T H E
O P E N
WAT E R
2013 OPEN WATER
I S S U E
+
SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR
THE TOP 5
OPEN WATER MOMENTS OF THE YEAR
NOVEMBER 2013 - VOLUME 54 - NO. 11
SHAPING LIVES:
TAYLOR HUNT— AND HER FAMILY—FIND STRENGTH IN SWIMMING
*NYAD’S
RCP TIBURON MILE:
THE END OF THE ROAD:
DIANA
MAY THE CURRENTS BE WITH YOU
SW
IM
M
IN
G
W O (S RL EE D PA MA G G E AZ 33 IN FO E R SPE DE C TA IA IL L O S) F F
ER
IN
SI
DE
!
CONQUEST
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FEATURES 2013
NOVEMBER
011
Top 5 Open Water Moments of 2013 by Jeff Commings
014
011 018
May the Currents Be with You
022
038
Persistence Leads to Success
040
2013 Open Water Swimmers of the Year by Steven Munatones Brazil’s Poliana Okimoto and Germany’s Thomas Lurz turned in stellar performances at the 2013 World Championships and were named Swimming World Magazine’s Open Water Swimmers of the Year.
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by Michael J. Stott
032
022
Lessons with the Legends: Randy Reese The Healing Power of Swimming by Shoshanna Rutemiller Taylor Hunt was involved in a hit-andrun accident five years ago when she was 13, and her father strongly believes that swimming not only strengthened his daughter, but the entire family.
035
AthleticFoodie/ Let’s Live a Healthier Life: Staying Healthy during the Holidays by Garrett Weber-Gale
by Shoshanna Rutemiller Poland’s Mateusz Sawrymowicz and the USA’s Ashley Twichell navigated the most favorable routes across the San Francisco Bay to win their respective men’s and women’s divisions of the 14th Annual RCP Tiburon Mile, with each earning $10,000.
by Shoshanna Rutemiller American Diana Nyad, 64, became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida, accomplishing the feat without the help of a shark cage. On Sept. 2, she walked wobblylegged onto the beach of Key West, Fla., after swimming for 53 consecutive hours from Havana, Cuba—a distance of approximately 110 miles.
014
018
036
Ask Dr. Shannon: Hamstring Stretches by Shannon McBride
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Q&A with Coach Allison Beebe by Michael J. Stott
How They Train Simone Manuel by Michael J. Stott
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Paddles: Why They Work by Michael J. Stott Paddles are an important training aid that can help swimmers reinforce proper technique and build strength.
DEPARTMENTS 008
A Voice for the Sport
025
Holiday Gift Guide
044
Up & Comers
046
Gutter Talk
048
Parting Shot
ON THE COVER It took American Diana Nyad a lifetime to achieve her dream of swimming from Cuba to Florida without the use of a shark cage. Her first attempt came 35 years ago in 1978, and on her fifth try—at the age of 64—she reached her goal, teaching us all a very valuable lesson: never give up! (See stories, pages 8, 11 and 18.)
Dryside Training: Strength for Speed by J.R. Rosania
SWIMMING WORLD MAGAZINE (ISSN 0039-7431). Note: permission to reprint articles or excerpts from contents is prohibited without permission from the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for errors in advertisements. Microfilm copies: available from University Microfilms, 313 N. First St., Ann Arbor, MI 48103. Swimming World Magazine is listed in the Physical Education Index. Printed in the U.S.A. © Sports Publications International, November 2013.
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[ photo
by dawn l
.
blomgren ]
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A Voice for the Sport
I
SIX THINGS WE LEARNED FROM DIANA NYAD
did not expect to get emotional while watching the live television coverage of Diana Nyad completing her swim from Cuba to Florida. The emotion that I was experiencing was a combination of respect, inspiration, passion and human triumph. I must admit that I am easily inspired when athletic achievements touch my soul. Diana Nyad’s lifelong quest should inspire us all. There are six things we all should learn from Diana Nyad’s feat: • Set high goals. We all should set high goals. When I think of setting goals, I am reminded of the poet, Robert Browning, who once wrote, “Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp—or what’s a heaven for?” To me, it means that we should reach for more than we can see, grasp or touch. If you are going to set a goal, set it high. Nyad set a goal that no human had ever achieved. • Follow your heart. If you don’t feel it, it will never happen. When you feel something in every fiber of your body, you must act on it. Inside this month’s issue of Swimming World, Nyad is quoted as saying, “When I turned 60, my mom had just died, (and I) experienced a deep reckoning. (I began) to wonder if I was the person I wanted to be,” said Nyad. “I wanted to find something that challenged me, that made me reach my deepest potential. It wasn’t a matter of, ‘Do I want to break (the endurance swimming) world record?’ Cuba was at the peak of my imagination—the swim that really touched my soul.” Nyad taught us to look deeper into ourselves and listen to our hearts and souls. • Be self-motivated. Motivation is the underlying cause for all result. Selfmotivation is the strongest of forms. If you are not self-motivated, chances are slim that you will ever achieve your goal. Nobody had to motivate Nyad. Nyad taught us that self-motivation is the primary source for all accomplishments. • Inspire others around you. People want to be associated with those who set high standards and high goals. When they see someone moving toward accomplishing a high goal, it inspires everyone around them to be a part of that goal. Nyad’s never-give-up attitude inspired those around her. Eventually those same people became her biggest supporters and eventually her team. Nyad led by her actions, and as a result, she inspired others around her. • Acknowledge those who support you. One of the first things that Nyad did when she set foot on the Florida beach was to acknowledge those who supported her in her 53-hour journey traversing 110 miles. Instead of soaking up all the limelight, she acknowledged and thanked her support crew repeatedly. She voiced appreciation and gratitude that made her team feel more like a family than volunteers. Even though Nyad swam alone, she showed us that accomplishments are never really a solo effort. • Never give up. Watching Nyad swim the last 100 meters to shore was surreal. There was no grand finish line. People from all walks of life came to the beach that morning for a relaxing Labor Day holiday. Most had no idea that they were about to witness history. When word spread that Nyad was approaching the shore, people flocked to the beach. Many waded out into the surf, creating a human channel for her to swim through. Everyone cheered her to the finish. It took Nyad, age 64, a lifetime to achieve her goal, and with that, she taught us the greatest lesson of all: never give up! v Brent T. Rutemiller; Publisher, CEO 8
PU B L I S H I N G, C I RCU LAT I O N A N D ACCO U N T I N G O F F I C E P.O. Box 20337, Sedona, AZ 86341 Toll Free in USA & Canada: 800-511-3029 Phone: 928-284-4005 • Fax: 928-284-2477 www.SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Chairman of the Board, President — Richard Deal e-mail: DickD@SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Publisher, CEO — Brent T. Rutemiller e-mail: BrentR@SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Circulation/Art Director — Karen Deal e-mail: KarenD@SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Circulation Assistant — Judy Jacob e-mail: Subscriptions@SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Advertising Production Coordinator — Betsy Houlihan e-mail: BetsyH@SwimmingWorldMagazine.com
E D I TO R I A L, P RO D UCT I O N, M E RCH A N D I S I N G, M A R K E T I N G A N D A DV E RT I S I N G O F F I C E 2744 East Glenrosa Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85016 Toll Free: 800-352-7946 Phone: 602-522-0778 • Fax: 602-522-0744 www.SwimmingWorldMagazine.com E di torial and Prod u ct ion e-mail: Editorial@SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Senior Editor — Bob Ingram e-mail: BobI@SwimmingWorld.com Managing Editor — Jason Marsteller e-mail: JasonM@SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Graphic Arts Designer— Kaitlin Kelly e-mail: KaitlinK@SwimmingWorld.com Staff Writer — Shoshanna Rutemiller e-mail: ShoshannaR@SwimmingWorld.com Fitness Trainer — J.R. Rosania Chief Photographer — Peter H. Bick Staff Writer — Michael Stott SwimmingWorldMagazine.com WebMaster e-mail: WebMaster@SwimmingWorldMagazine.com M ar k e t ing and A dv ert ising Advertising@SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Marketing Coordinator — Tiffany Elias e-mail: TiffanyE@SwimmingWorld.com M U LT I - M E D I A Writer/Producer — Jeff Commings e-mail: JeffC@SwimmingWorldMagazine.com
I N T E R N AT I O N A L CO R R E S PO N D E N T S Africa: Chaker Belhadj (TUN); Australia: Wayne Goldsmith, Ian Hanson; Europe: Norbert Agh (HUN), Camilo Cametti (ITA), Federico Ferraro (ITA), Oene Rusticus (NED), Steven Selthoffer (GER), Rokur Jakupsstovu (FAR), Tom Willdridge (GBR); Japan: Hideki Mochizuki; Middle East: Baruch “Buky” Chass, Ph.D. (ISR); South Africa: Neville Smith (RSA); South America: Jorge Aguado (ARG), Alex Pussieldi (BRA)
PH OTO G RA PH E R S/S WTV Peter H. Bick, USA Today Sports Images, Reuters, Getty Images
official magazine of:
endorsed by:
publisher:
P.O. Box 20337 Sedona, AZ 86341 Phone: 928.284.4005 Fax: 928.284.2477 www.SwimmingWorldMagazine.com
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CHIEF JUDGES NEED TO HAVE “FIN” by john c . gagliardo , pacific northwest swimming
A
re you contemplating being a chief judge and wondering what to do? A good chief judge keeps things interesting from the moment officials walk in the door. I suggest the “FIN” approach. Simply put, whether in briefings or on deck, try to keep things Fun, Informative and New. Nothing makes meets seem longer than need be than when it’s not fun. When officiating becomes work, we tend to lose the focus on why we’re really there (for the athletes, of course). A great place to start this Fun is in the briefings. A balance of humor and professionalism to keep your meetings light is a great place to start building your smiling team of officials. Next, share Information before sending everyone out on deck. Resolve with your meet referee what protocols to follow and what jurisdictions are in play for strokeand-turn judges. Nothing hurts effectiveness like trying to manage things on the fly after briefings have ended. Do you remember meets where you’re told something for the first time after swimmers are in the water? Covering information in briefings rather than on deck is vital. Finally, try something New. Ask a seasoned official (or a new one) to give the stroke briefing. Sometimes hearing stroke briefings in a new light keeps everyone engaged. Approach briefings by keeping things light and fresh— your audience will appreciate it. Every meet has something different to offer us all. From a record to an equipment malfunction—or anything in between—no two meets are the same, offering everyone new experiences to enjoy. I urge all chief judges to try and utilize the “FIN” approach at your next meet...it will be a kick! v
10
MAXWELL MEDALS & AWARDS
Excellence Award
J
ayne Spittler, who began officiating in 1997, has participated at all levels of USA-S, high school, YMCA and collegiate swimming. However, one of her favorite positions is working the bullpen for the 8-and-unders at a Halloween meet, where she demonstrates the breaststroke with a “giant spider.” Spittler works diligently to improve the standard of local and national officiating by working on training, mentoring and inclusiveness. She also participates on USA-S committees, where she has created standardized training, updated deck evaluation forms, established standards for on-deck sessions and mentored a new set of trainers. Those who attended the 2012 Illinois officials recertification clinics, led by Spittler, called them “the best ever.” She is an advocate for open water swimming and has worked and trained others in this discipline since 2008. Spittler is a dedicated, enthusiastic official whose focus is to provide the best meet experience for any level of swimmer by ensuring excellence with a sense of fun and camaraderie. v
PROUD SPONSOR OF THE MAXWELL EXCELLENCE AWARD CALL FOR YOUR FREE FULL-COLOR MAXWELL CATALOG: 1.800.331.1383
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TOP 5 OPEN WATER MOMENTS OF 2013
F
1
DIANA NYAD SWIMS FROM CUBA TO FLORIDA
by jeff commings
or the first time, Swimming World Magazine is picking the top open water swims of the year. Unlike pool swimming, each open water race has its own personality and challenges for the athletes. That makes each event vastly different, with the only common trait being the unpredictability of the open water. With that in mind, we consulted a few open water swimming experts. What surprised us is that no two of the experts picked the same five open water moments of 2013. That left us in a quandary that made creating this list even more daunting: How does one open water swim trump another? It’s easier to rank pool swimming performances because the environments are more or less the same. But is a 110-mile swim inherently “better” than a 25-kilometer swim? Our criteria for picking the five best open water moments of 2013 came down to two factors. First is the historical significance of the performance. If no one had done it before, it belongs at or near the top of the list. The second criterion blocked out all external circumstances and focused on the individual swim.
