Swimming World December 2021 Issue

CONGRATULATIONS INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING HALL OF FAME HONOREES We wish you and the entire aquatics community a warm welcome as you celebrate this great honor. We hope you enjoy your stay, whether relaxing on golden beaches, exploring endless waterways or experiencing the many exciting dining and nightlife offerings. Welcome and enjoy!

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IGNORANCE IS A CHOICE

SWIM SMART

MEG HARRIS | AUSTRALIA 2020 TOKYO OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST WORLD RECORD HOLDER

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DECEMBER 2021 • VOL 62 • NO 12 FEATURES

COACHING

014 2021 SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR

by Dan D’Addona, Matthew De George, John Lohn and David Rieder World: Caeleb Dressel (Male American) & Emma McKeon (Female Pacific Rim) Male Pacific Rim: Zac Stubblety-Cook Female American: Katie Ledecky European: Evgeny Rylov & Sarah Sjostrom African: Ahmed Hafnaoui & Tatjana Schoenmaker

036 COACHING IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT (Part 2)

by Michael J. Stott Last month, in Part 1, Swimming World explored how COVID-19 altered swim training as we have known it. This month, we look at some issues and opportunities facing club swimming as it strives to be the sport of choice for a younger generation.

022 THE TOP 10 PERFORMANCES OF 2021

by John Lohn Five-time Olympic champion Caeleb Dressel heads the list of the best swimming performances produced in 2021, thanks to his world record in the 100 meter butterfly at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Overall, the top 10 performances consisted of seven women’s efforts and three from the men. A further breakdown reveals seven individual swims and three world recordsetting relays.

025 HONG KONG HERO

by David Rieder People gathered in shopping malls, crowding in front of big screens to watch their national hero race for Olympic medals. Others watched on office conference room TVs, while passengers on the train had their mobile devices tuned to the Tokyo Games. What they saw was Siobhan Haughey become the first and only Olympian from Hong Kong to capture multiple medals—two silvers in the 100 and 200 freestyle.

032 ISHOF FEATURE: AQUATOTS MURDER CASE—THE KATHY TONGAY STORY (Part 3)

by Bruce Wigo This is the final story of a three-part series about “The Aquatots Murder Case” regarding the death of 5-year-old Kathy Tongay and the subsequent murder charge against her father, Russell. This month’s episode: Russell Tongay’s appeal, life in (and out) of prison, what happened to Kathy’s brother, Bubber, and the impact the case had on age group sports in America.

044 NUTRITION: HOLIDAY/INTENSE TRAINING

by Dawn Weatherwax To train hard, you need to eat hard!

Make sure you put as much emphasis on nutrition and sleep as you would on your workouts.

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042 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: MAXIMIZING SWIMMING VELOCITY (Part 6)— THE PUSH PHASE

by Rod Havriluk In freestyle and butterfly, swimmers typically decrease the push phase time to increase stroke rate and swimming velocity.

In doing so, the premature upward motion of the elbows pulls the hands upward and compromises propulsion. Most swimmers can gain additional propulsion on the push phase by pushing the hand backward instead of pulling the hand upward.

045 SPECIAL SETS: ZOE DIXON— VERSATILITY IS KEY

by Michael J. Stott Zoe Dixon, 2021-22 National Junior Team member, has had quite a year. Swimming for Coach Norm Wright at NOVA of Virginia, the 17-year-old is ranked No. 1 in Virginia and 11th nationally for the Class of 2022, and has committed to the University of Florida.

014 ON THE COVER

American Caeleb Dressel (front cover), on the strength of his five gold medals and two world records at the Olympics, was the unanimous choice for Swimming World’s Male World Swimmer of the Year. On the women’s side, Australia’s Emma McKeon (back cover) claimed nine of 11 first-place votes to finish No. 1, an expected position after she became the first female swimmer to win seven medals at a single Olympics. (This year’s World and Regional Swimmers of the Year are featured on pages 10-17, with the Top 10 Performances of 2021 highlighted on pages 18-20.) [ Dressel Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher / USA Today Sports; McKeon Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr, Swimming Australia ]

047 Q&A WITH COACH BRENT BOOCK, ELMBROOK SWIM CLUB (Wis.)

by Michael J. Stott 048 HOW THEY TRAIN CAMPBELL STOLL

by Michael J. Stott

TRAINING 041 DRYSIDE TRAINING: FINISH STRONG

by J.R. Rosania

COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS

JUNIOR SWIMMER

012 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT

051 UP & COMERS: THOMAS HEILMAN

by Shoshanna Rutemiller

013 DID YOU KNOW: ABOUT THE 1951 PAN AMERICAN GAMES? 028 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE 050 HASTY HIGH POINTERS 052 GUTTERTALK

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 December 2021.

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For intermediate to advanced 13 & over swimmers looking for a training challenge and a learning experience.

Swimmers will finish the camp competing in the Bolles June Classic swim meet Thursday through Sunday, a prelims-finals competition hosted annually with some of the best club teams in the southeast. n

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VOICE FOR THE SPORT

RETURN TO THE NORM

BY JOHN LOHN

T

he conference calls regularly held to determine content for the various issues of Swimming World Magazine are generally upbeat in nature. Friendly banter is mixed with decision-making on the content that will be included. Who should we highlight? Does a specific month include an annual feature? What deadlines are we facing?

A year ago October, as the staff gathered to debate the December 2020 issue, a difficult decision was made. Because the COVID-19 pandemic halted life as we know it and limited the number of competitions conducted worldwide, the magazine opted to pause its traditional Swimmer of the Year selections—both world and regional.

With only a partial season to judge, our call was the right way to lean. Yet, that does not mean it was easy, or one we wanted any part of. The December issue is special, an opportunity to appreciate the year that’s about to end and award accolades to the deserving athletes who make our jobs possible. Really, the issue is a celebration, and 2020 was anything but a party.

With Swimmer of the Year honors suspended, we were challenged to find an appropriate substitution for the year-end issue. Ultimately, we opted to review the first 20 years of the 2000s and recognized Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky as the World Swimmers of the Millennium, with regional recognition also awarded. As proud as we were of presenting this alternative, something was surely missing.

Well, we’re feeling much better this time around.

Although COVID-19 remains a concern, and everyday life has not returned to its pre-pandemic state, a step forward was taken during 2021. As far as the sport of swimming is concerned, meets resumed and we again were treated to the excellence of Caeleb Dressel, Emma McKeon, Adam Peaty, Ariarne Titmus and Katie Ledecky— among others. They were all sensational at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which took place after a one-year delay and in a spectator-free environment.

As this issue shows, Swimming World has resumed the allocation of its Swimmer of the Year honors. The conference call that discussed this renewal was upbeat, and there is a true sense of pride that Dressel and McKeon are our front and back covers, respectively, and lauded for the combined 12 medals they won in Tokyo. To praise the likes of South African Tatjana Schoenmaker and Tunisian Ahmed Hafnaoui is equally satisfying.

How we arrived at our Swimmer of the Year decisions did not differ from the past.

Sticking with the process that has been used for years, Swimming World convened an 11-person panel to cast votes for World Swimmers of the Year, along with the four regions recognized: Africa, Americas, Europe and the Pacific Rim. Voters were asked to rank their top-five choices in each category, with the ballots tabulated to determine the finishing order.

Dressel, in a hardly shocking development, was the unanimous choice for World Male Swimmer of the Year. On the women’s side, McKeon claimed nine first-place votes to finish No. 1, an expected position after she became the first female swimmer to win seven medals at a single Olympics. This year marks the third time Dressel has been named World Swimmer of the Year.

Another returning element to this issue is the Top 10 Performances of the Year, which was also curbed for a year due to COVID-19. Dressel, on the strength of his world record of 49.45 in the 100 meter butterfly at the Olympics, tops that list, with the No. 2 slot going to Schoenmaker and her world record of 2:18.95 in the 200 breaststroke.

The victories attained by the sport’s elite athletes at the Olympics were careerdefining and will forever serve as major bullet points when their careers are discussed.

For us at Swimming World, having this issue return to the norm is a victory of its own.

As a new year beckons, it feels good to celebrate the best of the best.

It is the way it should be. v

PUBLISHING, CIRCULATION AND ACCOUNTING

www.SwimmingWorldMagazine.com Publisher, CEO - Brent T. Rutemiller BrentR@SwimmingWorld.com Editor-in-Chief - John Lohn Lohn@SwimmingWorld.com Operations Manager - Laurie Marchwinski LaurieM@ishof.org Marketing & News Manager - Ashleigh Shay Ashleigh@SwimmingWorld.com Marketing Consultant - Brandi West BrandiW@SwimmingWorld.com Circulation/Membership - Lauren Serowik Lauren@ishof.org Accounting - Marcia Meiners Marcia@ishof.org EDITORIAL, PRODUCTION, ADVERTISING, MARKETING AND MERCHANDISING OFFICE

One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 Toll Free: 800.511.3029 Phone: 954.462.6536 www.SwimmingWorldMagazine.com EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION

Editorial@SwimmingWorld.com Senior Editor - Bob Ingram BobI@SwimmingWorld.com Managing Editor - Dan D’Addona DanD@SwimmingWorld.com Design Director - Joseph Johnson JoeJ@SwimmingWorld.com Historian - Bruce Wigo Staff Writers - Michael J. Stott, David Rieder, Shoshanna Rutemiller, Matthew De George Fitness Trainer - J.R. Rosania Chief Photographer - Peter H. Bick SwimmingWorldMagazine.com WebMaster: WebMaster@SwimmingWorld.com ADVERTISING, MARKETING AND MERCHANDISING

Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com Marketing Assistant - Meg Keller-Marvin Meg@SwimmingWorld.com INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENTS

Americas: Matthew De George (USA) Africa: Chaker Belhadj (TUN) Australia: Wayne Goldsmith, Ian Hanson Europe: Norbert Agh (HUN), Liz Byrnes (GBR), Camillo Cametti (ITA), Oene Rusticus (NED), Rokur Jakupsstovu (FAR) Japan: Hideki Mochizuki Middle East: Baruch “Buky” Chass, Ph.D. (ISR) South Africa: Neville Smith (RSA) South America: Jorge Aguado (ARG) PHOTOGRAPHERS/SWTV

John Lohn Editor-in-Chief Swimming World Magazine

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Peter H. Bick, USA Today Sports Images, Reuters, Getty Images

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INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING HALL OF FAME

DID YOU

KNOW ABOUT THE 1951 PAN AMERICAN GAMES?

BY BRUCE WIGO PHOTOS COURTESY INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING HALL OF FAME

T

he first Pan American Games were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Feb. 24, 1951, and it was a magnificent sports spectacle such as Latin America had never seen before. Over 100,000 spectators filled the huge President Juan Perón Stadium to welcome 2,000 athletes from 18 nations.

After the athletes marched in, the roar of cannons and fanfare of drums and bugles from a 500-piece band signaled the arrival of Argentina’s president, the dictator, Juan Perón, and his dazzling blonde wife, Eva Perón, better known to us today as Evita.

