COACH OF THE YEAR RANDY BENNETT TWO CANADIAN CLUB PROFILES
SwimNews Contents October-November 2008
N. J. Thierry, Editor & Publisher Marco Chiesa, Business Manager Anita Smale, Copy Editor
Feature Writers Lauren Beard, Toronto Nikki Dryden, New York Katharine Dunn, Boston Russ Ewald, Los Angeles Justin Finney, Quebec Karin Helmstaedt, Berlin Jeff Grace, British Columbia Jesse Jacks, British Columbia Craig Lord, England/Germany Adam Sioui, Calgary Cecil Colwin, Special Features SwimNews established in 1974 Published bi-monthly Contents copyright © No portion of this magazine may be reprinted without permission of the publisher.
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CONSECUTIVE NUMBER 304
FEATURES
6 Issues
The Year of the Performance-Enhancing Suits USA Rule-Change Proposal
8 2008 Canadian Coach of the Year Canadian Olympic Coach Randy Bennett
His Road to Ryan Cochrane 's Bronze Medal in Beijing
9 Technique
Breaststroke Warm-up Procedure
The Final Preparation for the Event Is Comparable to a
10 American Personality: Jason Lezak The Unconventional Olympic Hero
12 Olympians
Swimming Legends in Beijing
1 5 Canadian Milestone
Garapick Named to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame In Her Own Words
16 International Personalities Kenya's First Family of Swimming
Jason and David Dunford put Swimming on the Map 20 Internatioal Coaching Personality
Paul Bergen Has Done It All
A Lifetime of Success and Its Lessons 22 Canadian Club Profile
The Toronto Swim Club 24 Colwin on Coaching
Alan Ford Remembers.
First Man to Better 50 Seconds for the 100 Yard Freestyle 26 Canadian Club Profile
Yarmouth Y Whitecaps
Coaching in a 4-lane 20-yard pool 28 International Personality
Butterfly Legend Pablo Morales
His Incredible Career and Thoughts on Butterfly Today
VOLUME 35, NUMBER 5 Craig Lord
Justin Finney
Ritual
Jozsef Nagy
Russ Ewald
Nikki Dryden
Lauren Beard
Nancy Garapick Nikki Dryden
Jeff Grace
Jesse Jacks Cecil Colwin
Lauren Beard
Justin Finney
Cover Hasaan Abdel-Khalik
Marco Chiesa
Jason Lezak
Nancy Garapick
Jason Dunford
Paul Bergen
3 Contents
4 About This Issue
5 Major Competitions Calendar 5 Record Setters
18-19 TOP (Tiny Olympic Prospects)
3 1 TAG (Girls and Boys 10 & U SCM Rankings)
32-33 TAG (Girls and Boys 11-12 SCM Rankings)
34-35 TAG (Girls and Boys 13-14 SCM Rankings)
36-37 TAG (Girls and Boys 15-17 SCM Rankings)
38 Making Waves
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
3
ABOUT THIS ISSU
Nick Thierry
For this last issue of 2008, Craig Lord writes about saving swimming from an unwelcome move to unregulated performance-enhancing suits. It has now become clear that more than one suit has been in use by swimmers since at least USA Trials from late June onward. There being no rule to prevent this, a neoprene suit with added buoyancy used by triathletes was worn under the more-familiar LZR. Close to 100 world records have been established with more to come as we go to print. Craig Lord sums up the situation during this year, with USA Swimming taking a firm stand against the chaos and suggesting rule changes.
Justin Finney writes about Canadian Coach of the Year Randy Bennett, and his journey to Victoria and developing Ryan Cochrane to an Olympic bronze. He also writes about Pablo Morales, who was an idol through Justin's swimming career and one of the all-time greats in the 100 butterfly.
Breaststroke coaching great Jozsef Nagy (UBC in Vancouver) writes about what he's observed with past greats in their warm-ups. Read and learn. We're lucky to have him in Canada!
Behind Michael Phelps' unprecedented eight
golds in Beijing, one gold medal is owed to Jason Lezak, who spoke with Russ Ewald about his Olympic experience. He swam the fastest-ever anchor leg of 46.06 in the 4x100 free. Lezak started behind Alain Bernard (FRA), winner later of the individual 100 free in which Lezak won the bronze, but Lezak caught up and touched ahead by 8/100ths of a second.
Nikki Dryden, who has been in Kenya for a few months, spoke with the Dunfords about raising swimming's profile in a country with a history of great middle-distance runners. She also met many former greats in Beijing while covering the swimming events, including former gold medallists Jenny Thompson, Matt Biondi, Rowdy Gaines, Garry Hall, Misty Hyman, and Janet Evans. They were all there to promote the sport that made them famous. Many paid their own way; others were involved with television.
Nancy Garapick was one the superstars of Canadian swimming during the 1970s. At age 13, she set a long-course world record in April 1975 and went on to win two bronze medals at the 1976 Olympics in backstroke. She was inducted into Canada's Sport Hall of Fame on November 5 in Toronto. Lauren Beard was there and writes about the memorable occasion.
Jeff Grace spoke with Paul Bergen, now retired from coaching and living in Arkansas, about his memorable coaching accomplishments. Bergen truly has done it all in the USA and Canada.
Thirty years ago, we wrote about the swimming clubs in Canada. Much has changed since then, so again we are writing about the Clubs in Canada. In this issue, Jesse Jacks tells the story of the Toronto Swim Club, based at the University of Toronto's 50 m pool, but also using many school pools throughout the city. Lauren Beard tells the story of the Yarmouth Y Whitecaps, located on the southern tip of Nova Scotia. Virginia Smith has coached the team for more than three decades in a 4-lane 20-yard pool. More clubs to come in future issues.
Cecil Colwin tells the story of Alan Ford, the first man to better Weissmuller's 100-yard freestyle record after 16 years, and in 1943, the first to better 50 seconds. The Second World War interrupted his career at Yale, but after serving two years in the US Navy, he returned to training and won silver in the 100 free at the 1958 Olympics. He died at age 84 on November 3- The interviews with Cecil were done prior to Alan's death.
TAG stats are short course and are up-to-date to the end of November. ■
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You might be suprised to know that we offer programs in both English and French here in one of the most beautiful cities in the country. If you would like to learn more information about these programs, visit our website at:
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SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
CALENDAR
INTERNATIONAL 2008
Dec 11-14 European SC, Rijeka, CRO 2009
Jan 8-9 Junior Pan Pacs, Guam
Jan 15-18 Youth Olympic Festival, Sydney, AUS
Jul 2-7 World University Games, Belgrade, SRB
Jul 19-2 FINA Worlds, Rome, ITA
Dec 10-13 European SC, Istanbul, TUR
2010
Apr 7-11 10 FINA Worlds (25 m), Dubai, UAE
Jul European Championships
Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games, IND 2011
Jul 16-31 FINA Worlds, Shanghai, CHN 2012
Apr FINA Worlds (25 m), Istanbul, TUR
Jul-Aug Olympic Games, London, GBR
UNITED STATES 2008
Dec 11-13 Junior Nationals (SCY), Austin, TX
Dec 14 Junior (LCM) Trials, Austin TX 2009
Jan 16-19 Grand Prix, Long Beach, CA (SCY)
Feb 13-16 Grand Prix, Columbia, MO (LCM)
Mar 12-14 Grand Prix, Austin, TX (SCY and LCM)
May 14-17 Grand Prix, Charlotte, NC
May 22-24 Junior Team Competition, Vancouver, BC
Jun 11-14 Grand Prix, Santa Clara, CA
Jul 7-11 USA Nationals, Indianapolis, IN
Aug 4-8 USA Open, Federal Way, WA
Aug 10-14 USA Junior Nationals, Federal Way, WA
Dec 3-5 SC Champs and World Trials, Austin, TX
Dec 6 LC Trials, Austin, TX
Dec 10-12 Junior Nationals (SCY)
CANADA 2009
Jan 8-10 Jan 15-17 Feb 12-14 Feb 12-14 Feb 19-21 Mar 11-14 Mar 15 May 22-24 Jun 18-21 Jul 8-11 Jul 16-18 Aug 6-8
Junior Pan Pacs, Guam Australia Youth Olympic Festival Eastern Championships, Halifax, NS Western Championships, Edmonton, AB CIS University Championships, UBC Spring Nationals (25 m), Toronto East vs West Dual Meet, (LCM) Toronto Mel Zajac Grand Prix, Vancouver Quebec Grand Prix, Montreal Summer Nationals, Montreal Age Group Nationals North American Challenge Cup
RECORD SETTERS
WORLD RECORDS SHORT COURSE
• Men's 50 freestyle: 20.63 Roland Schoeman, RSA, Germiston, 6 Sep 2008. Belters old record of 20.81 Duje Draganja, CRO, Manchester, 11 Apr 2008
• Men's 100 freestyle: 45.69 Alain Bernard, FRA, Angers 7 Dec 2008. Betters old record of 45.83 Stefan Nyslrand, SWE, Berlin 17 Nov 2007
• Men's 200 freestyle: 1:40.83 Paul Biedermann, GER, Berlin 16 Nov 2008. Betters old record of 1:41.10 Ian Thorpe, AUS, Berlin 6 Feb 2000
• Men's 800 freestyle: 7:23.42 Grant Hackett, AUS, Melbourne 20 Jul 2008. Betters old record of 7:25.28 Grant Hackett, AUS, Perth 3 Aug 2001
• Men's 50 backstroke:
23.24 Robert Hurley, AUS, Sydney 26 Oct 2008 23.05 Peter Marshall, USA, Stockholm 12 Nov 2008 22.87 Randall Bal, USA, Berlin 16 Nov 2008 Better old record of 23.27 Thomas Rupprath, GER, Vienna 10 Dec 2004
• Men's 100 backstroke:
49.94 Peter Marshall, USA, Stockholm 11 Nov 2008 49.63 Peter Marshall, USA, Berlin 15 Nov 2008 Better old record of 49.99 Ryan Lochte, USA, Shanghai 9 Apr 2006
• Men's 50 breaststroke:
26.08 Cameron van der Burgh, RSA, Moscow 8 Nov 2008 25.94 Cameron van der Burgh, RSA, Stockholm 11 Nov 2008 Better old record ol 26.17 Oleg Lisogor, UKR, Berlin 21 Jan 2006
• Men's 100 breaststroke: 56.88 Cameron van der Burgh, RSA, Moscow 9 Nov 2008. Betters old record of 57.57 Ed Moses, USA, Stockholm 23 Jan 2002
• Men's 50 butterfly:
22.50 Matt Jaukovic, AUS, Sydney 25 Oct 2008 22.29 Amaury Leveaux, FRA, Angers 6 Dec 2008 Betters old record of 22.60 Kaio Almeida, BRA, Santos 17 Dec 2005
• Women's 200 freestyle: 1:53.18 Corlaie Balmy, FRA, Angers 6 Dec 2008. Betters old record of 1:53.29 Lisbeth Lenton, AUS, Sydney 19 Nov 2005
• Women's 50 fly:
25.31 Therese Alshammar, SWE, Stockholm, 12 Nov 2008 24.99 Marieke Guehrer, AUS, Berlin 16 Nov 2008 Better old record of 25.32 Felicity Galvez, AUS, Manchester 11 Apr 2008
• Women's 400 Ind. medley: 4:25.87 Julia Smit, USA. Etobicoke 28 Nov 2008. Betters old record of 4:26.52 Kirsty Coventry, ZIM, Manchester 9 Apr 2008
CANADIAN SENIOR SHORT COURSE
• Women's 100 breaststroke:
1 06.63 Annamay Pierse, UBC, Calgary 8 Nov 2008 1 :06.23 Annamay Pierse, UBC, Etobicoke 28 Nov 2008 Betters old record of 1:07.12 Annamay Pierse, UBC, Vancouver 21 Feb 2008
• Women's 200 breaststroke: 2:21 69 Annamay Pierse, UBC, Etobicoke Nov 29 2008. Betters old record of 2:23.50 Annamay Pierse, UBC, Vancouver 22 Feb 2008
• Women's 50 butterfly: 26.52 Jennifer Carroll, CAM0, Etobicoke 28 Nov 2008. Betters old record of 26.65 Jennifer Carroll, CAMO, Manchester 10 Apr 2008
• Womens 4x200 free Club team: 7:58 14 Univ. of Calgary SC Etobicoke 30 Nov 2008. Betters old club record of 8:01 .16 University of British Columbia, Vancouver 23 Feb 2008
NATIONAL AGE GROUP SHORT COURSE
• Girls 13-14 4x50 medley: 1 59 84 Etobicoke Swimming, Oct 2008. Betters old record of 2:00.00 Manta SC, 2008
• Girls 13-14 4x50 free: 1:45.78 Etobicoke Swimming, Oct 2008. Betters old record of 1:47 16 Etobicoke Swimming 2008
• Girls 13-14 4x100 free: 3:51.33 Etobicoke Swimming, Oct 2008. Betters old record of 3:53.62 Manta SC, 2008
• Girls 15-17 200 breaststroke: 2:26 29 Ashley McGregor, PCSC, Nov 2008. Betters old record of 2:27.00 Chelsey Salli, L0SC, 2007
• Girls 15-17 100 butterfly: 59.58 Kendra Chernoff, GOLD, Nov 2008. Betters old record of 1:00.45 by Kristin Topham, EPS 1996 and Jennifer Fratesi, ROW 2008
• Boys 10 & under 50 free: 29.27 Tim Zeng, CHENA, Oct 2008. Betters old record of 29.63 Doug Wake, YLSC 1988
• Boys 15-17 100 free: 49.31 Hasaan Abdel-Khalik, ESWIM, Nov 2008. Betters old record of 49.73 Joel Greenshields, UCSC, 2006
• Boys 15-17 200 free: 1:47.47 Hasaan Abdel-Khalik, ESWIM, Nov 2008. Betters old record of 1:47.58 Alex Baumann, LUSC, 1983
• Boys 15-17 400 free: 3:46.76 Hasaan Abdel-Khalik, ESWIM, Nov 2008. Betters old record of 3:47.27 Brian Johns, RAPID, 2000
• Boys 15-17 100 backstroke: 54.24 Matthew Swanston, NEW, Nov 2008. Betters old record of 54.56 Chris Renaud, UCSC, 1993
• Boys 15-17 200 backstroke: 1:55 47 Matthew Swanston, NEW, Nov 2008. Betters oldl record of 1:56.75 Tobias Oriwol, ESWIM 2002
Etobicoke Swimming's 13-14 girls relay record setters Jackie Keire, Tasha Truscott, Brittany MacLean, and Lauren Earp. They bettered 3 short-course and 2 long-course NAG records in October.
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
5
ISSUES
THE YEAR OFTHE PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING SUITS
Craig Lord
FINA's centenary year started with a fanfare for a futuristic suit and ended with 92 new world records on the boob, the all-time world rankings transformed beyond recognition, swimmers and federations wading through tom-up contracts, Nike abandoning the sport, adidas on the verge of going through the same exit door, and no end in sight to the LZR clones now populating the pool.
As 2009 dawns against a backdrop of what can only be called crisis talks between the international federation, national federations, suit makers, coaches, and others, Craig Lord takes a look-back-in-sadness at a centenary year that surely had FINA's founding fathers turning in their graves.
A whirlwind tour
The bodysuit is nothing new. They had similar- looking things back in the days of Henry Taylor and Fanny Durack. Johnny Weissmuller wore a body- and-shorts variety. Wool begat silk, which begat nylon, which begat Lycra, and then adidas created a bodysuit for Ian Thorpe at the tail end of the 1990s — and in his unique garment, the Australian swam into the history books in 2000. In May that year, the Court of Arbitration ruled that FINA was right to exercise its authority to grant approval to the bodysuit. For the next seven years, the genre, in various cuts and colours, took hold of the sport, with adidas, Arena, and Speedo taking the lead in new designs. By the time the World Championships unfolded in Melbourne 2007, Speedo appeared to be gaining an edge with its FS-Pro and a stable of swimmers led by Superfish (Michael Phelps) worthy of selling to the wider world the idea of a shark skin, a fast suit, an artificial skin to swim quicker in.
The week after Melbourne, Superfish, Natalie Coughlin, head coach Mark Schubert, and a fair few others from the USA and Australia teams, drifted down to Canberra for some secret testing of a suit that would come to blow all others out of the water. Imagine how exciting it must have been to know that you would have a technological edge on the world going into Olympic year. Imagine how exciting it must have been for Speedo — and all connected to the testing of a suit that borrowed cutting edge from NASA — to know that you had come upon, by design or default, a piece of equipment that not only looked worthy of a Hollywood science fiction and provided a significant helping hand in the traditional selling points of drag, friction, turbulence, and other aspects associated with efficiency of movement in water, but could also legitimately claim to boost core strength, endurance, body position in the water, and guarantee faster times. Dizzying times.
Crisis lay in waiting
FINA and the world of swimming at large had grown used to hearing the boasts of suit makers who had their eye, naturally enough, on a sexy sales pitch for a lucrative sportswear market. No surprise to hear from federation folk "Oh come on, there's no science, no evidence, it's all hype." A crisis lay in waiting from word go, however. As FINA sat hip-to-hip with Speedo at the bureaucratic table on which hefty contracts were signed and agreements made that put the Britain- based suit maker in the driving seat for Manchester 2008, FINA not only failed — in its ignorance of what wild stallions are capable of once you open the barn door — to look beyond the cash register, but managed to treat Speedo 's rivals unevenly. Fair play is not only appropriate for swimmers. The sense of injustice that came to be felt by many grew exponentially to the tune of tumbling world records in the pool. By the end of March 2008, 18 world records had fallen, all but one to swimmers wearing the LZR. Along the spectrum of companies bewildered and blinded by events, Arena and adidas asked of FINA "How could you let this happen?", TYR sat in the middle knowing that it had also had a fast suit approved in the face of what some of its rivals believed and still believe flies in the face of the spirit of Rule SW 10.7 (no "device" allowed "that may aid his speed, buoyancy or endurance"), while Diana had serious reason to complain.
As testing was underway on the secret LZR, the Italian suit maker submitted for FINA approval a suit that contained "plasticized" polyurethane panels. Whatever the reason for FINA's rejection, the message came back loud and clear: rejected. Such visible additions to suits could clearly aid speed, perhaps buoyancy and endurance too. It was clear then that the suit-making industry would be bound by the spirit of rule SW 10.7. But not for long: with no change to rules, no change in the guidelines issued to suit makers, the LZR got a massive thumbs up. Game on.
There is no need to trawl through the detail of what happened next in spring and summer. We all know that FINA met suit makers at Manchester 2008 and asked them to draw up new guidelines for suits and approval processes with the help of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI); we all know that 89% of Olympic medals went to LZR- clad swimmers; we know that the world rankings were transfigured; we all know that having more than SO of the all-time best swimmers ever on 100 m backstroke for women stem from a single year, including the best 15 times ever swum, had never been seen before. The patterns of history had sailed over the horizon out of view, and the sport would never be the same again.
More approvals without any science
Having reached that conclusion, settled on it as something to celebrate, and having keenly clapped
every pioneering performance at the Water Cube. FINA (which includes national federations who earn money from suit makers) moved in an all-too familiar fashion: great show, let's have more. Even as Nike walked through the door marked "Exit," FINA continued to approve new brands, new bodysuits, new material combinations without a single reference to an independent laboratory, without a single strand of scientific data checked, without federations knowing the true nature of what was now sitting on its swimmers' skins.
Now at the end of a year in which it has proved impossible for swimming to catch its breath, we learn from senior industry sources that adidas may follow Nike's flight from competitive swimming and the race-suit market. The "may" depends on one critical factor: the sport must act swiftly to put in place a "fair and professional" set of rules and approval processes that would "prevent further damage to a leading Olympic sport now in serious danger of losing its potential to move up to a much higher financial league." That is the message bleeding from adidas via leading experts linked to the company.
In the wake of SwimNews revelations that a call by USA Swimming to ban high-tech bodysuits from international waters coincides with the imminent arrival of the "doping suit" in a sport that has no rules in place to prevent the use of garments capable of direct interaction with the nervous system, a senior source with ties to the organization that has been granted responsibility to sort out the "suit chaos" by FINA, the international swimming federation, claims that swimming's financial future hangs in the balance. He said: "Nike is gone. Adidas could well be next. They're not happy at all about the way swimming has conducted itself."
Athlete-sponsor relationship endangered
"Traditional relationships between sponsors and athletes have been torn apart because of the way FINA allowed Speedo LZR to do what rivals thought would never be allowed. The sport has a suit that boosts performance like never before. That was never allowed before but there's been no change in rules. People have been asking all year — 'Why did FINA let this horse bolt?' There has been no answer from FINA. The money seems to be a Chasing; money seems to be the answer but there's a long-term price to pay for short-term decisions. The exit of the two biggest players in the business would deal swimming a savage blow in terms of its ability to compete for big money in the global sports market."
One man keen to avoid that is Robbert de Kock, WFSGI Secretary General. He states the industry position clearly: "It is in our commercial interest and the interests of swimming's financial future to find a way to keep development potential open for suits. There is a marriage of swimming and swimsuits. Those two things are inseparable. We have to find the right solutions together." ViTSGI and 10 suit makers met in Lausanne in June to thrash out proposals on rule changes and approval processes. Those proposals have now been submitted to FINA lawyers. Kock
6
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
recognizes the need to set limits on development, stating: "And health-damage issues, any integrations that could cause harm, should be eliminated, of course."
WFSGI's board includes representatives from three of the most wounded parties in the LZR affair: Nike, adidas, and Mizuno. Nike walked away in the wake of Beijing. Pity, given the valuable support it lent not only to elite athletes such as Pieter van den Hoogenband and Cullen Jones, but also to youth and minority development programs such as those fronted by Jones in the US. Both Nike and adidas are able to protect themselves from exposure to harm by withdrawing to their core, massive markets. Why would they wish to be associated with a race lost to Speedo in a sport that failed to offer a level playing field? If adidas perceives that it cannot market its goods to swimmers in Germany, then it will surely have no reason to stay in the water. Should things pan out like that, FINA, while celebrating revenues of more than $4 million from Speedo, Arena, and other kit sponsors and suit makers in the current cycle, would wave goodbye to players who enjoy revenues that run not to millions but billions of dollars.
As for Mizuno, it was one of three Japanese brands contracted to supply equipment to the national team until June. But double Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima protested in the most public way possible: by breaking world records while wearing the LZR and then calling on his federation to rip up its contracts to give Japanese swimmers "a fair deal." The federation obliged. Arena, the Italian suit maker, lost world champion Filippo Magnini, a man who started 2008 as a favourite for the Olympic 100 m freestyle crown but failed to make the final in Beijing in an LZR, so disturbed had his preparation been by the suit saga. In the US, TYR, TYR Sport, which spent three years and several million dollars developing its Tracer Rise suit, filed an antitrust lawsuit in California on May 12 that accused Speedo, USA Swimming, and national team director Mark Schubert — who said swimmers had a "black- and-white decision: the money or the medal" — of conspiring to block competition from TYR and other manufacturers.
Buoyancy object of much debate
The tunnoil in swimming has hardly been eased by the arrival (with FINA approval) of a range of bodysuit brands that were unknown to the sport just six months ago. Blueseventy has entered the race- suit market with a wetsuit lookalike that has buoyed swimmers to five world records in the past month. Adapted from the world of triathlon, the garment contains neoprene. Experts say that the suit is likely to be a buoyancy aid at a thickness of 0.3 mm when worn by a 50 kg athlete but not when worn by a 90 kg man. There is no distinction in the rule book, while buoyancy remains the subject of much debate.
What is more certain is that many are looking at the Blueseventy and asking: "How the hell did that get approved?" In correspondence seen by SwimNews, leading European coaches have floated the idea of pressing LEN and FINA (same thing, some might say) to ban the Blueseventy in time for the European short-course championships in December. A far more likely outcome? The tally of world records set in FINA's centenary year will push the 100 mark.
