COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Swimming will launch its second episode of “Off the Blocks,” Wednesday, July 11, at noon Mountain Time.

The series follows some of USA Swimming’s top U.S. National Team members as they prepare for the 2018 Phillips 66 National Championships.

Splash Magazine Editor-in-Chief, Jim Rusnak, talks a little bit about what to expect in episode 2:

What’s episode 2 about? How is it different than episode 1?

Rusnak: Episode 1 was about Lilly King and some of the elite swimmers on Indiana Swim Team. We wanted to give a little bit of insight on that elite training environment – how all the swimmers are working toward similar goals, how they feed off each other and support one another.

Episode 2 is a little different in that the main focus was to show how some Olympic champions became the best swimmers in the world, and all the little things they do to stay on top.

Who’s featured, and where was it filmed?

Rusnak: The athletes we’ve got lined up for this episode are Nathan Adrian, Ryan Murphy and Leah Smith. All Olympic gold medalists, all world champions. We filmed them at their teams’ training camps here at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Coming out here to the OTC is often not one of the most exciting things they do – they’re away from home, the training schedule is intense and exhausting, and there’s often not much in the way of entertainment or distractions. But it’s one of those little things they do – one of the sacrifices they make – to be the best. We definitely captured them in the right environment to illustrate that.

Who else will we see?

Rusnak: We got a little Dave Durden in there… Cody Miller makes a repeat appearance with a guest vlog. The U.S. Olympic Committee’s Senior Sport Psychologist Sean McCann offers his insight on recovering mentally from intense training.

What else should we look out for?

Rusnak: Each episode contains a segment called “Elements of Speed,” which contain little tips and hints on how to swim faster. In episode 1, Lilly King and her coaches gave some tips for breaststroke. In this one, Nathan Adrian offers his advice on starts. These segments are targeted specifically to a teenage age group or high school swimmer. Some great advice in here.

How many episodes will there be, and what’s the focus of the next one?

Rusnak: We will have three episodes leading up to Nationals. Then we’ll kind of review how we want to continue.  We will be on location filming episode 3 on Wednesday. If you’re interested in who’s up next, check USA Swimming’s Instagram account on Wednesday.