When the couple was introduced to the crowd, the cheers for the popular Evita matched those for her husband as she smiled at the throng. There was more prolonged cheering when Avery Brundage, president of the Pan American Congress, praised Perón and his wife for “making possible” the Games.

Among the athletes standing on the field was 22-year-old Carol “Penny” Pence, a 1948 Olympic veteran who would be a future team leader and chef de mission for USA Swimming at multiple Olympic Games, Pan Ams and FINA World Championship events. Her memories of the first Pan Ams reflect just how different swimming was for the athletes then and now: First of all, there were only five individual events for women on the program: 100, 200 and 400 meter freestyle, 100 meter backstroke and 200 meter breaststroke; and two relays: 4 x 100 freestyle and 3 x 100 medley.

In those days, the Olympic Committee had very little funding, barely enough to send even a small team of 10 women swimmers without support staff beyond a coach. The trip to Buenos Aires, even leaving from Florida, was 13 hours and required at least two fueling stops. (Joining the team home in the small DC3 was the actor Ricardo Montalban.)

The U.S. women swimmers stayed with the women’s track athletes in one of Evita’s homes for “wayward women” with a “magnificent garden.” The team often ate dinners at fancy restaurants and Coca-Cola flowed like water. None of the athletes’ parents attended the Games, and the only communications to and from the States were via post cards and Western Union telegrams.

Outside of the sporting family, the Games were viewed by many as an exercise in political exploitation—like the Nazi Olympics of 1936. In the months prior to the Games, political protests by the intellectual and middle classes were brutally suppressed, and color posters of Perón and Evita were stuck on every window, wall, corner and fence of Buenos Aires, perverting the traditional sporting spirit of a host into one of

>> Carol “Penny” Pence Taylor

>>1951 Pan Am participation medal with (from top left, clockwise) images of the PerÓns; postcard to Marge Hulton’s parents from her roommate, Maureen O’Brien; and telegram from Hulton’s parents.

unpleasant nationalism.

Most of the athletes were unaware of “Perónism” at the time...nor were they aware that when Evita was cheering on the swimmers at the pool, she was gravely ill with cervical cancer and would die 18 months later.

Evita would be remembered in a long-running stage musical co-written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice in 1976 as well as in a film adaptation starring Madonna in 1996.

Unfortunately, neither production featured scenes from the Pan American Games.v Bruce Wigo, historian and consultant at the International Swimming Hall of Fame, served as president/CEO of ISHOF from 2005-17.

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T W E N T Y T W E N T Y- O N E

[ Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports]

world SWIMMERS of the year CAELEB DRESSEL

Male World and American Swimmer of the Year

G

iven the option, Caeleb Dressel would avoid the flashbulbs. He would hop out of the water, his latest scintillating performance registered, and disappear. Such is the personality of the American standout, whose unassuming and measured nature runs counter to the explosiveness he brings to the pool.

As much as Dressel may prefer to dodge the spotlight, his aversion to attention has not impeded his climb up the ladder of all-time greats in the sport. When the pressure is at its peak and Dressel is challenged to produce, the Florida native simply rises to the moment and taps into the talent he possesses.

Ahead of last summer’s Olympic Games, vast expectations were heaped on Dressel, whose multi-medal potential led to comparisons with the past three iconic American stars: Mark Spitz, Matt Biondi and Michael Phelps. Because the initial date of the Tokyo Games was derailed by to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dressel had to carry the weight of his country for an extended period.

No problem.

Five years after making his Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro, Dressel flourished in Tokyo, sandwiching a pair of relay titles with his United States teammates around three individual gold medals that left no doubt about his status as swimming’s No. 1 headliner. In voting for Swimming World’s Male World and American Swimmer of the Year, Dressel claimed all 11 first-place votes in both categories.

During his spectacular run in Tokyo, Dressel was masterful at managing both his emotions and athletic exploits—not that the balancing act was easy. For eight days, he wore a shield of armor that belied the true feelings that ran through his body. And once his work was done, the 25-year-old had no trouble opening up about his experience.

“I’m really good at hiding my emotions until I’m not,” Dressel said at his final press conference of the Games. “I can put a pretty good show on before each race, but once I shut it down, it floods out. It was a relief (when it was over). This is not easy. It’s not an easy week at all. Some parts were extremely enjoyable. I would say a majority of them were not.”

Dressel’s first solo event brought his biggest challenge, with TOP 5 WORLD (Men)

reigning Olympic champ Kyle Chalmers a formidable foe in the 100 meter freestyle. Ultimately, Dressel rode his early speed to a 47.02 to 47.08 win, as the Australian was closing furiously in the final meters. That gold was followed by a title in the 100 butterfly, as Dressel blasted a world record of 49.45 to dispatch Hungarian Kristof Milak, whose 49.68 marker was a European record and faster than anyone in history—except Dressel.

For his solo finale, and in the event with the least margin for error, Dressel notched his most decisive victory. Racing the 50 freestyle, the American unloaded an Olympic record of 21.07 to easily better the silver-medal time of France’s Florent Manaudou (21.55), who was the 2012 Olympic champion and also the silver medalist in the event in 2016.

On the front and back ends of his Olympic reign, Dressel powered the United States to a pair of relay triumphs. After jumpstarting a dominant decision by the 400 freestyle relay, Dressel punctuated his performance by handling the butterfly leg on the world recordsetting 400 medley relay.

Inarguably, it was a special competition for Dressel, whose humility allowed him to manage the pressure and maintain a perspective that spoke volumes about his maturity.

“I was nervous before every race,” Dressel said. “Every race was not perfect by any means. Every race approach wasn’t perfect.

Every ready-room approach wasn’t perfect. Every morning when I’d wake up, the first words out of my mouth weren’t, ‘Oh, I’m so excited!’ Sometimes it was, ‘Oh (bleep), this is going to suck today.’

“And that’s fine. It’s what you take from that moving forward, and I think I learned a lot. I really appreciated my time here—not because every moment was good, but because every moment I gained something.” —John Lohn

TOP 5 AMERICAS (Men)

1. CAELEB DRESSEL, USA (11) 55 2. Evgeny Rylov, Russia 32 3. Adam Peaty, Great Britain 25 4. Bobby Finke, USA 24 5. Kristof Milak, Hungary (First-place votes in parentheses)

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1. CAELEB DRESSEL, USA (11) 55 2. Bobby Finke, USA 44 3. Chase Kalisz, USA 28 4. Ryan Murphy, USA 26

5T. Michael Andrew, USA

5T. Kieran Smith, USA

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world SWIMMERS of the year

EMMA McKEON

Female World and Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year eeks before her 18th birthday, Emma McKeon missed out on qualifying for Australia’s Olympic team for the 2012 London Olympics. She finished one spot away from a relay berth in the 100 freestyle. But beginning the following year and continuing since, McKeon has swum on every single Australian relay at a major international competition. Her country has been able to count on her to provide strong freestyle legs over 100 or 200 meters and a killer butterfly split on the 400 medley relay. And in 2016, McKeon won her first Olympic gold medal as she led off Australia’s world recordsetting 400 freestyle relay at the Rio Games.

But while McKeon’s relay talents were never in doubt, she continued to be overshadowed somewhat for her individual skills.

She reached the Olympic medal podium in 2016 with a bronze in the 200 free, and she won her first World Championships medal in the 100 fly one year later. However, she was not yet excelling in the individual sprint freestyle events, where she was overshadowed by Australian sprint star Cate Campbell and her younger sister, Bronte, who also had individual world titles to her name.

Not anymore.

After the 2020 Olympics that were rescheduled for 2021 due to COVID, McKeon is an undisputed star. She is still a clutch relay performer, but now she has two individual Olympic gold medals to add to that tally. Consider the amazing Olympics the 27-year-old from Wollongong, New South Wales, put together this year: She had the fastest split (51.35) on the 400 free relay as she led Australia to gold and a world record. She then added bronze medals in the 100 fly and 800 free relay.

Next came individual gold, as McKeon took the 100 free final by storm and never looked back. Her time of 51.96 was the secondfastest mark in history. The next day, she anchored Australia’s mixed 400 medley relay to another bronze. And on the meet’s final day, McKeon won double gold, smashing a 23.81 in the 50 free to win by 26-hundredths—an enormous margin for the one-lap race— and then putting up a strong butterfly split (55.91) on Australia’s 400 medley relay on the way to another triumph.

That left McKeon with four gold medals and seven total medals, breaking a mark shared by East Germany’s Kristin Otto and the United States’ Natalie Coughlin for the most medals ever by a female swimmer at one Olympics (previously six). Sure, McKeon had more relay chances than either of her predecessors, but this was the event schedule on the table, and she took full advantage.

McKeon’s four gold medals plus her one gold from the 2016 Olympics tied her with Ian Thorpe for the most career gold medals by an Australian Olympian in any sport, and her 11 career Olympic medals smashes the previous record for most by an Aussie Olympian, with Thorpe and Leisel Jones having shared the previous

TOP 5 WORLD (Women)

[ Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports]

W

mark of nine.

With her stunning, MVP-esque Olympics that she delivered, McKeon becomes the first Australian to be named Swimming World’s Female World Swimmer of the Year since Stephanie Rice in 2008. Since the award’s debut in 1965, the only Australians to win top honors are Shane Gould (1971-1972), Samantha Riley (1994), Jones (2005-2006), Rice (2008) and now McKeon (2021).

—David Rieder

1. EMMA McKEON, Australia (9) 51 2. Ariarne Titmus, Australia 39 3. Katie Ledecky, USA (2) 32 4. Kaylee McKeown, Australia 27 5. Yui Ohashi, Japan 9 (First-place votes in parentheses)

TOP 5 PACIFIC RIM (Women) 1. EMMA McKEON, Australia (9) 2. Ariarne Titmus, Australia (1) 3. Kaylee McKeown, Australia 4. Yui Ohashi, Japan (1) 5. Zhang Yufei, China

53 42 33 26 10 CONTINUED ON 16 >> DECEMBER 2021

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world SWIMMERS Continued from 15 of the year

ZAC STUBBLETY-COOK

Male Pacific Rim Swimmer of the Year t has been a steady rise to the top of the pack in the men’s 200 breaststroke for Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook. Back in 2017, he was just 18 when he swam at the FINA World Junior Championships and earned a bronze medal in the event. One year later, Stubblety-Cook made the jump to the senior level and snagged a silver medal in the 200 breast at the Pan Pacific Championships. In 2019, he narrowly missed the podium at his first World Championships, ending up fourth in 2:07.36, but his time put him among the world’s elite in the event.

In 2019, Stubblety-Cook was a bit overshadowed by his fellow Australian star in the event. Matt Wilson tied the world record in the 200 breast semifinals at Worlds and then took a silver medal in the final. So Wilson was the Aussie to watch heading into the delayed Olympics in 2021, but StubbletyCook quickly took the spotlight for himself.

This year, Stubblety-Cook broke out. At Australia’s Olympic Trials in June, he crushed his best time and swam a 2:06.28 in the 200 meter breast, taking down Wilson’s national record and missing Anton Chupkov’s world record of 2:06.12 by just 16-hundredths. With that race, the 22-yearold Stubblety-Cook guaranteed that he would be in the hunt for Olympic gold.