[ photo
by dawn l . blomgren ]
Thirty-five years after she first braved the waters of the Florida Straits, American Diana Nyad pushed through the pain, ignored the negative thoughts and plowed through jellyfish-infested waters to become the first person to complete the 110-mile swim without use of a shark cage. Nyad stepped onto the Florida sand almost 53 hours after jumping into the water off the coast of Cuba—seven hours earlier than planned. This prompted criticism of the swim that was soon dismissed when Nyad proved that an unexpected current improved her hourly pace. Not long after her swim, Nyad’s sunscorched face was on nearly every television news program, inspiring not only open water swimmers, but ordinary citizens as well with her motto of “Never, Ever Give Up.” Many say no one will try to follow in Nyad’s wake. That remains to be seen, but there is no doubt that Diana Nyad put up a swim for the ages.
[ photo
Germany’s Thomas Lurz is a living legend in the open water swimming community. He’s won medals in every major championship, and at age 33, he shows no sign of letting up. Though he’s been a fixture on the open water circuit since 2004 and has won medals of every color, one thing was missing from his accomplishments—at least until this summer at the FINA World Championships in Barcelona. There, Lurz won a medal in all four open water swimming events, something no one had done before at the World Championships. Lurz started off with a bronze in the 5-kilometer swim, a full 20 seconds behind winner Ous Mellouli. He stood one step higher on the medal podium two days later, capturing silver in the 10K behind longtime rival, Spyridon Gianniotis. He then teamed up with Christian Reichert and Isabella Harle for the 5K team event, and celebrated his first gold medal of the meet. Lurz rarely races the 25K swim, but the decision to swim it in Barcelona paid off in gold. He hit the finish pad just 4-tenths of a second ahead of Belgium’s Brian Ryckeman to win his 20th medal at the World Championships—a record. To add to the accomplishments, Lurz is the only person, male or female, to win a gold medal at Worlds in every open water distance.
by joan - marc bosch ]
THOMAS LURZ WINS FOUR MEDALS AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
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SYLVAIN ESTADIEU CROSSES ENGLISH CHANNEL SWIMMING BUTTERFLY
For just the third time in the 138 years since people began swimming from England to France, someone had the crazy idea to do the entire crossing swimming only butterfly. Frenchman Sylvain Estadieu made that crossing, Sept. 23, in 16 hours 42 minutes to become the first man to accomplish the feat by using butterfly. (Vicki Keith in 1989 and Julie Bradshaw in 2002 also swam butterfly.) Reports indicate a FINA official was on the boat to make sure every stroke the 27-year-old took was legal.
by kaitlin kelly ]
provided by loneswimmer . com ]
[ photo
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ASHLEY TWICHELL WINS TWO BIG RACES
[ photo
TOP 5 OPEN WATER MOMENTS OF 2013
Ashley Twichell has been a fixture in the open water community for several years, but in 2013, her name was in the headlines more frequently than any other American open water swimmer. It started in July when she handily won the 10K swim at the World University Games in Russia in a strong swim that had her holding the distinction of lead swimmer for the entire race. The following month, she announced that she was departing her longtime home at the Mission Viejo Nadadores for a new postgraduate training group in North Carolina. If the cross-country move was stressful for Twichell, she didn’t show it at the RCP Tiburon Mile, where she won the race for the first time after many years as the bridesmaid. v
SARAH THOMAS AND CRAIG LENNING COMPLETE DOUBLE CROSSING OF LAKE TAHOE
[ photo
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provided by sarah thomas ]
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On July 18, Americans Sarah Thomas and Craig Lenning entered the frigid waters of Lake Tahoe to see which of them would make history as the first to complete a double crossing of the lake without the aid of a wetsuit. Thomas would earn that distinction 22 hours later when she climbed out of the lake in the same spot she started, with Lenning following behind a few hours later. Thomas not only earned a place in history for completing the swim, but she impressed the open water community by negative-splitting it. Her first 21.25 miles (34.1 kilometers) was done in 11 hours 38 minutes, while her return trip was swum in 10 hours 47 minutes. Completing this swim is extra tough, considering the lake is 6,225 feet (1,897 meters) above sea level.
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RCP TIBURON MILE
by shoshanna rutemiller
MAY THE CURRENTS BE WITH YOU photos by kaitlin kelly
Poland’s Mateusz Sawrymowicz and the USA’s Ashley Twichell navigated the most favorable routes across the San Francisco Bay to win their respective men’s and women’s divisions of the 14th Annual RCP Tiburon Mile, with each earning $10,000.
pictured
> ( top )
the day begins with all
participants of the rcp tiburon mile meeting in tiburon , calif ., where they take a ferry
( above )
14
to angel island , the starting line of
the race .
TIBURON, Calif.—Poland’s Mateusz Sawrymowicz had luck on his side the morning of Sept. 29. The 14th annual Robert C. Placak (RCP) Tiburon Mile marked the first time that Sawrymowicz, a pool swimmer, took to the open water. He won the overall and elite male division titles after navigating the best route across the San Francisco Bay’s tricky currents. Conversely, elite female winner Ashley Twichell, USA, needed to learn from two years of wrong turns—including a bloody bang-up in which she nearly beached herself on the rocks in 2011—to figure out the best way to secure the win. The race’s elite group was starstudded, including: • Oussama Mellouli, Tunisia: 5K world champion (2013), 10K Olympic champion (2012) and Swimming World’s Open Water Swimmer of the Year (2012); • Kane Radford, New Zealand: three-time defending RCP champion; • Haley Anderson, USA: 10K Olympic silver medalist. (The women’s two-time defending RCP champion, Melissa Gorman of Australia, was unable to race this year because of a shoulder injury.)
WHAT’S MY LINE? Mellouli took an early lead off the starting line on Angel Island, making a beeline for the finish line at Tiburon’s Corinthian Yacht Club. Radford swung to the far left, hoping to let the tide (which was flowing south from the Golden Gate Bridge) slingshot him into the finish. A pack of swimmers— including Canadian open water Olympian Richard Weinberger, female elites Anderson, Twichell and Keri-Ann Payne of Great Britain—followed the three-time RCP champion’s lead. Sawrymowicz chose a path directly between Radford and Mellouli. “If (Mellouli) can hold his line, he can win by 20 seconds,” proclaimed open water expert Steven Munatones, director of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame. “We’ll see if he can once he hits the open channel and starts to feel the current push.” However, when forming a race strategy, the swimmers need to consider much more than the currents. The RCP Tiburon Mile is notoriously chilly, with water temperature always measuring in the low 60s (F). Cold temperatures cause the body’s capillaries to constrict, causing the heart to work harder to
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RCP TIBURON MILE
pictured
> ( top )
participants of the rcp
tiburon mile started the race on angel island .
( bottom
from left ) keri - anne payne
( two -
time world 10 k champ and an olympic 10 k silver medalist ) and kane radford
( three - time
defending rcp champ ) both finished third in their respective divisions . swimming world
interviewed them after the race — check it out on www . swimmingworld . com .
deliver the same amount of blood supply to the body. This is why RCP participants are allowed to race the course in wetsuits—but don’t be surprised if you overhear other swimmers jokingly call them “wusssuits!” If a swimmer wants a shot at the big check, he or she has to race in a FINA-approved swimsuit. “The first two minutes are the worst,” said Twichell. “It’s kind of shocking. But then you forget about it and race. The middle is kind of chilly, but (enduring the cold temperatures is) worth the $10,000!” Twichell came close to an elite women’s win the last two years, placing second to Gorman in 2011 and tying for third with Rebecca Mann, USA, in 2012. Gorman’s absence this year left Twichell with a winning opportunity. “I’ve always gotten caught up at the beginning behind a lot of guys,” she said. “(This year), I got out quickly and swung to the left to get some clean water. My strategy was to latch onto one of the guys if I could, but they took it out pretty quick. I just kept my head down and swam all the way to the finish. I didn’t have to sight much because I could see the guy’s splashes ahead of me.”