Amid the exchanges between coaches is an example of two young breaststroke specialists who wiped more than a second off their best times over 50 m in a Blueseventy and were then put to the test
USA RULE-CHANGE PROPOSAL
Further to SwimNews breaking the news that USA Swimming is pressing FINA to ban the bodysuit, here are the specifics of the American federation's rule-change proposals as agreed to at its latest board meeting just a week ago (proposed additional wording in bold): GR 5 Swimwear GR 5.3
In swimming competitions the competitor must wear only one swimsuit in one or two pieces which shall not [REMOVE: extend beyond the ankles, the wrists and the neck] cover the neck, extend past the shoulder, nor past
the knee. No additional items, like arm bands or leg bands shall be regarded as parts of a swimsuit. GR5.6
The manufacturers must ensure that the approved new swimsuit will be available for all competitors for 12 months prior to the Olympic Games.
SW 10 The Race SW 10.7
No swimmer shall be permitted to use or wear any device or swimsuit that may aid his speed, buoyancy or endurance during a competition (such as webbed gloves, flippers, fins, etc.) Goggles may be worn. An independent agency will utilize established globally recognized scientific testing procedures to determine compliance.
approval platforms — buoyancy — they told FINA to think again: "It is very difficult to measure buoyancy in a proper/scientifically correct way"; "No idea. . . In our opinion it is not necessary to test the buoyancy"; "No idea so far"; "Experts believe thickness of material does not affect buoyancy." The answer, some believe, is the "key test," a process that draws howls of laughter from some in the scientific community.
President of USA Swimming Jim Wood has now written to FINA congratulating the international federation's commitment to consult the key parties to the suits debate in January and February, as detailed in the news broken by SwimNews during the final round of the World Cup in Berlin.
in a "standard" suit a week later. Both were a second slower. "We did not expected such results. Normally, they should be maybe 0.2-0.3 seconds faster than (previous best)... what happened was beyond our expectations." The swimmers bought the suit just before wearing it in a race for the first time and state in the exchange: it "changed our body position and significantly increased buoyancy. It was just different swimming, different swimming technique..." One expert told SwimNews that the Blueseventy requires a change in technique because of its weLsuit build. A coaching nightmare.
"This is scary, dangerous stuff. The likes of Speedo, adidas, and Arena have been working on products that support the body's core strength. The Blueseventy works in another way. It's a flotation aid, in our opinion," said a source close to a rival suit maker.
In November, FINA announced that it would meet suit makers in February, though suit makers had yet to be informed as we went to print. The meeting will not be an easy one: when 10 suit makers were asked to provide FINA with a steer on one of its core suit-
Flawed testing
The "key test" runs as follows: the suit is completely immersed and soaked in water for 30 minutes; it is then weighted down on the bottom of the pool for 30 minutes and all of the air bubbles removed; a weight of one house key (or 5 Swiss Francs) is placed on the suit; if the suit lifts the key off the bottom of the pool, it fails the buoyancy test. One expert, who has spent more than 30 years dealing with issues of buoyancy and human mechanics in water, scoffed: "To really conduct a test for buoyancy of modern high-tech fabrics, you would need to do so on a live human body. Density, mass, shape, weight of the person all play a part. It is almost meaningless to test in that [key] way if what you are seeking to find out is whether performance is enhanced. It depends on the individual."
What will not depend on the individual is a suit that interacts with the human nervous system and enhances performance to levels that many in the sport simply do not want to see. And where the individual's natural physique — honed through smart and hard work — was once key, the new genre of suits alter the natural playing field so that some with a poor body position in water and poor natural buoyancy and poor core strength find themselves on a par with the athlete who, under other circumstances, would be a class apart. It is for those reasons that USA Swimming proposed a fabric restriction to above the knee and nothing more than a shoulder strap. Swimming does not need a bodysuit to provide a great show. It doesn't even need 90 world records in one year. It does need core values and a framework that preserves the purity of the sport to as great a degree as possible.
Kock and company aim to provide clarity. It will not be easy. They are keen to engage in dialogue with coaches and other players on the deck who, like the suit makers themselves and the federations that feed off them, earn their daily bread working with swimmers — from children to senior world- class athletes. Those various worlds have a natural symbiotic relationship. In 2008, it was as if a new predator had arrived in the pond intent on disturbing the balance of a finely tuned eco-system. By March, when the FINA Bureau next gathers in the aquatic chamber, those who claim to govern the sport must place the suits issue — and not the politics of an all- consuming, unseemly presidential race and the power to be gained from it — at the very top of the agenda. The very survival of swimming as a sport to be taken seriously depends on it. ■
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
7
2008 CANADIAN COACH OF THE YEAR
CANADIAN OLYMPIC COACH RANDY BENNETT
His Road to Ryan Cochrane's Bronze Medal in Beijing
Justin Finney
As swimmers and coaches, we are always interested in knowing what the secret recipe is for Olympic medal success. Some of us are convinced that there is some magical training plan, technique, or philosophy that we can use to guide our swimmers and/or coaches toward the ultimate swimming goal. However, for homegrown Canadian Olympic Coach Randy Bennett, his road to the Olympic podium is one that many coaches are living every day on pool decks around the world.
"I was never really a competitive swimmer," said Bennett. "My entry point to coaching swimming was in 1982. 1 was 17 years old and was hired as a lifeguard in Fort MacMurray, Alberta. Once I had arrived, I was approached by Don Wilson, who was the Head Coach of the Fort MacMurray Swim Club at the time. He wanted me to coach his 10 & Under squad. At that time, competitive swimming in Canada was in its heyday. We had Alex Baumann, Anne Ottenbrite, and Victor Davis leading our country in the pool. Alberta was a hotbed of international swimming with Dave Johnson leading the Edmonton Keyano Swim Club and Derryk Snelling at the University of Calgary. We were also all living the glory days of Don Talbot's Thunder Bay Thunderbolts international successes through swimmers like Graham Smith and Bill Sawchuk, which is still a major influence on me to this day. Needless to say, I accepted the job."
Between 1982 and 1986, Bennett spent four years in Fort MacMurray, Alberta coaching up-and-coming swimmers such as Mark Versfeld, Jenny Button, and Shawn Button. It wasn't long after that Bennett was on the move to another coaching opportunity. "In 1986, I was hired as an Age Group Coach by Dennis Pursley at the Olympian Swim Club in Edmonton, Alberta," said Bennett. "I spent a year with Dennis all the while continuing my education towards a teaching degree."
Two years in Edmonton
In 1987, Bennett again caught the eye of another Head Coach in Dave Johnson at the Edmonton Keyano Swim Club. "When I made the move to Edmonton Keyano, the club was at its peak," said Bennett. "Dave Johnson had swimmers such as Harry Taylor, Chris Bowie, Scott Flowers, and Keltie Duggan that were all at the international level. My first real education into and perception of distance swimming came from watching swimmers like Taylor and Bowie in Edmonton who were Canadian National Champions and world ranked at that time. In hindsight, I did a lot of growing as a technical coach through my two years at Edmonton."
Two years in Port Alberni
In 1989, Bennett felt that he was ready to captain his
Randy Bennett
own ship and it was time for another coaching move. "In 1989, 1 felt that it was time for me to put my skills and ideas that I have accumulated over the last seven years to work," said Bennett. "I left the Edmonton Keyano Swim Club for my first Head Coaching position with the Tsunami Port Alberni Swim Club on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. They were originally part of the Island Swim Club Association in Victoria, British Columbia at that time, which is kind of nostalgic for me as I am now the Head Coach of Island Swimming. I spent two years honing my skills as a Head Coach in Port Alberni, and learned a lot about managing and running my own club."
The move to Windsor
From Port Alberni, BC, Bennett decided to put his Head Coaching skills to the test across the country. "Port Alberni was a great experience but I wanted to get out of my comfort zone," said Bennett. "In the fall of 1991 1 accepted the Head Coaching position with the Windsor Aquatic Club in Windsor, Ontario. Windsor was a real wake-up call and learning experience for me as a Head Coach. Even though I had the "coaching swimming" aspect of the job well under control, I realized that I didn't have the skill set to run the business side of a swim club, which is expected of a head coach. Although I was able to put distance swimmer Mike McWha on his first Canadian Junior National Team during my time in Windsor, I left in the spring of 1993 discouraged and felt that I was done with coaching forever. I returned to Port Alberni, BC, and started working for a friend's construction company building houses."
Nine years with UBCD
It was in June of 1993 that Bennett got the call that would put him back on the deck at one of the most powerful clubs in Canada. "In the summer of 1993. 1 got a call from Tom Johnson, who was the Head Coach at the University of British Columbia Dolphins Swim Club (UBCD)," said Bennett. "Tom was looking for a Senior Assistant Coach, and I felt that it was time for me to return to the deck and do what I do best." Bennett spent the next nine years at UBCD building a program that was unbeatable on the Canadian national swimming scene. "I had a great run at UBCD assisting Tom in building a swimming dynasty in Vancouver," said Bennett. "I was fortunate enough to have been able to work with international-level swimmers and through our work together, gave me some amazing experiences as a coach on the Canadian National Swim Team." From 1998 to 2002, Bennett was a coach on
various Canadian National Teams including the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the 1999 Pan Pacific Games in Sydney, Australia, the 1999 World Student Games in Palma de Majorca, Spain, the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia, and the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. Bennett had the opportunity to work with a stable of swimmers over those years including such notables as Mike Mintenko, Jake Steele, Mariane Limpert, and Tim Peterson and Matt Huang who got Bennett selected to the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Canadian coaching staff.
The move to Victoria and Island Swimming
In 2002, Bennett was offered an opportunity to captain his own ship once again. "In the fall of 2002, 1 was approached by Island Swimming with the opportunity to run their program as their new Head Coach," said Bennett. "Even though it was hard to leave UBCD, I was a little older and a lot wiser, and I accepted the challenge. Before my arrival in Victoria, the club had split and the majority of the senior swimmers had g left the club. The expectation that I had I going in was a building process from the I board and club perspective. Once that I was established, our main goal was to I retain swimmers. We instilled a long- I term development plan that focused I solely on retention. With a population I of 500,000 people in Victoria, everybody PP swims, so getting swimmers in the door \ was not the problem; it was retention that
was the goal. As our numbers increased, so did our development on the business side of the club. This allowed us to start focusing more on the High Performance and Senior National aspects of our club."
When Bennett arrived in Victoria, he had one Senior National qualifier and 180 swimmers in the club. Six short years later, Bennett has over 25 Senior National qualifiers, 470 registered competitive swimmers (not including a non-competitive grade-school swim program of over 500 swimmers), and an Olympic bronze medallist from the recent Beijing Games in homegrown distance superstar Ryan Cochrane. When asked about what he would attribute most of his success to on the club and international scene, Bennett had this to offer. "I had a tremendous amount of help along the way from many coaches in Canada and around the world," said Bennett. "The one thing that swimming coaches in Canada are not good at is accepting help, with the reason being that they may lose or be given less credit for their swimmer's performance. 1 have learned to embrace that help, and have been fortunate to have had that wealth of knowledge throughout my career from my peers around the world, including coaches such as Don Talbot, Dennis Cottrell, and Dave and Tom Johnson, to name a few. If we learn to accept as coaches that the opinions of odier professionals such as ourselves are a sign of strength and not a sign of weakness, then our potential as coaches is limitless and so will be that of our clubs and swimmers." ■
8
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
TECHNIQUE
BREASTSTROKE WARM-UP PROCEDURE
The final preparation for the event is comparable to a ritual
Jozsef Nagy
The development of training methods and other technical supplements, like better pools and better swimming suits, have led to faster results. Developing pre-meet protocols would be expected to do this as well.
Many people have already written about the necessity and physiological impact of warm-up. We can agree on two important features of warm-up: Swimmers need to warm up to prevent injury and achieve their best results. Naturally, these two topics would deserve a complete book, so they are only mentioned here in this article.
The warm-up itself must be tailored to the individual swimmer based on the swimmer's personality, style, length of distance swum, and physical and mental condition at that moment.
In age-group swimming, the swimmer depends on the experience and knowledge of the coach (who knows better) to determine the appropriate warm-up. However, over time, swimmers should use the knowledge they have been taught earlier to experiment with different procedures and discover which method results in the most effective warm-up for them.
In my experience, far too many swimmers and coaches don't understand and/or don't know for how long they should warm up and how long before a race the swimmer should start their preparation. Both swimmer and coach must work on having the swimmer's own warm-up procedure at an early stage. This procedure must be very conscious and considered very carefully; swimmer and coach should be ready to adjust it any time. However, the reason for the adjustment cannot be simply because of how the athlete swam in a meet after a particular warm-up, since the performance of a swimmer in a race is the result of the long-time work that had
Warm Up or Cool Down?
When the weather heats up, many of us head to the pool to get our overheated bodies cooled down. Therefore, the sight of competitive swimmers sitting around a pool deck on a hot July afternoon wearing gloves, caps, socks, and a parka after having completed a full warm up seems ludicrous! But it is essential in keeping the body warm.
Later, just before their heats or finals, these competitors very often return to the pool with their kept-warm bodies to swim some easy laps with the intention of warming up again.
In my opinion, physiologically, this second dip into the chilled waters is absolutely wrong. If you compare the recreational swimmer jumping in to cool off on a hot day with the competitive swimmer
been done before the meet. The warm-up "only warms up the engine" for the race.
I had the chance to speak personally with the four world-class swimmers below, and they provided the information regarding the warm-up procedures they used to achieve their best results:
Mike Barrowman: Olympic champion, world champion, and former world record holder
Sergio Lopez: Olympic bronze medallist and former European record holder
Karoly Guttler: Olympic silver medallist, world silver medallist, former world record holder
Ed Moses: Olympic gold medallist, former world record holder, and world champion gold medallist in the medley relays
The final preparation for the event is comparable to a ritual. This ritual begins as the swimmer steps onto the deck and finishes as we listen to the starting signal. These four swimmers had been doing the same warm-up procedure for years with minimal changes. These minor changes depended only on their actual condition and feelings.
The following table shows the pre-event preparation order and countdown (in minutes) for each swimmer from beginning warm-up until the race start (time zero). Numbers are in minutes before the actual event or race starts.
Barrowman Lopez Guttler Moses
|
110 |
110 |
120 |
n/a |
|
95 |
95 |
105 |
n/a |
|
90 |
90 |
95 |
60 |
|
55 |
55 |
60 |
30 |
|
35 |
28 |
45 |
n/a |
|
28 |
23 |
25 |
n/a |
|
20 |
20 |
15 |
n/a |
|
15 |
15 |
10 |
n/a |
|
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
The following are the actual swimming warm- ups for the four swimmers:
jumping in the second time to re-warm-up, there is no difference between them physiologically. Both will emerge from the pool cooler than before entering. This makes no sense before a heat or final.
Swimming easy laps in the cool water with a warm body does not function as a warm-up. This practice probably began as an easy way for coaches to calm down nervous swimmers. However, at the moment of immersion, all the work that the gloves, caps, socks, and parka have done is lost. When the body senses this temperature drop of nearly 20 degrees, the blood quickly races from the extremities to the mid-section of the body as a survival instinct. With the warm blood gone from the hands and feet, much of the crucial feel for the water goes as well. Additionally, swimmers usually do not change out of their wet swimsuits, and thus are sitting and
Barrowman - for 200 m Breaststroke
400 m Freestyle 200 m Breast kick
50 m Butterfly (right arm pull, left arm pull, two arm pull)
50 m Backstroke
50 m Breast pull, head up
50 m Breast pull, 4 under water and 4 regular
50 m Breast 3 kick, 1 pull
50 m Breast 2 kick, 1 pull
50 m Breast 3 kick, 1 pull fast
50 m Breast kick, first half fast
50 m Breast pull, first half fast
100 m: 50 Butterfly, 50 Back, last 10 m all out
2x50 Breast pull with technique, the first 4-5 pull 100%
2x50 Breast with technique, first 4-5 pull 100%
50 m easy backstroke
50 m Breast fast, first 40 m under water no air 100 easy Freestyle Total: 1600 m
Lopez - for 200 m Breaststroke
200 m Freestyle
100 m Breast kick
200 mIM- change in 25
100 m Breast - 25 kick without board - 25 pull
2x50 Breast kick on 1 minute 80% power
2x50 Breast pull on 1 minute 80% power
50 m Breast 3 kick -1 pull
50 m Breast 2 kick -1 pull
2x50 Freestyle on 1 minute 80% power
100 easy
2x25 Breast pull with technique, first 3-4 temps 100% dive 2x25 Breast with technique, first 3-4 temps 100% dive 200 warm down, with turn and finish practice. Total: 1300 m
Guttler - for 200 m Breaststroke
200 m IM
200 m Freestyle, breath on every 5th 100 m Breast kick
4x50 m Breast kick on 1 minute, 90-95% power 100 m Breast pull
4x50 m Breast pull on 1 minute, 90-95% power 100 m Breast
4x50 Breasl speed, like the 200 m breast's speed on 1 :30 with dive warm down, start turns practice Total: 1500 m
Moses - for 100 m Breaststroke
400 m choice warm-up 200 m Breast kick
100 m Breasl kick (drills, single leg, vertical) Do drill Breast:
4x50 m 15 fast kick and then loosen until 50 m 15 fast under water breast then loosen until 50 m Do build: 3x25 breast fast 100 easy Total: 1300 M
I am aware that these examples do not explain exactly what to do in your warm-up procedure. However, the examples given above for these world-class swimmers could be a good starting point in your thinking. ■
waiting for their heat or finals with wet hair and body. As the water evaporates from the body into the air, the body's own heat is used as the fuel for this process. Very quickly, their bodies and muscles are cooled down below the temperature held previous to this second swim.
Therefore, immediately before a heat or final, a much better alternative is to stay out of the pool altogether, keep the body warm, and perform a dry- land "second warm-up" to prepare the muscles for the race.
The only acceptable condition for a swimmer to get a "second water warm-up" is when the swimmer is extremely nervous. If getting in the water right before a race calms the swimmer down, then that is the only excuse to have this "second water warm-up." ■
Arrival at the pool Dry-land warm up Water warm up Changing and rest Massage and rub-down Concentration Entree room
Dry-land warm-up and stretch Parade and introduction
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
9
AMERICAN PERSONALITY
THE UNCONVENTIONAL OLYMPIC HERO
Jason Lezak was old at 32, trained on his own with little daily totals, yet swam the greatest free relay leg of all time
Russ Ewald
When Dave Salo left the Irvine (California) Novaquatics to become the head coach at the University of Southern California in April of 2006, U.S. Olympic star Jason Lezak didn't follow his long-time mentor to downtown Los Angeles.
"I wasn't in the mood to move," Lezak says. "I loved where I live and didn't want to commute downtown on a daily basis."
Nor did he stay a member of his home club where he had trained for 25 years.
"I was 30, too old and grumpy to train with a group anymore," he quips. "I learned so much over the years with a coach that I figured I would be able to do it myself. The hardest part is the motivation of getting there and doing it. Knowing what you have to do and doing it is a completely different story."
Salo, who had coached Lezak since he was 15, didn't try to change his mind.
"I thought it was the best thing for him because it required him to be responsible for himself," says Salo.
Formative years
Lezak was a late-bloomer as a swimmer. After being a hotshot at age 9 and 10, he didn't grow like his competitors, and was small and skinny for a swimmer. He ended up going to the University of California, Santa Barbara, because none of the
college swimming powers recruited him.
"To be honest, he was a pain during his high- school days," says Salo. "He didn't care about technique. I would say 'I want eight 50s all out on two minutes.' I might get two fast ones. It was how can I get him to work in the pool. He loved the weight room."
At Santa Barbara, Lezak experienced a growth spurt and built himself up in the weight room. He started college at 6 foot 3 and 160 pounds, and put on 40 pounds there while developing into a national contender in the sprints. As a junior, he placed fifth in the 50 and sixth in the 100 free each of his final two years. After his senior year, he won the 100 free at the 1999 U.S. summer Nationals and made the 2000 Olympics his priority. He moved back to live with my parents and got a small swimwear contract and stipend from USA Swimming for enough money to survive financially.
Turning pro after relay gold
"I wasn't thinking past that one year," says Lezak.
The sacrifice paid off with a gold medal at the Sydney Games in the 400 medley relay as a prelim participant and a bittersweet silver in the 400 free relay where the U.S. team lost for the first time at an Olympics. Lezak came back from Australia confident he could make the team in the sprints in four years and ready to make swimming his profession.
"I knew I could swim faster and realized I could make a living at it," says Lezak. "I got a swimwear
Lezak about to anchor the 4x100 free in Beijing
Patrick B Kraemer
contract and bonuses for making certain meets and doing well at those meets and speaking at swim clinics. As long as I was having fun, there was no reason to do anything else."
But the 2004 Olympic Games were not fun for him. Lezak went into Athens with the world- leading time of 48. 17 in the 100 free after setting an American record at the U.S. Trials. He also ranked third in the 50 at 21.98. He didn't medal in either, though, taking it too easy in his 100 free heat to finish 21st in 49.87 and winding up fifth in the 50 (22.10). Furthermore, Lezak anchored the 4x100 free relay that lost again. This time the Americans were relegated to the bronze medal behind South Africa and The Netherlands. He did collect a gold as the anchor of the world record-setting medley relay.
Training on his own
When Lezak started training on his own, he didn't need a coach or training partners to push him. The memory of the Olympic defeats in the 400 free relay and failure in the 100 free was a huge motivating factor. He went out to the Irvine pool at 11:30 a.m. five days a week during lap swimming hours to put in his lonely workout. The first year he experimented a lot to figure out how many days to swim, how many days to do dryland work, how long for recovery, how many days to do speed workouts, how many lactate sets a week, fine tuning the sets to find out what worked best. He settled on five days a week in the pool, taking Wednesdays and Sunday off for recover)'. He swam only 4,000 metres a day.
"Most people didn't think my daily total was enough," Lezak says. "But that's what I need to do to swim fast. There are a lot of 100 freestyle competitors who will do twice as much or even more than that, so there are a lot of different ways to have it work.
"The one thing Dave (Salo) does more than most coaches is to try to get you to swim race pace in practice. Most swimmers don't want to do that, myself included. It is very difficult to get the mindset to put everything out there at race pace in practice as much as he wants it. That is what I have taken from him. You have to get up to speed in practice and swim fast.
"I was very motivated to get up and do a fast time in mock race situations myself. I don't need someone there to push me. It is a better situation when you have eight guys in a race. For me, I am driven and have my goals. Whether there is someone in another lane or not, I am going to work hard to achieve those."
When he wanted to test himself, Lezak recruited his wife Danielle, a former Pan American Games bronze medallist in the 4x100 medley relay for Mexico and now a nurse, to time him and do his lactate testing at the pool.
Lezak competed at meets for Rose Bowl Aquatics, coached by longtime friend Jeff Julian and one of his two sponsors along with Nike. Julian filmed him
10
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
during his races and would analyze his stroke afterward at the hotel.
"We made some adjustment to his stroke," says Julian. "Jason had a tendency to change his breathing pattern when he got tired. And he would get too excited at the beginning of a race and not be able to finish well."
Lezak gave back to the Rose Bowl club for its sponsorship, driving to Pasadena once a month to give club members a chance to train with an Olympian. At meets, he would swim on the team's relays.
"That was not important to him but big for us," says Julian.
Strength training
Important to Lezak was his twice- weekly strength training sessions with Rick Stassi, a strength and conditioning coach who has worked with the swimmer the last eight years. Stassi focuses on endurance with high repetitions and super sets, going through the sets fast.
"The endurance type of strength training was to get me through the end of the race," says Lezak, "so you have to push yourself to that lactate. Once you hit that lactate wall, you still want to push yourself more. Doing a lot of repetitions at high speed is to try and mimic what you're doing in the pool as opposed to short lifts of high weights."