The other expected contenders were Chupkov and Japan’s Shoma Sato, who swam a 2:06.40 earlier this year, but Sato missed the Olympic final, while Chupkov could not replicate his record-setting form of previous years. That left the door open for Stubblety-Cook. He was the top qualifier into the Olympic final, and while 100 breast silver medalist Arno Kamminga went out hard and took a big lead, the Aussie did not give up.

Stubblety-Cook was sixth after 50 meters, fourth after 100 meters and third with one length to go, but he was still more than a second off the lead. Stubblety-Cook promptly split 32.21 to pull ahead and swim away with the gold medal. His final time was 2:06.38, the third-quickest mark in history.

After that, Stubblety-Cook was done with his only individual event in Tokyo, but he had more business to handle. Despite being much better at the 200 breast than the 100-meter race, he was thrust into duty as Australia’s breaststroker on both the mixed 400 medley relay and the men’s version of the event. Stubblety-Cook responded with

[ Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports]

I

a succession of 58-second splits, helping Australia earn a bronze in the mixed relay and finish fifth in the men’s.

For those impressive efforts, Stubblety-Cook earned the nod as the Pacific Rim Male Swimmer of the Year. He edged out China’s Wang Shun, the surprising gold medalist in the men’s 200 IM in Tokyo, while 100 free silver medalist and short course world record-breaker Kyle Chalmers finished third in the voting.

Stubblety-Cook is the first Australian man to win the honor in six years since Mitch Larkin was the winner in 2015.

Before that, no Aussie male had won since Grant Hackett in 2005, which ended a run of nine Australian winners in the first 11 years this award was given. —David Rieder

TOP 5 PACIFIC RIM (Men) 1. ZAC STUBBLETY-COOK, Australia (6) 49 2. Wang Shun, China (4) 46 3. Kyle Chalmers, Australia (1) 35 4. Tomoru Honda, Japan 17 5. Jack McLoughlin, Australia (First-place votes in parentheses)

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world SWIMMERS of the year

KATIE LEDECKY

Female American Swimmer of the Year atie Ledecky’s super-human feats in the pool are easily taken for granted.

Only Ledecky could win two gold medals and two silver medals at the Olympics and be asked if she’s disappointed. Only Ledecky could utterly dominate an Olympic final yet still be confronted by the lack of a world record as somehow underwhelming—as if they’re as easy as she’s made them look the last decade.

That’s the price of Ledecky’s unprecedented dominance. Every racer behind the blocks at the Olympics is trying, first and foremost, to better their past selves. For Ledecky, doing so means confronting the boundary of what is humanly possible. No one else shoulders that level of expectation.

But then, there’s only one Ledecky. And if there was any doubt about the 24-year-old’s stature as the greatest distance swimmer of all time, success at a third Olympics should silence them.

Ledecky isn’t just collecting medals at a historic pace, up to seven gold and three silver for her career. She’s doing it while logging an astounding amount of racing: 6,200 meters against the clock in total in Tokyo. (For comparison, Emma McKeon raced 1,450 for her seven medals, Caeleb Dressel 1,050 for his five and Ariane Titmus 3,200 for four.)

Ledecky rightly enters the record book as the first women’s 1500 freestyle gold medalist in Olympic history, a rightful honor given her profile. She’s the first woman to three-peat in the 800 freestyle, one better than her distance forebears Janet Evans and Brooke Bennett. (No man has ever three-peated in the 1500, their longest event.) She added silver in the 400 free, and she even managed to find the bright side of her fifth-place finish in the 200 free.

It’s not just what Ledecky has accomplished, but how she’s done it. Her embrace of 15-year-old Katie Grimes, anointed as her American distance heir-apparent and one half of the “Katie squared” duo, is quintessentially Ledecky, though such a welcoming attitude is all too rare. The same holds for her joy at seeing Erica Sullivan take silver in the 1500. And her magnanimity toward Titmus, even as they waged epic battles, is indicative of a growth mindset.

While athletes of far less stature are busy creating enemies out of shadows, Ledecky’s positivity turns rivals into benevolent motivation. Someone as obsessed with the process of improvement as Ledecky doesn’t need extrinsic motivators.

“We’re really friendly, and it’s amazing what she’s accomplished this week as well,” Ledecky said of Titmus. “I’m really thrilled to have that kind of competition as something that fuels me, and I know it fuels her as well. So I hope that I can keep up and stay competitive moving forward.”

Those connections bode well for continuing her career. Ledecky is committed to pursuing the Paris Olympics in 2024, shifting her training base to the University of Florida with Coach Anthony Nesty

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to challenge herself. She’ll be just 31 when the 2028 Olympics arrive in Los Angeles.

Ledecky’s journey through Tokyo reinforced an important theme across the Games. She’s not a machine. It may be easy to forget, in the reams of top times in history and how she coldly dispatches rivals in the water. But Ledecky took time in Tokyo to enjoy the moment, to appreciate her voluminous accomplishments and to not take it for granted.

“I told myself before that race to soak it all in because you never know,” she said after the 1500. “You never know if you’re going to be back on the Olympic pool deck. I remember having that thought even back in Rio—I didn’t know if I’d be in Tokyo. It’s never a guarantee.”

That willingness to embrace vulnerability and to derive genuine joy in her craft bodes well for Ledecky’s ability to navigate the peaks and valleys of another cycle. —Matthew De George

TOP 5 AMERICAS (Women) 1. KATIE LEDECKY, USA (10) 2. Maggie MacNeil, Canada (1) 3. Lydia Jacoby, USA 4. Kylie Masse, Canada 5. Lilly King, USA

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world SWIMMERS Continued from 17 of the year

EVGENY RYLOV

Male European Swimmer of the Year he title of Youth Olympic Games gold medalist as a 17-year-old in 2014 stamped him as a future star. When he was crowned a world champion in 2017 and a European champion the following year, he distinguished himself as a global force. For legendary status, however, he had to strike Olympic gold, a daunting task given the primary obstacle in his path.

At 24, Evgeny Rylov mastered the challenge.

The Russian star swept the backstroke events at the Olympic Games in Tokyo—and snapped an American stranglehold on the discipline—to define himself as a great in the sport. He was the sole swimmer from his continent to secure a pair of individual titles, an effort that lifted the now-25-year-old to Male European Swimmer of the Year honors.

In what was a three-way battle for European supremacy, Rylov claimed five of a possible 11 first-place votes to fend off a pair of fellow Olympic champs. Great Britain’s Adam Peaty, who repeated as Olympic champ in the 100 breaststroke, secured four first-place votes, while third place went to Hungarian Kristof Milak, the Olympic gold medalist in the 200 butterfly, with two first-place nods.

When Rylov arrived in Tokyo for his second Olympic Games appearance, he rated among the favorites in each of his events. Still, a major barrier loomed: Ryan Murphy, the reigning double-Olympic backstroke champion from the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. If Rylov wanted to assert himself as an all-timer, he had to go through an athlete who already held that distinction.

The runner-up to Caeleb Dressel for World Swimmer of the Year, Rylov opened his pursuit of Olympic glory by claiming the title in the 100 backstroke. Dueling with countryman Kliment Kolesnikov throughout the two laps, Rylov surged to the top of the podium with a European record of 51.98, with Kolesnikov grabbing silver in 52.00. Murphy captured the bronze medal in 52.19.

Backing up his performance in the shorter distance, Rylov capped his double with a dominant showing in his better event, the 200 backstroke. Leading wire to wire, the two-time world champion won in 1:53.27, nearly a second clear of Murphy (1:54.15). Both of Rylov’s triumphs snapped six-Games winning streaks by the United States, runs that started at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

For good measure, Rylov was a key contributor to Russia’s silver-medal winning 800 freestyle relay. As Russia finished behind Great Britain, Rylov handled the third leg and produced a split of 1:45.26.

If Rylov hoped to celebrate his crowning moments in peace, that desire crumbled shortly after the conclusion of the 200 backstroke. In post-race comments to the media, Murphy suggested the backstroke finals were not free of doping. While he did not specifically accuse Rylov of partaking in performance-enhancing

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drug use, Russia’s tainted past made it easy to connect the dots.

Rylov was unflustered by Murphy’s assertion, calmly affirming that he had no link to doping. The Russian Olympic Committee, though, went on the attack.

“How unnerving our victories are for some of our colleagues,” the Russian Olympic Committee said in a statement that was soaked in sarcasm. “Yes, we are here at the Olympics. Whether someone likes it or not. The old barrel organ started the song about Russian doping again. English-language propaganda, oozing with verbal sweat in the Tokyo heat. Through the mouths of athletes offended by defeats. We will not console you. Forgive us those who are weaker.

God is their judge. And for us—an assistant.”

Regardless of the turmoil that surrounded Rylov, he will forever be known as an Olympic champion, and for 2021, the best swimmer Europe had to offer. —John Lohn

TOP 5 EUROPEAN (Men) 1. EVGENY RYLOV, Russia (5) 2. Adam Peaty, Great Britain (4) 3. Kristof Milak, Hungary (2) 4T. Tom Dean, Great Britain

48 40 37 13

4T. Duncan Scott, Great Britain

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SARAH SJOSTROM

Female European Swimmer of the Year

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t wasn’t the best year of Sarah Sjostrom’s career—not by a longshot. But it might have been the most meaningful.

After working through the COVID-19 pandemic, then battling back from an elbow injury, the Swedish star knew the Olympics might not go as well as she otherwise would have hoped.

Sjostrom was not at her best in her usual top events, and the frustration was apparent throughout her time in Tokyo.

Then everything came together in her final race of the Games.

Sjostrom won the silver medal in the 50 meter freestyle and erupted with emotion. The weight from the past couple of years had been lifted, and the joy of reaching the podium at the Olympics simply took over.

Sjostrom, who turned 28 in August after the Games had concluded, was selected as Swimming World’s European Female Swimmer of the Year for the fourth time in her career (2015-17-18-21). In 2017, she also earned women’s World honors.

In an unexpected down year, Europe had only four female medalists at the Tokyo Games: Sjostrom (silver), Denmark’s Pernille Blume (bronze, 50 free), Italy’s Simona Quadarella (bronze, 800 free) and Germany’s Sarah Kohler (bronze, 1500 free).

By comparison, in 2012, European women won four gold and 14 medals overall. And the numbers before that: 2008 (6 gold, 12 total medals), 2004 (6/21) and 2000 (8/20). The last time the European women went without a gold medal was nearly 50 years ago at the 1972 Munich Games.

But Sjostrom’s silver felt like gold to her. The 50 was an event she wasn’t even sure how she would do, especially considering how she had performed earlier in the meet because of her elbow injury.

Prior to Tokyo, she had won four Olympic medals—gold in the 100 fly, silver in the 200 free and bronze in the 100 free—all from 2016 in Rio. Despite not medaling early in the meet, Sjostrom actually had a stellar swim right from the start in the first finals session. She led off Sweden’s 400 freestyle relay in 52.62, breaking the Olympic record.

Then, in the 100 fly, she was unable to improve on her prelim time and ended up seventh in the final. A few days later, she finished fifth in the 100 free in what was the fastest field in history for that event.