BEGINNER’S LUCK Halfway through this year’s race, a new leader emerged. It was Sawrymowicz, recognizable by his yellow cap bobbing above the water. The lanky blonde went into the race as a wild card, but the middle line he chose seemed to serve him well. He was visibly ahead of Mellouli, who began to struggle with the mid-channel current. “I was struggling with the current a little bit, but I think I picked up a pretty nice line,” Sawrymowicz said. “I knew it was going to be hard at the end because these guys are really experienced.” Although 26-year-old Sawrymowicz is a beginner to open water, he has already made a name for himself in pool swimming. He rose to prominence in 2007 after he became the first non-Australian to win a world title in the 1500 meter freestyle since 1991. He was named Swimming World Magazine’s Male European Swimmer of the Year that same year. Then, in 2009, after facing a difficult bout with mononucleosis and a torn ACL, Sawrymowicz fell out of the limelight. He decided to enter this year’s RCP Tiburon Mile after a recent move to Los Angeles to train with Mellouli at the Trojan Swim Club under acclaimed coach Dave Salo. Sawrymowicz is hoping to use the event to kick-start his career in the open water: “I think open water is going to build my selfconfidence—(especially after) beating an open water Olympic champion!” That confidence, admittedly, came with a bit of luck. The tides were in Sawrymowicz’s favor along the middle line. Defending champion Radford acknowledged he swung too far to the left, arching out approximately 150 meters. That decision caused him to swim more than 100 meters farther than Mellouli, who swam in — continued on 16 November 2013
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RCP TIBURON MILE RCP — continued from 15
a beeline. Radford banked on the tide pull to give him a 10-second advantage. “I kind of just go by what I’ve done in previous years, and it just comes down to the line and how the current is out there,” said Radford. “It’s such a lucky go. This year, there were three of us—three different lines—and it ended up that the middle was the best line. This race especially changes day to day, so you just have to be aware of that.” For his part, Mellouli gambled that his speed, strength and direction would be enough to secure him the win. “I just (tried) to get out of the harbor the quickest so I wouldn’t be distracted by anyone around me,” Mellouli said. “I thought I had the perfect line today, but once I hit the channel in the middle of the course, the currents started to hit, and I could feel it. They were pushing me to the right, and I had to fight the current the other way. The other guys were a little luckier than I was—I would say—and they just sort of slingshot it inward toward the harbor.” TO THE FINISH...AND BEYOND! Once the athletes approached the docks, it was clear that neither Radford’s nor Mellouli’s strategies were ideal. Sawrymowicz had forged his own line between the two experienced open water swimmers and ended up approaching the shore without another swimmer in sight. Pulling himself out of the clear water, Sawrymowicz shakily got to his feet and thrust his fist into the air in celebration. About 20 seconds later, his Trojan teammate Mellouli pulled himself ashore. The two embraced, smiling and patting each other on the back. “I’m really happy for Mateusz,” said Mellouli. “It was his first time here, and he’s buying me dinner tonight, so it’s a win-win situation!” After the race, athletes and their 16
pictured
>
the top three male
division finishers —( top from
left ) kane radford , ous mellouli and mateusz sawrymowicz —
joined event founder bob placak
( third
from left with son ,
robert , jr .) for the awards
presentation , as did the top
three female athletes —( middle from left ) ashley twichell , keri - anne payne and haley
anderson . placak also competed in the race , finishing 30 th overall
( bottom
right ).
November 2013
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RCP TIBURON MILE
pictured
> ( left )
mateusz
sawrymowicz said ,
“( winning
the $10 , 000 check ) feels really good , especially since i only have $1 . 35 in my
( checking )
account right now . i have to pay my october rent !”
( above )
cal - berkeley won
shark ”
for the second year in a row ,
“ the
trophy for its overall team achievement .
families mingled around the food and vendor tents, taking in the picturesque San Francisco harbor view. Olympians were interspersed among the local Tiburon community as the sun pierced through the morning chill. Twichell and Sawrymowicz excitedly accepted their $10,000 prize-money checks from Placak. The day had provided the opportunity to celebrate open water swimming while giving the participants the chance to rub elbows with the best in aquatic sport. In fact, the outcome of the 14th annual RCP Tiburon Mile might have permanently converted Sawrymowicz to open water swimming—and it wasn’t solely because of the purse. “(Open water) is more fun,” said Sawrymowicz. “Swimming in a pool is a little bit boring, but here you get to run on the beach and have currents, waves. It makes it so much more interesting.” v
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PERSISTENCE LEADS TO SUCCESS by shoshanna rutemiller
photos by dawn l . blomgren
Thirty-five years since her first attempt—and on her fifth try—64year-old Diana Nyad became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida, accomplishing the feat without the help of a shark cage. She completed the approximately 110-mile journey after swimming 53 consecutive hours. 18
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I
n 1978, one year after the United States lifted its President Kennedy-era ban on travel to Cuba, 28-year-old American marathon swimmer Diana Nyad set her sights on the small island country. “I wanted to go for the longest swim in history. I saw Cuba on the map and my heart skipped a beat,” Nyad recently told Swimming World Magazine. “I knew that was it. All of the mystique, all of the history, it just hit me: Cuba.” Thirty-five years later, she finally accomplished her dream. Nyad, 64, walked wobbly-legged onto the beach of Key West, Fla., Sept. 2, after swimming for 53 consecutive hours from Havana, Cuba—a distance of approximately 110 miles. On her first attempt in 1978, Nyad swam for 76 hours in a shark cage before winds blew her off course. She couldn’t obtain a travel visa to Cuba the following year, so Nyad’s
athlete—didn’t have the opportunity to continue her swimming career collegiately. “There were no scholarships for female swimmers at the time,” said Nyad. “A friend said to me, ‘You know, a lot of times when 500- and 1000-meter runners are done with their careers, they bump up to the marathon.’ So I decided to bump up to marathon swimming.” Nyad immediately fell in love with the sport and the small international group of people she met while marathon swimming. “(The sport) has grown exponentially, but in our day, it was just a contingent of Argentines, Egyptians, Canadians. There weren’t too many Americans,” she said. “We got to know each other and travel from lakes to oceans. It’s not a sport that is immediately fun while you do it, but the rewards and the characterbuilding and the travel and the people involved made me love it.”
sport 30 years later? Had her failed attempt at swimming from Cuba to Florida haunted her dreams for three decades? “I’m not going to tell you that every day over those 30 years I woke up and had a burning regret that I never made it from Cuba to Florida. (Returning to marathon swimming) wasn’t about swimming,” she said. “When I turned 60, my mom had just died, (and I) experienced a deep reckoning. (I began) to wonder if I was the person I wanted to be,” said Nyad. “I wanted to find something that challenged me, that made me reach my deepest potential. It wasn’t a matter of, ‘Do I want to break (the endurance swimming) world record?’ Cuba was at the peak of my imagination—the swim that really touched my soul.” REKINDLING THE DREAM In 2010, Nyad began training for her second attempt at traversing
“I wanted to go for the longest swim in history. I saw Cuba on the map and my heart skipped a beat. I knew that was it. All of the mystique, all of the history, it just hit me: Cuba.” team switched the course route. She started her swim at North Bimini, Bahamas and ended at Juno Beach, Fla....a swim that—at 102 miles in 27.5 hours—put her in the distance swimming record books. “Then I was 30, and it was time for me to retire,” said Nyad. “I had done so many hours, first as a sprinter, then as a distance swimmer. It was 20 years of swimming. I was burnt out. It was time for me to quit swimming and move on. “I didn’t swim again for 30 years,” she continued. “I didn’t swim a stroke anywhere, except for boogie boarding in the ocean.” A HISTORY LESSON Before she made national headlines in her 20s for marathon swimming, Nyad was an age group swimmer in Florida with talent in sprint freestyle and backstroke. Nyad qualified for national and junior national meets in the 1960s, but—as a pre-Title IX era
Nyad first came to national attention in 1975 at age 26 when she swam 28 miles around the island of Manhattan in just under eight hours. By completing the swim, she broke a 45-year-old record for the fastest swim around Manhattan Island. Today, NYC Swim hosts an annual 28.5-mile Manhattan Island Marathon swim every June. The event is a full counterclockwise circumnavigation of the island of Manhattan. It is considered one of the legs in the “Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming.” Members of the Triple Crown club have also successfully completed the 21 miles across the English Channel (between England and France) and the 20.2 miles across the Catalina Channel (between Santa Catalina Island and the Southern California mainland). So, with one record to her credit, Nyad decided to retire from marathon swimming. But what drew her back to the
the treacherous strait. Endurance swimming training is nearly as grueling as the actual event. Nyad would spend eight-, 12- or 24-hour stretches swimming continuously along the shore, depending heavily on her team for support. Nyad failed in 2011 and again in 2012. Swarms of box jellyfish—whose sting can induce paralysis—left Nyad severely weakened on both of the attempts. Then, just as people began to wonder if the feat was impossible, Nyad announced her fifth attempt at conquering the crossing. Fifty-three hours after she had begun her aquatic journey from Havana to Key West last September, Nyad was shaking out her sea legs while stumbling onto the shore of the Florida Keys. Parched and disoriented, she was immediately rushed to the hospital for rehydration. The marathon swimming community began to fire off questions about the — continued on 20 November 2013
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pictured
> ( current
page ) diana nyad ’ s crew could
not touch her during the swim to keep the swim classified as
“ unassisted ”; ( next
page ) nyad beefed
up her protective gear against jellyfish by wearing a
“ stinger ”
suit at night . the facial mask , made of
silicone , made breathing and seeing difficult but was effective against jellyfish stings .
diana nyad — continued from 19
logistics and the swim’s presumed classification. “Diana’s swim was unusual because there was so little precedent for it,” said Evan Morrison, a San Francisco-based member of the American marathon swimming community and leader of the forum, marathonswimming.org. “When a swimmer completes the English or Catalina Channel, the swim has been done many times, and there is an established organization and process for collecting data. Verification is embedded into many established swims, but with Cuba to Florida, the swim’s data verification is (supplied by) the swimmer.” VERIFICATION QUESTIONS; ANOTHER CONTROVERSY Verification questions were posed primarily about the “unassisted” nature of the swim. One of the oldest rules in marathon swimming is that in order for a continuous swim to be classified as “unassisted,” the swimmer must not touch or be touched by any member of his or her crew or 20
any of the boats. However, on-board observers reported that Nyad was touched when she required assistance putting on her jellyfish suit at night when the free-swimming marine animals were most numerous. Her crew helped apply a “sting stopper” substance, and her medical staff checked her pulse and vitals. According to marathon swimming rules, in addition to not being touched at any point during the swim, a swim is only classified as unassisted if a swimmer has no aid for his or her buoyancy, speed, heat retention or endurance. However, since these rules were drafted primarily as guidelines for English Channel swims, Nyad and Steven Munatones, chief of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, have explained why they feel that different stretches of water should require different sets of rules. “When Sir Edmund Hillary climbed Mount Everest, there was no official record because he was the first to do it,” Munatones was quoted saying in an article from The Sacramento Bee.
“Diana’s record was an off-the-grid swim with no organization regulating it.” Instead, rather than look at the swim as the farthest “unassisted” swim, many are classifying it as the first Cuba-to-Florida swim without a shark cage. In 1997, Australian Susie Maroney was the first person to swim the Florida Straits from Cuba to the U.S. in a shark cage. In 2012, Australian Penny Palfrey swam 79 miles toward Florida without a cage before strong currents forced her to stop at the 41-hour mark. In June 2012, Australian Chloe McCardel swam for 11 hours (14 miles) before suffering excruciating, debilitating pain from jellyfish stings—she did not wear a wetsuit during her attempt. Jellyfish have been Nyad’s biggest obstacle in previous attempts. On her fifth attempt, Nyad decided to beef up her protective gear. In addition to wearing her “stinger” suit at night, she worked with a specialist to fashion a silicone mask that would prevent facial stings.