Among his exercises, he worked out with 540 pounds on the leg press machine as a warm-up and did sets of 15 for lat pull downs at 190 pounds.
"I have seen all the swimmers on the US team and there is no one that can touch him strength- wise," says Stassi.
Lezak proved that in Beijing.
Fastest-ever anchor leg
Nobody thought he had a chance when he dove into the water on the anchor leg of the 4x100 freestyle relay, a half-body-length behind France's Alain Bernard, the world record holder for the 100 freestyle.
"I was just trying to beat the guy next to me, and for most of the race I didn't think it was possible," recalls Lezak. "It wasn't until the end of the race I got an extra surge. The pain and tired feeling went away. I was able to push harder. It was a special feeling.
"There were a lot of situations like that in the past where you don't have anything left and can't catch up. But, for some reason on that day, there was a lot left."
Lezak trailed Bernard by 59/100 of a second at the beginning of the anchor leg.
"He took off on me the first 50 and gained 3/1 0s more on me by the turn," recalls Lezak. "He went
QUICK FACTS LEZAK Jason, USA
Birthdate 12 NOV 1975
Place of birth Bellflower, CA
Height / Weight 6 ft 4, 1 93 cm / 21 5 lb, 97.5 kg Hometown Irvine, CA
Education Irvine HS '94 / Cal Santa Barbara '99 Represents Rose Bowl Aquatics
Coach Jeff Julian
LC World Records 4x100 medley
3:33.48 United States Yokohama, 29 Aug 2002 3:31 .54 United States Barcelona, 27 Jul 2003
3:30.68 United States Athens, 21 Aug 2004
3:29.34 United States Beijing, 1 7 Aug 2008
4x100 free relay
3:12.46 United States Victoria, 19 Aug 2006
3:08.24 United States Beijing, 1 1 Aug 2008
46.06 fastest-ever anchor leg LC International
2008 Olympics 3rd 100 free, 1st 4x100 FR, 1st 4x100 MR 2007 Worlds 1st 4x1 00 free
2006 Pan Pacifies 2nd 100 free, 1st 4x100 FR, 1st 4x100 MR
2005 Worlds 1st 4x100 FR, 1st 4x100 MR 2004 Olympics 1st 4x100 MR, 3rd 4x100 FR
2003 Worlds 4th 1 00 free, 2nd 4x1 00 FR, 1 st 4x1 00 MR 2000 Olympics 1st 4x100 MR, 2nd 4x100FR SC International
2006 Worlds 2nd 100 free, 1st 4x100 FR, 1st 4x100 MR LC Progression (World Ranking)
|
Year, Age |
50 Free |
100 Free |
|
2008, 32 |
(19) 21.98 |
(5) 47.58 |
|
2007, 31 |
(20) 22.31 |
(8) 48.51 |
|
2006, 30 |
(11)22.22 |
(4) 48.63 |
|
2005, 29 |
(13) 22.23 |
(5) 48.74 |
|
2004, 28 |
(3) 21.98 |
(tie 1)48.17 |
|
2003, 27 |
(2) 22.14 |
(5) 48.78 |
|
2002, 26 |
(1)22.00 |
(4) 48.89 |
|
2001,25 |
(15) 22.35 |
(9) 49.26 |
|
2000, 24 |
(13)22.30 |
(10) 49.15 |
|
1999,23 |
(19) 22.64 |
(7) 49.34 |
|
1998, 22 |
(15) 22.62 |
(13) 49.93 |
|
1997, 21 |
(29) 23.00 |
(30) 50.47 |
|
1996, 20 |
(75) 23.23 |
(115) 51.33 |
|
1995,19 |
(90) 23.37 |
out faster than anyone can imagine swimming the first 50 of a 100. 1 wasn't holding back. I was giving it everything I had. That was part of the reason I had some doubts. I was thinking, 'Wow, I am giving it everything I have and this guy is pulling away. There is no way I can catch him.' Obviously, you have to get rid of those thoughts because you are in the Olympic Games, and you're not going to give up. I was able to stay mentally focused and keep going, and had the extra strength the last 50."
Plans to continue
The fact Michael Phelps swam on that relay made Lezak's stunning rally in the last 25 to touch out Bernard ever so much more dramatic. With all the attention on Phelps' quest for a record- setting eight gold medals in Beijing — that relay being his second race — Patrick b Kraemer several journalists wrote that Lezak didn't get the proper credit for his achievement that included a fastest-ever split of 46.06, the best by an enormous 64/100s of a second.
"Michael got the attention because he deserved it," says Lezak about his teammate. "He did something nobody else had done before. He actually helped all of us. We got so much attention on television because of what he achieved. I am not the kind of person who needs attention. I am happy with how everything is going."
Lezak, who later in Beijing collected another gold as the 4x100 medley anchor and a very satisfying bronze in the 100 free, has everything going well now. Since the Games, he has been much in demand for personal appearances, corporate speeches, and swim clinics. He does as many as four a week.
He plans to keep swimming. He is scheduled to compete again for the first time since the Olympics in a December event in Brazil where he probably will race Olympic 50 free champ Cesar Cielo. His target next year is the World Championships.
"I am happy with what I chose to do and think I can do it a little longer," he says. "Mentally, when you achieve success, it is hard to gear up for the next one. While the World Championships is exciting and important, it is not the Olympics. The daily grind is tough. Hopefully, my body will hold up. I have a lot of tendonitis issues. Pain is part of the sport. Staying healthy is the most important factor. I am not training as much as other swimmers, so I am not putting that wear and tear on my body like they are.
"My thing is I am always looking at the big picture, so when I have a difficult time getting myself to work hard, I think of the big picture, which is the next Olympics." ■
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
11
OLYMPIANS
SWIMMING LEGENDS IN BEIJING
Jenny Thompson, Mel Stewart, Rowdy Gaines, Gary Hall Jr., Misty Hyman, and Janet Evans, back in the spotlight
Nikki Dryden
This summer saw a renaissance for America's greatest swimming legends. From Matt Biondi to Mary T. Meagher, some of the country's greatest swimming heroes dove back into the spotlight and are getting their just desserts.
As Michael Phelps dominated the major headlines, a group of superstars of the past worked the red carpet as well. Spurred on by Mark Spitz's ability to capitalize on Phelps' run for his record, Biondi was in Beijing alongside Jenny Thompson, Mel Stewart, Rowdy Gaines, Gary Hall Jr., Misty Hyman, and Janet Evans.
It was not easy for any of them. Unlike Spitz, who sat home and whined about not being paid to go to Beijing, Thompson and Biondi funded their own trips to China and spent many of their days and nights at appearances and autograph signings, in corporate box seats, and at charity events. Stewart and Hyman were there as official "cheer-leaders" for Team USA, while Hall Jr. and Gaines were working in the media.
Spitz did show up to US Olympic Trials, and the line-up in the Aquazone to get his new book autographed circled around the entire conference space. There were plenty of swim stars in Omaha: Meagher, John Naber, and Gaines joined Biondi, Thompson, and Stewart for all the fun. Even the swimsuit that Meagher wore to break the 200 fly world record was showcased in a Speedo display.
The trio of Biondi, Thompson, and Stewart had their own press conference in Omaha to talk about their lives in and out of the pool, and how the sport has changed. The attendance was higher than for most event winners.
"I hardly recognize the sport," said Biondi. "It is the same pool, but the swimmers are different. The evening program is different. Swimming 20 years ago, they tried to preserve a formality in the pace in the final heats, and coming to a venue like this, that is not a natatorium that would seat 5000, [is incredible.] Also seeing the green waterfall, I would like to see my name come down that waterfall, with pyrotechnics and music. USA Swimming has done a remarkable job of marketing this to swimming fans and non-fans alike."
Sports agent Dave Arluck of Arluck Promotions approached Biondi in late 2007 with the idea of representation. "While Biondi has reached levels of athletic achievement that very few people in any sport ever have done, he is also a committed family man with values that I respect and admire," said Arluck, who now represents Biondi as well as
Thompson and Hall Jr. Of Biondi, he continued, "He's a true role model."
Like Biondi, Stewart has been off the deck for some time, but is now again a major player as a contributor to SwimNetwork.com. "I think the team is amazing," said Stewart. "I have been out of the sport for a while... so seeing the team now and seeing Worlds last year, I said to my wife, 'I'm not going to miss 2008, I'm not going to miss Beijing!' It blows me away!"
Professional swimmers
Arluck has been working with Hall Jr. for years now, and while Gary is still a contender in the pool, Arluck credits their connection with expanding the types of athletes he works with. "My relationship with Gary inspired me to work with athletes who are interested in working in the community, and
IB? a ^ o M
Jenny Thompson signing autographs
developing businesses and foundations. There is a lot of opportunity for an Olympic athlete to develop entrepreneurial endeavors and provide value to corporations and other entities beyond typical 'sponsorships.' We help our clients find a path and succeed." This fits perfectly with the resurrection of the swimming legend.
Biondi, who won 5 golds in Seoul (8 golds over his career), and Tom Jaeger are often attributed with bringing professionalism to our sport. Their televised head-to-head dual in the 50 free in Nashville in 1990 was historic, not just because of their times — 21.81 for Jaeger and 21.85 for Biondi — but also for what they were trying to do to promote swimming.
"When I first came on the team, I was a
teenager," said Stewart, who won gold in the 200 fly in Barcelona. "But swimming wasn't professional, but I sat with Matt and Tom and I saw them fight to be world class and I had a front-row seat, it was heated, to see them professionalize the sport. We are seeing the fruits of that labour of Biondi, that swimmers now can live the life of the professional athlete."
Life experience counts
Whether active or retired, swimmers really only have the chance to shine once every four years, but Arluck, along with former US national team swimmer Sabir Muhammed who works with Arluck, are trying to change that. "Olympic athletes have a short shelf life, unfortunately," says Arluck. "Our job is to keep the athletes as relevant as possible between Olympics. Going to movie premiers and big parties is nice, but it's not 'important.' Getting involved in the community and motivating kids to join a team despite their shortcomings or diabetes is important."
This is yet one more reason why swimming's legends are finding themselves back in the spotlight well after they have hung up their goggles. Athletes like Biondi, Thompson, and Hall Jr. bring a lot more to an audience or even a press conference than a teenager who hasn't even been to university yet. Not only do they have perspective on their athletic accomplishments, they have life experiences that they can weave into wonderful stories about what swimming has taught them and how it contributed to their life's achievements.
Despite Biondi's reemergence on the swim scene, he certainly wasn't in a position to rest on his swim career. Even before retirement, he took several steps to make sure he would have a life outside of the pool. "I would credit my college experience at the University of California and the quality of the faculty there, who allowed me to develop as an athlete and an intellectual adult. Coupled with that, one of the gifts, thanks to my mom, I've had is that I never compromised who I was. I didn't lose sight of what I liked and didn't like, so I could pursue things that gave me gratification and long-term pleasure."
Biondi, who works as a high-school teacher in Hawaii, continued, "Through swimming it was always the kids and clinics and working with young kids that made me feel alive. My brother was a teacher, and when I was doing the dog-and-pony show, I was checking in with him and realized there was a potential career with me that would make me feel fulfilled. Teaching is a wonderful part of the community. I am there for my kids. They go to the same school as me. It's most gratify ing to me that I can share their childhood witlrthem and share my time with them. Many parents prop [their children] up with value judgments. . .but what kids want most is what you value most — your time. And my profession is what gives me that. That's why I am a teacher."
Thompson, who was the most decorated swimmer in the world prior to Beijing with 12
12
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
Olympic medals, 8 of which were gold, is also a doctor doing her residency in anesthesiology in Boston. Like Biondi, she understood that life outside of the pool takes work too. "[Matt and I] are both from the era where you knew you needed to do something after your swimming career was over. While swimmers are able to take the sport longer and swim into their 20s and 30s, I think for me, I was always interested in doing something else. Even though I was still swimming well and making money doing it, I had competed for so long that I wanted to find something else challenging to do."
While Jenny Thompson might not be the new kid on the block any longer, she certainly has a story to tell, and one that adults and kids want to listen to. At both the US Trials and in Beijing, she was recognized immediately and hounded by fans of all ages. "Every athlete that we represent is unique," said Arluck. "They all have unique life experiences and perspective. We match companies with athletes that best fit their needs, audience, customer base, etc."
Serious issues
When the press asked about doping, Biondi took the lead. "We need to speak openly and honestly [about doping], not something of a statement that is going to make the wires. We need to get more information out there about positive tests and how someone can cheat. We need to invest more money on this so the ones developing the tests are the leaders."
"When someone cheats, give them jail time,"
says Stewart, when asked about comments made by Hall Jr. that there are dopers out there. "When Gary Hall Jr. says something, he is a leader, and when he has spoken, I don't take what he says lightly. I would like for him to tell me more. Matt is right; we need to talk about it more. But I'm on deck and I am not hearing about it."
The suit and advanced training
"Two things about the suit," said Biondi. "First is that technology is a part of sports, tennis rackets of yesteryear are different. So we will always see changes. On the other hand, what bothers me is that it doesn't appear that all have equal access and the rules were not clearly written. The apparel companies are writing the rules instead of the federations. I am especially concerned about these suits appearing at local meets. Suits could further the divide, and affluent parents could put their kids in these suits and win while others can't spend the money required to have these suits."
"We thought we were doing innovative stuff in the '80s and '90s, compared to the 70s," said Stewart in reference to the plethora of world records and fast times. "You went faster more often. There was more intensity. You looked to your leaders, like Biondi and Jaeger, and practice was rehearsal for competition and you did that three to four times a week. Now it is speed and quality and doing it often. If you talk to [Dave] Marsh, [Bob] Bowman, and [Eddie] Reese. . .it is all intensity. The mindset is you build
your base in college and college swimmers are not men, they are boys, and after that you can focus on intensity."
Biondi agreed. "The training has changed, it is more race paced. Nort [Thornton] had me only sprinting two times a week, Wednesday and Saturday and at a meet. Now, they are sprinting every day. Also, technology is not limited to the suits. I had [a man] who did underwater stroke analysis with me that he came and did on his own. Now swimmers are filmed on starts above and below the water, and watch it immediately."
A world record is still a world record
While Thompson acknowledged that the sport has evolved, she believes a star is still a star. "Yes, the sport has changed and training is better as is technology and nutrition, but still, someone has to rise above the rest and be the world-record holder. It takes a special person to do that, and that will never change."
"World records today and from yesteryear are no different," said Biondi in agreement. "It is still the fastest ever in the event of all time. To witness that is something special. It translates immediately as a statement of excellence."
So, while the records they set might have been erased and their Olympic gold-medal totals eclipsed, these swimming heroes still have much to offer the sport and its fans. As someone who grew up being inspired by them in the pool, I am more excited
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SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
CANADIAN MILESTONE
GARAPICK NAMED TO CANADA'S SPORTS HALL OF FAME Double 1976 Olympic bronze medalist and a world-record setter at 13.
IN HER OWN WORDS
Lauren Beard
"You only have once in a lifetime to make the Olympics," 14-year-old Nancy Garapick said in an interview with CBC before one of her infamous races at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. "Because there are other kids coming up four years later, you really have to work hard," she continued. With a world record, a multitude of national and international titles, and a pair of individual Olympic medals soon to follow, Garapick's work most definitely paid off. On November 5, 2008, for her astounding swimming achievements, Garapick was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
Over 30 years ago, on April 27, 1975, the little-known Halifax Trojan first broke onto the international scene with a world-record performance at the Eastern Canadian Championships in Brantford, Ontario. In a time of 2:16.33, Garapick stole the 200 m backstroke title from East Germany's Ulrike Richter by over a second. SwimNews' own Nick Thierry was one of the first to capture the extraordinary moment with an action shot of Garapick on her way to victory (minus cap and goggles) that graced the cover of our 12th issue in May 1975.
While that historic day made Garapick a global force to be reckoned with, her career actually began to flourish in 1973 as both the youngest swimmer and Nova Scotia's flag bearer at the Canada Summer Games. According to Swim Nova Scotia's web site, in
1974, Garapick claimed 12 national age-group and 79 provincial records. She is still in possession of most of the Halifax Trojan's age-group records, and four of the oldest records at Dalhousie University.
Becoming the third 13-year-old in history to own a swimming world record was only just the beginning of Garapick's swimming superstardom. With her sudden and stunning accomplishments in
1975, most notably her first two Canadian national titles in May closely followed by a bronze and silver at World Aquatic Championships in June, Garapick became the youngest recipient of Canada's Female Athlete of the Year. The following year at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, Garapick battled for Olympic victory in the backstroke events, but settled for double bronze behind the burly East Germans, Richter and Birgit Treiber, both times. Later, it became publicly known that the two German athletes, among many others, were victims of a mandatory government- supported doping scandal, a controversial affair believed to have drastically altered the results of the Montreal Olympics. Drug debate aside, Garapick not only set an Olympic record during the meet's 100 m
backstroke prelims, but she was the only Canadian to win two individual Olympic medals that year.
Looking for another challenge after the 1976 Games, Garapick began training for and competing in the individual medley, easily proving her athletic versatility. In the 200 m and 400 m IMs, Garapick claimed AAU titles and held the world-best times for both events during 1977.
Garapick then ventured to the United States to swim with the University of Southern California where she set several NCAA records. From 1975 and 1981, she won a total of 38 Canadian Championship medals, 17 national titles, and 60 international medals, but Canada's boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games denied her the chance to fight for an Olympic gold in a fair race.
Rounding out her nine years on Canada's national team were the five gold medals she won for Dalhousie at the 1983 Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU) Championships before a bike accident ended her miraculous 15-year swimming career.
Currently a school psychologist in British Columbia, Garapick was unable to attend the Hall of Fame festivities at Toronto's Royal York Hotel. Former coach Nigel Kemp and longtime friend Virginia Smith were present on her behalf. Inducted with Garapick to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame this year were boxer Lennox Lewis, the 1996 men's 4x100 Olympic gold relay team (Donovan Bailey, Carlton Chambers, Robert Esmie, Glenroy Gilbert, and Bruny Surin), speedskater Marc Gagnon, and hockev marvel Steve Yzerman. ■
Nancy Garapick
It is an honour and a privilege to be one of the eleven 2008 inductees into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. To David, Pat, Marc, Lennox, Steve and Donovan, Carlton, Robert, Glenroy and Bruny, I extend my sincere congratulations to you for your extraordinary achievements in sport and your induction into the Hall.
Like all who have experienced success, I, too, was most fortunate to have had unconditional support through the good and not-so-good times, from a team of people: my coach, close friends, teammates, family, swimming parents and Nova Scotians, particularly from many people living in my much-loved home town of Halifax. With this steadfast support, along with hard work, a focus on individual and team goals, respect, humour, trust, passion, joy, and access to modern-day facilities at Halifax's Centennial and Dalhousie University pools, I became one of many who was well prepared for the numerous and varied opportunities for success.
And, over 14 years, the different successes I did experience in swimming were a direct result of a dedicated, well-informed and ethical team approach with a focus on the pursuit of excellence. It could not have happened otherwise.
I stand here this evening to respectfully receive the honour and privilege of being inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. But I do so not on my own, but with and for everyone who generously gave their time, knowledge, encouragement and friendship to me over the years. It was a team effort.
I wish you an enjoyable and entertaining evening and, with you, I celebrate our shared value of and passion and respect for sport and the sporting life. ■
Nancy Garapick's World Record swim for 200 back in April 1975
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
15
INTERNATIONAL PERSONALITY
KENYA'S FIRST FAMILY OF SWIMMING
Jason and David Dunford put swimming on the map in a country with some of the greatest distance runners
Nikki Dryden
NAIROBI-When one thinks of Kenyan Olympians, it is their record-breaking, world-class runners that first come to mind. From Kenya's first Olympic gold medalist Kip Keino to this year's 800 metre gold medalist and first female winner, Pamela Jelimo, Kenya's success on the track is always inspiring. Their medal total in Beijing: 5 golds, 5 silvers, and four bronze made them the number one country in Africa and 15th overall in the medal table. For most Kenyans, the Olympic pool often sat in the shadow of the Olympic stadium, and swimmers were never mentioned in the same breath as Kenya's runners. Thanks to one swimming family, that era has gone.
The Dunford family has changed that, and life is pretty good for them these days. Just weeks after returning home from Beijing, I met Martin Dunford and his sons Robert, Jason, and David. While Robert's sporting prowess was on the rugby field, his brothers Jason and David have been rewriting the swimming record books at home, across Africa, and in the US, while their father works to improve swimming for all Kenyans.
Putting swimming in the spotlight
In 2006, Jason became the first Kenyan to ever win a title at the African Swimming Championships. He came home with two golds, three silvers, and a bronze, while his younger brother David picked up two golds and a silver of his own. Their performances earned them several honours that year at home in Kenya. Jason was runner up for Sportsman of the Year to Commonwealth running champ Alex Kipchirchir, while David was honoured as the Most Promising Sportsman of the Year after finaling at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
One year, a World Champ final, and three golds, two silvers, and three bronze at the All-Africa Games later, and Jason had pushed the runners out of the spotlight, being awarded the Kenyan Sportsman of the Year Award.
By Beijing, then 21-year-old Jason was at his best. He won his heat of the 100 fly in a new Olympic record of 51.14 and finished the final in fifth place. David, who was 19 in China, finished 20th in the 50 free in 22.29. "I hope my swims in Beijing sparked motivation in a new generation of swimmers in Kenya who will now continue on in the sport and
strive to fulfill their potential," said Jason. "My swims helped the sport gain notoriety in the country, and I hope this will cause the government to assist more in the development of the sport."
David concurred, "I think our recent successes will have, and has had, a big impact on the sport back home. Every kid needs a role model in a sport, and so I think and hope these kids are looking up to us and believing that it is possible for them to pursue swimming seriously."
For parents Martin and Geraldine, it couldn't have gotten any better. "In reality, I don't think any of us dreamt of the Olympics when they were kids, and later it became a dream to make the Olympics, rather than actually competing at them. Then an Olympic record, well that was out of the question!" says Martin with pride. "It was so totally overwhelming and emotional, and we are very proud of their commitment to get to this level from a humble background here in Kenya.
"That was Jason, but then to have David there too," he continued. "He made qualification in April and as a late-blooming 19-year-old, I didn't have high expectations, so for him to come 20th in 50 free in a time that would have made the final in Athens was sensational. It was on the same day as the Olympic record, so that was the best day of my life. . .and I have had some really fabulous days!"
It was a pretty great week back in Kenya too. "More than anything, though, was the tremendous appreciation shown by Kenyans of all walks of life, who to this day don't stop talking about swimming at the Olympics and yet we won heaps of medals on the track!" said Martin. "This is incredibly gratifying."
David says that the lack of swimming role models when they were young could have been a roadblock to their success. "When we were kids, there were guys that we looked up to, but none of them really were competitive on the international scene, and so there was a general sentiment that it was impossible to come from a country like Kenya and compete with the rest of the world." The Dunford brothers have certainly transposed that notion. "I think it's unfortunate that we are unable to spend a lot of time at home, but the swimming community knows that we both grew up swimming in Kenya and that's where our foundation came from."
"(What their success) shows Kenyans is that
anything is possible," says Dad. "These boys started, as do many swimmers here, in local NASA galas (Nairobi swim meets) and then moved on through regional and then international championships. It shows young swimmers that through commitment, progress to the highest level can be made, and that swimming can afford many young men and women many opportunities. Kenyans have excelled on the track and it has opened many eyes to the opportunities in other sport disciplines, which the government have pledged to support more actively."
While Jason and David now train in the US and study at Stanford University, their father Martin continues to promote and support Kenyan swimming. When he's not running the Tamarind Group, which owns two of Nairobi's most famous restaurants, Tamarind and Carnivore, Martin is the vice chairman of the Kenyan Swimming Federation and patron of the Nairobi Amateur Swimming Association.