But there was one race to go. She qualified fourth after prelims and third after semifinals, and then swam a 24.07. It was well off her world record of 23.73, but that did not matter one bit to Sjostrom— she got her medal!

“This is one of my biggest achievements in my career,” she said.

“I’ve been winning a lot of medals and breaking a lot of world records, but this has been the toughest challenge so far.

“We didn’t know if I would make it all the way to the podium— we were just like, ‘Maybe a final if I can.’ It has been a really hard journey, but it has definitely made me even tougher as an athlete.”

—Dan D’Addona TOP 5 EUROPEAN (Women) 1. SARAH SJOSTROM, Sweden (10) 2. Simona Quadarella, Italy (1) 3. Sarah Kohler, Germany 4. Pernille Blume, Denmark 5. Evgeniia Chikunova, Russia

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world SWIMMERS Continued from 19 of the year

AHMED HAFNAOUI

Male African Swimmer of the Year he reaction was more memorable than the race. How could it not be?

Tunisia’s star had just stunned the field to win Olympic gold in the 400 meter freestyle. As his fellow swimmers looked on in astonishment, Ahmed Hafnaoui erupted in pure joy and jubilation.

“I just can’t believe that—it’s amazing,” he said after the race. “I felt better in the water this morning than yesterday, and that’s it. I’m the Olympic champion now. I just put my head in the water. I just can’t believe it.

It’s a dream come true.”

And it began inspiring dreams throughout Africa.

That started with his family. A video went viral of his family screaming in encouragement and then celebration after he touched the wall first. They couldn’t be on hand since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Tokyo Olympic Committee to run the Games without spectators.

It was a rare Olympic gold for Tunisia (third) that earned Hafnaoui the honor as Swimming World’s Male African Swimmer of the Year. This gold medal, though, had to be the most unexpected: The 18-year-old was ranked No. 16 in the world in the event coming into the Games...plus he was the last swimmer to qualify for finals, putting him in Lane 8!

But as history as shown, anything can happen in an Olympic finals, and Hafnaoui proved it with a brilliant race that saw him hang with the leaders, then overtake them on the final leg to claim the gold medal in 3:43.36, holding off Australia’s Jack McLoughlin and American Kieran Smith.

For Hafnaoui, who verbally committed last September to swim at Indiana University in the fall of 2022, it’s been an interesting rise to the top.

Hafnaoui’s father, Mohamed, was a professional basketball player with the Tunisian national team. The elder Hafnaoui put his son in a local swimming club, and from there, Hafnaoui began to hone his craft.

At the age of 12, he joined Tunisia’s national swimming program.

One of Hafnaoui’s biggest inspirations in swimming was Oussama Mellouli, the only other Tunisian swimmer to win Olympic gold.

Mellouli captured the 1500 freestyle at the 2008 Games and was the 10K open water champion in 2012.

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“I have a great relationship with him,” Hafnaoui said of Mellouli.

“He wished me good luck before the race. And I wished him well in the 10K open water. He is a legend. I want to be like him one day.”

The gold medal was a huge start. Even more so, the aftermath of his gold medal will raise a lasting impact on his country and community.

Following the Olympics, FINA president Hussain Al-Musallam announced an agreement to construct an international center for high performance in Tunisia that caters exclusively to athletes from North Africa. The project, Al-Musallam said, is a direct tribute to the achievement of Hafnaoui.

In a release through Tunis Afrique Presse, the Tunisian National Olympic Committee considered the new facility “an asset that adds to the Tunisian swimming school, which will boost its visibility on the international scene and reinforce sports diplomacy through investment in success.”

That is why Hafnaoui’s performance is so much bigger than a gold medal. It was the start of many more Olympic dreams— including, perhaps, more of his own in 2024. —Dan D’Addona

TOP 5 AFRICAN (Men) 1. AHMED HAFNAOUI, Tunisia (11) 2. Chad le Clos, South Africa 3. Matthew Sates, South Africa 4. Marwan El Kamash, Egypt 5. Youssef Ramadan, Egypt (First-place votes in parentheses)

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TATJANA SCHOENMAKER

Female African Swimmer of the Year atjana Schoenmaker was four swims into the Tokyo Olympics before her post-race confidence caught up to her in-pool excellence.

By that point, Schoenmaker had bagged a silver medal in the women’s 100 meter breaststroke and two Olympic records. The 24-year-old declared from the podium that she “can’t be any more happy” with winning the first South African women’s swimming medal in 21 years. Then she set about immediately testing that assertion.

When she trounced the Olympic record in prelims of the 200 breast, buzzing within 5-hundredths of the world record, Schoenmaker knew work still remained if she was going to add gold to her trophy case. But it was just as clear that the South African was in the midst of a special, historic Olympics.

Her swim two days later cemented that place in history.

Schoenmaker touched the wall in 2 minutes, 18.95 seconds. She had her gold medal, the first individual world record of the Games and the only women’s mark of the meet. She also created an indelible moment in Olympic lore, the utter shock and the outpouring of emotion at the letters “WR” on the scoreboard. Her embrace with fellow medalists Lilly King and Annie Lazor, joined by fifth-place South African teammate Kaylene Corbett, was a portrait of the perseverance that this unprecedented Olympic cycle required.

So many threads of the Games collided in that moment of effervescent joy. Schoenmaker’s emotional release spoke to her monumental achievement. Only Caeleb Dressel would join her as an individual world record holder, to go with four relay marks. The abnormally low total reflected the toll taken by training disruptions in 2020-21 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the mass of two Americans and two South Africans—one crying, others beaming, for themselves or others—offered a window into the camaraderie of the Games, a cross-continent celebration of what they’d all endured.

“It was exciting because it was such a good race,” Schoenmaker said then. “I enjoyed it, and it was also amazing that all the girls could celebrate each others’ victories. We all came together in the middle, and I really hope it stays like that and goes on to other strokes, because it’s so amazing to celebrate with each other and leave the competition in the pool—and after the race is done, to just be with each other and have fun.”

Schoenmaker etched her name next to countrywoman Penny Heyns and Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry as icons of African swimming. At 24, she’s squarely in the prime of her career. Change has come to the women’s breaststroke field, an event that for the last half-decade has been ruled by the feud between King and Russian Yulia Efimova. While King won two medals in Tokyo and remains a global power, the ascent of teens Lydia Jacoby in the 100 and Evegeniia Chikunova to fourth in the 200 indicates a

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generational shift. Over the condensed Olympic cycle to Paris 2024, Schoenmaker could be a major factor.

Schoenmaker has already proven that she can carry the responsibility of gold outside the pool. She’s advocated for the burgeoning generation of young South African stars staying within the country to train as she did. She’s started a faith-centered charity, the Tatjana Foundation, to help expand access to the sport in South Africa and to support young athletes, using her celebrity to raise funds.

Schoenmaker’s experience in Tokyo was as something of an outsider. She maintained at every level—alongside more veteran or more decorated opponents—that she was just happy to qualify for the next level. Having reached the top of the mountain, she seems uniquely poised to be the conduit for others to make that jump, and she’s got the know-how to take her career to that next level.

“I would’ve never even thought, because it’s my first Olympics, that for me to get a lane in the final, then everyone stands a chance,” she said after the 200. “So that’s the thing I’ve always been after.

This has exceeded all my expectations, so I couldn’t be happier.”

—Matthew De George v

TOP 5 AFRICAN (Women) 1. TATJANA SCHOENMAKER, South Africa (11) 2. Kaylene Corbett, South Africa 3. Emma Chelius, South Africa 4. Farida Osman, Egypt

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5. Erin Gallagher, South Africa

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Performances of

2021

BY JOHN LOHN

>> Caeleb Dressel, USA

But the painstaking process was eventually completed, and here are the results, with five-time Olympic champion Caeleb Dressel heading the list, thanks to his world record in the 100 meter butterfly at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Overall, the top 10 performances consisted of seven women’s efforts, and three from the men. A further breakdown reveals seven individual swims and three world record-setting relays.

Sit back and enjoy reliving the best performances the sport produced in 2021.

>> Tatjana Schoenmaker, RSA

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CAELEB DRESSEL, USA 100 Meter Butterfly Olympic Games (49.45 WR) In between victories in sprint freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics, Caeleb Dressel took care of business in an event in which he boasts historical dominance. En route to a world record of 49.45 in the 100 meter butterfly, the American sensation turned back a charge by European phenom Kristof Milak, who had already captured the Olympic title in the 200 butterfly.

Dressel and Milak put on a show over their two laps, with Dressel’s early speed pitted against the hard-charging ability of Milak. At the wall, it was Dressel who earned the right to stand atop the medals podium, as his world-record time fended off Milak’s European standard of 49.68. As the year comes to a close, Dressel owns five of the six fastest times in the history of the event.

“What a close race, and two of the fastest times in history,” Dressel said. “You don’t get that very often. So, to be a part of that is really special.”

2

TATJANA SCHOENMAKER, SOUTH AFRICA 200 Meter Breaststroke Olympic Games (2:18.95 WR) At the 2016 Olympics, South Africa did not send a female athlete to Rio de Janeiro. Five years later, the nation cheered

[ Photo Courtesy: Grace Hollars/USA Today Sports]

Oh, how easy it is to forget. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Swimming World did not select the top 10 performances of the year for 2020. It wouldn’t have made sense. And in the time that has elapsed since the 2019 list was compiled, the difficulty of the task was forgotten. Add in the fact that it was an Olympic year, and the grinding nature of the chore was magnified.

[ Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports]

The Top Ten

>> Kaylee McKeown, AUS

3

ARIARNE TITMUS, AUSTRALIA 400 Meter Freestyle Olympic Games (3:56.69) The clash between Australian Ariarne Titmus and American Katie Ledecky in the 400 freestyle at the Tokyo Games was billed as the most-anticipated women’s matchup. While some of these hyped duels fizzle, Titmus and Ledecky delivered an epic race, with the Aussie assuming the throne with a spectacular finallap charge. At the finish, it was Titmus in 3:56.69 and Ledecky touching in 3:57.36.

The reigning champion, Ledecky pressed the pace and bolted to the lead from the start, hardly a surprise given her track record.

What was different, though, was how Titmus lurked on Ledecky’s shoulder, seemingly biding her time to strike. That moment arrived at the final turn, as Titmus moved ahead of Ledecky and powered to the gold medal.

Although Titmus topped Ledecky in the event at the 2019 World Championships, the American was ill during that competition, leaving the Aussie to prove herself all over again. Clearly, she was up to the task, and her triumph led to Coach Dean Boxall erupting into a crazed celebration.

“I just thanked her,” Titmus said of Ledecky. “I wouldn’t be here without her. She’s set this standard for middle-distance freestyle.

If I didn’t have someone like her to chase, I definitely wouldn’t be swimming the way I am.”

4

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as Tatjana Schoenmaker emerged as a champion and became the first woman to crack the 2:19 barrier in the 200 breaststroke.

