Katie Grimes

In this episode of Unfiltered Waters, Elizabeth Beisel and Todd Anderson, Katie Hoff's husband, fill in a week before she gives birth, sitting down with Olympic medalist Katie Grimes ahead of the Pan Pacific Championships. She's coming off a national title in the 1500 free, but at Pan Pacs she's skipping that race for the 10K open water, an event she hasn't swum in two years and chose to bring back herself. So why give up your best event for one that takes almost two hours and offers no second chance?

Katie explains the swap: a strong stretch of endurance training made this the year to add the 10K back on, even with a tight turnaround into the 400 IM just 36 hours later. Her taper barely changes, since her UVA coaches know she doesn't need much of one. There's no cool down after a 10K, so she refuels, sleeps, and flushes it out with an easy swim that afternoon. Todd asks how that back to back double gets managed, and Katie walks through the turnaround.

Along the way, the conversation goes places most swim interviews don't: designing her own Jolyn swimsuit line and watching friends raid the sample box in her room, the wildlife she's actually spotted swimming open water, turtles and snakes, no sharks thankfully, and an off day hunting for good shopping in Huntington Beach. She admits her pre race mindset for a two hour open water swim is the opposite of an 800: instead of psyching herself up, she's trying to find her Zen before her mind starts wandering.

Underneath the race talk is a real shift in how Katie relates to her own training. She used to answer every question about her workload with I don't care, and walks through learning to actually ask her coach for more, an extra practice, an extra set, once she trusted what her body needed. She frames it as advice for younger swimmers too: that relationship has to stay open, because what works for you changes once you get to college. It's a lesson that lands differently coming from Elizabeth, who's lived that same transition herself.

Whether you're a swimmer trying to figure out how to actually talk to your coach or someone who's never done a lap but is curious what it takes to swim for two hours straight, this episode delivers. Watch the episode, then head to the comments and let us know: what's one thing you've had to learn to ask your coach for? Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform, and follow us on social media (https://linktr.ee/unfilteredwaters) for clips, bonus content, and updates throughout the week.

Note: this conversation was recorded ahead of the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships, so Katie's answers reflect where her head was heading into the meet, not how the racing actually went.

FOLLOW KATIE GRIMES ON:
Instagram: @_katie.grimes_

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