To show his commitment to Kenyan Swimming, Jason will fly to South Africa this month to compete for Kenya at the African Swimming Championships before making the trek back to California for final exams, then getting right back on a plane and returning to Kenya for the holidays.
Swimming in Stanford
A senior this year at Stanford, Jason was the Pac-10 swimmer of the month for February 2008 and is a 14 time Ail-American. His decision to swim in the US for university was influenced heavily by his British high school coach Peter O'Sullivan at Marlborough College. "(Peter). . .had swum at the University of Georgia. As my swimming started to become more serious, he was the first to make me aware of NCAA Div 1 swimming, the opportunity it offered to concurrently pursue a degree whilst swimming amongst many of the best swimmers in the world."
From there, Stanford was an easy choice, despite being one of the most difficult schools to be admitted into in the world. "I chose Stanford in particular because my academics are very important to me. and Stanford offers one of the best combinations of swimming and academics anywhere in the world. The quality of the faculty and academic programs is impressive and I knew a Stanford degree would be internationally respected," continued Jason.
"To be honest, as soon as my brother decided to go to Stanford, I had made'up my mind too." added David, who is a junior there. "The fact that he started making huge improvements as soon as he got there just made me more excited about going. We've both always balanced our swimming with our academics and so Stanford was the obvious choice for both of us."
16
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
DUNFORD Jason, KEN
28 NOV 1986 Nairobi 180 cm/ 72 kg Stanford '09 Skip Kenney
And of course Stanford is home to some pretty incredibleswimmers. "Then the prestige of the swim program, the illustrious alumni such as Pablo Morales, Anthony Mosse, Jeff Rouse, Peter Marshall, Randall Bal, to name a few, and the awesome outdoor swimming facility were other factors that drew me to the university," said Jason. "Oh and the beautiful campus and great
year round weather Jason Dunford (KEN) after Olympic record in prelims of 100 fly in Beijing
are nice perks too!"
From Kenya to England to California, Jason and David have watched their times drop, and Jason credits his recent success to head coach Skip Kenney's "team-based philosophy, which keeps me motivated and driven to perform to the best of my potential every day.
"I have learned so many things from training at Stanford," continued Jason, "but one that really stands out is learning to swim for something bigger than myself. A big part of the Stanford program is a focus on the team. This helps us keep each other accountable every day in practice and has been invaluable in helping me achieve my goals. I have improved my technique in so many ways, not only as a result of input from my coaches, but also due to help from my teammates."
The team approach
David has similar sentiments about the team approach. "I've learnt a lot from training in the States and more specifically from swimming on a college team," said David. "There's obviously a lot of stuff to do with technique, diet, and strength training that I have picked up over the last two years here. However, the main thing that I have learnt is that you can get a lot more out of yourself by swimming for your teammates rather than swimming for yourself. Not only because you are always held accountable for your training and performance, but also because everyone else on the team is on the same page and has the same mentality. Therefore, an atmosphere is created where there are 20 or so great swimmers all helping each other get better."
While the Dunfords and Stanford make success
QUICK FACTS
Birthdate Place of birth Heigth / Weigth Education Coach LC International 2008 Olympics 5th 100 fly
2007 Worlds 26th 50 fly, 8th 100 fly
2005 Worlds 57th 50 fly, 48th 100 fly SC International
2008 Worlds 13th 50 fly, 8th 100 fly
2006 Worlds 16th 50 fly, 13th 100 fly LC Progression (World Ranking)
Year 2008 2007 2006 2005
50 fly (4) 23.50 (19) 23.91 (154) 24.88 (291)25.42
SC Progression
2008 (29) 23.55 2006 (57) 24.01
100 fly (6) 51.14 (6)51.85 (53) 53.59 56.95
(19)51.48 (12)51.58
look easy, swimming in Kenya is very far from Palo Alto. "Resources are a big problem, especially financial and infrastructural," says Martin. He is not exaggerating. I have been living in Nairobi for almost three months and after an introduction by Martin, I have been volunteering with a girls' high school team. They have no lane lines, pace clocks, or backstroke flags. The pool is great, but there is no icing on the cake. Even the swimmers were training without goggles until I emailed the New York Athletic Club, where I swim in New York, and they sent over a "care package" with 25 pairs of goggles for my girls, but that is only a drop in the bucket compared to what they need.
Help needed in Kenya
"As you have seen," continued Martin to me, "we lack financial support for our less- affluent swimmers, and anything that the developed swimming world could do to finance a development program would go a long way to developing talent." However, there are even structural items needed. "Kenya Swimming needs support to acquire timing systems, computers, and software for at least four active provinces. We also need Patm* b Kraemer an all-year training facility in Nairobi . . . nearly all the swimmers do not have access to a heated pool during the cold three months."
He credits FINA and IOC, as well as institutions at the local level for their support in the past, but all have their constraints. "There is a limit to the support we can get in (local) government and corporate circles, but if there was some international support, this could spur the local community to participate in the development.
"FINA has given opportunities to coaches to attend courses overseas and locally, and have also subsidized participation in World Championship events, and the IOC have given scholarship support to young swimmers with potential, in the past." However, he also notes that "there are many coaches and swimmers who could benefit from international exposure and having visiting coaches. The ultimate would be for a country to sponsor a national coach who could oversee all the development programs locally."
While Martin's to-do list for Kenyan swimming is long, he still has time to reflect on his family's recent success. He says that the "amazing hype" had been building around both his sons for several years, but "the Olympics is the one everyone was waiting for. Some expectations were rather unrealistic, but for those who knew better, the boys' achievements were brilliant, and the media and general support in Kenya was spectacular."
While resources are always needed and the intangibles of having role models like Jason and David Dunford are hard to measure, they have certainly already inspired many young swimmers here in Kenya and hopefully the country's next generation of Olympic swimmers. ■
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
17
TINY OLYMPIC PROSPECTS
TOP PARTICIPANTS NOVEMBER 2008
|
Team |
Female |
Male |
Total |
||
|
1 |
AOSC |
Abbotsford Olympians Swim Club |
11 |
10 |
21 |
|
2 |
CDSC |
Canadian Dolphin Swim Club |
4 |
1 |
5 |
|
3 |
CHENA |
Chena - North Shore Swim Team |
21 |
16 |
37 |
|
4 |
DCSC |
Dartmouth Crusaders Swim Club |
23 |
18 |
41 |
|
5 |
DS |
Dolphins Swimming |
4 |
1 |
5 |
|
6 |
IS |
Island Swimming |
13 |
12 |
25 |
|
7 |
LOSC |
Langley Olympians Swim Club |
43 |
16 |
59 |
|
8 |
MM |
Manitoba Marlins |
11 |
7 |
18 |
|
9 |
MSSAC |
Mississauga Aquatic Club |
16 |
18 |
34 |
|
10 |
NEW |
Newmarket Stingrays |
42 |
33 |
75 |
|
11 |
PENGU |
Penguin Swimming |
7 |
1 |
8 |
|
12 |
PSW |
Pacific Sea Wolves Swim Club |
11 |
3 |
14 |
|
13 |
RAPID |
Richmond Rapids Swim Club |
17 |
21 |
38 |
|
14 |
SCAR |
Scarborough Swim Club |
13 |
4 |
17 |
|
15 |
UCSC |
Univ of Calgary Swim Club |
51 |
38 |
89 |
|
16 |
use |
Uxbridge Swim Club |
4 |
4 |
8 |
|
17 |
UVPCS |
UVic-Pacific Coast Swimming |
37 |
16 |
53 |
|
Totals |
328 |
219 |
547 |
GIRLS EVENTS
GIRLS 7 & UNDER 200 FREESTYLE
Rec: 2:55.05 Donna Wu.AQUA.1985
|
1 |
Russell, Shannon.6.DS |
3:26.82 |
|
2 |
Eisen, Alicia,7,DS |
3:3395 |
|
3 |
McKenna, Fionnuala,7,UVPCS |
3:57.72 |
|
4 |
Meting, Natalie,7,USC |
4:11.53 |
|
5 |
Stebeck. Anna,7.UVPCS |
4:30.17 |
|
6 |
Brislow, Alicia.6,CHENA |
4:35.64 |
|
7 |
Drew, Sabrina,7.UCSC |
4:35.91 |
|
8 |
Talen,Amanda,6,UCSC |
4:40.03 |
|
9 |
Daoud, Nadine.7,LJCSC |
4:56.77 |
|
10 |
Urquidi. Paula,7,L0SC |
5.29.59 |
|
11 |
Bennett, Hannah,6,UCSC |
5:41.66 |
|
12 |
Field, Josie,6,LOSC |
5:48.00 |
|
13 |
Acevedo, Catalina,7,SCAR |
5:49.68 |
|
14 |
Sidor. Megan.7,NEW |
5:57.92 |
|
15 |
Kiernan, Hannah.7,NEW |
6:00.05 |
|
16 |
Hannah. Jade,6,DCSC |
61336 |
|
17 |
Maclsaac, Jenny,7,UVPCS |
6:15.12 |
|
18 |
Grant, RachaeU.UVPCS |
6:23.20 |
|
19 |
Brill, Kiarra, 7.UCSC |
6:25.63 |
|
20 |
Williamson. Taylor,6.UCSC |
6:27.37 |
|
21 |
Chen, EmilyJ.UVPCS |
6:29.00 |
|
22 |
Bell, Loganne,7,IS |
6:30.75 |
|
23 |
Vincent, SaraW.UVPCS |
6:31.50 |
|
24 |
Hunt. lsahelle,7,UCSC |
6:38.51 |
|
25 |
Schramm, PearlJ.LOSC |
6:40.30 |
|
26 |
Blanchard, Sophia,7,DCSC |
6:43.73 |
|
27 |
Van Raamsdonk, Remei,6,UVPCS |
6:48.70 |
|
28 |
McMillan, Shannon,7,UVPCS |
6:51.50 |
|
29 |
Tipper. Emily,6,IS |
6:55.23 |
|
30 |
Gilchrist, Gabrielle,7,UCSC |
6:55.90 |
|
31 |
Nemelh, Jessica,7,L0SC |
6:58.00 |
|
32 |
Li,Cindy,7,UVPCS |
7:02.50 |
|
33 |
Nel, Sarah.7,L0SC |
7:1300 |
|
34 |
Esposilo, Christina.7,UCSC |
7:44.45 |
|
35 |
Dhillon. Shubeg.6.L0SC |
8:11.30 |
|
36 |
Varela.AlexisJ.NEW |
8:1715 |
|
37 |
Whebby, Hannah.7,DCSC |
8:23.00 |
|
38 |
Robinson-Leilh, Emilie-K.,7,NEW |
9:10.21 |
|
39 |
Smith, Emily,7,L0SC |
9:44.00 |
|
40 |
Elmadani, ElissaJ.DCSC |
12:1800 |
|
GIRLS 8 -400 FREESTYLE |
||
|
Rec:5 |
4944SandySabo.DDO.1983 |
|
|
1 |
Rendall,Kale,UCSC |
6:43.33 |
|
2 |
Teng.Sophia.SCAR |
6 46.29 |
|
3 |
Carter.Emma.UVPCS |
7:40.54 |
Danes.Tyler.CHENA
8:04.32
|
5 |
Fmeberg Keiley NEW |
8:0575 |
|
6 |
Clark, Meredith, LOSC |
8:1764 |
|
7 |
Knudson.Mickayla.UCSC |
8:22.36 |
|
8 |
Paterson.Rhian.CHENA |
8:24.39 |
|
9 |
Adams.Chanel.UCSC |
8:27.77 |
|
10 |
Maunder.Kalie.SCAR |
8:29.43 |
|
11 |
Williams.Slephanie.NEW |
8:3444 |
|
12 |
Modrcin.Dora.MM |
8:56.86 |
|
13 |
Buchanan.Jade.NEW |
8:58.25 |
|
14 |
Crisp.Lauren.UVPCS |
8:58.35 |
|
15 |
Philpolts.Hannah.CHENA |
9:0878 |
|
16 |
Carmichael.Victoiia.MM |
9:21.26 |
|
17 |
Dong.Mackenzie.LOSC |
9:21.34 |
|
18 |
Grondin.Michaela.UCSC |
9:2486 |
|
19 |
Bemard.Meghan.NEW |
9:25.37 |
|
20 |
Ikeda.Suna.UCSC |
9:45.68 |
|
21 |
Kruger.Kellita.UCSC |
9:45.77 |
|
22 |
Thumann.Caillin.UCSC |
9:48.92 |
|
23 |
Phanlharangsy.Madeleine.NEW |
9:49 78 |
|
24 |
Rasheed.Maiya.UCSC |
9:50.80 |
|
25 |
laboni.Julia.NEW |
9:52.19 |
|
26 |
Blanke.Lucia.UCSC |
9:52.71 |
|
27 |
Hassanpourlehrani.Sogand.CDSC |
9:56.22 |
|
28 |
Belliveau.Claire.DCSC |
10:01.55 |
|
29 |
Stang.Hannah.UCSC |
10:04.31 |
|
30 |
Doner.Jordan.NEW |
10:1071 |
|
31 |
von Sacken Nash.Vicloria.UVPCS |
10:1377 |
|
32 |
Mirzan.Andrea.UCSC |
10:20.69 |
|
33 |
Bennetl.Emily.UCSC |
10:25.08 |
|
34 |
Fong.Celine.UCSC |
10:27.37 |
|
35 |
Livingslon.Alyssa.UCSC |
10:29.35 |
|
36 |
Bennetl.Amelia.UCSC |
10:3784 |
|
37 |
Esposito.Anna Maria.UCSC |
1046.65 |
|
38 |
Kearney.Meaghan.NEW |
10:55.06 |
|
39 |
Hunt.Alexandra.UCSC |
10:56.28 |
|
40 |
Brill.Kayla.UCSC |
10:57.51 |
|
41 |
Rance.Joy.NEW |
11:02.34 |
|
42 |
Woo.Katelyn.UVPCS |
11:08.56 |
|
43 |
Endicoll.Ashley.NEW |
11:13.44 |
|
44 |
MacKenzie,Abby,UVPCS |
11:18.80 |
|
45 |
Greer.Alexandra.USC |
11:21.64 |
|
46 |
Whilmore.Lexi.NEW |
11:31.24 |
|
47 |
Conacher.Sydney.CHENA |
11:32.42 |
|
48 |
Grier.Lisa.AOSC |
11:3830 |
|
49 |
Slitz.Kaillin.NEW |
11:40.08 |
|
50 |
Nagy.Anna.CDSC |
11:57.00 |
|
51 |
Ewarl.Kalja.UCSC |
120815 |
|
52 |
Lutz-Chiorean.Marie.SCAR |
12:08.87 |
|
53 |
Lancaster.Lia.UVPCS |
12:12.47 |
|
54 |
Gruber.Erin.DCSC |
12:12.61 |
|
55 |
Ivanova.Anelia.CDSC |
12:15.44 |
|
56 |
Todesco.Amy.UCSC |
12:29.53 |
8 |
McDonald, Slephanie.MSSAC |
24:3745 |
24 |
McMillan, Shannon,7,UVPCS |
3 |
4300 |
|
57 |
Najali.Kimya.AOSC |
13:0400 |
g |
Hanus, Danielle.NEW |
24:3900 |
25 |
Van Raamsdonk, Remei,6,UVPCS |
j |
43 10 |
|
58 |
Coort, Mackenzie. NEW |
13:05.35 |
10 |
Ye, Calhy.RAPID |
25:27.29 |
26 |
Nemeth. Jessica,7,L0SC |
3 |
51 94 |
|
59 |
Dessureaull.Julie.DCSC |
13:07.69 |
11 |
Namgoong, Lucia, MSSAC |
25:32.11 |
27 |
Elmadani, Elissa,7,DCSC |
3 |
58.03 |
|
60 |
Von Sleun.Alexa.AOSC |
13:11.82 |
12 |
Urquidi, Ilian.LOSC |
25:4200 |
28 |
Whebby, Hannah,7,DCSC |
3 |
59 09 |
|
61 |
Devey.Shelby.NEW |
13:12.86 |
13 |
Mark, Devon.LOSC |
25 5274 |
29 |
Li, Cindy,7,UVPCS |
4 |
0200 |
|
62 |
Were.Mary.DCSC |
13:17.00 |
14 |
Chalmers. Jofdan.NEW |
2616.00 |
30 |
Dhillon. Shubeg,6,LOSC |
4 |
0300 |
|
63 |
Tubaro.Emma.NEW |
13:26.71 |
15 |
Blair, Amelia.LOSC |
264733 |
31 |
Zboyovsky, Emerson,7,LOSC |
4 |
1000 |
|
64 |
Hagen.Katie.DCSC |
13:32.84 |
16 |
Alicionado, Aleckxeis.RAPID |
27:09.70 |
32 |
Lavoie, Jaime,6,L0SC |
4 |
19.30 |
|
65 |
Fabian.Laura.CHENA |
13:40.40 |
17 |
Hoogenraad, Jade.PSW |
27:16.03 |
33 |
James, Grace,6.LOSC |
4 |
2900 |
|
66 |
Staicu.Alina.UCSC |
13:46.18 |
18 |
Gosel, Samantha.RAPID |
27:29.01 |
34 |
Halbaoer, Taylor,7,PENGU |
4 |
36.00 |
|
67 |
Kaartmen.Ava.SCAR |
13:53.94 |
19 |
Currie-Olsen, Danja.UCSC |
27:30.46 |
35 |
Cumming lssabella,5.LOSC |
6 |
4600 |
|
68 |
St. Pierre.April.AOSC |
14:17.76 |
20 |
Kent, Sandra.CHENA |
27:32.32 |
GIRLS 8 -100 IND. MEDLEY |
|||
|
69 |
Grondin, Cassandra, UCSC |
14:1996 |
21 |
Philpotts, Georgina.CHENA |
28:22 18 |
Rec |
1:2655 Pure Maleenonl.PTS.2006 |
||
|
70 |
Hillman.Jenessa.AOSC |
15:04.63 |
22 |
Ullrich, Heidi.UVPCS |
28:35.20 |
1 |
Teng, Sophia.SCAR |
1:3208 |
|
|
71 |
Flowers.lsabelle.DCSC |
15:0960 |
23 |
Grieve, Alexandra.PSW |
28:3765 |
2 |
Carter. Emma.UVPCS |
1:50.82 |
|
|
72 |
DofVa.Aure1ie.DCSC |
15:12.81 |
24 |
Thomas, Grace.UVPCS |
28:41.40 |
3 |
Rendall, Kale.UCSC |
151 15 |
|
|
73 |
Demeo.Andrea.UVPCS |
18:0738 |
25 |
Ryder, Eva.RAPID |
28:47.42 |
4 |
Crisp. Lauren.UVPCS |
1:59.72 |
|
|
74 |
Ailken.Charlotte.UVPCS |
20:4336 |
26 |
Kim, Bokyoung.lS |
28:49.27 |
5 |
Danes. Tyler.CHENA |
2:03.21 |
|
|
GIRLS 9 ■ 800 FREESTYLE |
27 |
Garbett, Danica.NEW |
28:52.62 |
6 |
Paterson, Rhian.CHENA |
2:04 58 |
|||
|
Rec: 10:45.42 Julie BodenbergerAQUA. 11 |
85 |
28 |
Zhou. Selina.RAPID |
29:15.74 |
7 |
Adams. Chanel.UCSC |
2:0882 |
||
|
1 |
Smit-Anseeuw, Esmee.PSW |
12:04.32 |
29 |
Zammit, Tabitha.UVPCS |
29:19.70 |
8 |
Philpotts, Hannah.CHENA |
2:08.88 |
|
|
2 |
Pan, Angela.MSSAC |
12:2843 |
30 |
Brien, Hailey.DCSC |
29:25.33 |
9 |
von Sacken Nash, Victona.UVPCS |
2:12.79 |
|
|
3 |
Copland, Maggie.MSSAC |
13:5344 |
31 |
Belliveau, Kathleen.DCSC |
29:36.25 |
10 |
Knudson. Mickayla.UCSC |
2:14.08 |
|
|
4 |
Shewchuk, Abigail, MM |
13:53.70 |
32 |
Henry, Holly.lS |
30:04.95 |
11 |
Kruger. Kellita.UCSC |
2:1512 |
|
|
5 |
Strange, Haley.UCSC |
14:27.43 |
33 |
Livingston, CassidyUCSC |
30:2576 |
12 |
Herring, Lenka.CHENA |
21607 |
|
|
6 |
Borrowdale, Chelsea, LOSC |
14:4500 |
34 |
Dong, Paige.LOSC |
30:40.80 |
13 |
Belliveau. Claire.DCSC |
2:16.15 |
|
|
7 |
Bowman, Juliana, MM |
14:4940 |
35 |
Uemura, Mariana, CHENA |
30:52.25 |
14 |
Nelson, Alexandra, DS |
2:1692 |
|
|
6 |
Rogers. Kaitlin.lS |
14:55.25 |
36 |
Prendergast, Rowan, SCAR |
31:17.36 |
15 |
Carmichael, Victoria,MM |
21706 |
|
|
9 |
Lei, Isabelle.PSW |