Coming off a silver medal in the 100 breaststroke, Schoenmaker was riding a wave of momentum heading into her premier event. In the final, she was untouchable, as she pulled away from the American tandem of Lilly King and Annie Lazor and set a world mark of 2:18.95.

In capturing gold, Schoenmaker became the first South African woman to claim an Olympic swimming title since Penny Heyns in 1996.

Schoenmaker broke the eight-year-old world record of 2:19.11, set at the 2013 World Championships by Denmark’s Rikke Moller Pedersen. Following her win, Schoenmaker was joined for a group hug

by King and Lazor, along with fellow South African Kaylene Corbett, who finished fifth. The image was one of the best moments of sportsmanship in the pool, four women celebrating the work they logged to excel in Tokyo.

KAYLEE McKEOWN, AUSTRALIA 100 Meter Backstroke Australian Olympic Trials (57.45 WR) In the leadup to the Australian Olympic Trials, major expectations surrounded Kaylee McKeown—and for good reason.

As a blossoming talent under Coach Chris Mooney, McKeown had enjoyed a superb campaign, one which included some world-record scares. At Trials, there was no missing out, as McKeown broke Regan Smith’s global standard with a mark of 57.45.

The record was an emotional moment for McKeown, whose 53-year-old father, Sholto, lost his battle with brain cancer a little

less than a year earlier. McKeown doubled down later in the summer when she backed up her world record with gold-medal outings in the 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke at the Olympic Games. In the 100 back, McKeown was just outside her own world mark, going 57.47.

5

AUSTRALIA 400 Meter Freestyle Relay (Women) Olympic Games (3:29.69 WR) For the third straight Olympiad—and fourth time in five Games—Australia dispatched the competition in the 400 freestyle relay. However, the showing in Tokyo was easily the most impressive, as the squad of Bronte Campbell, Meg Harris, Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell fired off a world-record time of 3:29.69.

The swim chopped 36-hundredths off the previous standard.

The back half of the Aussie relay was sensational, with veterans McKeon and Campbell registering respective splits of 51.35 and 52.24. Through those two legs, Australia turned a tight race with Canada and the United States into a rout, with the Aussies prevailing over the Canadians by more than three seconds. For McKeon, the gold was one of a record-setting seven medals.

6

KATIE LEDECKY, USA 800 Meter Freestyle Olympic Games (8:12.57) In her illustrious career, Katie Ledecky has gone faster than her winning time of 8:12.57 in the 800 freestyle at the Olympic Games on 15 occasions. More, her world record sits nearly eight seconds adrift. But no one else has matched what Ledecky delivered in Tokyo, and the historical significance of the effort is truly what earned the swim a spot on this list.

When Ledecky beat rival Ariarne Titmus by more than a second, it marked her third consecutive gold medal in the event and handed the American distance ace entrance into an exclusive club. Including Ledecky, only four swimmers have won the same event at three straight Games: Aussie Dawn Fraser (100 freestyle, 1956-1960-1964); Hungarian Krisztina Egerszegi (200 backstroke, CONTINUED ON 24 >> DECEMBER 2021

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1988-1992-1996); and Michael Phelps with four straight (200 individual medley, 20042008-2012-2016).

“I think I saw a statistic two years ago that said no one’s ever three-peated in that event, and that’s been in the back of my mind,” Ledecky said. “At one point, I thought, ‘Huh, I wonder if there’s a reason why no one has ever three-peated.’ It’s tough. It’s tough to win one gold, and to do it three times in a row in that event is really amazing.”

7

UNITED STATES >> Maggie MacNeil, Michigan 400 Meter Medley Relay (Men) Olympic Games (3:26.78 WR) Heading into the final event of Yet, thanks to the perfectly balanced lineup of Yang Junxuan, Tang the Tokyo Games, Team USA had never lost the 400 medley relay Muhan, Zhang Yufei and Li Binjie, China produced a world-record in Olympic competition. Only in 1980, which the United States outing of 7:40.33 to defeat the United States (7:40.73) and Australia boycotted, was another country on top of the podium. Yet, that (7:41.29), which also went under the previous global mark. Zhang streak was thought to be in jeopardy, thanks to Great Britain fielding was a major factor in China’s surprise win, as she learned of her a stacked squad...and after the United States barely qualified for the participation just before the relay and not long after she took gold final with their seventh-place performance earning them a spot in in the 200 butterfly. All Zhang did was split a career best of 1:55.66.

Lane 1.

When it mattered most, however, the U.S. excelled, as the quartet of Ryan Murphy, Michael Andrew, Caeleb Dressel and Zach Apple MAGGIE MACNEIL, combined for a world record of 3:26.78. The performance capped UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN an Olympiad in which the United States won 30 medals in the pool, 100 Yard Butterfly including 11 gold, and it left Great Britain with the silver medal at NCAA Championships (48.89) 3:27.51, a European record. Dressel, in a fitting conclusion to his There is only one performance on this list that was posted during five-gold haul, popped the fastest butterfly split in history, going the American collegiate season, and it was a slam-dunk choice.

49.03 on the third leg to move the United States into the lead.

When University of Michigan standout Maggie MacNeil contested the 100 yard butterfly at the NCAA Championships, she became the first woman to crack the 49-second threshold in the event. Simply, KYLE CHALMERS, AUSTRALIA to see a 48.89 effort flash on the scoreboard was mind-boggling.

100 Meter Freestyle (SCM) For MacNeil, the effort at the NCAA Champs was merely World Cup (44.84 WR) a harbinger of what the Canadian would achieve at the Olympic The only performance on this list from the post-Olympic competition window was produced by Australian Kyle Chalmers Games. It was in Tokyo where MacNeil, as the reigning world during the last stop of the World Cup circuit in late October. After champion, added Olympic titlist to her portfolio. En route to her narrowly missing the world record in the short-course version of Olympic crown, MacNeil bested a star-laden field, one that included the 100 freestyle by a slim margin earlier in the series, Chalmers silver medalist Zhang Yufei of China and bronze medalist Emma popped a mark of 44.84 in Kazan, Russia to clip a tenth of a second McKeon of Australia. off the previous global standard. *** Using his trademark closing speed to finish strong, Chalmers established the first world record of his career and took down the The following performances were considered for inclusion in the top 2008 super-suit standard of Frenchman Amaury Leveaux. The 2016 10. They are listed alphabetically: Olympic champion in the 100 freestyle and the 2020 Olympic silver medalist in the event, it was a matter of time before the Aussie • Benedetta Pilato, Italy: 50 Meter Breaststroke, European headliner set a world record.

Championships (29.30 WR) “It was definitely a dream,” Chalmers said. “I am not sure if I was planning it, but I knew exactly what I had to do to swim that fast. To • Bobby Finke, USA: 800 and 1500 Meter Freestyle, Olympic deliver this performance was rather a big challenge.”

Games (Distance Double: 7:41.87 and 14:39.65)

10

8

9

CHINA 800 Meter Freestyle Relay (Women) Olympic Games (7:40.33 WR) A bronze medal? For China, earning hardware in the 800 freestyle relay at the Olympics was considered a reasonable expectation. Mining gold? No, that possibility was not deemed manageable. Ahead of the final, Australia was the overwhelming favorite for the gold medal and viewed as a lock to break the world record.

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Coleman Stewart, USA: 100 Meter Backstroke (SCM), ISL Match 2/Naples, Italy (48.33 WR)

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Great Britain: 400 Meter Medley Relay (Mixed), Olympic Games (3:37.58 WR)

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Kliment Kolesnikov, Russia: 50 Meter Backstroke, European Championships (23.80 WR)

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Wang Shun, China: 200 Meter Individual Medley, Olympic Games (1:55.00 Asian Record) v

[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick ]

TOP 10 PERFORMANCES OF 2021 / Continued from 23

HONG KONG

HERO

BY DAVID RIEDER

[ Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports]

In Hong Kong, people gathered in shopping malls in the middle of the morning, crowding in front of big screens to watch their national hero, Siobhan Haughey, race for Olympic medals. Several of Haughey’s friends were at work at the time, and they watched on office conference room televisions. Others were on the train, where seemingly every passenger had their phone tuned to the women’s 200 freestyle final and, two days later, the women’s 100 freestyle final.

They watched as Haughey became >> Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey won two silver medals at the Tokyo Olympics (100 and 200 freestyles), setting Asian just the fifth individual athlete or team records in both events in any sport to win an Olympic medal for Hong Kong. Two days later, she NCAA Championships, and a few months after that, she surpassed became the first and only Hong Kong Olympian to capture all expectations by placing fifth in the 200 meter free at the World a second Olympic medal. It was part of a truly historic Championships. And as she came within one spot of a medal in performance at the Tokyo Games for the island nation, 2019, Bishop noticed a change.

“I didn’t realize it, but Rick was saying, ‘After 2019 Worlds, which won six total medals after only having won three Siobhan was training completely differently. She’s always very medals ever prior to 2021. hard-working, but she’s even more focused. She knew exactly what “In Hong Kong, we’re not really known for our sports, she had to do,’” Haughey recalled. so the fact that people were watching my races and other “Before Worlds that year, Rick and I sat down, and he was like, Hong Kong athletes’ competition, it was great, and I never ‘You can medal in the 200 free at Worlds,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, thought I would receive such great support from the people yeah, I can.’ I worked really hard, and that didn’t happen. After in Hong Kong,” Haughey said. that, we went back to training, and we talked about what we wanted

T

he magical run began in the 200 free final, where Haughey was already a strong medal contender. She had finished fourth at the 2019 World Championships, missing a medal by just 2-tenths, but breaking 1:55 for the first time. “That was one of those races where I wanted to be upset because I missed the podium by 2-tenths, but I went a best time by more than half a second,” Haughey said. “I wanted to be upset, but I also did my best.”

At that point, Haughey had been training at the University of Michigan under Rick Bishop for four years, and that partnership had been fruitful. Bishop had led Haughey to her first Olympics in 2016, where she finished 12th in the 200 free. A year later, she began making a significant impact on the NCAA level when she finished fourth in the 200 yard free behind a loaded field at the

to do leading up to Tokyo. This is when we were like, ‘This time, we actually are going to do it. We’re not going to miss by 2-tenths again.’ You set goals, and you don’t always make them, and you set another goal.”

For this race, her first Olympic final, Haughey and Bishop had devised a plan to maximize her strengths against her accomplished competition.

“Typically, I would go out fast in the first 100 and hang on in the second 100,” Haughey said. “That’s kind of what I did, but I thought of it differently at the Olympics. We knew that I had really good natural speed, so the first 50, we were just thinking about easy speed and then really build on the second 50. We knew that Titmus and Ledecky were great distance swimmers and they would come back faster than I would, so my strategy was to go out faster and be CONTINUED ON 26 >> DECEMBER 2021

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25

SIOBHAN HAUGHEY / Continued from 25 ahead so they would have to catch me. I think that’s what I did. I think I executed our plan very well.”

In Tokyo, Haughey was the second qualifier out of the semifinals.

However, she would be going up against Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, the gold medalist in the 400 free already in Tokyo and a swimmer who had nearly broken the world record six weeks earlier, and the USA’s Katie Ledecky, the best distance swimmer in history and the defending gold medalist in the 200 free.