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“(The mask) was difficult to breathe through, difficult to see out of, it was cumbersome, and it made me seasick,” said Nyad. “But it was 100 percent protective against those deadly box jellyfish. I knew that I wasn’t just going to put last year’s pantyhose over my head, because even in the vast ocean with only a couple of centimeters of your lips showing, those animals find you. I couldn’t have unintelligently come back this year without something more to remove that element and that variable of the jellyfish.” Another controversy raised by the marathon swimming community came from the extreme variations in Nyad’s average swimming speed. Nyad’s team reported her average ocean swim pace at 1.5 miles per hour, yet for 20 hours, she was reportedly cruising the ocean at a blistering 4 miles per hour. “It is clearly not your normal stretch of water,” said Nyad. “There is a lot going on out there. If someone else had made it, I would have asked to see the navigational data. They had
every right to ask.” “As a fellow marathon swimmer, I live for details,” said Morrison. “We all wanted to learn from what happened out there, so if one of us wants to attempt the swim in the future, we have that information.” Nyad said that her navigator, John Bartlett, took advantage of a very rare south-north Gulf Stream current. The Gulf Stream typically runs west to east. “As for the currents, you can’t change them, but you can take advantage of them,” explained Nyad. “Our navigator, John Bartlett, is a veritable genius. For three years, he studied the Gulf Stream currents and agreed that we got lucky. He understood where the eddies were, how to get over to the edges and sides of them and not in the center of them to get swirled around.” END OF THE ROAD Nyad admitted, “If I hadn’t made it this year, I don’t think there is anything else I could have brought to the test. There is no new jellyfish
protection gear; there is no new knowledge about the Gulf Stream. We were at the maximum of what we could bring to it, and this was the end. It was the end of the road.” The end of the road means that Nyad will return to a life of seminormalcy. One thing is certain for the 64-year-old: “I’m not going to be a marathon swimmer. I don’t want to be in that world anymore,” said Nyad. “I did that in my 20s. Cuba was what was touching me and moving me, and now that’s done. I’m not going to be in the ocean and swimming across the seas of the world anymore.” v Dawn Blomgren (BFA, Florida Atlantic University), the exclusive photographer for Diana Nyad’s Cuba-to-Key-West swim, is a vacation-travel photographer with a wide interest in subjects, including sports, people, animals, landscapes and capturing people’s dreams. Her work has been published in magazines, and she has appeared on Ellen, Oprah, CNN and film. She currently resides in Sarasota, Fla., and can be contacted at dawn@dawnblomgren.com. November 2013
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pictured
>
brazil ’ s poliana okimoto
celebrates after winning the women ’ s
10 k open water race at the world swimming championships at the moll de la fusta venue in barcelona .
[ photo
by albert gea , reuters ]
2 0 1 3 O P E N WA T E R S W I M M E R S O F T H E Y E A R by steven munatones
Brazil’s Poliana Okimoto and Germany’s Thomas Lurz turned in stellar performances at the 2013 World Championships and were named Swimming World Magazine’s Open Water Swimmers of the Year. POLIANA OKIMOTO, BRAZIL Female Open Water Swimmer of the Year Among the elite women at the 2013 FINA World Championships, Poliana Okimoto Cintra proved that size is less important in the open water than strategy, stamina and speed. In the Port of Barcelona, the 30-year-old Okimoto proved she was well-armed with all three traits as she scored a trifecta with a gold, silver and bronze medal in the 5K, 10K and 5K Team Pursuit events. With one of the lightest physiques among the large fields, her heart and mindset very effectively made up for any lack of size and stature. She fought through the scrum at the turn buoys and turned on her speed at all the right moments. Her years in the sport, while battling it out in the trenches in seas and lakes around the world, have given her a depth of experience that few of her 22
competitors possess. But it was not always this way. The two-time Olympian has gradually transformed her initial reluctance to compete in the open water to a worldclass level of savvy that instinctively enables her to move into position and take the lead at all the right times. With her 10K victory and the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim to be held in Copacabana Beach in her native Brazil, gold-medal expectations are on the rise for 2016. Coached by her husband, Ricardo Cintra, the Brazilian with Japanese roots has also very importantly combined her physical skills with a calm composure. She has learned to protect herself in the large packs that characterize top-level competitions. Just as skillfully, she can also slip inside the draft of her rivals when necessary and has demonstrated the ability to burst out in the lead when desired.
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She barely lost the gold medal in the 5K to a fastcharging Haley Anderson (USA) on Day 1 of the FINA Championships. She took over the lead on the second loop and held on until Anderson just outkicked her by 2-tenths of a second at the end. Two days later, she won the gold medal in the 10K by 3-tenths over Brazilian teammate Ana Marcela Cunha and a tough field of 51 swimmers. As she tussled within the pack, she was given an early yellow card, which meant that she had to swim carefully throughout the latter stages of the race. That focus gave her exactly what she needed because there was a large pack of 19 swimmers barreling down the final stretch. After nearly two hours of racing, only nine seconds separated Okimoto from the 19th-place finisher, where the largest gap among the 19 swimmers was a mere 1.1 seconds! Realistically, no open water swimming competition could have been closer than the women’s 10K race in Barcelona. After all the sprinting and splashing was done, Okimoto was the first to finish. She admittedly fed off the energy of Cunha, who was second. They both pushed and protected each other when needed: “We were looking for each other in the final stages of the race,” Okimoto acknowledged. “We were swimming close to one another, trying to build a wall where no one could break through.” No matter what the situation, Okimoto seemed to have the answer. When there was too much physicality in the scrum around the turn buoys, she came out unscathed. When the pace was quick in the first half of the races, she swam without fear. She was never far out of position and kept up by drafting well. She was patient as necessary when the pace slowed. When all the races came down to a furious sprint to the finish, she instinctively picked the optimal lines without exception. Calm water or turbulent, swimming in a pack of dozens or going stroke-for-stroke with a competitor at the end of the race, no one was consistently better than Okimoto. She was able to adapt to her situation whenever and wherever necessary. Based upon her medal performances, Brazil won the overall open water swimming team title at the 2013 World Championships. It was the first time in history that Brazil climbed to the top of the open water swimming heap, further promoting the excitement for the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim to be held in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Teammate Allan Do Carmo explained about swimming with Okimoto in the 3-person 5K Team Pursuit race in which the Brazilians earned a bronze medal: “I felt very good pulling the group all the time. Our strategy was that Samuel De Bona and I would set the pace for Poliana, and she would swim strong and stay with us. This medal was important because we are fighting for first place in the open water competition. I am very happy because we train a lot to compete very well here in Barcelona, and our team worked so hard.” Commenting on Okimoto’s impact on the Brazilian team, De Bona said: “I became a little tired at the end, but I
looked at Poliana and felt encouraged by her presence in the race. It was very exciting and really an unforgettable moment.” Okimoto had a flurry of unforgettable moments in 2013 and is planning to keep it up until 2016. Riding on the slim shoulders of Okimoto, Brazil’s open water swimmers have every intention of fulfilling their country’s high expectations in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. THOMAS LURZ, GERMANY Male Open Water Swimmer of the Year In addition to a season-long dominance on the FINA 10K Marathon Swimming World Cup circuit, Thomas Lurz attempted—and achieved—something no one else had ever done at a FINA World Championships. He competed in all four races on the open water swimming calendar at a major international competition: the 5K, 5K Team Pursuit, 10K and 25K. He swam a total of 45 kilometers—nearly 28 miles—during a seven-day span. While his effort was not quite Spitzonian or Phelps-like, no one in the history of the FINA World Championships has raced in such close proximity to his rivals over such long distances and been as successful as Lurz. His 4-for-4 marathon effort demonstrated unprecedented mastery of all aspects of elite open water swimming—from drafting to navigating, pacing to positioning, feeding to sprinting. When it was all done, Lurz proved why he, at the advanced age of 33, is the world’s best overall open water swimmer. After a cumulative total of 8 hours 23 minutes of mano-a-mano competition against the world’s best open water swimmers in Barcelona, Lurz won two gold medals, a silver and a bronze. Lurz had a very good understanding of open water swimming history as the week progressed, and he kept on stockpiling podium hardware: “Before my last race, I knew I would never get this opportunity again to go for four medals at a World Championships. This was the reason why I did the 25K on the final day.” In contrast, Lurz’s unprecedented week of success started out with a sprint—at least in terms of the open water. His meet schedule began with a bronze in the 5K, trailing just a stroke behind Oussama Mellouli of Tunisia and Eric Hedlin of Canada. “I was still a bit nervous before the race,” Lurz said. “But it is important to have this feeling in big meets. I try to make myself nervous, and this enables me to focus on racing.” His legacy in the 5K at the World Championships is well established, as he has won seven previous titles. But his perspective on the likelihood of an eighth victory seemed realistic, given the competition. “I considered the bronze medal a success,” he said. “Younger guys are coming up all the time...plus longer distances are better for me. In the 5K, there was nothing I could do against Mellouli in the last 50 meters.” Two days later, he came back stronger in the 10K, beating Mellouli and 63 other men in a massive field. — continued on 24 November 2013
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open water swimmers of the year — continued from 23
But he was edged out by two seconds by long-time rival, Spyridon Gianniotis of Greece, for gold. When watching the two cagey veterans, coaches can almost sense the two thinking, plotting and deliberating on how best to position and pace themselves throughout the 10 kilometers. Their navigational IQ and racing savvy is textbook, with mistakes rarely made and strategic advantages nearly always achieved. After another 48-hour rest, Lurz scored a trifecta with a dominating gold-medal performance in the 5K Team Pursuit event. Sandwiched between teammates Christian Reichert and Isabelle Härle, Lurz was the engineer in the German train. They won by more than a minute—an unheard-of margin of victory in the contemporary open water world that is characterized by close finishes. Unlike his dependence on his own skills in his solo events, Lurz raced in synchronization with his teammates. While leading Härle and trailing Reichert, he melded his stoic style of leadership with a remarkable sense of teamwork in the water. “I realized we were swimming at a very good pace after 1.5 kilometers. We saw our coaches giving us signals. My job was to see that Isabelle was keeping up to Christian and me, so I was always looking at her swimming directly behind me. Then if I judged she could keep up with us, I would push Christian in front of me so he could pick up the pace, and we could go faster. It really was a perfect race.” And he kept up the torrid pace in the Championship’s
final event—the 25K—with a fierce gold-medal performance. He won the ultra-marathon in one of the most exciting 4 hours 47 minutes of open water swimming ever. He won by only 4-tenths of a second ahead of Brian Ryckeman, 1.1 seconds ahead of Evegeni Drattcev and 1.2 seconds ahead of Alex Meyer. The last race of his busy week, the 25K, hurt the most even as the veteran used every trick in his large playbook during the 15.5-mile marathon. “It was difficult. I knew this would be the last time that I would race 25K,” he said. “It is a crazy distance, and it was so painful. But I used some good tactics to win. For the entire race, I was always drafting behind someone except when I made a push (to the front) during the very last 400 meters. The last 200 meters hurt very much, of course, but I am very satisfied. And I had a good finishing touch.” His week-long performance was a tribute to Lurz’s tenacity in his training, his passion for punishment as well as his racing savvy. In the tightly spaced course around the Port of Barcelona, Lurz faced physicality around the multiple turn buoys, but he never backed down, demonstrating his high navigational IQ along with his willingness to push the pace whenever necessary. And victories never get old: “Always when you win medals, you are happy, and you can go on (competing like) this.” v Steven Munatones writes for the Daily News of Open Water Swimming and created www.openwaterswimming.com and www.openwaterpedia.com. pictured
>
no one in the history of the
fina world championships has raced in such close proximity to his rivals over such long distances and been as successful as germany ’ s thomas lurz . after swimming a total of 45 kilometers
during a seven - day span , he finished with
two gold medals , a silver and a bronze .
