30th Anniversary Of Top Gun Is Our Excuse To Give Swimmers Nicknames

For anyone that was alive and old enough to not have been diapers during the year 1986 you most likely remember a little movie entitled ‘Top Gun’. Yes, it’s the movie that launched Tom Cruise into mega stardom and made flying fighter jets at mach speeds even that much cooler.

Also memorable from the movie were the myriad of ‘call signs’ or nicknames given to the pilot characters within the film.  We heard names like ‘Iceman’, ‘Goose’, ‘Cougar’ and ‘Maverick’, which are now forever-linked to the movie.

What does this have to do with swimming? Flash forward to today and we’ve hit the 30th anniversary of the iconic film. In my swim nerdy mind, this pop culture milestone made me start thinking of what call signs American swimmers would have if such a naming convention existed in our sport.

Here’s what I came up with, for some notable U.S. swimmers, but leave your own creations in the comments.
Michael Phelps – GOAT

Ryan Lochte – Ice, Ice Baby

Nathan Adrian – Lady Killer

Anthony Ervin – Tat Man

Josh Schneider – Hulk

Missy Franklin – Sunshine

Katie Ledecky – Lane Wrecker

Dana Vollmer – Mission Momma

Madison Kennedy – Tailwind

Tyler Clary – Track Daddy

Natalie Coughlin – Miss Zen

Haley Anderson – Golden Mermaid

Eugene Godsoe – Pianoman

Allison Schmitt – The BFF

Matt Grevers – Jumbo Jet