But at the halfway point, Haughey held the lead, with Titmus 7-tenths behind and Ledecky more than a second back. On the third 50, Haughey built a strong lead, and it would take a stunning final length for Titmus to pass her and secure a gold medal. Still, Haughey finished with a marvelous performance, a 1:53.92 Asian record that made her the fifth-fastest performer in history and earned her an Olympic silver medal, her first medal at any senior-level global championships.

COMING TO AMERICA

ADJUSTING TO THE COVID-19 CHALLENGE

The next challenge would be of a totally different sort, when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the world and postponed the Olympics. Haughey was still training in Ann Arbor as a postgrad when pools closed in the United States, and she found out that the national pool in Hong Kong would stay open. So she returned home and continued following the program that Bishop wrote for her.

She expected to return to Michigan after a few months, but she ended up staying in Hong Kong all the way through the Tokyo Olympics, departing only to participate in the 2020 ISL season in

[ Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick]

Long before she enrolled at Michigan, Haughey had plans of attending college in the United States, but she was looking mostly at schools on the West coast before she spoke with Claudia Lau, her teammate on the Hong Kong team who was attending Michigan at the time. Lau put her in touch with the Wolverine coaches and then arranged a Skype meeting between Haughey and the team. Haughey had never visited Ann Arbor, but seeing the team vibes through that meeting was enough for her to commit.

Coming to America brought some adjustments, for sure: During Haughey’s freshman year, she found school easy, but everything else very difficult. Training had increased from seven sessions per week to 10, plus weights and dryland, and Hong Kong had not

prepared Haughey for the cold Michigan winter. “All of the winter clothes I brought from Hong Kong did not help,” Haughey said.

“They weren’t thick enough.”

Haughey remembers times that year when she would call home and not be able to hold back tears, the stresses of the transition getting to her. Two years later, she remembers dealing with a painful ankle injury that flared up suddenly with no obvious cause that no doctor could diagnose. She was barely able to swim or even walk.

During these setbacks, she relied on her teammates to help lift her up. She spoke glowingly about what the other Michigan swimmers provided when she needed it most during her college days. “I always received love and support from my team, but especially during that time. It’s nice to know that when we are going through stuff like that, you have a whole team there to pick you up,” Haughey said. “I never realized that’s going to be a team sport until I got to Michigan. Your teammates are your family when you’re so far away from home. Just the whole team aspect, supporting your teammates with what they’re going through—that’s so important to me. Now, no matter what team I’m on, I try to be that teammate.”

>> With pools closed in the United States because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Haughey went back home to train. She expected to return to Michigan after a few months, but she ended up staying in Hong Kong all the way through the Tokyo Olympics, departing only to participate in the 2020 ISL season in October and November in Budapest.

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MORE FAST SWIMMING

Sometimes, athletes consider their silver medals a consolation prize, the sign >> While at Michigan, Haughey (right) initially had her share of adjustments and setbacks, but she quickly discovered that her teammates were always there to lift her up. “Your teammates are your family when you’re so far away from home,” she of a defeat. For Haughey, even as she said. “Just the whole team aspect, supporting your teammates with what they’re going through—that’s so important to me.” surrendered the lead on the final length in (Pictured with Gabby DeLoof) the 200 free Olympic final, her silver medal was absolutely a triumph.

“I was so excited after the 200. So many ONE YEAR AT A TIME emotions. It’s kind of something you’ve dreamt of for so long, and After a short trip back to Hong Kong to celebrate with her family, now you have it,” Haughey said. “I really wanted to celebrate that Haughey jumped back into the ISL season, where she was one of and have fun, but I had the 100 free heats that afternoon.” the top performers on a title-contending Energy Standard team. She wracked up SCM wins in the 100 free, 200 free and even 400 free Yes, her reward for the Olympic silver medal was getting to race along with relays. After that, she planned on attending Short Course again nine hours later in the prelims of the 100 free, an event in which World Championships in Abu Dhabi before she heads back to Hong she had never qualified for the finals at a World Championships and Kong to continue preparing for the 2022 World Championships, had only once broken 53 seconds. scheduled to be held in Fukuoka, Japan. She will likely follow Haughey remembers bending down on the starting blocks another remote training program from Bishop, who has since and thinking, “Wow, I’m really tired.” During the race, Haughey departed Michigan to become the head coach at LSU. executed what she called a “terrible turn,” and she saw Australian Beyond that, Haughey said, “I think this is the first time in my life Emma McKeon swimming away from her. Hence, she expected a where I don’t really have a long-term plan. I’m trying to take it one poor time. year at a time right now. In the past, I think I had very clear goals: Instead, she swam a 52.70, a lifetime best and Asian record, and ‘I want to make it to Rio,’ or ‘I want to make it to Tokyo.’ I don’t that matched the gold medal-winning time from the 2016 Olympics. really know what I want yet. Maybe I’m still trying to figure it out.

She was the second overall seed behind McKeon. In the semifinals, I’m just taking it one year at a time. I know I still like swimming, Haughey dropped another 3-tenths, down to 52.40, and she retained and I’m really enjoying what I’m doing right now—maybe more the second seed. And in the final, she stuck close to McKeon early than I did before.” on and did not surrender ground down the stretch. She finished in 52.27, earning herself a second silver medal.

“After winning the first medal, I felt the pressure lifted off my shoulders. In the 100, I wouldn’t say I had zero pressure, but I was just trying to enjoy the whole race, and it was another best time, another medal,” Haughey said, before admitting that even she would not have picked herself to finish on the Olympic podium in the two-lap sprint.

Her Olympics concluded when she qualified 15th in prelims of the 50 free, but she withdrew from the semifinals because of a lower back injury that was bothering her. She knew her chances of qualifying for the final, let alone winning a medal in the 50 free, were slim, and she did not want to jeopardize her chances for the upcoming ISL season.

“My coaches were like, ‘I think you’ve done your job. Two medals is good,’” Haughey said.

***

But for the rest of her life, she will be able to look back on the Tokyo Olympics and fondly recall the finest meet of her life, thanks to her special accomplishments in the pool and the special moments produced outside of it. Like when the entire Hong Kong team met her outside the mixed zone following the 200 free medal ceremony and enveloped her in a bear hug. Or when one of the Hong Kong coaches found her immediately post-race and handed her a cell phone.

“I was like, ‘Who’s calling me?’ He’s like, ‘Coach,’” Haughey recalled. “I was like, ‘You’re here. The Hong Kong head coach is upstairs. Rick, my Michigan coach, is also here. Who’s calling me?’

So I said, ‘Hello?’ And it was my mom. She was crying, and she was like, ‘I’m so proud of you. I’m so happy.’ That was such a great moment.” v DECEMBER 2021

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[ Photo Courtesy: Dan D'Addona]

October and November in Budapest.

In that difficult situation, swimming on the other side of the world from her coach, Haughey found a new group of teammates to rely on. A group of seven swimmers who had been studying in the U.S. or Canada all flew back together, and they formed their own international group. There was a coach on deck in Hong Kong, but the entire group was swimming Bishop’s sets.

Haughey would occasionally Facetime with her coach, and he watched videos of her swimming from time to time, but the two did not see each other in person until they arrived in Tokyo. Haughey was by no means alone among 2019 college graduates in shifting to remote, virtual work during the pandemic, but how many others saw that makeshift setup pay off with Olympic medals?

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INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING HALL OF FAME

AQUATOTS MURDER CASE:

THE KATHY TONGAY STORY PA R T T H R E E

BY BRUCE WIGO

fter Russell Tongay was convicted of manslaughter in January of 1954 for killing his daughter by forcing her to dive from a 10-meter tower, he was sentenced to 10 years hard labor. But his attorneys immediately appealed the verdict to the Florida Supreme Court, and Tongay was released on $5,000 bond.

Confident in his ultimate vindication, Tongay calmly proceeded to promote his son, Bubber, whom he now called Bubba, in swimming exhibitions in Mexico and in Central and South America over the objections of the bondsman. But when they entered Nassau on their last stop before returning to Miami, Tongay was ordered to leave by British authorities as an “undesirable alien.”

It would take 17 months before the Supreme Court would render its decision. During this interval, it was Bubba Tongay who was making headlines.

In the summer of 1953, shortly after his sister’s death, but before his father’s trial, Bubba had entered his first AAU swimming meet and amazingly broke three Florida Gold Coast AAU records for the 10-and-under age group as a 7-year-old.

But negative publicity and his jaunt south of the border kept him away from meets until January of 1955. That’s when he was entered in the AAU’s International Telegraphic dual meet between all-star teams from Berlin (Germany) and Miami. Before the event could take place, some local officials challenged Bubba’s amateur status, but the AAU allowed him to participate in the “goodwill” meet sponsored by the U.S. State Department.

The teams swam the events at the same time in their respective cities, and results were announced on the Voice of America. While Berlin defeated Miami 227-195, 9-year old Bubba Tongay was the American star, setting two American records for the 9-10 age group, swimming the 50 meter free in 34.2 and 50 back in 40.7.

SENTENCED TO PRISON Five months later, the Florida Supreme Court rejected Tongay’s

[ Photo Courtesy: Newspapers.com ]

This is the final story of a threepart series about “The Aquatots Murder Case” regarding the death of 5-year-old Kathy Tongay and the subsequent murder charge against her father, Russell.

This month’s episode: Russell Tongay’s appeal, life in (and out) of prison, what happened to Kathy’s brother, Bubber, and the impact the case had on age group sports in America.

A

>> Russell Tongay with Bubba in the Bahamas (left) and after the Telegraph Meet versus Berlin (right), where Bubba set two national age group records.

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[ Photo Courtesy: Newspapers.com ]

>> The image of an emaciated Russell Tongay (photo on left, middle) made the public sympathetic.

ON THE RUN The board assigned a prison guard to drive Tongay to the VA hospital. On the way, the car was involved in an accident, and Tongay claimed to be injured. He was treated at a local hospital, but no injury >>Former child star Jackie Ott with Bubba. Jackie had performed many of the same feats as Kathy and could be found. While the car was being Bubba when a child. repaired, he was taken to a restaurant to eat. When the guard was paying the check, his prison garb while the guards were unaware. The “invalid” was Tongay ran out the door and vanished between cars in a parking lot. miraculously revitalized, and he dashed through a couple of cars and Two weeks later, William “Red” Burell, Tongay’s friend and leaped off the moving train. The guards got off at the next stop and coach of Coral Gables High School in Miami, received a call from called Mobile detectives, who were able to capture the fugitive. For Tongay, who was in a VA hospital in Los Angeles. It was Tongay, the rest of the trip, Tongay was placed in shackles. who said he was in a VA hospital seeking treatment for lung cancer.