[ photo 24
by albert gea , reuters ]
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[ photo
by albert gea , reuters ]
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hot off the blocks
adidas performance now available in the pool
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THE RUNNERS - UP— continued from 23
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Sponsored by
LESSONS . with THE LEGENDS by michael j stott
Swimming World continues a series in which coaches share secrets of their unparalleled success. This month’s featured coach: Randy Reese.
Q. What made Tracy Caulkins tick? A. Intelligence and a desire to follow instructions. She understood stroke technique and could apply corrections instantly, making our training sessions easy and beneficial. Tracy had a strong desire to excel in all aspects of her life. She had a fine character and demonstrated a wholesomeness rare in today’s society. She was never distracted by college social temptations. Q. How did she maintain her versatility while handling the training load? A. She achieved academic and athletic greatness by applying an intense self-discipline. Tough meet competition never changed her plan. She overcame pressure through her hard training. Q. Is it hard to find swimmers willing to commit to that kind of regimen? A. Yes, because today’s multiple distractions interfere with serious swim training. Q. Might Becca Mann be such a swimmer? A. I began training Becca at a much earlier age than Tracy. She is also exceptionally dedicated and takes instruction/coaching very seriously. Like Tracy, she is easy to coach because she listens and works every set in practice to her absolute best.
[ photo
pictured
>
by peter h . bick ]
in his 44 years of coaching , randy
reese , currently the aquatics director of the
clearwater aquatic team , fla ., has won titles at the ncaa , usa swimming and high school levels .
as an olympic coach , he guided 41 olympians to
18 gold , eight silver and nine bronze medals .
while at the university of florida , he coached
the versatile tracy caulkins , who won 16 ncaa championships and earned 21 all - american citations . in all , caulkins set 63 american records in all four strokes throughout a range of distances while winning 48 national
championships and setting five world records .
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Q. Was Tracy one of a kind? A. Yes. There has never been any other swimmer who has held American records in every stroke. It is rare to find an individual willing to maintain the mental and physical focus over the time that Tracy did. Q. What made her so unique? A. A keen desire to win and an innate sense of what was needed to achieve her goals. She understood each practice was a building block to the end goal. She strove to ensure her practice sets
built her strokes and strength. Tracy made every practice count by being self-disciplined and totally focused. Q. Is it hard for swimmers today to maintain focus? A. Today’s kids have to be more self-disciplined than ever! All athletes need to eliminate the existing technology distractions that interfere with concentration. They need to allot a specific time to enjoy entertainment without allowing it to consume them. Time management is key. Total focus during swim practice will help them reach their goals. Q. Would those distractions have bothered Tracy? A. No, today she would accomplish exactly what she did in the ’80s. She knew how to shut out all but her desire to win. That same philosophy will always produce winners. Q. What do kids have to give up to be successful? A. Once a swimmer starts doubles along with Saturday practices, swimming becomes a major commitment. If a swimmer sees achievement for the time and effort expended, the reduction in social time and activities will not be considered a negative. Q. What can coaches or parents give to get kids there? A. I’m not sure adults can “give” kids the ability to excel in athletics. They can open doors by introducing them to swimming at an early age and make certain they enjoy their early competitive moments. It is crucial that parents support the coach’s philosophy and standards they set forth. The swimmer must acquire self-discipline, realizing that any rewards are the result of focus and hard work. Self-discipline cannot be taught. v Michael J. Stott, one of Swimming World Magazine’s USA contributors, is based in Richmond, Va.
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The Healing Power of Swimming by shoshanna rutemiller photos provided by taylor hunt
Taylor Hunt was involved in a hitand-run accident five years ago when she was 13, and her father strongly believes that swimming not only strengthened his daughter, but the entire family.
O
n a cold December morning in 2008, Taylor Hunt was walking to school when a car, traveling at 40 miles per hour, struck her from behind. The 13-yearold from Littleton, Colo. crashed through the car’s windshield, causing the high school senior who was driving the car to slam on her brakes. Hunt slid off the hood of the car into the street. Rather than check on her bleeding victim, the teenage driver fled the scene. Hunt’s legs were fractured below the kneecaps, and she suffered multiple torn ligaments in her knees. She pulled herself to the nearest house on her broken legs and collapsed at the door. Hunt doesn’t remember the accident. She had a traumatic brain injury from the numerous fractures in her skull. She has lost most of her memories from childhood, including ones about her mother, who died when she was only 6 years old. Hunt required neural cognitive therapy after the accident and three separate knee surgeries. She was a summer league swimmer prior to her accident, but because of the toll the accident took on her knees, her first orthopedic surgeon told Hunt that she wouldn’t be able to swim again.
pictured loving it
>
taylor hunt
( bottom )
( top )
is back in the water and
despite her first orthopedic surgeon
telling her five years ago that she wouldn ’ t be able
to swim again . today , she swims for the william jewell college women ’ s swimming team in liberty , mo .
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TIME FOR A CHANGE As the medical bills began to pile up, Hunt’s widowed father, Bryan, realized that he didn’t have the means to care for his injured daughter, so he relocated his small family to Arkansas to be with his extended family. Hunt had been just an average summer swim league swimmer prior to the hit-and-run accident. Now in a new city, the best option to keep her in the pool was with a USA Swimming club team, the Razorback Aquatic Club AquaHawgs in Springdale. With the family still in dire financial straits, AquaHawgs head coach Scott Berry offered to place Taylor and her brother on scholarship. This meant that they could swim on the club team for free. “We are completely indebted to USA Swimming (as well as) the AquaHawgs and its scholarship program—especially for a man
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who was struggling to survive,” said Bryan. “I lost everything to medical bills after my wife died. I think (scholarships are something) more teams should look into.” Hunt quickly found her rhythm training with the AquaHawgs. The summer after she joined the team, Hunt took third in the state in the 200 breaststroke. “The funny thing,” said her father, “is that Taylor’s injuries actually made her a fantastic breaststroker.” The Hunts moved back to Colorado in 2012, and Taylor joined the Foothills Swim Team in Denver, which participates in a more competitive region. In fact, Hunt frequently competed at the same meets as Colorado STARS’ Missy Franklin, who is in the same age group (17-18). By the end of the 2013 short course season, Hunt made her first sectional cut and was a three-time high school all-state swimmer. However, Hunt’s skills in the pool came with a price. “Her knee would swell up like a grapefruit,” said Bryan. “(But) she would ice it down and be back in the pool.” Today, Hunt’s knees are practically bone grinding on bone. She frequently gets injections to relieve the pressure and add cushioning. Because she had to swim without ligaments in her knees, Hunt built up her quad strength to stabilize her joints. Hunt persisted through the pain and saw an incredible 11-second time drop in her 200 breaststroke at the 2013 Western Sectional Long Course Championships. Coaches noticed her breakout swim, including Mark Gole, the head coach at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo.
to be an incredibly competitive Division II conference.” Gole eventually hopes to build a team that will be able to compete with Drury. In 2013, Drury’s men won their ninth consecutive Division II national title, and the women won their fourth in five years. Hunt, as the team’s (top women’s) breaststroker, is going to be a key player in helping take Jewell to the next level. “To be honest, she’s been surprising us on a daily basis with her work ethic,” said Gole. “I knew that she’d only been swimming club with her coach in Colorado for one year since she moved from Arkansas. She’s adjusting very well to her training, and I’m excited to see what she can do this year. “She has a goal of eventually qualifying for the NCAA Division II Championships, and based on what we’ve seen so far, I do believe that with her work ethic and her talent, she will get there some day.” Hunt has already swum faster in practice than the school’s breaststroke team records. With the way she is progressing, she presents Jewell’s rivals with formidable competition. “Her freestyle and IM training have been on fire, and outside of the — continued on 34
ON TO COLLEGE Gole recruited Hunt as the team’s breaststroker. Jewell, which competes in NCAA Division II, reinstated men’s and women’s swimming in 2011-12. (The school, which started swimming as a varsity sport in 1962, competed in NAIA until the 1990-91 school year.) The 2013-14 collegiate season will be the first for Jewell in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), which includes powerhouse D-II swimming schools Drury University, the University of Indianapolis, Lewis University, Missouri University of Science and Technology and Truman State University. “This year is going to be an exciting year for the conference because it’s going to be the first year that the GLVC sponsors swimming as a conference sport,” said Gole. “Overall, it’s going November 2013
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pictured
>
TAYLOR HUNT — continued from 33
bob ,
can you help me
breaststrokes, we’re trying to figure out where she is going to be,” said Gole. Apart from some minor adjustments, Hunt is training well despite her residual injuries from the hit-and-run accident five years ago. “The only thing we’ve had to adjust in the slightest is our weight training,” said Gole. “She sometimes has trouble with lunges or squats, but our weight training coach tailors exercises for her that will target the same muscle groups.” Time will tell how far Hunt will progress on the collegiate stage. “We couldn’t be happier that she made the decision to come here,” said Gole. “Ever since I had that first conversation and oncampus interaction with her, I knew she was a really neat girl and that she is going to do awesome things here.”
with some captions for this article . thanks !
pictured
>
taylor hunt was a three - time high school
all - state swimmer at columbine h . s . in littleton , colo . her father , bryan
( shown
here at taylor ’ s graduation
last spring ), believes that swimming not only
strengthened his daughter , but also his entire family .
