Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Janet Evans and the defending Grand Prix Series champion Missy Franklin headline the list of those competing at the Austin Grand Prix on January 13-15.

Did you know that fat is an essential part of nutrition for the growing athlete? Not only is fat required for normal growth and development, it is an instrumental energy source for exercising children and teens. During exercise, fat is processed (or metabolized) more efficiently than carbohydrate when compared to adults. By mid- to late adolescence, adult patterns of fat metabolism emerge. While children rely more on fat as an energy source during exercise, there is no evidence that increasing fat in the diet has benefits.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a swimming coach in Compton, California named Louis Pecot. His complaint as a coach for over 30+ years in the area was that, despite earlier claims from someone featured on this website, there was swimming in Compton – at least when he was growing up. I interviewed him about his background growing up in South Central LA, as well as future challenges he foresees in the area. Here is Part Two of our interview.

Julia Smit helped key Stanford’s charge back to the top, and she won Olympic silver in the 4×100 free, and bronze in the 4×200 relay in Beijing. She talks about her preparation for 2012, and what amazing twists and turns her life has taken over the years, in this week’s 20 Question Tuesday.

The digital edition of the November-December issue of Splash is now available online and as a mobile app for your iPad and iPhone. Splash spoke with Brad Brockway, head coach of Kingfish Aquatic Club in Waterford, Michigan, about drills and race strategies designed to help train for and navigate the 200 butterfly.

Half of Americans make New Year’s resolutions and the key to success is making your resolutions real and measureable. Swimmers are good at setting training and performance goals, so why not make some nutrition goals that support your training and competition?

Twenty-three years after her first swim lessons, Natalie Coughlin is still crazy about swimming.

The Capital Classic takes place Dec. 16-18 in Greensboro, NC. Watch the live webcast of prelims and finals

The Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool isn’t the only big meet happening this weekend. Another swim meet featuring a slew of current and former National Teamers is on the horizon, and this one is celebrating its 20th anniversary as one of the first-ever swim meets that offered professional opportunities for post-graduate swimmers. The Chesapeake Pro-Am is expecting names like Anthony Ervin, Emily Brunemann, Christine Jennings, Robert Margalis, Ed Moses, David Plummer, Josh Schneider, and Ashley Twichell, among many others.

Dec. 8-10, University of Texas, Austin.