He had amnesia and didn’t know how he got there, but he wanted MIXED FEELINGS Burell to intercede with the governor of Florida for a pardon. But The photograph of Russell Tongay in chains and in an emaciated when his whereabouts became known, he was arrested, and the condition (top of page, photo on left, middle) left many followers of governor immediately issued an extradition order. his story in a state of shock. Many people came to believe it would In the Los Angeles jail, Tongay slit both of his wrists with a have been more merciful to have shot him rather than sentence him double edge razor blade in what hospital officials described as “an to prison. He didn’t need more punishment. What he needed was insincere attempt” to commit suicide. This time, while he was held mental therapy to help him cope with the daily and nightly sufferings in a padded cell, two guards were sent to retrieve him. of reliving his life’s dream being crushed along with the life of his All the way back on a train from California to Florida, Tongay precious daughter. refused to eat, saying he was ill. He lay in his bunk and soiled his When Tongay was returned to Raiford Prison in Bradford County, bedclothes rather than get up to go to the restroom. He had to be Fla., the warden told reporters that Tongay was “a publicity hound,” helped by the guards wherever he went. When transferring trains, “a liar” and “the biggest problem we’ve ever had here.” They wanted he was taken in a wheel chair, and his guards were thoroughly to give him a break, he said, but it was unappreciated and he violated convinced he was a weak and very sick man.

Then near Mobile, Ala., he found some clothing and covered up every confidence. They didn’t know what to do with him, so they sent CONTINUED ON 34 >> DECEMBER 2021

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[ Photo Courtesy: Newspapers.com ]

appeal and ordered him to Raiford Prison on May 13, 1955. When he entered the prison, Russell Tongay weighed 280 pounds.

Because of his poor physical condition, rather than hard labor, he was assigned to light farm work, picking peas, stripping cane and the like.

One night in July, he made a noose from an army belt, strapped it around his neck and tried to hang himself from his bunk. But a guard found him choking and loosened the belt in time. He was hospitalized for four days, and when he returned to the prison, he was reassigned to secretarial duties.

It was at this time he thought to spare his wife from having to suffer without him for 10 years and filed a petition to divorce her, based on mental cruelty because she “no longer loved him.” But she swore she still did, and the petition was denied.

Tongay then revealed he had a spot on his lung, which was confirmed by prison doctors who examined his X-rays. He was losing a lot of weight, and as a veteran of the Coast Guard, Tongay asked for a pardon so he could be treated at a VA hospital rather than by prison doctors.

His request for a pardon was turned down, but the board, composed of Florida’s elected cabinet officers, agreed to break precedent and free him temporarily so he could be treated at a VA hospital in New Orleans.

Then came the incredible series of events that provoked nationwide headlines.

KATHY TONGAY / Continued from 33

[ Photo Courtesy: Newspapers.com ]

him to the state mental hospital. But after 30 days of observation, he was ruled sane and returned to Raiford.

All during Tongay’s travails, his friends “Red” Burell and Jackie Ott, the former child aquastar of the 1920s and 1930s and now aquatics director for the city of Miami, wrote letters to the governor and parole board asking to release him.

Ott claimed, “We needed him to help coach the Miami swimming teams and his own son,” whom they called “the world’s greatest swimmer”—an assertion backed up by Bubba setting five national AAU age group records for boys 9-10 as a 9-year old that summer.

“I think Tongay’s a nice guy, and I know he wouldn’t do anything to hurt that boy,” Ott said.

With his father in prison, Bubba lived with his mother, a school teacher, and he continued to develop as an outstanding swimmer, breaking several national AAU records in the 11-12 and 13-14 age groups. When he reached eighth grade, he swam for Hall of Fame coach Jack Nelson at Ransom School in Miami and was an All-American in the 200 yard individual medley on Nelson’s and Ransom’s first state championship team in 1960.

[ Photo Courtesy: 1966 UM Yearbook ]

>> Bubba as Dade County Swimmer of the Year.

RELEASED AFTER SIX YEARS Meanwhile, while Russell Tongay was not exactly a model prisoner, he had cleaned up his act enough to be considered for parole and told the board that if freed, he intended to become a Trappist monk—a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church whose members maintain silence and live in seclusion.

His release came on May 31, 1961, after serving six years.

Without seeing his wife and son, Tongay changed his name to M. Lazarus, after the biblical Lazarus who Christ raised from the dead, and by July he was living in a Trappist monastery in Hong Kong.

But his adventure was short lived. In April of 1962, he was back in Miami, where he announced he had returned to coach Bubba to the Olympic Games, and Bubba was all for it, for he truly loved his father.

But Russell Tongay also had some other news. He had divorced his wife in Mexico and had married a wealthy California woman.

It would later be revealed that she was after him for draining her stock account and was seeking an annulment. When this news broke, Betty filed suit to divorce her husband, and Tongay, a.k.a. Lazarus, disappeared into obscurity.

>> 1966 University of Miami Swim Team. Bubba front row second from right. A star of the team but never realized his potential.

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*** After graduation, Bubba Tongay began a long career as a

[ Photo Courtesy: Newspapers.com ]

FORMER COACH ADDS PERSPECTIVE While researching this story, I happened to ask 80-year-old coach Bob Karl if he knew about the Tongays. Bob is now living in Quincy, Fla., but he grew up and coached for nearly 50 years in the Miami area. Bob was recently in Fort Lauderdale at the invitation of Olympic coach Dave Marsh, to attend Dave’s induction into the Hall of Fame.

Bob had coached Dave as an age-grouper, and amazingly, taught at the same school as Betty Tongay and also helped coach Bubba. He even met Bubba’s father on the pool deck in 1962.

Bob remembered first seeing Bubba at an exhibition at the Casino Pool in Fort Lauderdale, when Bubba was maybe 8 or 9 years old. He watched Bubba swim the 55-yard length of the pool under water with his hands tied behind his back and his feet tied together, and he was amazed by the feat.

Bob was later an assistant for the legendary Bill Diaz at Miami Jackson High School, where Bubba became one of the best high school swimmers in the country: a four-time individual state champion in the 200 free (1961), 400 free (1962-63), 100 breast (1964) and multiple All-American. His only losses in high school, says Bob, came against future Olympians John Nelson and Ken Walsh.

“Bubba was a really nice kid and very coachable,” remembered Bob. “There was nothing negative about him. I just loved him. He was a big strong kid, big hands, big feet, and had he been coached properly in college, he really could have been a great swimmer.

“Unfortunately, Bubba attended the University of Miami at a time when the coach was truly incompetent. Had Bill Diaz been hired earlier, I’m sure he could have achieved the same type of success as Bill’s swimmers David Wilkie at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, and Matt Gribble and Jesse Vassallo at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. He had that kind of talent and desire.”

>> Remembering Kathy Tongay with her dad.

professional lifeguard with the Miami Beach Patrol. Attempts to locate and interview him were not successful at the time of publication. One might think all the publicity surrounding this case might dampen interest in age group swimming. But it actually had the opposite effect, and the growth of the sport was explosive with a tenfold growth in registrations in AAU and recreational swimming league in the 1950s. Perhaps it was just a coincidence...but I think not. v Bruce Wigo, historian and consultant at the International Swimming Hall of Fame, served as president/CEO of ISHOF from 2005-17.

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COACHING IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT (Part 2)

Last month, in Part 1, Swimming World explored how COVID-19 altered swim training as we have known it. This month, we look at some issues and opportunities facing club swimming as it strives to be the sport of choice for a younger generation.

[ Photo Courtesy: Scott Grant/Swimming Canada ]

BY MICHAEL J. STOTT

M

ore than 200 years ago, English romantic poet William Wordsworth noted, “The world is with us too late and soon.”

Regrettably, for the last two years, so has COVID-19. And as swim teams resume operations, they are re-examining how past practices and new thinking can augur future success.

Jack Roach, former national junior team director for USA Swimming, is now the director of coach and athlete development for TIDE Swimming (Virginia Beach, Va.). He reports that during the pandemic, TIDE coaches rediscovered the importance of engaging their athletes emotionally and psychologically.

“What we were doing before, we did better. I think other teams did that as well. Conversely, those who were not doing well previously, continued to do worse,” he says. “Our parents rallied around one another and the team. Without committed parents, we would not have survived.”

TIDE board leadership aggressively focused on pre-pandemic plusses and pursued an assortment of ways to support the coaching and admin staff on dryside issues that the board could uniquely lead.

As examples, Katy Arris Wilson, board president and former USA national team member (1987-92), says that TIDE: •

“Used our board’s skill set to lead the efforts to apply for a local PPP loan;

•

“Analyzed our financial statements. Even before knowing if we qualified for the PPP loan, we made a commitment not to lay off or furlough any staff;

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•

“Made adjustments to the dues structure based on time out of water.

“We also let our coaches guide our athletes and membership.

Jack Roach and head coach Richard Hunter led the staff and found the best ways to connect with athletes when forced out of the water by the governor. They communicated well with athletes, and the board sent out communication to parents about our efforts to resume in-water practice.”

Says Wilson, “The genuine care and connection that our coaches committed to our athletes did not go unnoticed by team parents who often, unsolicited, stepped up. For instance, one single parent, a fireman, volunteered to livestream all of our meets on YouTube. He presented the idea to the board, and we funded all the investment (wiring for Wi-Fi, cameras, switchers, speakers, etc.). He then cobbled together all the manpower and coordinated with meet hosting volunteers so the meets could be watched via YouTube.

“We also communicated more proactively with our pool partner, the YMCA of South Hampton Roads, to get our athletes back in the water as soon as we were legally allowed, which was sooner than most clubs across the country. Frequent coach communication with Y staff was critical here,” she says.

With a semblance of normalcy returning to TIDE activities, Wilson cites three areas of continued board diligence: •

Dryside support of coaches—i.e., financial oversight, compensation and benefits—so coaches and staff feel appreciated and valued;

•

Securing pool space, near term, medium term and long term;

•

Giving coaches latitude to run the program and instill the culture they defined in our work with a consultant in August 2019.

GOING FORWARD Joel Shinofield’s résumé includes service as a club coach, assistant at the University of Minnesota, head coach at Washington & Lee, executive director of the CSCAA and now managing director of sport development at USA Swimming.

“Never has it been more important for a team to be strengthening ties with its community and families,” he says. “In the boom times, we may take some of those things for granted—i.e., a waiting list.

But the reality is if you have a deep connection to families and athletes about the value of your program and the reasons for what you are doing, you are going to retain people at a high level and develop a good reputation in your community. That’s the thing coaches in this country have done well, but it has to be reinforced in a time like now—adding value to the people you work with,” he says.

“When you have a large cohort of parents, whether on your board or those who ensure you run successful meets, those people are not only investing their money and child’s time in your program, but THEIR time. Being fully engaged with those people, making sure they fully understand the whys of your programs, has never been more important,” he says. “That communication leads to a strong connection with the athlete as well.”

The need for parent and athlete buy-in has never been greater.

“Thirty, 40 years ago, you just showed up and did what you were told. But now, the market for youth sports is much broader than ever before. If we are going to be successful and make swimming the sport of choice—where kids can be dropped off into a welcome and safe environment—we need people to understand the value of a long-term commitment to the sport. Every sport has its benefits, but ours has some pretty unique ones that translate to success in life.

“The pursuit of individual and team goals you can do in other sports, but in swimming, they really stand out. Kids are invested in one another. We need to explain that to parents. Our coaches are professionals. In a lot of sports, that’s not the case.