15:03.12 |
37 |
Cooper. Kayla.lS |
31:33.01 |
16 |
Armitage, Mackenna.NEW |
2:17.11 |
|
|
10 |
Trudeau, Kale.MSSAC |
15:04.61 |
38 |
Booth, Natalie.CHENA |
32:01.05 |
17 |
Blanke, Lucia.UCSC |
2:1760 |
|
|
11 |
Earle. Carolme,MSSAC |
15:0544 |
39 |
Gagnon, Arielle.CHENA |
32:12.33 |
18 |
Woo, Katelyn,UVPCS |
2.2060 |
|
|
12 |
Hillis. Paige.MSSAC |
15:23 81 |
40 |
Hirt, Laura.SCAR |
32:13.30 |
19 |
Were. Mary.DCSC |
2:22 45 |
|
|
13 |
Abbott, Hannah.PSW |
15:27.09 |
41 |
Erdelsky, Mikayla.USC |
32:13 39 |
20 |
Cooke, Sydney.PENGU |
2.22.60 |
|
|
14 |
Zhang. Ada.RAPID |
15:3595 |
42 |
Hamidnejad, Tanya.CHENA |
32:14.44 |
21 |
Maunder. Katie.SCAR |
2:23 26 |
|
|
15 |
Shocohian, Anna, PSW |
15 4053 |
43 |
Sparks, Sierra.DCSC |
32:15.90 |
22 |
Flowers. Isabelle.DCSC |
2:24.33 |
|
|
16 |
McCloy, Allison,UCSC |
15:46 07 |
44 |
Coward, Sienna.NEW |
32:18.31 |
23 |
Thumann, Caitlm.UCSC |
2:26.64 |
|
|
17 |
Epp, Anabelle.PSW |
16:04.25 |
45 |
Wille, Kale,IS |
32:21.60 |
24 |
Dawson, Mackenzie.PENGU |
2:2686 |
|
|
18 |
Talen, Larissa.UCSC |
16:1319 |
46 |
Berry, Jaylene.RAPID |
32:25.10 |
25 |
Livingston, Alyssa.UCSC |
2.27.60 |
|
|
19 |
Sharkey. Kaleigh.NEW |
16:16.75 |
47 |
Youn, Sena.lS |
32:3010 |
26 |
Gillespie-Friesen. Riley.DCSC |
2:2793 |
|
|
20 |
Thompson, Megan, NEW |
16.2431 |
48 |
Caughell, Amslee.NEW |
32 35.62 |
27 |
Kaartinen. Ava.SCAR |
2:28.21 |
|
|
21 |
Fehr, Cydney.UCSC |
16:3710 |
49 |
laboni, Victoria.NEW |
32:5062 |
28 |
Lutz-Chiorean. Marie.SCAR |
2:28.81 |
|
|
22 |
Acevedo, Liliana.SCAR |
16:43.05 |
50 |
Shramko, Kristina.RAPID |
33:15.19 |
29 |
Mirzan. Andrea.UCSC |
23032 |
|
|
23 |
Liang. Emily.PSW |
16:46.24 |
51 |
Gray. Yvonne,MSSAC |
33:15.42 |
30 |
Esposito, Anna Maria.UCSC |
2:3065 |
|
|
24 |
Wood, Ciara.UCSC |
16:50.04 |
52 |
Blondal, Madeline.UCSC |
33:26.65 |
31 |
Conacher. Sydney.CHENA |
2:32 43 |
|
|
25 |
MacDonald, Kelley.LOSC |
165083 |
53 |
Wu, Emily.CHENA |
33:3838 |
32 |
Greer, Alexandra, (JSC |
2:32.83 |
|
|
26 |
Joltre, Sophie.UCSC |
16:56.57 |
54 |
Neuleld, Emelia.UCSC |
33:45.43 |
33 |
Ikeda. Suna.UCSC |
2:3353 |
|
|
27 |
Thibeaull, Rachel.UCSC |
16:57.38 |
55 |
Dessureaull, Lauren, DCSC |
33:47.17 |
34 |
Phantharangsy. Madeleme.NEW |
2.35.83 |
|
|
28 |
Levac. Cassandra, NEW |
17:21.12 |
56 |
Tesch, Riley.UVPCS |
35:04 40 |
35 |
Davis. Lucy.SCAR |
2 36 69 |
|
|
29 |
Jones. Taeya.UCSC |
17:23.33 |
57 |
Bryant, AlexaJS |
35 12 52 |
36 |
Bennett. Emily.UCSC |
2:38.28 |
|
|
30 |
Trimble, Elenia.PSW |
17 45 90 |
58 |
Ewing, Megan,UVPCS |
35:16 84 |
37 |
Grier. Lisa.AOSC |
24100 |
|
|
31 |
Ledoux. Renae.LOSC |
18:2703 |
59 |
Quon, Melissa, RAPID |
3516.91 |
38 |
Nagy. Anna.CDSC |
2:41 15 |
|
|
32 |
MacKenzie, Rebecca.UVPCS |
18:2961 |
60 |
Paterson, Mikaela.USC |
35:23 75 |
40 |
Hassanpourtehrani. Sogand.CDSC |
2:44 33 |
|
|
33 |
Aksenchuk. Charlotle.UCSC |
18:3043 |
61 |
Adams, Georgina.PSW |
35:43.09 |
41 |
Stitz. Kaitlin.NEW |
2:44.90 |
|
|
34 |
Horwood, Patricia Grace.UVPCS |
18:31 34 |
62 |
Ong. Miecah.RAPID |
35:5043 |
42 |
Von Steun. Alexa.AOSC |
2:4500 |
|
|
35 |
McMillan, Healher.UVPCS |
18:41 94 |
63 |
Letkeman, Anna.UVPCS |
35:5800 |
43 |
Krueger, Aslrid.PENGU |
2:45 35 |
|
|
36 |
Rybka, Madelaine.MSSAC |
18:55.57 |
64 |
Caputo. Shelby.UCSC |
36:13.70 |
44 |
Ivanova, Anelia.CDSC |
2.45.60 |
|
|
37 |
Tsounis, Katie, DS |
18:59.30 |
65 |
Goncalves, Olivia.RAPID |
37:0966 |
45 |
Gruber, Erin.DCSC |
2 46 90 |
|
|
38 |
Douglas, Kennedy.LOSC |
19:06.56 |
66 |
Diltz, Abigail.NEW |
37:17.12 |
46 |
Fabian. Laura.CHENA |
2 |
48 06 |
|
39 |
Lam, Fiona.RAPID |
19:2382 |
67 |
Abanico, Colleen, RAPID |
3735.67 |
47 |
Lancaster. Lia.UVPCS |
2:5313 |
|
|
40 |
Stewart, Kalie.SCAR |
19:59.34 |
68 |
Havens, Tatiana,NEW |
38:09.91 |
48 |
Hagen, Katie.DCSC |
2:55 49 |
|
|
41 |
McBoyle. Madison.LOSC |
20:03.86 |
69 |
Minatel. Rayne.NEW |
38:21.50 |
49 |
Jerrtna, Maria.LOSC |
2:56.00 |
|
|
42 |
Kennedy, Hanna.SCAR |
20:07.08 |
70 |
Schouten, Jamie.NEW |
39:30 72 |
50 |
Dessureaull, Julie.DCSC |
2:5957 |
|
|
43 |
Whitten, Emma,UVPCS |
20:3072 |
71 |
Eldah. Habiba.DCSC |
39 35 38 |
51 |
Mackie. Paige.AOSC |
3 00 00 |
|
|
44 |
Moloney, Erin.LOSC |
20:5758 |
72 |
DeAgazio. Elizabeth.NEW |
39:40 12 |
52 |
Doner. Jordan.NEW |
3:00 33 |
|
|
45 |
Szalkai, Gabriella.LOSC |
21:00.13 |
73 |
Roy, Sarah.OCSC |
40 09 60 |
53 |
Kearney, Meaghan.NEW |
3:01.02 |
|
|
46 |
Schmidt. Nicole.LOSC |
21:18.00 |
74 |
Aragon-Scriven, Kennedy.UVPCS |
40 33 00 |
54 |
Kim, Annie.AOSC |
3:0122 |
|
|
47 |
Diaz. Ximena.CHENA |
21:23 45 |
75 |
Aitken. Ella.UVPCS |
40:48 69 |
55 |
Whitmore. Lexi.NEW |
3:0301 |
|
|
48 |
Nel. Amy.LOSC |
21:2400 |
76 |
Jervis, Maya.UVPCS |
41 44.00 |
56 |
DoWa.Aury'alie.DCSC |
30688 |
|
|
49 |
Sekulovski, Britney.NEW |
2141 31 |
77 |
Behro, Ayaka.UVPCS |
43 32 84 |
57 |
SI Pierre. April.AOSC |
3:1000 |
|
|
50 |
Liu.Anna.RAPID |
22:11.31 |
78 |
Vincent, Mary.UVPCS |
44 04 15 |
58 |
Hillman, Jenessa.AOSC |
31600 |
|
|
51 |
Chang, Solia.RAPID |
221566 |
GIRLS 7 & UNDER 100 IND. MEDLEY |
59 |
Won. Erica,AOSC |
31700 |
|||
|
52 |
de Lemos, Gwen.RAPIO |
22:54.34 |
Rec: 128 46 Donna Wu.AQUA.1985 |
60 |
Neuman. Madeline.PENGU |
32600 |
|||
|
53 |
Piasecki, Sonia.CHENA |
23:2545 |
1 |
Russell, Shannon.6,DS |
1:53.56 |
61 |
Salvatore, Megan.NEW |
3:3127 |
|
|
54 |
Cueva, Emely.LOSC |
23:59.00 |
2 |
Eisen,Alicia,7,DS |
1 54.62 |
62 |
Devey.Shelby.NEW |
3:36.03 |
|
|
55 |
Jessa, Ariana.CHENA |
24:08.08 |
3 |
Field, Josie.6,LOSC |
232.00 |
63 |
Tarnowski, Tekahra.lS |
3:36.23 |
|
|
56 |
Ye, Palricia.UVPCS |
24:1281 |
4 |
McKenna, Fionnuala.7,UVPCS |
2 32.99 |
64 |
Naiali. Kimya.AOSC |
3:38.00 |
|
|
57 |
Drew.Sierra.UCSC |
24:58 02 |
5 |
Drew, Sahrina,7,UCSC |
2 34 1 9 |
65 |
Woodley.Jessann.PENGU |
3:39 58 |
|
|
58 |
Fehr, Rowan.UCSC |
25:5768 |
6 |
Hannah, Jade,6.DCSC |
237.90 |
66 |
Solar, Nevena.LOSC |
3:5800 |
|
|
59 |
Timewell, Emma.SCAR |
26:08 00 |
7 |
Urquidi, PaulaJ.LOSC |
238.20 |
67 |
Tubaro, Emma.NEW |
416.70 |
|
|
60 |
Adam, Hannah.CHENA |
26:38 88 |
8 |
Sidor, Megan.7,NEW |
2:4617 |
68 |
Brien, Holly.NEW |
4:2073 |
|
|
61 |
MacDonnell, Karmyn.LOSC |
28:5200 |
9 |
Acevedo. Catalina,7,SCAR |
24744 |
69 |
Aitken. Charlolte.UVPCS |
5.0154 |
|
|
62 |
Zanelte. Michelle.NEW |
29:2583 |
10 |
Stebeck. Anna.7.UVPCS |
2 50 72 |
70 |
Demeo. Andrea.UVPCS |
5:05 48 |
|
|
63 |
Johnson. Hali.LOSC |
31:1600 |
11 |
Bell. Loganne,7,IS |
30002 |
71 |
MacKenzie. Abby.UVPCS |
5:3940 |
|
|
64 |
Bobadilla, Andrea.NEW |
38:4088 |
12 |
Blanchard, Sophia,7,DCSC |
30488 |
GIRLS 9 - 200 WD. MEDLEY |
|||
|
65 |
Stewart, Kate.NEW |
41:4006 |
13 |
Vincent, Sarah,7.UVPCS |
30700 |
Rec 25050 NinaTakahashi.SKSC.2007 |
|||
|
56 |
Hilscherich, Alina.LOSC |
45:00.00 |
14 |
Bnstow, Alicia,6,CHENA |
3:0865 |
1 |
Smit-Anseeuw. Esmee.PSW |
3 |
0998 |
|
GIRLS 10 - 1500 FREESTYLE |
15 |
Kiernan. Hannah,7,NEW |
3:0953 |
2 |
Pan. Angela.MSSAC |
31502 |
|||
|
Rec |
1911 70 Alexandra Gabor.WG8.2005 |
16 |
Schramm. Pearl.7.LOSC |
3:10.77 |
3 |
Zhang, Ada.RAPID |
3 32 14 |
||
|
1 |
Powell. Madison.lS |
22:13.57 |
17 |
Nel.SarahJ.LOSC |
3:1600 |
4 |
Trudeau. Kate.MSSAC |
33373 |
|
|
2 |
Johnston, Laura.MSSAC |
22:41.77 |
18 |
Szudek, Mira.7.PENGU |
3:2000 |
5 |
Bowman. Juliana MM |
3 34 10 |
|
|
3 |
Metcalfe. Hillary.LOSC |
22:49.31 |
19 |
Chen. Emily,7,UVPCS |
3:21.30 |
6 |
Earle, Caroline.MSSAC |
33461 |
|
|
4 |
Higuchi. Tiara.MSSAC |
22:51.32 |
20 |
Tipper, Emily.6,IS |
3.3345 |
7 |
Strange. Haley.UCSC |
33469 |
|
|
5 |
Doyon, Lydia.PSW |
23:4243 |
21 |
Varela, Alexis,7.NEW |
8 |
Shewchuk. Abigail.MM |
34069 |
||
|
6 |
Tetreault. Trista.LOSC |
24:21.73 |
22 |
Robinson-Leilh, Emilie-K .7.NEW |
3:35 09 |
9 |
Rogers, Kaitlin.lS |
3:4070 |
|
|
7 |
Mohladi.Judy.UCSC |
24:34.52 |
23 |
Grant, RachaeU.UVPCS |
3:4150 |
10 |
Lei. Isabelle.PSW |
3:43.12 |
18
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
|
11 |
Stevens, Skyla.UCSC |
3 45 35 |
36 |
Brien, Hailey.DCSC |
8:22,09 |
22 |
Flores-Moreno, Esteban.UCSC |
11 1990 |
24 |
Hageman, Malthew.USC |
30:22.83 |
|||
|
12 |
Hillis, Paige.MSSAC |
347,62 |
37 |
Youn, Sena.lS |
82300 |
23 |
Curtis. Sean.CHENA |
11:25.55 |
25 |
Kershaw. Calum.NEW |
3055.25 |
BOYS 9 - 200 IND. MEDLEY |
||
|
13 |
Shocohian, Anna.PSW |
3:5324 |
38 |
Shramko, Krislina.RAPID |
8:26.21 |
24 |
Scherzinger. AirJen.NEW |
11:42 94 |
26 |
Li, Leo.RAPID |
31:4749 |
Bee t |
4191 IobiasOriwot.PCSC.1995 |
|
|
14 |
Thibeault. Rachel.UCSC |
3:54 71 |
39 |
Quon. Melissa.RAPID |
8:26 53 |
25 |
Hall, Alexander.UCSC |
11:4881 |
27 |
Man, Vincent.RAPID |
31:47.72 |
1 |
Wasyliw, Carter.MM |
3:11.66 |
|
15 |
Talen, Larissa.UCSC |
3:5633 |
40 |
Zhou, Selina.RAPID |
8:27,19 |
26 |
Croyle, Ben.UCSC |
11 5789 |
28 |
Wei. Robin.CHENA |
31 4884 |
2 |
Ahmad, Abdullah.MSSAC |
3:12.55 |
|
16 |
Abbott. Hannah.PSW |
357 17 |
41 |
Tesch, Riley.UVPCS |
82800 |
27 |
Hirt, James.SCAR |
12:1219 |
29 |
Ma, Tony.RAPID |
32:34.02 |
3 |
Shaul, Carter.UCSC |
3:25.62 |
|
17 |
Horwood. Patricia Grace.UVPCS |
3:5960 |
42 |
Hirt, Laura.SCAR |
832 99 |
28 |
Winters, Matlhew.NEW |
1236 71 |
30 |
Lee, Willis.LOSC |
324500 |
4 |
Ogden. Sam.lS |
3:26.10 |
|
18 |
Copland, Maggie.MSSAC |
4:02,01 |
43 |
Gray, Yvonne.MSSAC |
833 98 |
29 |
Umera. Victor.CHENA |
12:38.35 |
31 |
Pan, Spencer.UCSC |
32:45.09 |
5 |
Gillespie-Fnesen. Noah,DCSC |
3:2743 |
|
19 |
Epp, Anabelle.PSW |
4:06,10 |
44 |
Berry, Jaylene.RAPID |
8:3967 |
30 |
MacAskill, Hugh.OCSC |
12:57.20 |
32 |
Anderson, Byron,UCSC |
3246.60 |
6 |
Truong, Pierre.MSSAC |
3:30.31 |
|
20 |
Kennedy. Juliel.CHENA |
4:0777 |
45 |
Hamidnejad, Tanya, CHENA |
843 76 |
31 |
Willsie, Lukas.DCSC |
13:09 34 |
33 |
Berezovski. Daniel.NEW |
33:1844 |
7 |
Svitak, Sasha.MSSAC |
3 34.08 |
|
21 |
Acevedo, Liliana.SCAR |
4 14,91 |
46 |
Livingston. Cassidy.UCSC |
8 46,29 |
32 |
Peralla, Gabriel.AOSC |
13:1700 |
34 |
Hudson. Luke.UCSC |
3330.85 |
8 |
Babils, Matthew.MSSAC |
3:37.12 |
|
22 |
Liang, Emily.PSW |
4:1997 |
47 |
Carnevale, Sofia.MSSAC |
8.55.64 |
33 |
Payne. Christian.DCSC |
13:3390 |
35 |
Bardell, Jorjdin.UCSC |
33.45.0079 |
9 |
Ngawati, Quinn.lS |
3 42.02 |
|
23 |
George. Iris.UCSC |
4:2238 |
48 |
Henry, HollyJS |
8:5745 |
34 |
Groulx, Jakob.NEW |
13 51 90 |
36 |
Kim, Joon Young, CHENA |
34:18 84 |
10 |
Ye, Kevin.RAPID |
3:4226 |
|
24 |
Joflre. Sophie.UCSC |
422 84 |
49 |
Blondal, Madelme.UCSC |
8:5854 |
35 |
Caughell, Grani.NEW |
13:59 06 |
37 |
McCabe, Cameron,MSSAC |
34:45.32 |
11 |
Ouellette, Cameron.MSSAC |
3:49.77 |
|
25 |
Diaz, Ximena.CHENA |
4 23 46 |
50 |
Xu, Laura.MSSAC |
90002 |
36 |
Johnston, Matthew.DCSC |
14 23 60 |
38 |
MacAulay, Zach.LOSC |
35:0100 |
12 |
Williams, Kenlon.UCSC |
3:5064 |
|
26 |
McMillan, Healher.UVPCS |
4:2508 |
51 |
Alexiuk. MacKenzie.MM |
9:0834 |
37 |
Mcintosh, Joidan.CHENA |
14 32 12 |
39 |
Erickson, Kieren.LOSC |
35 18.0000 |
13 |
Currie. Quinlan. CHENA |
3:5710 |
|
27 |
Vanderhooft, Gelsomina.MM |
42687 |
52 |
Philpolts, Georgina.CHENA |
9:2352 |
38 |
McBoyle. Jake.AOSC |
144585 |
40 |
Prescott, Andre.UVPCS |
354644 |
14 |
Latkovic, Paul.UCSC |
4:15.27 |
|
28 |
Jones. Taeya.UCSC |
4:27.34 |
53 |
Wilson, Nicole.MSSAC |
9:33 42 |
39 |
Shalovsky, Joseph.NEW |
15:55.62 |
41 |
Wen. Leslie.RAPID |
35:52.29 |
15 |
Chiu, David.UCSC |
4:15.32 |
|
29 |
Lam, Fiona.RAPID |
4:27 42 |
54 |
Eldah, Habiba.DCSC |
9 35 16 |
BOYS 9 ■ 800 FREESTYLE |
42 |
Stebeck. Joshua.UVPCS |
3556.72 |
16 |
Mittermaier, Peter.PSW |
4:18.52 |
||
|
30 |
Trimble, Elenia.PSW |
4:2913 |
55 |
Sparks. Sierra.DCSC |
9:35.23 |
Hec |
W 2710 Doug Wake.YLSC.1986 |
43 |
Howe, Justin.UVPCS |
35:57 74 |
17 |
On, Austen.RAPID |
4 23.84 |
|
|
31 |
George. Kale.MM |
4 30.17 |
56 |
Erdelsky, Mikayla.USC |
9:3655 |
1 |
Wasyliw. Carter.MM |
12:0566 |
44 |
Ollech, Keaton.lS |
36 18 02 |
18 |
Spennati, Sandro.CDSC |
4:25.00 |
|
32 |
Ollinik. Jessica.MM |
4:3090 |
57 |
Cooper. KaylaJS |
9:4454 |
2 |
Ahmad, Abdullah.MSSAC |
12:0943 |
45 |
Mukhametov, Robert.UCSC |
36 190069 |
19 |
Carabetta, Nalhan.CHENA |
4:25.93 |
|
33 |
Ocon, Liezl.MM |
4:31.11 |
58 |
Wille, KateJS |
9:45.44 |
3 |
Babits. Malthew.MSSAC |
13:0011 |
46 |
Lane, Matthew.lS |
36:2577 |
20 |
Fulcher, Nathaniel, MM |
4:27.00 |
|
34 |
Fehr, Cydney.UCSC |
4:31.70 |
59 |
Ewing, Megan,UVPCS |
946 96 |
4 |
Ouellelte, Cameron.MSSAC |
131743 |
47 |
Richards. Hunler.USC |
3641 0089 |
21 |
Gomez, Juan Carlos.CHENA |
4:28.76 |
|
35 |
Tsounis, Katie.DS |
4:35 78 |
60 |
Ong, Miecah.RAPID |
9:50.21 |
5 |
Gillespie-Fnesen, Noah,DCSC |
13 1770 |
48 |
Sahola. Ekum.RAPID |
37:0602 |
22 |
Hicklmg, Karter.USC |
4:32 93 |
|
36 |
Kim. Sarah.LOSC |
4:38.90 |
61 |
Mcavoy.Amy.MM |
10:01.91 |
6 |
Shaul, Carter.UCSC |
14:14.42 |
49 |
Voisey, Trevor.LOSC |
37 5600 |
23 |
Bilic. Jeremy.UCSC |
4:34.39 |
|
37 |
Fraser, Abby.UVPCS |
4 42 12 |
62 |
Bryant, Alexa.lS |
1005 55 |
7 |
Truong. Pierre.MSSAC |
14:1818 |
50 |
Bengali, Muslala.MSSAC |
39:120042 |
24 |
Hurley, Jacob.DCSC |
4:39.49 |
|
38 |
McCloy. Alhson.UCSC |
443.28 |
63 |
Letkeman, Anna.UVPCS |
101611 |
8 |
Williams, Kenlon.UCSC |
1427 80 |
51 |
Austria, Julian.NEW |
391369 |
25 |
Hopkins, JordanJS |
44400 |
|
39 |
Selehmia-Samak, Jasmine.CHENA |
4:44.32 |
64 |
Dessureault, Lauren.DCSC |
101652 |
9 |
Ngawati. Ouinn.lS |
144906 |
52 |
Wong, Charles.RAPID |
403968 |
26 |
Henry, Declan.MM |
4:58.15 |
|
40 |
Aksenchuk. Charlolte.UCSC |
4:48.65 |
65 |
Oiegar, Candace.MSSAC |
1022.82 |
10 |
Oliver. Nicholas.NEW |
1449 75 |
53 |
Shi. Haoleng.UCSC |
42:2941 |
27 |
Elmadani, Justin.DCSC |
5:17.57 |
|
41 |
Jocelyn. Lexi.MM |
4:49 58 |
66 |
Sawchuk. Rachel.UVPCS |
10:3311 |
11 |
Svitak, Sasha.MSSAC |
1457 77 |
54 |
Skinner, DanielJS |
471455 |
28 |
Manuel, Aaron.CHENA |
5.18.67 |
|
42 |
McBoyle. Madison.LOSC |
4:5300 |
67 |
Goncalves, Olivia.RAPID |
10:49 97 |
12 |
McGill. Matt.NEW |
1512.28 |
BOYS 7 & UNDER 100 IND. MEDLEY |
29 |
Dekker, William.RAPID |
5:1938 |
||
|
43 |
Whitten. Emma.UVPCS |
4:5419 |
68 |
Memarzia, Niki.CHENA |
10:5464 |
13 |
Ye, Kevin, RAPID |
151509 |
Bee 129 77 Andrew Bignell.SSMAC.1991 |
30 |
Moir, Ryan.CHENA |
5:42 32 |
||
|
44 |
Rybka, Madelaine.MSSAC |
4:56.28 |
69 |
Behro, Ayaka.UVPCS |
105795 |
14 |
Currie, Quinlan.CHENA |
1542 22 |
1 |
Crawford, Matlhew,7,RAPID |
20100 |
31 |
Slade, McCallum.AOSC |
608.08 |
|
45 |
Stewart, Kalie.SCAR |
4:56.31 |
70 |
Mulholland, MirhaeJS |
105955 |
15 |
Fenn. Gabriel.NEW |
1551 56 |
2 |
Yang. Damel,7.UCSC |
2 01 05 |
32 |
Li, Benny.RAPID |
6:17.68 |
|
46 |
Wood, Ciara.UCSC |
4:5790 |
71 |
Stewart, Kalrina.LOSC |
11 03 00 |
16 |
Huen. Nicholas.RAPID |
161845 |
3 |
Stevens, Colton,7,UCSC |
2:06.10 |
33 |
Wild. Jack.lS |
6:29.00 |
|
47 |
James, Jessica.LOSC |
5:01.00 |
72 |
Bimb, TanisaJS |
11 03.43 |
17 |
Grant, Duncan,NEW |
16.33.83 |
4 |
Yang. Ray,7.MSSAC |
2:10.92 |
34 |
Griffiths, Owen.LOSC |
6:42.00 |
|
48 |
Kennedy. Hanna.SCAR |
5:01.08 |
73 |
Regalado-Uy, Ashley.CHENA |
11 37.54 |
18 |
Chiu, David.UCSC |
1642 03 |
5 |
Engman, Ryan,7,UCSC |
2:17.50 |
35 |
Wirtz. Sheldon.AOSC |
7:2300 |
|
49 |
Liu, Anna.RAPID |
5:03 91 |
74 |
Thomson, Brooke.UVPCS |
120047 |
19 |
Bilic. Jeremy.UCSC |
164585 |
6 |
Derbyshire. Carter,7.NEW |
2:25.55 |
BOYS 10 ■ 400 IND. MEDLEY |
||
|
50 |
de Lemos, Gwen.RAPID |
5:05.01 |
75 |
Filotlo, Sandrine.LOSC |
12:0130 |
20 |
Scullion Smeenk, Cooper.USC |
16 46.15 |
7 |
Martin, Avery.7,L0SC |
2:31.00 |
Bee 5 23 80 Inslan Cole.ESWIM.2006 |
||
|
51 |
Adam, Hannah.CHENA |
5:12.12 |
76 |
Vincent, Mary.UVPCS |
1202.55 |
21 |
Latkovic, Paul.UCSC |
17:11.77 |
8 |
Brachvogel, Lucas,7,DCSC |
236.63 |
1 |
Meier, Simon.MM |
6:19.56 |
|
52 |
Chang. Solia.RAPID |
5:17.01 |
77 |
Gu, Amanda.LOSC |
1232.39 |
22 |
Hicklmg. Karter.USC |
17:41 65 |
9 |
McNeill, Hugh.5,A0SC |
