5.B8 Shannon Keegan

5.B8 Shannon Keegan

From An Open Water Swimmer's Podcast by William Ellis

March 15, 2026 · 30 min · Season 5 · Episode 8

About this episode

In this episode, William Ellis interviews marathon swimmer Shannon Keegan about her experiences with long swims and the mental aspects of swimming as one ages.

(Available to subscribers only until the end of Season 5) This guest is a fellow podcaster, and marathon swimmer who has been undertaking some extremely long challenges… we chat about hallucinating on a 29 hour swim, optimising efficiency as a swimmer to mitigate volume, letting go of the idea of a secret key to completing a long swim, what swimming means to you as you get older and the mental gymnastics of planning bonkers swims. It’s Shannon Keegan!

People in this episode

Host: William Ellis

Guest: Shannon Keegan

Topics covered

  • marathon swimming
  • long challenges
  • mental gymnastics
  • swimming efficiency
  • aging in sports

Keywords

  • marathon swimmer
  • hallucinations
  • long swim
  • swimming efficiency
  • mental planning

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