke
Imani de Jong – 200 and 400 freestyle
Milou van Wijk – 50 and 100 freestyle
Tessa Giele – 50 backstroke and 100 medley
Kim Busch – 50 butterfly
Tes Schouten – 200 breaststroke
Valerie van Roon – 50 freestyle
Femke Spiering – 100 butterfly
Yara van Kalmthout – Relay

Men

Caspar Corbeau – 50, 100 and 200 breaststroke
Sean Niewold – 50 and 100 freestyle, 100 medley
Thomas Jansen – 200 and 400 metre medley
Kai van Westering – 200 backstroke
Koen de Groot – 50 breaststroke

Ryan Erisman Gets U.S. S/C Nationals Started With 7:34.84 800 free

Ryan Erisman moved up to all-time No 5 American over 800m freestyle in the 25m pool with a 7mins 34.84 personal best on the first evening of finals at U.S. Nationals at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont, Illinois. The meet serves as selection trials for the World Short-Course Championships in Beijing December 1-6. Erisman won the race by 12 seconds.

The opening night also featured the women's 1500m free, which was topped by Minnesota’s Katie McCarthy, her 16:10.50 inside the B qualification time for the World Aquatics winter showcase in China.

Also in The Vortex:

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