30300 |
2 |
Rendall. Eric.UCSC |
6:31.56 |
|
53 |
Timewell, Emma.SCAR |
5:18.62 |
78 |
Belliveau. Kalhleen.DCSC |
12:4652 |
23 |
Mittermaier. Peler.PSW |
17:49.09 |
10 |
Kim, Joshua,6,AOSC |
305.00 |
3 |
Bidrman, Ohver.UCSC |
6:3720 |
|
54 |
Schmidt, Nicole.LOSC |
5:24.00 |
79 |
Katunar. Blaire.UVPCS |
130083 |
24 |
Montenegro, Ishan.UCSC |
175250 |
11 |
Kells, Brayden,7,AOSC |
31500 |
4 |
Crawlord, Brandon.RAPID |
6:53.84 |
|
55 |
Piasecki, Sonia.CHENA |
5 26.56 |
25 |
Hopkins, JordanJS |
18:06.00 |
12 |
Shreenan. Bryce,7,DCSC |
317.99 |
5 |
Villalobos, Rodrigo.MSSAC |
6:58.19 |
|||
|
56 |
Nel, Amy.LOSC |
5 2900 |
BUYd tVtNIb |
26 |
Orr.Austen.RAPID |
182638 |
13 |
Mallett, Jacob.7.DS |
3:28.71 |
6 |
Ross, Issac.lS |
700.22 |
||
|
57 |
MacDonnell, Karmyn.LOSC |
5:42.00 |
27 |
Liang, Edward.UVPCS |
18:56.62 |
14 |
Payne, lzaac,5.DCSC |
3:55.18 |
7 |
Keller, Sean.UCSC |
7:00.59 |
|||
|
58 |
Ye, Patricia.UVPCS |
5 43.59 |
BOYS 7 & UNDER 200 FREESTYLE |
28 |
Manuel. Aaron.CHENA |
191523 |
15 |
Archer. Sidney,7.DCSC |
3:57.35 |
8 |
Li, Terry.MSSAC |
7:03.42 |
||
|
59 |
Rupnik, Claudia.NEW |
5:52.33 |
flee 2 59 36 Joshua Hammerwtd.UCSC. 1997 |
29 |
Rehdner, Sullivan.NEW |
19:2106 |
16 |
Carter, Malhew,6.LOSC |
41800 |
9 |
Roberts, Cole.UCSC |
7:17.31 |
||
|
60 |
Yoo, Cindy.LOSC |
6:1920 |
1 |
Yang, Ray,7,MSSAC |
3:0039 |
30 |
Lin. James.UVPCS |
19:36.81 |
17 |
Groulx, Alexandre,7,NEW |
42606 |
10 |
Zhang, Mike.RAPID |
7:20.38 |
|
61 |
Jessa, Ariana.CHENA |
6:19.24 |
2 |
Yang, Daniel,7,UCSC |
3:31 60 |
31 |
Wright, Nicholas.NEW |
19:5962 |
18 |
Cueva. Steven,7,L0SC |
4:32.00 |
11 |
Karpan, William.LOSC |
7:24.30 |
|
62 |
Khullar, Shagun.LOSC |
6:28.00 |
3 |
Crawlord, Marlhew,7,RAPID |
3:42.54 |
32 |
Dekker, William.RAPID |
20:0767 |
19 |
Hagen, Collon,6,LOSC |
4:5700 |
12 |
Acevedo. Javier.SCAR |
7:2840 |
|
63 |
Cueva, Emely.LOSC |
6:59.00 |
4 |
Stevens, Collon,7,UCSC |
4 03 86 |
33 |
Borwick, Caleb.UCSC |
20:13 08 |
20 |
Schmidt, Adam,5,L0SC |
51600 |
13 |
Crocker, Gregory.UCSC |
7:3612 |
|
64 |
Geider, Theresa.LOSC |
7:00.00 |
5 |
Kershaw. Gner,7.NEW |
4:1906 |
34 |
He, Yu Mmg.UCSC |
20:18 22 |
BOYS |
8-100 IND. MEDLEY |
14 |
Walsh, Marark.PSW |
7:50.76 |
|
|
65 |
Fehr. Rowan.UCSC |
7:27.86 |
6 |
Derbyshire, Carter,7,NEW |
4:30.21 |
35 |
Gomez, Juan Carlos.CHENA |
20:32.34 |
Bee 1:21 38 Andrew Bignell.SSMAC. 1992 |
15 |
Kim, Joon Young,CHENA |
7:56.85 |
||
|
66 |
Ali, Nadia.CDSC |
7:37.00 |
7 |
Soleimani, Kourosh,6,UCSC |
4:41.52 |
36 |
Sammy, Ethan, NEW |
21 30 62 |
1 |
Man, Lawrence,RAPID |
1:47.41 |
16 |
Fedrigo, RoberloJS |
8:02.55 |
|
67 |
Jock, Lauren.LOSC |
7:4200 |
8 |
Engman, Ryan,7,UCSC |
4:46.65 |
37 |
Carabetta, Nathan.CHENA |
21:3243 |
2 |
Cronk, Riley.lS |
1:48.96 |
17 |
Carmichael. Jordan.MM |
8:10.18 |
|
68 |
Foy, Erin.NEW |
7:4310 |
9 |
McNeill, Hugh,5,A0SC |
5:11.00 |
38 |
Kmzinger, Auslin.NEW |
22:1019 |
3 |
Thumann, Cole.UCSC |
1 5586 |
18 |
Leu, Jonalhan.PSW |
8:12.43 |
|
69 |
Johnson, Hali.LOSC |
8:37.00 |
10 |
Blondal, William,7.UCSC |
5:1808 |
39 |
Robinson-Leilh, Gabriel.NEW |
22:25.83 |
4 |
Nguyen, Albert.MSSAC |
1:58.03 |
19 |
Lush, Michael.SCAR |
8:17.00 |
|
GIRLS 10 -400 IND. MEDLEY |
11 |
Konzelmann, Beniamin,7,NEW |
5:27.82 |
40 |
Wild. Jack.lS |
23:03.22 |
5 |
Storm, Alex.MM |
2:0120 |
20 |
Man, Vincent.RAPID |
8:19.52 |
||
|
flee: 5:36.76 Stephanie Shewchuk.PCSC. 1 |
165 |
12 |
Brachvogel, Lucas,7,DCSC |
5:40.55 |
41 |
Hurley, Jacob.DCSC |
23:13.20 |
6 |
Hare, Karl.UCSC |
2:04.70 |
21 |
Lui, Nicholas.RAPID |
8:20.25 |
|
|
1 |
Metcalfe, Hillary.LOSC |
6:14.83 |
13 |
Kim. Joshua.6.A0SC |
5:54.57 |
42 |
Craven. Cole.NEW |
24:0352 |
7 |
Thumann, Cade.UCSC |
2:08.98 |
22 |
Nguyen, AndrewMSSAC |
8:22.21 |
|
2 |
Higuchi. Tiara.MSSAC |
6:1738 |
14 |
Kells, Brayden,7.AOSC |
5:59.00 |
43 |
Dhalla, Aran.UCSC |
243666 |
8 |
Berry, Austin.RAPID |
2:0974 |
23 |
Nguyen. Vincent.MSSAC |
8:26 72 |
|
3 |
Johnston. Lauia.MSSAC |
6:28.21 |
15 |
Fehr, Elhen,7.UCSC |
7:04.33 |
44 |
Rama, Roan.UVPCS |
245055 |
9 |
Cheng, Brian.RAPID |
20990 |
24 |
Selmanovic, Din.MSSAC |
8:30.22 |
|
4 |
Powell, Madison.lS |
6:28.24 |
16 |
Cueva, Steven,7,L0SC |
7:0509 |
45 |
Moir. Ryan.CHENA |
25:3243 |
10 |
Murray, Ryan.RAPID |
2:17.90 |
25 |
Farahani, Naveed.MSSAC |
8:34.21 |
|
5 |
Tetreault. Trisla.LOSC |
6:30.30 |
17 |
Groulx, Alexandre,7,NEW |
7:45.23 |
46 |
Slade, McCallum.AOSC |
25:3423 |
11 |
Howe, Nathan.UVPCS |
2:24.13 |
26 |
Hageman, Malthew.USC |
8:36.87 |
|
6 |
Mark, Devon.LOSC |
6:38.30 |
18 |
Schmidt, Adam,5,L0SC |
8:21.00 |
47 |
Laroche. Christian.DCSC |
26:09 60 |
12 |
Roy, Daniel.DCSC |
2:27.16 |
27 |
Wei, Robin.CHENA |
8:54.74 |
|
7 |
McDonald. Stephame.MSSAC |
6:44 44 |
19 |
Shreenan, Bryce,7,DCSC |
8 38 00 |
48 |
Griffiths. Owen.LOSC |
2745.00 |
13 |
Howard, Benjamin.UCSC |
2:27.18 |
28 |
Manuel, Denin.CHENA |
9:10.09 |
|
8 |
Namgoong, Lucia.MSSAC |
6:46.53 |
20 |
Dyce,Josh,6.LOSC |
9:1459 |
49 |
Elmadani.Justin.DCSC |
27:4860 |
14 |
Payne, Christian.DCSC |
2:28.83 |
29 |
Gandhi. Neil.MSSAC |
92645 |
|
9 |
Hanus, Danielle.NEW |
6:49.08 |
21 |
Fehr, Niall,6,UCSC |
9:31.93 |
50 |
Li. Benny.RAPID |
28:4351 |
15 |
Waller, Bevan.AOSC |
2:29.25 |
30 |
Wen, Leslie.RAPID |
9:46.47 |
|
10 |
Doyon, Lydia.PSW |
6:49.87 |
22 |
Payne, lzaac,5,DCSC |
10:54.00 |
51 |
Nixon, Hunter.LOSC |
30:0000 |
16 |
Kloot, Jarrod.RAPID |
2:31.29 |
31 |
Li, Leo.RAPID |
9:46.54 |
|
11 |
Ye, Calhy.RAPID |
6:54.50 |
23 |
Allen, Felix,6.LOSC |
11:03.26 |
BOYS 10 • 1500 FREESTYLE |
17 |
Pratt. Grayson.UCSC |
2:33.31 |
32 |
Pan. Spencer.UCSC |
9 47 83 |
||
|
12 |
MohtarJi. Judy.UCSC |
70041 |
24 |
Archer. Sidney,7.DCSC |
175500 |
flee |
18 41 92 Michael Calkms.VICOM |
18 |
Hirt.James.SCAR |
2:34.48 |
33 |
Ollech, KeatonJS |
9:5000 |
|
|
13 |
Karmali, Aliya.UCSC |
7:0108 |
BOYS |
8 - 400 FREESTYLE |
1 |
Rendall, Eric.UCSC |
22:2648 |
19 |
Bhandal, Sam.RAPID |
2:35.56 |
34 |
Wong, Charles.RAPID |
9:51.55 |
|
|
14 |
Urquidi, Ilian.LOSC |
7:02 20 |
flee 52265DougW3ke.YLSC.1986 |
2 |
Keller. Sean.UCSC |
23:28.50 |
20 |
Reid. Alex.SCAR |
2:40.93 |
35 |
Bengali, Muslafa,MSSAC |
9:53.61 |
||
|
15 |
Blair, Amelia.LOSC |
7:21.50 |
1 |
Nguyen, Albert.MSSAC, |
7:0741 |
3 |
Meier, Simon.MM |
24:45.71 |
21 |
Oliker, David.NEW |
2:45.91 |
36 |
McCabe, Cameron.MSSAC |
9:56 74 |
|
16 |
Xue, Serena.RAPID |
7:25.99 |
2 |
Thumann, Cole.UCSC |
8:04.13 |
4 |
Li.Terry.MSSAC |
2447.43 |
22 |
MacAskill, Hugh.DCSC |
2:50 03 |
37 |
Inglis. Sean.MM |
9:5700 |
|
17 |
Gosel, Samanlha.RAPID |
7:28.08 |
3 |
Man, Lawrence.RAPID |
8:07.63 |
5 |
Roberts. Cole.UCSC |
25:30.36 |
23 |
Peralla. Gabriel.AOSC |
2:52.30 |
38 |
Prescott. Andre.UVPCS |
95768 |
|
18 |
Ryder, Eva.RAPID |
7:28.43 |
4 |
Sasarman, Valenlm.NEW |
8:38.12 |
6 |
Crocker, Gregory.UCSC |
25:4195 |
24 |
Curtis. Sean.CHENA |
2:52.33 |
39 |
Tkachenko, Anthony.MSSAC |
1001 32 |
|
19 |
Aticionado, Aleckxeis.RAPID |
7:30.24 |
5 |
Thumann, Cade.UCSC |
8:45.23 |
7 |
Zeng, Tim.CHENA |
26 01.22 |
25 |
Winters, Matlhew.NEW |
2:53.71 |
40 |
Atkinson, Graham.UVPCS |
1004.35 |
|
20 |
Uemura, Mariana.CHENA |
7:32.88 |
6 |
Cheng, Brian.RAPID |
8:59.07 |
8 |
Karpan, William.LOSC |
26:14.11 |
26 |
Mcintosh, Jordan.CHENA |
2:5459 |
41 |
Bardell. Jorjdin.UCSC |
10:12.31 |
|
21 |
Booth, Natalie.CHENA |
7:41.20 |
7 |
Hare, Karl.UCSC |
9:04.07 |
9 |
Schramm, Juslin.LOSC |
26:20 67 |
27 |
Bobadilla, Nicolas.NEW |
2:55.34 |
42 |
Gupte. DhruyMSSAC |
102342 |
|
22 |
Hoogenraad, JadePSW |
7:4156 |
B |
Pascoe, Bronson.NEW |
9:04.44 |
10 |
Acevedo. Javier.SCAR |
2700.50 |
28 |
Willsie, Lukas.DCSC |
3:02.03 |
43 |
Anderson, Byron.UCSC |
10:33.24 |
|
23 |
Gibson, Jessie.AOSC |
7:50.31 |
9 |
Freyvogel, Matthew.CHENA |
9:24.24 |
11 |
Lee,Joshua.NEW |
27:04.06 |
29 |
Collis. Ryan.NEW |
3:0242 |
44 |
Howe. Justin.UVPCS |
10:33.81 |
|
24 |
Ullrich, Heidi.UVPCS |
7:50.80 |
10 |
Anderson, Tyrone.UCSC |
9:34.03 |
12 |
Walsh, Marark.PSW |
27:3612 |
30 |
Adams, Will.UVPCS |
3:04.30 |
45 |
Stebeck, Joshua.UVPCS |
10:37.32 |
|
25 |
Thomas, Grace,UVPCS |
7:53.60 |
11 |
Kloot, Jarrod.RAPID |
9:41.66 |
13 |
Sasarman, Constanlin.NEW |
27:49.31 |
31 |
Johnston. Matthew.DCSC |
3:05.10 |
46 |
Lee, Brian.LOSC |
103789 |
|
26 |
Grieve, Alexandra.PSW |
7:54.12 |
12 |
Howard. Benjamin.UCSC |
9:42.49 |
14 |
Villalobos, Rodrigo.MSSAC |
28:00.02 |
32 |
Bradbury-Agar, Ethan.lS |
3:0673 |
47 |
Richards, Hunler.USC |
11 02001 |
|
27 |
Dong, Paige.LOSC |
7:5950 |
13 |
Bhandal, Sam.RAPID |
9:53.03 |
15 |
Bennett, Scott.NEW |
280588 |
33 |
McBoyle. Jake.AOSC |
3:21.00 |
48 |
Lane. Matthew.lS |
11 1355 |
|
28 |
Gagnon, Arielle.CHENA |
8:01.55 |
14 |
Murray, Ryan.RAPID |
9:5651 |
16 |
Kershaw, Logan.MEW |
28:19.28 |
34 |
Sun, AndrewUVPCS |
3:42.20 |
49 |
Skinner, DanielJS |
11:3044 |
|
29 |
Kim, BokyoungJS |
8:04.50 |
15 |
Bobadilla, Nicolas.NEW |
9:5671 |
17 |
Gandhi. Neil.MSSAC |
28.3201 |
35 |
Groulx, Jakob.NEW |
3:50.49 |
50 |
Lynch, Stephen.CHENA |
11:32.23 |
|
30 |
Zammit. Tabitha.UVPCS |
8:05.40 |
16 |
Berry. Austin.RAPID |
10:12.93 |
18 |
Lush, Michael.SCAR |
29:12.50 |
36 |
Vasilescu, Adrian.NEW |
4:00.67 |
51 |
Lynch, Thomas.CHENA |
11:5423 |
|
31 |
Kent, Sandra.CHENA |
8:07.02 |
17 |
Pratt, Grayson.UCSC |
1018.89 |
19 |
Patel, Ravi.UCSC |
29:20.56 |
37 |
Butt, Kent.PENGU |
4:05 47 |
52 |
Szabo, Marcus. CHENA |
12:1643 |
|
32 |
Currie-Olsen, Danja.UCSC |
8.11.13 |
18 |
Gunn, Daniel.UCSC |
10:30.43 |
20 |
Fedrigo, RoberloJS |
29:21.10 |
38 |
Chisamore-Johnslon, Elhan.NEW |
4:4009 |
53 |
Hayden, Liam.UVPCS |
12:29 80 |
|
33 |
Wu, Emily.CHENA |
8:11.56 |
19 |
Collis, Ryan,NEW |
10:3289 |
21 |
Farahani, Naveed.MSSAC |
29:22.56 |
39 |
Lawless, Tanner.UVPCS |
4:4417 |
54 |
Beckett, KristopherJS |
12:49505 |
|
34 |
Babils, Monica.MSSAC |
8:16,54 |
20 |
Reid, Alex.SCAR |
10:4360 |
22 |
Leu.Jonalhan.PSW |
29:32.12 |
40 |
Neilson, Kristopher.UVPCS |
5:04 50 |
|||
|
35 |
Prendergast, Rowan.SCAR |
8:1719 |
21 |
Oliker. David.NEW |
10:58.40 |
23 |
Lui, Nicholas.RAPID |
29:46.88 |
41 |
Darke, Lucas.UVPCS |
6:06.70 |
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008 19
INTERNATIONAL COACHING PERSONALITY
PAUL BERGEN HAS DONE IT ALL
A lifetime of success and its lessons
Jeff Grace
If you were to say that Paul Bergen has done it all, you wouldn't be too far off. Regarded as one of the greatest swim coaches of any era, he won eight US National Championships (six with the Cincinnati Marlins and two with the Nashville Aquatic Club, both clubs that he founded), two National Collegiate Women's Championships, he has been the ASCA Coach of the Year twice, been honoured as the National Collegiate Coach of the Year, and the Canadian Coach of the Year.
Oh yeah, his swimmers have also set 12 world records and have won Olympic medals of every colour.
He even had a little something to do with some of the great feats at the 2008 Olympic Games. Before Bob Bowman coached Michael Phelps, guess who one of his strongest influences and cherished mentors was? Coach Bergen.
Before Sean Hutchison coached Margaret Holezer to a world record in the 200 back, who do you think was one of his major influences? Once again it was Coach Bergen, whom Hutchison has affectionately referred to as the Yoda of swimming after he worked with him in Portland.
In 1985 he became head coach of the Etobicoke Swim Club. Half a year later the women's team was the best in the country. In 1988 Allison Higson won the 200 breast at the Canadian Olympic trials in a world record of 2:27.27, the last long course record set in Canada by a Canadian. It was the national standard for 19 years.
In 2007, Bergen returned to Canada as the Head Coach of the Montreal National Training Centre, where he helped guide Stephanie Horner and Tobias Oriwol to their first Olympic Games.
After Beijing, Bergen made the decision to retire. He is now living in Arkansas, where he is able to spend more time with his wife Mary Ann and train his horses.
The Olympics
In 2007, one of the things that drew him back to the Great White North was the enthusiasm that he saw in the Canadian swimming community. After watching the performances at the Olympic Games, he felt that that enthusiasm was tested.
"Beijing became a reality check for that
enthusiasm," explains Bergen. "There were some things that happened that reinforced that enthusiasm, that things are following the right path, and I think some early successes weren't quite as good as people thought they were."
Three of the athletes that made breakthroughs in Beijing were Ryan Cochrane, Annamay Pierse, and Mike Brown. Looking at their development and preparation, one of the biggest reasons that these athletes were able to perform on the largest stage at the right moment was because of the relationships they have with their coaches: Randy Bennett, Joszef Nagy, and Jan Bidrman.
Bergen feels coaching was the determining factor in all three athletes' success. "I think if you look at it, the coaching played a significant role. It is an ability to see the forest through the trees."
For Bergen, there are three main requirements for a coach to have success at the international level: visionary coaching, an understanding of technique, and a commitment to the process of achieving the vision.
Visionary coaching
When the goal is international success, a coach must understand what it takes to achieve success at that level, whether it is the fitness requirements, the technical requirements, or the mentality. This is one of the elements that Bennett, Nag)', and Bidrman all have: an ability to understand what is required to win at the international level and how to develop those components in the swimmers they coach.
"I saw Randy two to three years ago when he came down to the meet in Portland, and I could tell than that he was trying to get Ryan to swim at world-class repeats. He was on the right track with getting a young man that had the ability, but more importantly a commitment, to try to do the kind of training it takes to go 58s, even when his best time was four or five seconds per 100 slower than that. You are trying to push him to what it takes to be competitive instead of doing these little baby steps one at a time."
"I think that Jan, especially in breaststroke, has this history of looking at what it takes to be the very best and is able to get them to be really good when it is important because he knows what really good is a long time before the athletes get to that point.
The same with Joszef: either technically or
training-wise, he knows what it takes to be really good two or three years out."
Each coach went about his business in a different way, but in the end they all went through the same process: they had a vision of what the end result needed to be, and they developed a plan that was in line with that vision.
"It is kind of like building a house," says Bergen. "You have to have some idea of what you want it to look like at the end and you are constantly working towards that end product, not building one room, then deciding I need an extra room so I will build that. You will end up with the same number of rooms, but with this hodgepodge product that you never planned to start with."
"To me, that is what is missing in what I see in Canada. They are taking care of one little season at a time, instead of knowing where they are going and then taking care of the season as a way to get to the end."
Technical knowledge
Science has benefited the sport of swimming in many different ways, from biomechanical analysis to physiological testing to psychological strategies, but science also has its drawbacks. Many coaches rely too much on science and often ignore the artistic side of coaching.
