CBS Minnesota's WCCO Sunday Morning recently featured Hammer Head® Swim Caps, a Minnesota-based company that created the world's first patented protective swim cap, in a July 5, 2026 segment exploring the overlooked issue of head injuries in aquatic sports.
The interview with founder Theresa Finn comes after more than a decade of work inspired by two children suffering head injuries during swim practice. Finn questioned why many sports protect the head while swimming does not, leading to a five-year development of a cap designed to reduce head impact while maintaining comfort, fit, and hydrodynamic performance.
During the segment, Finn discussed head injuries across aquatic sports including competitive swimming, open water swimming, triathlon, water polo, artistic swimming, and diving. She noted that while concussion awareness has transformed many sports, head protection in swimming has remained largely unchanged. The segment also highlighted Hammer Head's long-term vision of making head protection an expected part of aquatic sports, similar to bicycle helmets for cycling.
"Hammer Head isn't about replacing one swim cap with another," Finn said. "It's about changing expectations. We hope to create a future where protecting your brain in the water becomes as natural as wearing a helmet on a bicycle—not because someone is forced to, but because it's simply the obvious thing to do."
The company's patented Honeycomb Impact Technology absorbs and disperses impact forces while preserving a competition-ready design. Independent laboratory testing showed the cap reduces impact forces to the top of the head by more than 50% compared with traditional swim caps. Additional testing by Olympian Dr. Gary Hall Sr. found improved speed due to its smooth dome design reducing frontal drag.
"Swimming has advanced tremendously in training, nutrition, goggles, race suits, and technology," Finn said. "Now it's time for the conversation about protecting the one thing every athlete only gets once—their brain."
The WCCO feature follows recent podcast interviews and national parenting publication coverage discussing concussion awareness and injury prevention in aquatic sports. The growing national interest underscores the importance of addressing head safety in swimming, a sport where head injuries have often been underrecognized. For more information, visit https://hammerheadswimcaps.com.