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A SENSE OF FAMILY Back in Colorado, Hunt’s father takes the time to reflect back on how far his daughter has come. “The story is really about a girl who has come so far despite having so many things go against her,” he said. “She came from no money, no means and no real guidance. I mean my kids pretty much raised themselves.” Hunt is thankful that swimming not only strengthened his daughter, but also his entire family: “USA Swimming has helped shape all of our lives. It gave us a sense of family. I actually became a (USA Swimming) official. It was the thing that held us together.” v
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dryside // training
strength for speed by j . r . rosania photos by kaitlin kelly demonstrated by aaron moser
I
remember helping train Gary Hall, Jr. for the 2000 Olympics. Gary was awesome to train. He loved to lift heavy weights. Strength was important to him, as it helped him gain power, which ultimately produced speed. These days, I train dozens of younger and older swimmers. One of the biggest deficiencies I see in swimmers is lack of strength. Swimming thousands of yards builds tons of muscle endurance and great conditioning. But it lacks the ability to improve strength. As younger swimmers grow and as older swimmers lose muscle, it’s important to address increased strength. Increased strength will help swimmers who are experiencing a decline in performance. Sometimes in young swimmers, size and weight outweigh their absolute strength. This can happen to younger and older swimmers alike. They need a dose of strength! By completing the exercises in this article, older swimmers can “hold off” the dreaded strength loss with age. And for younger swimmers, you can gain the necessary strength as your body needs it. Perform three sets of 12 to 15 reps per exercise. Use weight that allows you to perform all the reps each set. v
J.R. Rosania, B.S., exercise science, is one of the nation’s top performance enhancement coaches. He is the owner and CEO of Healthplex, LLC, and has finished the Ironman Triathlon 18 times. He also serves as Swimming World Magazine’s fitness trainer and was named one of “America’s Top Trainers” by Men’s Journal and Vogue magazines. Check out Rosania’s website at www.jrhealthplex.net. Aaron Moser currently swims for Phoenix Swim Club Masters.
1 PULL UPS
With palms toward your face and arms extended, perform a pull-up to your chin. Begin with as many as you can up to 10. Do three sets.
BALL 2 MEDICINE TUCK- UPS
Lying on your back, holding a medicine ball above your head in a streamline position, raise your arms and tuck your knees, bringing them together. Return to the starting position.
3 PHYSIO BALL PUSH - UPS
Get in a push-up position with your shins on the physio ball. Lower your body to a 90-degree elbow angle and push back up. You need to stabilize the ball with The position for a beginner is knees on your core and legs. the ball.
4 LUNGE WITH DUMBBELL PUSH PRESS
While holding a pair of dumbbells at your shoulders, do a forward lunge step and a shoulder press at the same time. Alternate legs.
5 DUMBBELL TRICEP KICKBACK
While bending over and holding a pair of dumbbells, start with your arms at your side near your chest and slowly extend your arms backward. Return to starting position.
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by garrett weber - gale
WITH THE HOLIDAYS APPROACHING, REMEMBER—FIRST AND FOREMOST—FEELING GOOD IS ABOUT A LOT OF SMALL THINGS WE DO IN OUR DAILY LIVES THAT ADD UP IN A HUGE WAY.
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ho doesn’t like the holiday season? Whether you’re celebrating Thanksgiving, Hannukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or anything in between, there is so much excitement. The holidays always represent a time of family, friends, good food, music, games—and maybe a little bit more food (and in some cases, a lot more food). For some of us, the holiday season can really be troublesome to our fitness regimen, healthy diet and even on our performance in the classroom and pool. However, you can enjoy all that the holiday season brings while still performing at your best. My love for food and cooking makes Thanksgiving a real treat for me. Thanksgiving is not only a time to relax with family and friends, but also a time to gobble down a bit of food. Some of you may already be worried about all the extra calories you’re going to consume over this holiday season. Have no fear—there are some simple things y’all can do to keep your eating in check and keep your body feeling great. And if you like, try my recipe for freestyle granola with pepitas, almonds and dried fruit (see next page). TIPS FOR THE HOLIDAYS Before you start totally chomping away during the holidays without any regard for how it’s going to make you feel—or affect your performance—take a few minutes to think about these simple ideas. Even share them with your family and friends so you can all be mindful of them and go on this journey together (see box at right). No one likes feeling guilty that he or
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TIPS FOR THE HOLIDAYS: • Eat until you feel good, not until you feel like an overstuffed turkey. It’s OK to come back for more food later, but don’t get in the position where you are so filled that you can barely move. We want to be agile like a fine-tuned machine, not like a bus navigating city traffic. • Graze throughout the day. We want to have a taste of all the culinary delicacies of Thanksgiving and the holiday season—and you can! Eat small portions and take a break for a while. It’s better to come back later for some more food than cram it all in at one time. • Try to eat at least a few servings of greens in between the turkey and desserts. This will help keep our system regular and give us important nutrients. • Just because it’s the holidays and time to relax doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do a bit of exercise. Even if you can’t get in a full workout, it’s still critical to get your body moving. Walk or run for 15 to 20 minutes. Do some push-ups, sit-ups, stationary squats, dips or other movements when you have a few minutes throughout the day. You’ll be amazed at how much of a difference this makes. My guess is that most of you will have workouts the day before and after the holidays. Take advantage of these workouts, and remember: each workout you attend is a workout in which you’re getting closer to achieving your goals! • Instead of reclining on the couch after the big Thanksgiving dinner, take a seat on the floor and do a bit of stretching for 15 to 20 minutes. Your body will love you. You’ll feel more limber and less lethargic after eating all that turkey. • After dinner, go out for a nice family walk. Burn off some of the calories you just consumed, and take some time to further socialize with the ones you love. I always feel way better if I take a bit of a stroll after eating. If you’re living in a super cold place, maybe you can go for a walk out on a frozen lake—always a fun and serene place to enjoy a walk!
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she has done something wrong. Don’t allow yourself to feel bad for letting your diet and health get away from you this holiday season. Practice some of these easy tips, and you’re sure to feel more confident and happy about your state of health. Being healthy is not just about your body, but also about your mind. A happy mind is instrumental to a happy life and being able to perform at your best. You are in control of your own happiness, how fast you swim, how you feel and what you put into your body. Dreams do come true. Believe it! v Olympic gold medalist Garrett Weber-Gale and his family founded AthleticFoodie in 2008 on the belief that delicious food can be healthy, too. The company’s mission is to show athletes—particularly swimmers—how tasty, healthy food and fitness can easily become an important part of everyone’s daily routine. Weber-Gale’s passion is to help others realize how good nutrition can make a difference in their lives. For more information, visit www.athleticfoodie.com.
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FREESTYLE GRANOLA WITH PEPITAS, ALMONDS AND DRIED FRUIT INGREDIENTS: • 1/4 cup maple syrup • 1/2 cup brown sugar • 1/3 cup canola oil • 1/3 teaspoon salt • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract • 4 cups old-fashioned oats
• 4 ounces whole, raw almonds • 4 ounces pepitas (pumpkin seeds) • 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour • 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder • 2 tablespoons milled flax seeds • 4 ounces dried apricots, chopped • 4 ounces dried cranberries
DIRECTIONS: • Place the oven racks on the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F. • In a small saucepan, combine the maple syrup, brown sugar, oil and salt. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the brown sugar is dissolved. Stir in the vanilla. • In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, pepitas, wheat flour, dry milk powder and milled flax seeds. • Pour the warm syrup mixture over the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to combine well. • Divide the moistened oats evenly between the two baking sheets. • Bake for 20 minutes, then stir with a metal spatula and rotate the sheets to opposite racks to ensure even baking. Bake another 20 minutes, then stir and switch pans again. Bake until the mixture has a fragrant, toasty aroma, about another 15 minutes. Cool the granola in the pan, breaking up any large clumps with a spatula. When the mixture is completely cool, mix in the dried apricots and cranberries and store in an airtight container.
NOTE: Nonfat dry milk gives granola a great crunch.
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STANDING UNILATERAL HAMSTRING STRETCH 1. Stand tall and step your right foot forward about a stride’s length. 2. Angle your left toes out 45 degrees to the left. by shannon m c bride photos provided by shannon m c bride demonstrated by shannon m c bride
3. Keep your back straight as you hinge forward over your right leg.
4. Gently round your spine and fold over your right leg, grasping your Dr. Shannon McBride, a licensed chiropractor right calf, heel or the floor. based in Atlanta, Ga., has been practicing since 2001. She also is certified in Pilates through Power Pilates and the Pilates Method Alliance. SUPINE HAMSTRING
Q:
What are some stretches I can use to loosen up my hamstrings?
Dr. Shannon: Here are four stretches that will help loosen up your hamstrings.
STRETCH
1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. 2. Bend your right knee toward your chest, keeping your left foot on the floor. 3. Clasp your hands behind your right knee and slowly straighten your right knee. 4. Gently pull your right leg toward you while keeping both hips on the floor. 5. Breathe deeply and hold for 10-30 seconds. Repeat on the left side.
*To increase the stretch, lower your leg until you are able to straighten your knee and then flex your foot.
STANDING WIDE-LEGGED SEATED HAMSTRING STRETCH HAMSTRING STRETCH 1. Sit on the floor with your back 1. Stand with your back straight and feet wider than your hips. 2. Bend your knees and start to bend forward from the waist until your hands reach the floor.
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straight, legs straight in front of you and your hands on the floor.
2. Keeping your back straight, hinge at the hips and walk your fingers forward as far as you can. 3. Place your hands on your shins or your feet.
3. Slowly and gently straighten your knees as much as you can while keeping your hands planted.
4. Gently round your spine to fold over your legs. Make sure to keep your core strong as you round forward. Think pulling your bellybutton toward your spine!
4. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat three times.