After watching many coaches, Bergen feels there is a need to address this, especially when it comes to technique. "I think you need to come at it from more of a Howard Firby approach of having a visual picture of what you want each stroke to look like, and not the technical aspects of what plane this is or that is in. It is more of a general concept of the feel for a stroke and how it should be swum."
One of the best tools that coaches can use to develop this skill is to watch what the best in world are doing, and to ensure that is happening, that footage should be more readily available.
"I think this should be an SNC-generated project," states Bergen. "They could put together videos of the best swimmers in the world and make them available through the coaches association, and even' club coach, high-school coach, college coach can have the availability to that.
"It is all available, it is not like they would have to hire this big crew or have a big project. They would just have to take video shots of what happened in Beijing and they would have it all there."
When coaching in Nashville, Bergen filmed a video that included athletes from every level of swimming starting at the age of six all the way to world record holder Tracy Caulkins. What he discovered was the best swimmers at even' level had the same fundamental technical components to their strokes.
"You could see a transition; it was almost
20
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
Darwin-like. From six years old, the basic techniques looked like the American record holder some six to eight years later. If we can develop basic world-class technical form at a young age, all we have to do is keep improving it as they get older. It is kind of like a sculpture starting with this basic form and gradually building this refined project at the end."
Commitment to the process
The process starts with the vision, but a vision is useless if a coach is not committed to following through with the plan. Almost 20 years ago, many considered Jon Cleveland to be the best breaststroke swimmer in the world between the flags, but he did not consistently win big international competitions because of his turns.
It is now 2008 and in Beijing, once again, this was a glaring weakness for many Canadian athletes. So why have we not found a way to solve this problem even though we have had two decades to do so?
"The correction is simple, but the commitment is gigantic," explains Pau| Bergen in 1988 as Canadian Olympic Team Coach.Ue is a1998 Bergen. Internation Swimming Hall of Fame inductee
Many different coaches use different
tactics successfully to develop great turns, but the key to that success is the commitment to the process no matter what the initial results may be.
"Joszef Nagy does all of his breaststroke turns with a flip. Why? Because he is sick of looking at slow turns where they rest on them and it is harder to stay underwater. So he is taking care of one of the demands underwater by making them flip.
"There are different coaches that will put rubber bands at the flags and attach them to the lane lines so if the kids come up before the flags, they get clothes-lined, so they have to stay underwater.
"It is simple, but you have to be committed to put that cord in the water every single day, and when you are expecting performance on the clock, say on repeat times, you can't give up the turns to get faster times.
"I think that is what is not happening in the coaching. It is a difficult thing to do, but if you make a commitment to improve your underwaters at the beginning of the year and stick with it, gradually, as the athletes get in shape, they get faster."
Another example that Bergen uses is Natalie Coughlin. Coughlin is one of the fastest female swimmers underneath the water, and one of the reasons for that is she makes a commitment at the start of the year to practise that skill every day without worrying about the effect it has on her
early-season performances.
"At the beginning of each year, Coughlin makes the commitment to kick 12 times off of every single wall. If you are going 6000 yards in a practice, that is 2400 turns! It is a big commitment early season and she gets beat by a lot of people because it is taking everything she has got to stay underwater for 12 kicks every time she pushes off the wall.
"I am not sure that many coaches would have enough guts to let their athletes do that. They would be so worried that they would be going so slow that it wouldn't work.
"I am not sure in Canada it is important to make that commitment because, number one, they are competing against Canadians and everybody is turning poorly, so you don't look too bad. Than if you swim long course, you really don't look too bad because you don't have those turns coming up every ten seconds to make as much of a difference."
Bergen admits that even though he recently spent time coaching in the United States, he underestimated just how good the rest of the world was, especially the Americans, underneath the water.
One of things that could help both Canadian coaches and athletes open their eyes to what is necessary to compete with the best when it comes to turns is to simply cross the 49th parallel, but there seems to be resistance amongst coaches to do so.
"There is a hesitation for Canada to do anything in the US, one, because it is yards and two, there is an intimidation factor or a jealousy factor. They would rather fly to Europe and compete against the Europeans at three or four times the expense instead of going down south."
This is only one example of the type of commitment needed to improve the skills that are necessary for Canadians to be successful on the world stage.
The athletes
Coaches are only part of the equation. So what are the things that are important for an athlete to be successful at the international level?
It all begins with the desire to be the best. "More kids need to have the desire to be the best in the world, not the best in Canada, but the world record holder," explains Bergen. "Then if they want to be able to set a world record, they have to be able to set a Canadian senior record. To do that, they have to be able to set a Canadian age group record. In order to do that, they have to set a provincial record, and in order to do that, they have to be able to break a club record.
"I think that getting athletes going after records is really important."
Once that desire is instilled, Bergen stresses an athlete has to understand that to be successful, they have to build a lifestyle that supports their goals.
"I think that they have to be committed to a total lifestyle, being a 24-hour athlete."
During the 1990s, Ed Moses was one of the best breaststrokers in the world. Realizing he did not have the ability to train in the pool as much as his competitors, he gained an advantage by doing everything he could outside of the pool.
"Ed Moses decided, because he wasn't putting in the time in the pool that a lot of the other guys were, that he needed to do everything with his diet, his flexibility, his dryland program, his sleeping; he tried to gain an advantage in every other area," says Bergen.
Bergen's influence on the swimming world cannot be adequately put into words. His accomplishments only begin to scratch the surface. Everywhere he has gone, he has instilled a winning culture and in the process has taught many, many others how to do the same.
Even though he is no longer actively coaching and is enjoying his life in Arkansas, let's keep our fingers crossed that he can only live without swimming in life for so long. ■
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
21
CANADIAN CLUB PROFILE
THE TORONTO SWIM CLUB
Jesse Jacks
The Toronto Swim Club's (TSC) mandate is to develop a club model where they can be included amongst the best "full-service" competitive swimming organizations in the world. By this, Head Coach John Grootveld means that TSC will "have the capacity to create opportunities from the developmental level right through to the Olympic level." Alongside the University of Toronto (U of T), TSC has done well to realize this lofty vision, gaining access to not only some of the best training facilities in the country in its relationship with U of T, but access to a team of support staff including sport science, nutritional experts, sports medicine, and exercise physiology professionals that aid the athletes en route to successful performances at both the age-group and international levels. This relationship, alongside a staff consisting of experienced national and international-calibre coaches and former athletes makes TSC the successful organization it is today.
As a part of a new series of articles in SwimNews profiling Canadian swim clubs, here is a look at one of eastern Canada's top swim clubs, the Toronto Swim Club.
History/Background
TSC was named as such in 1994 when head coach John Grootveld took over. The club is actually an offshoot of the University of Toronto Swim Club, formed in 1984. Shortly after its inauguration in 1984, it became the Toronto Aquanauts Swim Club (TASK). According to TSC head coach John Grootveld, "Over the ten years from 1984-1994, the club had varying degrees of success, reaching an all-time low in 1994 with only 30 swimmers and one provincial qualifier." As a result of this low point at TASK, the board of directors was seeking some change and hired Grootveld to become the new head coach.
Head coach
Prior to his hiring in 1994 as Head Coach of the club he would rename the Toronto Swim Club ("I felt the name needed some global and local significance," Grootveld says. "Hence TSC and Toronto Swimming was born."), Grootveld had been working as an assistant coach under Mark Temple at the Mississauga Aquatic Club. It was here,
as well as some time spent swimming for Temple at the North York Aquatic Club (NYAC), that Grootveld was able to learn a great deal about coaching and how to build a successful club.
The next step in his "rebuilding project" was to hire his friend and longtime teammate from NYAC, Greg Wells, to assist him in the rebuilding endeavour. Together they embarked on a recruiting mission, an effort to grow their club's numbers, and rebuild the club's culture and ties to the community.
"1 figured that it would take a good ten years to develop a program where excellence could become a focus," he says. "Another five to grow the numbers, and ten to build the culture." Grootveld adds, "You can't get swimmers and parents to buy in (to a performance-based culture) overnight." And so the large, successful TSC of today was bom of these ideals, largely the work of Grootveld and his staff, including Wells. As the Head Coach and Director of Swimming for the TSC, Grootveld is responsible for running the day-to-day operations of the swimming program(s), hiring, mentoring, and educating the staff, all the while acting as coach for the top group of the club, which totals 27 swimmers (14 Senior National qualifiers and 13 Eastern qualifiers).
ASSOCIATIONS University of Toronto
While membership grew readily at the younger end of the club, Grootveld and his coaching staff realized how important it was to have role models at the top end of the spectrum if they were to be successful in establishing the high-performance culture they had envisioned. These role models materialized in the form of a new relationship with the University of Toronto. This highly successful relationship made sense for both parties, as TSC had managed to become the top renter of pool time at the University of Toronto. Previously, the U of T swim team had partnered up with NYAC, but given the changing landscape in terms of pool time and the fact that Grootveld had swum under U of T head coach Byron MacDonald, the relationship showed potential. Having Byron Macdonald and Linda Kiefer from U of T Swimming close by allows TSC and Grootveld the luxury of travelling with his top swimmers to training camps, competitions, and national team trips while ensuring that the rest of the top group is left in very capable hands.
At U of T, varsity swimmers are encouraged to
represent their home clubs whenever possible. But for many athletes, their previous coach may no longer be with their former swim club, thus making TSC a new "home" club for many varsity athletes from throughout the country and abroad. A benefit for U of T comes in the number of TSC high school athletes who are interested in continuing to swim for TSC/U of T and as a result enroll at U of T.
The Toronto All Stars (TO*)
As TSC grew, swimmers were developed at the national level. However, travelling to nationals with only a couple of swimmers, combined with a few from the varsity program, was not how Grootveld envisioned a "great club." As a result of the desire for a larger presence at the national level, another association was created, the Toronto All Stars (TO*). This association was only present at the national level; at the age-group level, the team was always j represented as TSC. By aligning themselves with other clubs at the national level, TSC was able to create training and competitive opportunities that were typical for much larger clubs. The association was also a move to help Toronto-area swimming compete against the National centres that were attracting top Canadian talent at the time. TSC competed nationally as TO* from 1998 until the dissolution of the association during the 2005 swim season. According to Grootveld, the complexities of the TO* association eventually proved to be too difficult and TSC, by this point, had amassed a good number of national qualifiers of its own.
"The sacrifice of some of our own pool time was beginning to negatively affect our programming," he claims. "The run with TO* was very important for the development of TSC, though," Grootveld acknowledges.
TSC made its national debut in 2005, and from that point on it was able to progress at a very quick pace. Since then, TSC has consistently been ranked in the top two clubs provincially and in the top six nationally.
Top athletes and accomplishments
TSC is home to many athletes that have competed on senior national teams. Included is three-time Olympian Andrew Hurd. Hurd currently trains at the National Centre in Montreal under Benoit Lebrun. but represents TSC in competitions. TSC is home to a wealth of other national team members including Hilary Bell (2007 Pan Am Games, 2008 Tri-Nations: Cup); Zsofi Balazs (2007 Pan Am Games. 2008 Tri-Nations Cup); Paige Schultz (2008 Tri-Nations Cup); Marco Monaco (2008 Tri-Nations Cup); and Helen Pitchik (2006 Pan Pacific Championships), j In addition, TSC is home to several international athletes, including Terrance Hayes and Martyn Forde, who represent Barbados internationally.
22
SWIMNEWS /OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
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Main home pool for the Toronto Swim Club— University of Toronto Athletic Centre
TSC has also been the home of many of Canadian swimming's top alumni, including Olympians Liz Warden and Jennifer Button, both of whom now coach for TSC, and sprinters Craig Hutchinson and Kyle Smerdon.
Membership and facilities
TSC is currently home to about 226 members and is led by a talented group of 1 1 coaches, including former national medallists Bob Hayes and Andrew Macdonald, and development coach Victor Delac, who Grootveld describes as "one of the best development coaches in the business."
At the moment, TSC is home to 28 national qualifiers. Most of these athletes are from the Greater Toronto area, but some have come to the club from around the country and the world, including countries such as Hungary, Barbados, France, India, South Africa, and Swaziland, making TSC a truly global swim club.
In addition to the coaching staff at TSC, Grootveld is joined by longtime Canadian swimming stalwart Byron Macdonald, who has acted as TSC's President since 2003, in addition to serving his U of T Head Coach duties. Byron also finds time in his busy schedule to help out TSC, offering up his vast knowledge of the sport with some coaching.
The club utilizes an assortment of eight
different pools, but calls the U of T pool its "main pool." Managing the chaos that can come from organizing pool time in so many facilities is aided by the joint efforts of the TSC Board of Directors, and Byron Macdonald's and Linda Kiefer's efforts atUofT.
Notable information
Recently, TSC has run into some issues with its facilities in the Greater Toronto Area (a problem many other clubs in the area also experience). The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) operates many of the pools TSC uses, and TSC is in a constant battle with the school board and various levels of government over the future of many of their pools. Grootveld says "the constant threat by the TDSB to close the pools (the pools are always seemingly being used as a pawn for bargaining with City and Provincial governments) leaves us in a constant state of fear." Interestingly enough, four of TSC's coaching staff, including Grootveld, also work as teachers in the Toronto area.
Although TSC has a group of committed parents and coaches working hard to lobby these organizations, the continued threat makes it increasingly difficult to plan ahead and grow the club. Grootveld does, however, believe that these efforts will convince the powers that be to recognize
the importance of pools in and around the Toronto area.
As TSC continues to impress on the national and world stage, there is no doubt that this will be the case, but more pressure needs to be placed upon the provincial and regional governments to garner enough support to not only ensure that existing facilities stay open to serve the community, but allow for discussion of creating a new 50-metre pool in the Greater Toronto Area. For such a large metropolis, it seems strange that TSC and other clubs in Toronto should have to worry about pool time. Hopefully, TSC's involvement in the "Save Our Pools" rallies will bring more attention to an ongoing problem in the Greater Toronto Area, not only for TSC but for the sport of swimming all over Canada. ■
Toronto Swim Club at a glance
Membership: 226 swimmers
Head Coach: John Grootveld
Assistant coaches: Byron Macdonald,
Bob Hayes
Main facility: University of Toronto pool Operating budget: approx. $400,000 Coaching budget: approx. $198,000 Pool rental costs: approx. $150,000
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
23
COLWIN ON COACHING
ALAN FORD REMEMBERS...
First man to better 50 seconds for the 100 yard freestyle
Cecil Colwin
Shortly before he passed away in Sarasota on November 3 at the age of 84 after a long battle with emphysema, Alan Ford, the man who finally broke "Tarzan" Johnny Weissmuller's 16-year-old 100 yard freestyle record, provided SwimNews with a unique glimpse into swimming in the mid- 1940s.
In a hitherto unpublished series of e-mail interviews, Ford answers questions posed by Olympic coach Don Gambril and four of the Twentieth Century's famed short-distance swimmers: Jon Henricks, John Devitt, Jim Montgomery, and Jonty Skinner.
Alan Ford answers Don Gambril
Don Gambril, coach of American Olympic teams in 1968 to 1984, started the round of questions by asking Alan Ford what type of interval training he did as a competitor.
"I swam in the 'dark ages' of swimming development and had never heard of interval training. However, now I come to think of it, while training with Bob Kiphuth for the 1948 Olympic Games in London, I did workouts that, in effect, must have been an early form of interval training. Bob had us do six to eight 50-m sprints with a short rest in between. Perhaps this was what you would call interval training today. The result was that after a complete three-year war- time break from swimming, I managed to come second to my teammate Wally Ris in the 100 metres freestyle."
In reply to Gambril's query on how much mileage he covered in training, Ford said, "When I swam, World War II was on and Yale was almost a military post, which put a great load on the gym, pool, and staff. Varsity swimming only had the use of the pool from 4:30 to 6:00 pm. As I recall, the most we ever swam non-stop was 800 yards, and a total of maybe a little more than a mile for the day. Because of travel restrictions, the longest period I was ever in continuous training was from July 1942 to March 1943. As a result, with such a short time in the pool, everything we did had to be all out or pretty close to that."
Questioned by Gambril on how many months a year he spent in training, Ford said that training in Panama, where he came from, was essentially a hit- or-miss affair. "I never underwent a training system until 1940, when I went to Mercersburg Academy where I was coached by 'King John' Miller. I passed through Yale in two years and eight months, and that was it."
Ford replies to Jon Henricks' four "Ifs"
Australian Jon Henricks, 1956 Melbourne Olympics 100 metres freestyle champion and world record holder, posed four "ifs" when he asked Ford to speculate on what the difference to his world record time might have been:
1. If Ford had been able to take advantage of the "shave down"
2. If Ford had been able to turn without hands touching the wall
3. If Ford had goggles to help him see the wall more clearly, and
4. If Ford had worn a "fast skin" suit? (Henricks said: "I realize that last question might be a tough one to answer since Alan has probably never tried one on.")
As a footnote, Henricks added: "I know that I won't be the only one to ask this but it has intrigued me for some time: I know from first-hand what my father's discovery of the shave down meant, but the rule change in turns and the technical advance of goggles and 'fast skins' are from an era after mine."
In reply to the first two questions, Ford said: "As I recall, Yale coach Phil Moriarty once said that these two items combined could have been good for an improvement of one-half second over 100 yards."
Answering the third question, Ford said: "I have never used goggles, so I can't make any kind of call on this question. I remember trying to study at night with 'rainbows' from the chlorine in the pool around all the words on the page."
Regarding Henricks' fourth question, Ford said that he had mixed feelings about these new suits.
"I have heard, or read, that they are uncomfortable and hard to get into, but I notice they were used by almost all the swimmers at the 2008 Olympic Trials. On the other hand, I suppose I have to approve of the suits like the pole vaulters did when they went from bamboo to the fibreglass poles.
"As I recall, pole vaulter Cornelius Warmerdam, the world record holder at the time, with great effort, had finally broken 15 feet using a bamboo pole, just before the introduction of fibreglass poles, the use of which almost immediately completely rewrote the record book. Just compare those early feats with what they are doing today!"
Australian John Devitt, I960 Rome Olympics 100 metres freestyle champion and former 100 metres freestyle world record holder, asked Alan Ford a series of questions:
Devitt asked: "Did your starts and turns play a
big part in your success, and what type of turn did you use: fall back or somersault? Also, what type of | kick did you use in your push-off from the wall?"
Ford replied: "Our starts were made from low, level pads which were set 12-18 inches above water level. With the dolphin kick unheard of at that time, the taller you were, the better your start. I used a somersault turn, and being relatively short, I could get around much faster than the taller fellows. But sustained effort in the long course was more difficult for me. I have heard Bob Kiphuth describe my kick as 'deep, heavy.'"
Devitt asked: "Did you breathe regularly or did you swim with fewer breaths?"
Ford replied: "I tried to take as few breaths as possible, but usually ended up breathing even- stroke on the last lap. In the 50, 1 could usually get away with three breaths."
Devitt asked: "Did you breathe with your head held high or in the trough?"
Ford replied: "I don't understand the term 'breathing high or in the trough.' I tried to keep the water level at about the middle of my forehead, and I took a breath from there."
Devitt asked: "Did the pools have scum gutters then?"
Ford replied: "It's funny how you see something every day, but it doesn't sink in. I know the Yale pool did not have gutters on the end, but I can't remember whether the sides had scum gutters. Most of the pools in those days were designed in the 1930s and can't compare with the pools today."
(Cecil Colwin comments: "I recently referred to pictures of the Yale pool in Kiphuth 's two books, Swimming and Basic Swimming, and noted that the pool indeed did have side gutters. Strange thing: I swam in the pool often when visiting Yale but, like Alan, couldn't remember whether or not it had side gutters.")
Jim Montgomery was the 1976 Montreal Olympics 100 metres freestyle champion and first man to break 50 seconds for the distance. Montgomery's first question to Ford was "How much do you think the hand touch flip turn slowed you down?"
Ford answered, "I use Jim Montgomery's performance as a benchmark when asked about advances made in swimming; at my best, Jim would have beaten me by ten yards since 100 metres equals nearly 110 yards. And that ignores the difference between short-course and long-course competition."
Montgomery's next question, asking what kind of sprint-training practice sets were done by Ford, was met with the surprise retort: "We never did sprint training or interval training."
Equally surprising was Ford's reply to Montgomery's follow-up question: "What did you do for a taper? Was shaving down ever discussed or contemplated?"
Ford said: "Because of the short swimming season, tapering down consisted of a light workout the day before a meet. I don't know why, but shaving
24
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
down never occurred to anyone. . . "
Montgomery asked Ford to describe how he worked on starts and turns, and what advantage, if any, did he have over his rivals?
Ford replied: "Our starting blocks were flat and only 18 inches off the water, making the old fashioned 'belly flop' a practical start. We stretched a rope 25 feet or so across the pool, and from a start and glide tried to reach the rope. Regarding the turn, 1 have heard that the new flip turn is between one half to three quarters of a second faster. In the limited Master's swimming that I did, I could never break the wall-touching habit, and so I can't say personally. I think my big advantage was being only 5 ft 9 in, because I got around the turns faster than the bigger fellows on the short course. However, the sustained effort over the long course, with only one turn, gave the bigger fellows an advantage."
Jonty Skinner, world 100 metres freestyle record- holder from 1976 to 1981, and American National Team coach, was denied the right to swim in the 1976 Montreal Olympics because of his South African citizenship. Jonty broke the world 100 metres freestyle record that Olympic champion Jim Montgomery had set 20 days earlier.
Jonty Skinner said: "First, thanks Cecil, for sharing the writings of Bob Kiphuth with me. I found them very interesting. It always intrigues me to read what coaches believed to be the cutting edge of the sport many years ago. Oddly enough, I found that some coaches were seeing things back then that I didn't think evolved until later. So we're essentially seeing the same things but in a different context of understanding. 1 read Johnny Weissmuller's book Swimming the American Crawl about a year ago, and although I found his life interesting, his commentary on coaching philosophies at the time were even more so.
"I thought about the questions I wanted to ask Alan Ford, and found myself wondering what it was like to swim at that time, and so I am looking for comparisons, so hopefully other people are also asking him similar kinds of questions."
Jonty Skinner asked Alan Ford: "At the time when you were considered the fastest swimmer in the world, did it really sink in that you were, in fact, the world's fastest swimmer, and did you personally take pride in owning that title, or has time and has retrospect only now given you a much bigger appreciation of what you achieved in the sport?"
Ford answered: "Jonty is making me go where I haven't been in years. Yes, time has given me a better perspective of my swimming. At that time the war was on, and a lot was happening all the time. I never thought of it as making me the world's fastest swimmer, and I think others were perhaps more impressed than I was."
Skinner asked: "At the time, what did it feel like to be the one who was chasing 'a legend,' and what did you do in your mind to convince yourself that you were the one who was going to take 'Tarzan' down?"
Alan Ford (USA) 1924 - 2008
World record 100 yard freestyle 50.6 in 1942 World record 100 yard freestyle 49.7 in 1943 NCAA champion 50 and 100 yards free in 1944 AAU Outdoor champion 100 free 1942 and 1943 1948 Olympics 2nd 100 freestyle
TRAINING AT YALE UNIVERSITY
Ford said: "Well, Weissmuller was really just a name to me after only seeing him as Tarzan and in the 1939 World's Fair with Eleanor Holmes. My boyhood heroes only started with the 1936 Games. My most vivid recollection after doing the 50.7 against the University of Pennsylvania was shaking hands with their coach, the great Jack Medica."
Skinner asked: "Do you feel that you could have achieved what you did without the coaching and direction of Bob Kiphuth, or did Bob play a huge role in helping you to believe in your ability to be the first man under 50 seconds for the 100 yards freestyle?"
Ford said: "Bob Kiphuth's coaching and direction were very important. As I've said, I believe Bob and I just went subconsciously on to the 49.7, and so I had a time goal rather than a verbalized goal."