5. Hold for 30 seconds, breathing deeply.
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Q&A
ALLISON
BEEBE by michael j . stott
photos provided by first colony swim team
With a skill for organization and a passion for developing talent, Allison Beebe has transformed First Colony Swim
ALLISON BEEBE Head Coach First Colony Swim Team Sugar Land, Texas
A versatile swimmer and school record holder in college, Allison Beebe (Davidson College, B.A., history, ’96) has taken her IM-based training philosophy to First Colony Swim Team. There she has placed two swimmers on the U.S. World Championships team, four on the national junior team, had four ranked in the world top 100 and, among other achievements, sent more than 40 FCST graduates to college swimming. Prior to becoming head coach at First Colony, Beebe was the head age group coach for the City of Mobile Swim Association, where she was a two-time Southeastern Age Group Coach of the Year. In 2010 and 2011, she was named Gulf Coach of the Year. She carries a Level 5 certification from ASCA and is the current chair of USA Swimming’s club development committee. Q. Swimming World: What drew you to swimming? A. Coach ALLISON BEEBE: I joined a neighborhood team because some of my school friends swam summer league, and my mom thought I should try it. I don’t have any special “aha” moments as to when I fell in love with the sport, but when I stopped growing (and dropping my times), I started developing the work ethic that I have today and became fascinated with learning how to get faster. That fascination continues to grow. SW: You swam for Rich DeSelm at Davidson... AB: I have the utmost respect for Rich. I was initially impressed with his professionalism. He was very detail-
Team into a USA Swimming Gold Medal squad and a home of national-class swimmers. oriented, and I learned how important the “little things” are. He was also very patient despite my giving him many reasons to pull out his hair. He is still supportive today. This summer, his swimmer won the 200 fly at the World Championship Trials. He then stood next to me and was the first to congratulate me when Simone Manuel made the team. SW: How difficult has it been to be a female coach in a maledominated profession? AB: The bottom line is that I am just doing my thing. My responsibility is to keep moving forward despite any number of distractions—gender bias included—that can take energy or time away from meeting my goals. On the positive side, coaches such as John Dussliere, Tim Bauer and Clayton Cagle have taken me under their wings like a little sister. They are always willing to answer my questions and are genuinely excited when I reach new milestones. Having that type of support and guidance makes the bumps in the road much more tolerable. SW: What has the support from Kim Brackin meant to you? AB: Kim has always been there for me. As a freshman at Davidson, because of a class conflict, I had to lift on my own, so Kim volunteered to be my lifting partner. This gave me the opportunity to get to know her off the pool deck, and our talks helped me adjust to college life. I can still — continued on 40 November 2013
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Q&A q&A— continued from 39
sport grows every season.
SW: Who are you as a coach? AB: I am a hard-working coach who recognizes the need to hold myself to standards higher than what I expect from my athletes. I want to look back, knowing that I did my best. My genuine desire to solve mysteries within this
SW: How do you improve a swimmer who may have spent the last three years perfecting poor technique? AB: Although I hate watching “ugly swimming,” I secretly enjoy challenges such as this. Improving technique has a lot to do with how I am communicating with the athlete. If I am not making sense to the athlete or the approach is not working, I just have to become more creative. At
reach out and bounce ideas off of her, and I know she will give me her honest opinion.
HOW THEY TRAIN: SIMONE MANUEL “Simone values practice time and does not like to miss,” Beebe continues. “In fact, she missed only two practices in the 2012-13 season, one of which was for SATs. She is a vocal leader and does a great job holding her teammates accountable to their goals. “In terms of her personality, when it is time to get down to business, she definitely has a game face. However, she is also loud and sassy. She likes to laugh and tell jokes. It is obvious that she genuinely loves being around her teammates. There is rarely a dull moment when Simone is at practice,” says Beebe.
This summer, Simone Manuel graduated from Sweet 16 to the world stage in grand style: • In March at NCSA Juniors, she won the 50, 100 and 200 yard freestyles (22.04, 47.73, 1:44.22), setting 15-16 NAG records in the shorter two events. • In June, she qualified for the U.S. World Championship team after finishing second in the 50 and third in the 100 at the Phillips 66 National Championships and World Championship Trials. • In August in Barcelona, she placed seventh in the 50 with a time of 24.80. She became the first American woman under 18 years of age to go sub-25 in the 50 meter free, setting another 1516 NAG record. Manuel also earned a gold medal as a preliminary swimmer for USA’s winning 4 x 100 free relay! Allison Beebe has been Manuel’s coach for the last six years and has been sensitive to the dangers of overtraining her sprint freestyle. “Simone’s aerobic training is primarily IM or backstroke,” says Beebe. “She does a lot of freestyle speed work, but I have some concerns with her freestyle biomechanics when she breaks down (late breathing, deep breakouts, etc.) that I do not want to reinforce with her aerobic work. I would rather protect her racing stroke and fine-tune it when she is working at racing speed. 40
WEEKLY TRAINING PLAN Manuel’s generic weekly training plan proceeds as follows: • Monday a.m.: 90 minutes—aerobic pulling and kicking. • Monday p.m.: 120 minutes in the water—generally free-IM or backstroke aerobic work; 40 minutes of dryland. • Tuesday p.m.: 120 minutes in the water—stroke work (non-free). Beginning of the season is more aerobic work, gradually shifting to race pace as the season progresses. Manuel usually swims with the fly or back group, although occasionally goes to the breaststroke group; 30 minutes dryland. • Wednesday p.m.: 120 minutes in the water— broken swims or repeats from the block; 20-minute classroom session. • Thursday a.m.: 90 minutes—general recovery, skill work (usually back, breast or fly). • Thursday p.m.: 120 minutes in the water—no set pattern, but generally recovery work. The group will redo something from earlier in the week if necessary; 30 minutes dryland. • Friday p.m.: 120 minutes in the water—emphasis on kick. • Saturday a.m.: 120 minutes in the water—the sprint group starts with aerobic base work in September and transitions to race-specific training as the season progresses; 30 minutes dryland, which varies during the season. v SWIMMINGWORLDMAGAZINE.COM
Total Access members click here at www.SwimmingWorldMagazine.com to see some of Simone Manuel’s sample sets as well as her progression of times.
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the same time, the athlete needs to buy into the technical changes, so I have to educate the athlete on why he or she should experiment with a new way of swimming. I am not a cookie-cutter coach. It amazes me how there are so many technical options in the sport! SW: Organizationally, how do you manage 14 different practice groups, all with different skill levels? AB: The program has evolved as it has grown. While 14 practice groups sounds like a lot, the number allows for a more cohesive training atmosphere rather than a mosh pit of varying training, commitment and skill levels. Coach Dana Skelton runs most of our staff education sessions. We spend a lot of time educating our coaches on expectations and teaching methods. We also communicate a lot about each athlete. Coaches are aware of what is taking place in the groups above and below them, which creates a fairly smooth transition from one group to the next. SW: The last six years, you have taken team members to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs... AB: There are so many benefits to the OTC. In order to make the FCST roster to attend, swimmers have to hold 90 percent attendance for the six months leading into the trip. They earn the right to attend. The practice attendance percentage makes it much easier for them to swim faster at the end of the season. Once at the training center, athletes learn from classroom sessions, watching other elite athletes or just getting to know their teammates through living with each other. The environment helps them see that elite athletes face similar challenges. The time together also creates memories that will last a lifetime.
the age group swimmers, answered their questions and encouraged them to dream big. Her travels proved to our families that swimming really could take you around the world. Many of our age groupers wanted to follow her path. While Simone was younger at the time, the environment of dreaming big was already in place. We are fortunate that both athletes have world-class work ethics and understand the importance of giving back to the program. SW: How vital is Twitter to your role as a head coach? AB: I joined Twitter because John Dussliere set it up on my phone during a club development committee meeting a few years ago. It is a great way to communicate practice changes or meet reminders, especially since this generation is so attached to their phones. At the same time, my No. 1 Twitter use is keeping up with the latest SEC and Alabama football news! I try to control myself, and it takes a lot of restraint not to retweet so many exciting things during the football season. v Michael J. Stott, one of Swimming World Magazine’s USA contributors, is based in Richmond, Va. CORRECTION: “Age Group Swimmer of the Month: Seth Chun” (SW Sept, page 41): Jota Iwase, 12, of Fishers Area Swimming Tigers, Ind., swam 2:15.29 in the 200 meter fly to rank second in the U.S. boys’ 11-12 national age group rankings. His swim at the Central Zone meet in Ohio, Aug. 2, was 89-hundredths off Chun’s 2:14.40 NAG record and tied Ryan Murphy’s former mark.
SW: FCST is a USA Swimming Gold Medal Club. What does achieving that status mean for your team? AB: This was a big accomplishment on so many levels. It illustrated how we matured from a selfproclaimed dysfunctional revolving-door swim team to a professionally stable organization. The stability has provided the foundation to build the program and present growth opportunities for both athletes and staff. We had a very talented group of athletes come through the program with that cycle, most of whom are swimming at the NCAA Division I level right now. We also had a committed board and volunteers that steered the program into the right direction. When I learned of the new status, I contacted the current president and several of the past presidents because this was such a collaborative effort. SW: How have World Championship team members Kirsten Groome (2007) and Simone Manuel (2013) impacted your program? AB: I worked with Kirsten’s mom in Alabama. She and I remained friends after we both moved. Having Kirsten join FCST really opened everyone’s eyes, especially in the age group program. Kirsten was very patient with November 2013
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PADDLES: WHY THEY
WORK by michael j . stott
photos by peter h . bick
Paddles are an important training aid that can help swimmers reinforce proper technique and build strength. “WHEN TECHNIQUE BEGINS TO FAIL, STOP AND SWIM WITHOUT paddles. They AREN’T NEEDED FOR EVERY WORKOUT. USE THEM TO GAIN STRENGTH, BUT HAVE PERIODS OF REST.” -MARK GANGLOFF
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ook in any swimmer’s bag. Paddles are de rigueur. University of Missouri assistant Mark Gangloff carries four or five. One or two are used for aerobic and short power sets... larger ones for longer freestyle...small ones for power breaststroke. This was probably not what Benjamin Franklin had in mind in 1773 when he first designed his “pallets” to help him swim faster. The first U.S. patent for paddles was issued in 1898, but the real breakthrough came in the early 1970s when Lakewood (Calif.) Aquatic Club and later Olympic coach Jim Montrella introduced the paddle that he licensed to Speedo. Montrella’s paddle was made of polypropylene, not the structurally unstable polystyrene found in the earlier Bob Reed and Flip Darr models. It also had tapered punched holes, routed edges and floated. In addition, they were the first paddles to have a single finger balancing point. “Basically, it was a better mousetrap containing better raw materials,” he says. Today the paddle category is virtually endless. General use, finger, forearm, sculling, strengthening, agility, freestyler and antipaddles are only the beginning. Most coaches agree with Tim Elson, a former swimmer, coach and now vice president of Finis Inc., maker of swim equipment: “Two basic functions of paddles are to reinforce proper technique and to build strength.” Elson swam for the legendary George Haines and says, “George had us use paddles every day.” When talking about paddles, Montrella, an ISHOF inductee, prefers to use the words, “power and endurance,” and he used the paddles for just that. “Science defines strength as one repetition max,” he says. “As soon as it goes over that, it is called power. Power is the number of reps divided by time, so I used them for endurance and power”—as did Dick Jochums in coaching world record holder Tim Shaw in the 1970s. TEACHING AID More than anything else, Montrella liked paddles as a teaching aid. “With my club and college kids (Indian River Junior College, Ohio State), I used paddles to teach a controlled feel, finesse and awareness of water flow. We used them in conjunction with the smallest pull buoy and strap around the ankle...and for never more than 25 percent of a workout,” he says. At Missouri, Tiger swimmers use paddles for four or five of the team’s nine workouts a week. “We feel that paddles help you gain strength that pays dividends at the end of the year,” Gangloff says. “They also teach you how to hold on to water, a feeling that then needs to be transferred when the paddles are taken off. Paddles also offer swimmers variety and allow coaches to design workouts differently.” Mizzou volume is dependent upon the type of sets the team is swimming. With power or resistance sets of 25 meters or less, “we do anywhere from 10 to 20 efforts in a workout at high intensities. Use with longer/aerobic
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“I USED TO THINK BREASTSTROKE WAS COMPLETELY LEG-DRIVEN, BUT PULLING BREASTSTROKE REALLY ChaNGES HOW THEY CAN SUSTAIN THE STROKE OVER A LONG PERIOD.” -JACK BAUERLE
volume depends upon the group, and paddles are mixed with swimming and other equipment work throughout the practice. We also build the paddle work in as the season progresses and as athletes’ bodies adapt over time. So, sprinters may go 1,000 to 3,000 yards (per workout), middle distance people 1,000 to 4,000 and distance guys 1,000 to 5,000 yards,” he says. At the University of Georgia, Jack Bauerle leaves paddle choice to his swimmers. “We pull a lot, and breaststrokers pull an awful lot,” he says. “The pulling straightens them out. I used to think breaststroke was completely leg-driven, but pulling breaststroke really changes how they can sustain the stroke over a long period.” Bauerle occasionally uses half paddles for breaststrokers, and he monitors swimmers using fins and paddles because of the tendency to dive and because “that’s not the way they are going to swim it. We use flutter kick when trying for hand speed,” he says. “The biggest thing is trying to get hands straight across the water.” PADDLE MISUSE While paddles are instructive for creating resistance and detecting mechanical flaws, they also pose dangers from overuse, poor technique and poor size choice. “Paddles are a form of resistance training,” says Gangloff. “Make sure athletes are prepared physically to strap on a large resistance load. Have a plan within the season on how to build in paddle work. Allow for ‘rest periods’ where you lighten the resistance load,” he advises. Paddle misuse occurs when swimmers don’t keep enough pressure on the fingertips, especially the middle finger, and when one or both go off at an angle. “With a dropped or pulling elbow, swimmers can still go fast because they have a huge surface area,” Montrella says, “and those mistakes carry over negatively to competition and ruin swimmer efforts.” “(Large) paddle size is not inherently a negative thing, but one must learn what size paddle is best,” says Gangloff. “Choose a paddle based on your maturity and skill level.
Do not choose a paddle based on how fast it makes you go,” he counsels. Montrella is in full agreement. “In our country today, 85 percent of our coaches have their kids use paddles that are too large. I am not exaggerating. You can walk the deck and look at swimmer shoulder joints and see that they are releasing water because they are not gripping water with the forearm at all, and their paddles are too big. “Bones grow first in the human body; then muscle tissues. Third are ligaments and tendons. A source of injury, especially with oversized paddles, is kids trying to do way more than their ligaments and tendons are ready for. Bottom line: smaller is better,” he says. An Olympic gold medalist before landing at Missouri, Gangloff worked at SwimMAC Carolina. There he noticed that paddles could benefit swimmers of all ages. For younger athletes, he feels that little paddles are best used not for training, but for learning—at slower speeds, over shorter distances, in smaller volume and with ample recovery time. “As skill level and maturity increase, swimmers can get larger paddles and use them longer, but athletes need to be mindful of volume and body response,” he says. “When technique begins to fail, they need to stop and swim without them. Paddles aren’t needed for every workout. Use them to gain strength, but have periods of rest. Shoulders will be the guide. Sharp pain is bad. Monitor dull pain, as it can transition to sharp pain.” PADDLE VARIETY, AVAILABILITY Paddle variety and availability is endless. Deciding which one is best for you depends on several factors, including size, contour, specialty, preference, purpose and need. A general-purpose paddle may increase the surface area of the hand and thus hold more water. An antipaddle will lessen the water on the hand, forcing one to search for a better positioning on the hand and forearm. No surprise here, the Internet is a valuable resource for information and sourcing. Manufacturer sites abound. Reviews are ubiquitous. A good starting point is the blog, “The Gangloff Review” (http://www.swimoutlet.com/blog/ top-swim-paddles-compared-the-gangloff-review), where the Missouri coach reviews 15 different paddles. Paddles may or may not be right for every swimmer, but if they are, shop with Montrella’s mantra in mind: “Smaller is better.” v November 2013
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SWIM MART
UP & COMERS AGE GROUP SWIMMER OF THE
MONTH by shoshanna rutemiller photo by kate tarvestad
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ill Tarvestad, 12, made a statement this past summer at the Southern Zone Age Group Championships, July 30Aug. 4, in Greenville, S.C.: the seventh-grader won all six of his events, broke two Zone meet records and reset five of the six state records that he had set two weeks earlier at the Kentucky 12-and-Under Long Course State Championships. Currently, Tarvestad is ranked first among U.S. 12-year-old boys in the 50 and 200 meter freestyle (25.53 and 2:02.64), second in the 100 free (56.08) and third in the 400 free (4:21.39) and 50 butterfly (27.75). Tarvestad’s time in the 50 free ranks him third on the U.S. All-Time Top 100 age group rankings list for 11-12 boys, behind Michael Andrew (25.09 in 2012) and Greg Pelton (25.51 in 2003). Tarvestad, who hails from Goshen, Ky., swims for Coach Jenna Eichhorn at TRITON Swimming of Louisville. He attends North Oldham Middle School. v
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WILL TARVESTAD
Q&A
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT SWIMMING? “First, I appreciate the support that my friends, family and coaching staff give me. TRITON has a great program and we work really hard, and have lots of fun. I like that we practice six days a week because I see my friends, it gives me the same schedule every day, and swimming clears my head. Of course, I also find time for video games and schoolwork! In the pool, my favorite stroke is freestyle.”
Clark Burkle in the 200 breast at the 2012 Olympic Trials.” WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR SHORT-TERM SWIMMING GOALS? “At the end of the short course season, I would like to go to the age group sectionals in Atlanta and race some people that I haven’t raced yet to get a better feel for competing in bigger meets.”
LONG-TERM SWIMMING GOALS? “Well, it helps that I am 5-feet, 10-inches tall at 12 years old, so I really hope I keep growing! I would like to go to sectionals in the next two or three years, then junior nationals in a couple more, hopefully swim in college, and then if things really work out, one day I’ll be good enough to go to the Olympics!” v
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SWIM SET? “Mock meets are my favorite— when we race against our teammates as if we are at a swim meet. We don’t do these very often! I also like doing a sprint IM set, doing a 200-400 cool-down, then doing another sprint set. We usually repeat this four times.” WHO IS YOUR SPORTS ROLE MODEL? “My coach, Jenna Eichhorn, is definitely my swimming role model. Every day she works with me on my stoke techniques, makes training fun and reminds me that ‘there are no Olympics for 12-year-olds.’ My teammates at TRITON Swimming are also role models to me every day when they are working hard at practice and giving 110 percent at meets. I also really like racers who don’t give up in a race and finish strong to outtouch (their opponents) for the win—like Michael Phelps in the 100 fly at the 2008 Olympics, Jason Lezak in the 400 free relay that year, and Louisville native November 2013
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Sponsored by
> GUTTERTALK
pictured
>
the swim has
become so popular that it now has to be limited to 900 swimmers .
> gary hall , ( left ) and gary hall , sr . are annual participants .
pictured jr .
photos by ana maria cepeda
O
pictured
>
n Saturday, June 15, it seemed frankie flowers , sr . ( left ) and frankie as though everyone had flowers , jr . headed to the beach to celebrate the 21st annual Flowers Sea Swim...and we mean everyone. Over the years, the Flowers One-Mile Sea Swim has blossomed from a locally anticipated race—located in the crystal clear waters of Grand Cayman—to an international phenomenon boasting more than 800 participants. Today, the swim has become an annual tradition for both competitive swimmers and for those just looking to join in and be proud that they finished the race! Every participant walks away from the swim knowing that all registration proceeds go to Feed Our Future, Cayman—an extremely worthy cause that connects hungry children with nutritious meals. The event is one of the richest open water swims in the world, with more than $100,000 in cash and prizes. Every one in five participants wins something, including such prizes as airline tickets (60 of them were awarded to 21 destinations in Europe, the Caribbean, South America and North America); Digicel phones and tablets; as well as vouchers for dining, water sports, health and fitness centers and weekend getaways. You don’t even have to be a swimmer to be a part of the action! The Walk & Watch program allows fans to follow the swimmers along the route by walking down the beach, starting at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, and continuing toward the finish line at Royal Palms. It’s a great option for those who are looking to see some of their favorite international stars. Among the top swimmers who participated in this year’s event were Gary Hall, Sr., Gary Hall, Jr., Brooke Bennett, Haley Anderson, Megan Jendrick, Kristina Kowal, Jessica Long, Ian Crocker and Shaune Fraser. The photos pictured here show some of the highlights from this year’s Flowers Sea Swim. For more information, visit www.flowersseaswim.com. v 46
> ( from left ) ( 1 st), haley anderson ( 2 nd ), brooke bennett ( 3 rd ) and luane rowe ( 4 th ) pictured
zsofi balazs
pictured
> ( from
left )
scott simmer brendan casey pedraza
( 1 st)
( 3 rd),
>
joey
and jordan
wilimovsky
pictured
( 4 th), ( 2 nd)
the walk &
watch program allowed participants to walk along the beach as the swimmers competed in
the race .
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SWIM SHOP: WWW.SWIMMINGWORLDMAGAZINE.COM THE “MUST-HAVES” EVERY OPEN WATER SWIMMER WILL LOVE
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Endurance Sports Nutrition (2nd Edition) By Suzanne Girard Eberle
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History of Open-Water Marathon Swimming By Tim Johnson
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Captain Tim Johnson, a registered professional engineer and licensed boat captain, covers swimming from the perspective of an active participant in the organization of the Manhattan Island marathon swim.
This informative book contains a wealth of information about swimming from Alcatraz as well as in-depth information about the essential skills, techniques and fundamentals critical to safe and successful open water swimming.
$30.00
$19.95 November 2013
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p i c t u red > o v er t h e y ears, t h e flowers one - mile sea swim h as blossomed from a lo c all y an t i c i p a t ed ra c e — lo c a t ed in t h e c r y s t al c lear wa t ers of grand c a y man — t o an in t erna t ional p h enomenon boas t ing more t h an 800 p ar t i c i p an t s.
parting shot [ photo
48
by ana maria cepeda ]
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