Asked whether Ford believed that swimming and his experiences in the sport had influenced his future life in general, Ford replied, "The experiences from swimming certainly helped me in the working world. You have to go at it until you get it right!" ■
In the early 1940s, when the great Johnny Weissmuller's world 100 yards freestyle record had stood unassailed for 16 years, Johnny was the boyhood hero of many a teenage boy aiming for championship success.
Long before Elvis Presley's duck-tail haircut was de rigueur for aspiring rock-and-rollers, most of the young lads in our swimming club, in order to be "just like Johnny," were parting their hair in the centre and trying to hydroplane with head and shoulders held high in the water.
One day, out of the blue, Weissmuller's record fell to an unknown Yale sophomore by the name of Alan Ford. The shattering of Weissmuller's long- standing record shocked his admirers because Ford stood a mere 5 ft 9 ins and weighed only 165 lbs, and his compact muscular physique was quite the opposite to Weissmuller's 6 ft 3 in lean, lanky build that up to then had been considered ideal for high- speed swimming.
Kiphuth describes Alan Ford's development
Writing in Colliers magazine, July 1944, Alan Ford's Yale University coach, Bob Kiphuth, said: "Alan Ford learnt to swim at the age of four. Through his developing years, Alan became a very proficient swimmer, but he was still no swimming wonder when his path crossed that of John Miller, the coach at Mercersburg Academy who gave him body-building exercises that put some 30 pounds on his sparse frame, and he also taught him the art of kicking properly. From a boy who could swim 100 yards (the classic distance at that time) in 56 seconds, Alan improved to the point where he was doing the same distance in 52 seconds — only one
second away from Johnny Weissmuller's seemingly untouchable world record of 5 1 seconds flat; a mark that had lasted for some sixteen years."
When Ford came to Yale, Kiphuth smoothed out Ford's arm stroke and taught him pace. The first year Kiphuth coached him, Ford twice broke Weissmuller's mark with performances of 50.7 and 50.6 seconds. During Ford's last indoor season, he beat his previous performances with 50.1 seconds, and then twice hit 49.7. Kiphuth said: "Alan Ford is the first swimmer in history to cover 100 yards of water in less than 50 seconds, the equivalent of a runner twice doing less than four minutes for a mile."
Kiphuth expressed the view that he had always believed that Weissmuller had the perfect stroking, but now he was convinced that Ford's stroke was better with a smoother arm motion. "Ford's legs drive deep and his long amis pull through the water evenly. As each arm strikes the surface on the catch, he starts his pull instantly. Then he carries through without any sideslip until his arm clears the water. Ford's stroke is as even as a windmill in its rotation. Some swimmers weave their amis, letting the water slide off instead of holding it. Or, perhaps, they reach their hands out so they come down in front of their heads, an error that inevitably results in sideslip and weaving."
Kiphuth stressed that "a freestyle swimmer's arm should come down directly ahead of his shoulders. Other common faults which I have found in average swimmers is that they roll their bodies too much, have too stiff a leg action, spread their legs too widely, or let their heads get too low in the water." ■
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
25
CANADIAN CLUB PROFILE
YARMOUTH Y WHITECAPS
Virginia Smith has coached for close to 40 years in a 4-lane 20-yard pool
Lauren Beard YMCA renovations in 1982.
History/ Background
After the opening of a YMCA pool in 1967, a passionate group of lake swimmers decided to formulate a more structured swimming program for Yarmouth, Nova Scotia residents. With that, the Whitecaps were launched under the direction of volunteer Gerry Avis and staff member Alf Jorgensen. In 1969, Stephanie Comeau took charge, then handed off duties to YMCA executive director Hugh Sproule in 1971. Discovering the competitive swimming abilities of one of his aquatics instructors, Sproule recruited Virginia Smith to take over the head coaching position in the early 1970s. The team has operated out of the Yarmouth YMCA and under Smith's direction ever since.
Facility
In their four-lane, 20-yard YMCA pool, the Whitecaps train for 75 to 90 minutes eight times per week. Before each water workout, Smith's carefully developed dryland program of medicine balls, Swiss balls, Bosu balls, and tubing compensates for the limited pool time. Swimmers aged 13 and older are given use of the YMCA weight room. Swim meets are hosted once a year at the Universite Sainte-Anne pool, an eight-lane, 25-metre competition pool with a seating capacity of a few hundred located 55 km from Yarmouth. Several inter-squad meets are also held throughout the year. Plans are set for construction of a new YMCA in the next year with the incorporation of a six-lane, 25-metre pool and a warm water remediation tank. For the year of construction, the Whitecaps will be shuttled back and forth to train daily in the Sainte- Anne pool, an ordeal Smith tolerated during previous
Coaching
Despite being a completely volunteer position, head coach Virginia (Ginny) Smith has been with the Whitecaps since 1972. After a mere nine months of mentorship under YMCA-employed former head coach Hugh Sproule, Smith took the helm. She has several degrees including an honours B.A. in Psychology from Carleton University, a B.A. in Education from Dalhousie University, and a Masters in Education from Mount Saint Vincent University. Smith is a soon- to-be graduate of the Atlantic National Coaching Institute, and teaches Level One and Two NCCP Coaching, technical and theory. She is also certified in paralympic coaching through an online International Paralympic Committee (IPC) course from Queensland University in Australia.
Smith's coaching expertise also extends outside of Yarmouth. She coached four separate Canada Games Teams for Nova Scotia, as head coach in 1985 and 2001, and assistant coach in 1993 and 1997. She has also taken provincial and Atlantic tour groups to various cities across Canada and in 1987 accompanied a team on tour to Great Britain with former Dalhousie and Halifax Trojan coach Nigel Kemp.
Smith's successes have not gone unrecognized. In 1988, she was nominated for the Nova Scotia Moosehead Awards and in 1997 was named the Nova Scotia Sports and Recreation Volunteer Coach of the Year. She was inducted into the Yarmouth Sports Hall of Fame in 2000 as a coach and builder, and the Nova Scotia Hall of Fame in 2001 as a builder. She was named as one of the IKON Coaches of the Year in 2002 and in 2007 received a Women in Coaching grant.
Yarmouth Y 4-lane 20, yard pool, home of the Whitecaps
Michael Gorman
The revolving door of Yarmouth assistant coaches has consistently consisted of previous Whitecaps swimmers and parents. This year's coaches include national qualifiers Michael Gorman and Bobby Lou Reardon, as well as swimmers Kathleen Heffernen and Jen Hood. Bill Cox, swimmer and parent, has volunteered for ten years, juggling time between work in Scotland and home in Yarmouth. This past September, the Whitecaps were unfortunate to lose long-time volunteer coach Peggy Royal to her battle with cancer.
Membership and fees
The Whitecaps consist of 45 swimmers in a single training group with varied schedules and programs. Each swimmer pays $220 per three-and-a-half-month term (three terms a year) toward SNC fees and basic travel costs. All meets involve travel for the Whitecaps, to Halifax and beyond, with three meets a year outside of Atlantic Canada. All coaching positions are volunteer but the parents fund Smith's daily commute and swim meet travel expenses.
Although not currently participating in Swim- a-thon, the Whitecaps have developed their own fundraising initiatives including lucrative fruit sales, basket raffles, and a yearly ditch clean. The family of former volunteer Peggy Royal has also set up a fund in her name to go to those athletes unable to afford swim fees. Within the community, the team fundraises for Laps for Lungs to raise money for children with asthma.
Top athletes and accomplishments
Over the years, Smith has coached approximately 30 national and CIS qualifiers, if not under her direction or subsequently in university. According to Smith, all Whitecaps swimmers who have persisted through her program until the end of high school have gone on to swim in university. Paralympic swimmer Stacey Messervey is the Whitecaps' most recent success story. Messervey spent her entire swimming career under Smith, from a young girl in the I Can Program to one of Canada's top paralympians, earning a silver medal in the 50-metre butterfly at the 2008 Olympic Trials. Messervey holds two national records in the 50-metre butterfly and 50-metre backstroke for her
Yarmouth Whitecaps at a Glance
Location: Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, population 27,000 including surrounding area Membership: 43 swimmers
Head Coach: Virginia Smith
Assistant Coaches: Michael Gorman, Bobby Lou Reardon, Jenn Hood, Kathleen Heffernen, Bill Cox
Main Facility: Yarmouth YMCA
Coaching Budget: $0
Pool Costs: $3,400 Website: www.yywhitecaps.com
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SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
category, S6SB6SM6.
In the team's earlier days, Yarmouth was also home to several other national athletes. Most notably, James Burrowes (1967) and Shannon Smith (1970), son of Virginia, were both national qualifiers at the age of 15, held records in their respective age groups throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and were part of youth Atlantic and Nova Scotia teams. Burrowes was inducted into the Yarmouth Sports Hall of Fame in 1998 and there is a provincial award in Nova Scotia given in his name. While swimming for the University of California, San Diego, Shannon was a member of two NCAA national record-setting relays in 1988 and 1989.
Notable information
Smith also runs an I Can Swim program out of the Yarmouth pool with the assistance of the Whitecaps swimmers. The pre-competitive skills program occurs in three ten-week sessions.
Virginia Smith
Coaching in what might just be the smallest pool in Canada, if not North America, is a feat of small proportions for Virginia (Ginny) Smith. After a lifetime of swimming in kidney shaped pools, military bases, and unheated outdoor pools throughout the United States, the coach of the Yarmouth Y Whitecaps has learned to make do with what she's got.
As a young girl in Denver, Colorado, Ginny Smith knew at a young age that swimming would be a big part of her life. "1 started swimming as a little girl. I fished with my father when I was very young, 2 or 3 years of age. I gravitated into a dam once around two-and-a-half, and my father decided if I had that much interest, I better learn how to swim," said Smith. Throughout her age-group days, Smith passionately swam in cold, unfiltered, and uncovered pools around the Denver area. It was this determination and adversity that led Smith to formulate the first ever women's swim team at her alma mater, the United States International University. In her three years at the small southern California school, Smith and at most seven other girls were creative in their efforts to keep their team alive, competing against the much larger Pac Ten schools and training at a military base with high school boys. Fortunately the university was supportive of the girls' endeavours and was willing to fund their travel. "It was almost impossible for [the university] to say no because we were about the only women's team, other than field hockey. There was no Title IX but it was hard to deny us," she said, reminiscent of a time when being a female athlete was not easy. "Women's sport in the United States in the '60s was really nothing until [tennis star and women's activist] Billie Jean King came along. Women just weren't recognized as athletes as much. I was on the cusp of that."
In 1972, after a brief time in Quebec, Smith and her spouse eventually ventured to a little fishing village at the southern tip of Nova Scotia known as Yarmouth. Despite her full-time career as an educator, Smith gravitated to the only pool in town, the YMCA, where
Virginia Smith coaching Michael Gorman
she became an aquatics instructor in her spare time. Unable to conceal her swimming expertise. Smith was almost immediately recruited to assist the local swim team and former head Whitecap coach, Hugh Sproule, who is currently leading the Tsunami Waves out of Port Alberni, BC. With a clear motive, Sproule handed over head-coaching duties to her after less than a year, a decision he claims to be one of his best. And the rest is history. "The coach at that time was about to make a move, so he mentored me about three quarters of the year, then he left. I have been there ever since," she laughed, same four-lane, 20-yard pool and all.
Built in the late 1960s, the Yarmouth pool is one that most swimmers would gasp at, but for Smith it was just another challenge — to develop a functional swim team out of extremely limited resources. "So many people say just give them a body of water, that's all it takes," Smith said. "But they are not people who have dealt with the situation, and it is complex." From poorly designed gutters to narrow lanes to the slide in lane one, according to Smith, "the problems with the pool go well beyond size."
Undeniably, Smith has the less-than-desirable situation mastered. With close to 30 swimmers of all ages and abilities at any given workout, separate training groups are not an option. She coordinates the chaos by meticulously adjusting schedules and workouts to fit her athlete's needs. "When you mix ages and skill levels, you have to be very adept at making adaptations quite frequently," she explained. In preparation for long-course season, Smith's tactics include tethered swimming during morning practices to "control turns. . . which accelerates psychological adaptations." When possible, she rents long-course pool time in Halifax, a difficult four-hour drive and an increasingly expensive hotel stay.
While she seems to have her system perfected, there are issues affecting Smith's team that go beyond her control, including the population of Yarmouth. When it comes to incoming swimmers, "I have found that in a small community, one does not have the
same basic mass from which to draw. I figure that if I have one swimmer every five to seven years who wants to do the training necessary to become a national qualifier and has all the other attributes in place, then I am doing all right," she said. While she admits that many of her most dedicated swimmers probably could have progressed more efficiently training in a better facility, they all were successful in their swimming careers. "It is well known that the faster the bulk of your swimmers, the faster they can train; the faster they can train, the more likely it is that they will continue to improve over time," she said. But turning away swimmers to make for a more effective team is not Smith's style. She welcomes everyone, not only because she believes in the importance of swimming as a life skill, but because of the financial necessity. In fact, to keep her team up and running, Smith has always been and still is a volunteer, believing a coach's salary would never be in the best interests of the club. With the economy of a rural fishing village, it was more important to the success of the team to keep kids in the water than risk the loss of members, and money, by demanding a salary.
Despite the endless struggles, Smith has had an incredible impact on the people she has coached. She has been such an inspiration to many of her young athletes that most come back to Yarmouth years after their career is over to offer their time and assistance. "Every year I have had a new (former Whitecap) come back and want to coach to put something back into swimming," she said, proclaiming nearly 30 who have done so. Many have even enrolled their children, or grandchildren, in her program. This cycle of parental support is what Smith believes has contributed to the longevity of her program. She wholeheartedly believes in the importance of a strong parent base in any club situation — when parents put their club's needs before their own and their children's. "I think that is reflective of the club system across Canada, that is intact and still healthy, where you have the kind of home-grown group of people that are committed not only to their own children but to the community and the province. It wouldn't work if people were not selfless and didn't give. It is a sense of community," she said.
With designs for construction of a new six- lane, 25-metre pool in the works, the future of the Whitecaps is uncertain, but Smith is confident that the team will carry on with the help of the loyal community. "There is a core of people that will stay in order to launch a new club, in the sense that it will be a new club in a new facility; a new opportunity to grow," she rationalized. However rocky the renovation period will be, the new pool will not only bring swim meets to Yarmouth and make training an almost luxury for the Whitecaps, it could potentially recruit more swimmers to support a salary for the coach that succeeds Smith. Hesitant to put a limit on her time left with the Whitecaps, Smith emphasizes that she still has a lot of energy. Until that day, the Whitecaps can be certain that Smith's passion and enthusiasm will be ready to take on any challenges, old or new that are thrown her way. ■
SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
27
INTERNATIONAL PERSONALITY
BUTTERFLY LEGEND PABLO MORALES
His Incredible Career and Thoughts on Butterfly Today
Justin Finney
It is hard to believe that it has been 16 years since Pablo Morales out-touched Rafale Szukala of Poland for the Olympic gold medal in the 100 m butterfly at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Pablo took the time to sit down with SwimNews and discuss his illustrious swimming career as well as what he thinks of swimming today, especially the butterfly stroke and how it has evolved.
Early start at Santa Clara SC
Born in Chicago, Illinois on December 5, 1964, Pablo Morales did not come from a swimming family. "Both my parents immigrated to the United States from Cuba in 1955," said Morales. "Those were the pre-Castro days and they basically were in search of better work and an overall better life. The main reason that my parents had wanted my sister and I to learn how to swim was for water safety. Both my parents had near-drowning experiences at a young age and they both felt that it was important for us to learn how to swim. So in 1966, after 11 cold and harsh winters in the Windy City, my parents decided to move our family to a warmer climate and chose the Santa Clara area of California."
It wasn't long before Morales' parents found a swim club for him to join in California. "I started taking swim lessons at age six, but it was when I turned seven that I joined a year-round program," said Morales. "My first swim club was the Santa Clara Swim Club, in Santa Clara, California. It was a great fit for me as it was close to home and I had some great coaches to learn from. Although I had the opportunity to be coached by George Haines and Mitch Ivey later on in my career at Santa Clara, it was my age-group coach Bill Thompson who taught me the basics growing up as a swimmer. He taught me a lot about hard training and was always firm, fair, and more importantly, made it fun for me." Pablo Morales was not a superstar swimmer in his early years of swimming. "I wasn't always at the top of my age group growing up in the sport," said Morales. "I remember that my hardest year of swimming was the year I turned 13. 1 had a major growth spurt and that was the year I started doing doubles. However, I toughed out that year and the next and the next. It was not until I reached the age of 17 that I started to make a move toward the National swimming scene with my first National cut. In 1981, under the
guidance of my coach Mitch Ivey, I made the finals in the 100 fly and consoled in the 200 fly at my first Nationals. It was a Spring Nationals, short-course yards in Gainesville, Florida. Later on that summer at the World Championship Trials in Mission Viejo, I had qualified for the Summer Sports Fest meet in Indianapolis, Indiana and also had qualified for the USA Junior National Team, which was a dual meet against the Soviet Union (Russia) in the Soviet Union. Everything felt like it was starting to come together and I was extremely proud to have the opportunity to represent my country for the first time."
When Morales returned home from the Soviet Union, his long-time coach Mitch Ivey had left Santa Clara for another coaching opportunity, yet it wouldn't be long before he and Morales were reunited once again. "In 1982, Mitch had left Santa Clara for a position in Virginia," said Morales. "It wasn't long before Mitch missed the California climate and returned back to the warmth of the East Bay area. Mitch had started up his own club called the Concord Pleasant Hills Swim Club. Although I had an amazing run at the Santa Clara Swim Club, I felt that I needed to be with my long-time coach, and it wasn't long before I left Santa Clara for Pleasant Hills."
Under the world record in 1983
The year was 1983 and at age 18, it was Pablo Morales' last year of high school before college. "1983 was a huge year for me," said Morales. "I had just committed to Stanford and before I knew it, I was back at Spring Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana and I wanted to make my mark. In the 100 m fly final, I was neck-and-neck with a University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) freshman named Tom Jager who ended up touching me out by a few hundredths of a second. I had also medalled in the 200 m fly. Things were looking great." It was just a few short months later when Morales would take another giant step onto the international swimming scene. "At the 1983 Summer Nationals in Clovis, California, my secret goal was to break the world record in the 100 m fly," said Morales. "As the race got underway, I found myself racing another great flyer the entire way in Matt Gribble. Needless to say, he touched me out by a few tenths but we were both under the existing world record. I had also made my first two Senior National teams to the Pan American
Games in Caracas, Venezuela and the Pan Pacific Games in Tokyo, Japan where I won the 200 fly."
Stellar career at Stanford
Morales' next four years at Stanford and on the world scene were ones for the record books. "As my career began at Stanford, I realized that my potential was limitless," said Morales. "I was training with some of the best swimmers in collegiate and world swimming, and every workout was always challenging as there was always someone stepping up to challenge you on a daily basis." All the hard work in practice had paid off for Pablo. Over the next four years, Morales won 11 of 12 NCAA individual titles, breaking the existing record of 10 set by John Neighbor years earlier. Morales also contributed to three straight NCAA Men's team titles at Stanford. However, that ever-elusive individual gold medal at the Olympics in the 100 m fly for the world record holder was something that Morales had just come up short of achieving in 1984.
"At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, I had Michael Gross as my main challenger for the gold," said Morales. "I felt that Gross knew my race plan going into the 100 m fly final as I have always taken the first 50 m out fast. I felt him coming on the last 10 metres, and when we hit the wall, he had out- touched me by less then 2/10ths." Morales ended the Los Angeles Olympics with two silvers ( 100 m fly, 200 IM) and a gold medal as part of the 4x100 medley relay with teammates Rick Carey, Steve Lundquist, and Rowdy Gaines.
Missed team to 1988 Olympics
Once Morales had completed his collegiate career at Stanford, his main focus was the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. "In 1987, I was done at Stanford, which gave me a year to eat, sleep, and train swimming," said Morales. "I was the world record holder in the 100 m fly with a 52.8 and at 23 years of age, I felt that Seoul was going to be my Olympic games. However, it didn't go that way. At the USA Olympic Trials, I placed third in both the 100 m and 200 m fly and failed to qualify for Seoul. I was devastated. I didn't know what went wrong. All I know is that I felt that my career was done. After Trials, I started law school at Cornell and was ready to put swimming behind me."
Back to Stanford in preparation for 1992
As the first two years towards the Barcelona Games went by, the thought of returning to the pool weighed heavy in Morales' mind. "It was a difficult and trying time for me between 1988 and 1990," said Morales. "My mother was diagnosed with colon cancer and it had quickly spread to her liver. In 1990. 1 decided that I was going to give swimming another shot and try to qualify' for the 1992 Barcelona Games. I needed to train and test myself during the 1990-
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SWIMNEWS / OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2008
1991 season, which didn't happen as my FACTS MORALES Pablo,USA
mothers condition was getting worse. m^ p|ace 5 Dec 19g4 Chogo
In August of 1991, she had passed away. Height/ weight (at 1992 Olympics) 188 cm / 75 kg
Although I was in the pool, 1 felt that Education Stanford 1987, Cornell Law School 1993
Represented Coaches
I needed to make a decision as to how I was going to approach my training leading into Trials after my mom had gone. That's when I contacted Skip Kenney at Stanford, who welcomed me with open arms, and allowed me to come back and train with his squad leading in to the 1992 Olympic Trials." Morales added, "During that year, I had a fantastic experience getting fit, racing the guys, and more importantly, seeing the improvement on a daily basis. I had developed a different perspective on training and swimming. I did lots of yoga and spent a tremendous amount of time with my father. When Trials finally came, they were in Indianapolis, Indiana, which has always been a great pool for me to race in. At Trials, I made the finals and in that final, I stepped on the blocks for that 100 m fly, dove in, and swam just fast enough to touch out Melvin Steward by 1/1 00th of a second with a 54.2. It was a huge accomplishment and honour to be back on the USA Olympic Team."
Two golds in Barcelona
The 1992 US Olympic Trials were purposely held in March to give the coaches and swimmers the opportunity to fully prepare for the Games in Barcelona that summer. "Going in to Barcelona, I
Santa Clara, Pleasant Hill, Stanford Mitch Ivey, Skip Kenney
LC World records
100 fly 53.38 Indianapolis 26 Jun 1984 100 fly 52.84 Orlando 23 Jun 1096
LC International
1992 Olympics 1st 100 fly, 1st 4x100 medley 1987 Pan Pacs 1 st 1 00 fly, 3rd 200 im 1985 Worlds 1st 100 fly, 5th 200 im 1 985 Pan Pacs 1 st 1 00 fly, 1 st 200 im, 4th 200 fly 1984 Olympics 2nd 100 fly, 2nd 200 im, 4th 200 fly, 1st 4x100 medley 1983 Pan Ams 2nd 100 fly, 6th 200 fly 1983 Pan Pacs 1st 200 fly
focused on good technique and more importantly, I wanted to learn from my past mistakes," said Morales. "When the Olympics had finally arrived, I quickly found myself in the final of the 100 m fly. As I stepped on the block for that final, it all happened so fast. It was anyone's race and I utilized my experience and knew that I had to finish strong. I made it a point in my training every day leading in to the Olympics to work on my finishes on a good stroke and when it came down to it, that's what I needed to do to finally win the gold. When I touched the wall, I slowly turned, saw the win, and was overcome by joy, relief, gratitude, and most of all, the second chance I got at that individual gold medal. My dream had become a reality and I loved every minute of the process leading in. It was also
a huge part of the healing process for the Morales family as my win was in honour of my mother." Morales also added a second gold medal at the Barcelona Games in the 4x100 medley relay with teammates Jeff Rouse, Nelsen Diebel, and Jon Olsen.
Coaching won over the courtroom
J§ After Barcelona, Morales soon found out that his passion was in coaching and not in the courtroom. "I had coached masters while I attended law school between 1988 and 1990," said Morales. "When it came down to it, coaching was in my blood and that's where I wanted to be." Morales assisted Skip