“In USA Swimming, a child can stay in a program and go from novice to Olympian. That’s not going to happen in rec soccer. This is a place where a kid can have a home with friends and learn many good lessons. We need to double-down on the things at which we are really good—that’s my takeaway from COVID!” At the same time, Shinofield recognizes the need to market swimming in more attractive ways. He cites the appeal of the shorter, competitive high school meet format.

“You can bring that to the club side, but you have to work at it,” he says. USA Swimming is in the early stages of making the onboarding process for new swimmers easier. Tracking new families, using a personal touch, making the sport look like the quick, fun Saturday experience can help. Things like digital and guerilla marketing into new communities can help as well, but requires ongoing effort. In the 1990s, Shinofield utilized a substantial amount of professionally prepared marketing material when coaching his club team in Minnesota. “It made a huge difference.”

To that end, in August, USA Swimming debuted a marketing toolkit to attract new families.

“A lot of the learning and research from COVID is that kids and families are walking away from sports,” he avers. “One reason is the early commitment component. USA Swimming registration last year for 12-and-unders was down 20%, yet the retention rate for swimmers 13+ is more than 90%. Once kids are hooked, they are hooked,” says Shinofield. “The challenge remains showcasing the fun component and concomitant benefits of a life skill sport.”

>> Because of COVID, the board leadership at TIDE Swimming (Va.) aggressively focused on pre-pandemic plusses and pursued an assortment of ways to support the coaching admin staff on dryside issues that the board could uniquely lead. “We also let our coaches guide our athletes and membership,” says board president Katy Arris Wilson. “The genuine care and connection that our coaches committed to our athletes did not go unnoticed.”

A VIRTUAL SWIM TEAM It may sound like Brave New World stuff, but it’s not beyond the realm. “Online curriculum companies are looking for recreation opportunities for kids,” says Shinofield. “So, if you’ve got pool time.... We’ve already seen it with clubs who offer time to homeschooled kids. There are not a lot, but there are people out there doing it. The key is having and controlling water time.”

SwimRVA has water time and conducted virtual last school year. “Virtual school versus non-virtual school is a huge deal,” says Richmond, Va. SwimRVA executive director Adam Kennedy. “Most coaches will tell you virtual school ended up being a blessing. We actually found it to be a net positive because we could populate all of our practices at 2 in the afternoon to 8:30 at night.

“Last season, we created a SwimRVA Elementary. We bought desks, made 6-foot-by-6-foot boxes in the community room, and had 32 kids on computers from different schools in that classroom every day. If they were on lunch, recess or resource break, we put them in the water to swim. Parents liked it because it was like camp.

And working parents had a place to take care of their kids. We talked a lot about whether or not to limit access to swimmers just on our team.

“That conversation leads to: ‘Can we create our own virtual school environment as a swim club?’ Because if all the swimmers have the ability to be in virtual school with their headphones and computer, people can be in a different classroom at a given time.

That way, you can control the training environment outside of when they log into their computers.

“I think there is some real opportunity there except on the highperformance side. A threat to the Bolles School? I don’t know, but that way, now you have an athlete who can be at home, but in a training environment totally controlled by the coach.

“Virtual schooling will be a challenge. Most school districts will tell you that it is here to stay. Families will forever have the choice CONTINUED ON 38 >> DECEMBER 2021

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37

CHANGING ENVIROMENT / Continued from 37

CONTINUING EDUCATION The jury is still out on how COVID affected coach education during the pandemic. Clearly the normal ways of learning and interacting were interrupted. Collegiality at meets suffered as well. No longer was there sidling up to a colleague on deck and exchanging pleasantries or training tips. Phone calls among fellow coaches were generally more infrequent because call time was directed to the added management details for one’s own team.

“Our own coaches had a hard time not being at swim meets and seeing coaches outside of our area,” says Kennedy. “Even on deck, coaches were controlled about where they could and couldn’t be.

They didn’t learn from each other as much as they did before. What I don’t know is if learning actually went up because of virtual.

“We didn’t send anyone to ASCA this year—not because of the pandemic, but because coaches didn’t want to go to Florida.

If coaches aren’t going to learn as they did traditionally, what’s replacing that?”

>> Joel Shinofield, USA Swimming’s managing director of sport development, says, ““If we are going to be successful and make swimming the sport of choice—where kids can be dropped off into a welcome and safe environment—we need people to understand the value of a long-term commitment to the sport. Every sport has its benefits, but ours has some pretty unique ones that translate to success in life.”

REGAINING FOOTING How coaches and swimmers navigate the coming weeks and months remains to be seen. Clearly there will be some doublingdown as well as experimentation. For sure, COVID is currently piloting the ship, presenting challenges and offering opportunity and change unforeseen just 24 months ago. 

to remain virtual, not because of COVID, but because of preference like a home school situation. What will be interesting is if a lot of teams encourage families to make the choice to go virtual because it gives a lot more flexibility over the training environment,” observes Kennedy.

Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach, golf and swimming writer. His critically acclaimed coming-of-age golf novel, “Too Much Loft,” was published in June 2021, and is available from store.

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TRAINING

DRYSIDE TRAINING

FINISH STRONG

BY J.R. ROSANIA • DEMONSTRATED BY NORIKO INADA • PHOTOS BY EMMI BRYTOWSKI

2

A

fter a year of continued COVID threats, canceled events and rescheduled Olympic Games, let’s make sure we finish strong.

Due to closures of training facilities and gyms, I saw an increase in the number of swimmers who lost both muscle mass and strength.

As the months went by and things began to open up, my swimmers got back to the basics of training. We began to lift a little heavier and began strength-oriented exercises.

This month’s program focuses on strength improvement. The exercises selected focus on getting your full body stronger.

Perform each exercise two or three times a week. Complete three sets of 10 reps for the first two weeks, then three sets of eight for the following six weeks. Try to increase resistance slightly each week while still being able to maintain all of the repetitions. Discontinue the program a minimum of one week prior to any competition.

Be consistent and train hard—and finish this year strong!v

3

1) FLY STABILITY BALL STROKE Lying face down on a stability ball at your waist, perform a butterfly movement with your arms.

2) DUMBBELL SHOULDER PRESS Standing with a dumbbell in each hand by your shoulders, press overhead.

Lower and repeat.

3) ALTERNATING DUMBBELL HAMMER CURL Standing with a dumbbell in each hand with your arms facing downward by your side, raise one arm up to the chest/shoulder and back down toward your starting position as if you were hammering a nail. Alternate arms.

4) TUBE ROW Using stretch cords with your arms fully extended in front of you, perform a standing row, bringing your elbows back to your side. Repeat.

5) PLANK WITH ALTERNATING ARM STROKE Establish a push-up position with your forearms, then extend one arm forward into a freestyle catch position. Alternate arms.

4

1

5

MEET THE TRAINER 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, in Phoenix.

Check out Rosania’s website at www.jrhealthplex.net.

MEET THE ATHLETE Noriko Inada, 43, swam for Japan at the 1992, 2000 and 2004 Olympics. She now swims Masters for Phoenix Swim Club, and owns Masters world records in the women’s 25-29, 30-34, 3539 and 40-44 age groups.

NOTICE All swimming and dryland training and instruction should be performed under the supervision of a qualified coach or instructor, and in circumstances that ensure the safety of participants.

DECEMBER 2021

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41

COACHING

SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS

BY ROD HAVRILUK , Ph.D.

MAXIMIZING SWIMMING VELOCITY (Part 6): THE PUSH PHASE

P

revious articles in this series (SW July, August, October) showed that swimmers substantially decrease time in the nonpropulsive stroke phases (recovery and entry) to increase stroke rate and increase swimming velocity.

In contrast, research shows only a small decrease in time in the propulsive phases (pull and push) with increases in swimming velocity. The findings support the importance of keeping the hand submerged long enough to maximize propulsion and swimming velocity.

PULL AND PUSH PHASES The graph in Fig. 1 shows that elite male swimmers had only a very small change in either the pull or the push phase time with an increase in swimming velocity. Hand force analyses clearly show that swimmers who decrease the push phase time sacrifice propulsion.

FREESTYLE PUSH PHASE The swimmer in Fig. 2 (left image) is a typical example of how swimmers decrease push phase time. The swimmer’s right elbow is only about 1-tenth of a second into the push phase, and his elbow is already breaking the surface. Because the swimmer’s elbow is pulling his hand upward, his hand force is decreasing.

It is natural for a swimmer to prematurely elevate the elbow during the push phase to increase stroke rate and swim faster. The upward elbow motion pulls the hand upward, which decreases the push phase time, but also compromises propulsion.

In contrast to the swimmer, the biomechanical model’s elbow (right image) is 2-tenths of a second into the propulsive phase and below the surface in a very strong position to generate force.

Although near the end of the push phase, the model’s hand force is still near the peak.

BUTTERFLY PUSH PHASE Swimmers typically shorten the duration of the push phase in butterfly, similar to freestyle. For example, the swimmer in Fig. 3 (left image) is only about 1-tenth of a second into the push phase, and his elbows are already breaking the surface. Because his elbows have begun to pull his hands upward, his hand force is decreasing.

While such an action can increase the stroke rate, it also decreases the time (and propulsion) of the push phase.

In contrast, the position of the model’s elbows at 2-tenths of a second into the push phase (right image), is below the surface in a very strong position. Although she is near the end of the push phase, her hand force is still near the peak.

BACKSTROKE PUSH PHASE In freestyle and butterfly, swimmers typically sacrifice propulsion at the end of the push phase for a faster stroke rate. Elbow flexion facilitates the exit phase, but prematurely ends the push phase, compromising propulsion.

The finish of the push phase in backstroke is different than the finish of the push phase in freestyle and butterfly. In freestyle and butterfly, the elbow is pointing upward at the finish of the push phase.

In backstroke, the elbow is pointing downward. Elbow flexion does not facilitate the exit phase in backstroke as it does in freestyle and butterfly, so it is less likely that a decrease in push phase time would indicate a sacrifice in propulsion.

BREASTSTROKE PUSH (INWARD SCULL) PHASE The breaststroke inward sculling motion is the equivalent of the push phase in each of the other three strokes. The research findings show that there is almost no decrease in the inward scull with an increase in swimming velocity and is likely related to the fact that the hand motion is primarily lateral as opposed to backward. 

SUMMARY

In freestyle and butterfly, swimmers typically decrease the push phase time to increase stroke rate and swimming velocity. In doing so, the premature upward motion of the elbows pulls the hands upward and compromises propulsion. Most swimmers can gain additional propulsion on the push phase by pushing the hand backward instead of pulling the hand upward.

FIG. 1 >This graph shows the decrease in the pull and push phase time from distance to sprint pace for all four strokes for elite male swimmers.

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TOTAL ACCESS MEMBERS CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE REFERENCES FOR THIS ARTICLE. NOT A TOTAL ACCESS MEMBER? YOU’RE JUST A CLICK AWAY: SWIMMINGWORLD.COM/VAULT

FIG. 2 > During the push phase, the right elbow of the swimmer (left) is breaking the surface. The right elbow of the model (right) is submerged. The vertical yellow lines are synchronized with the video image.

FIG. 2 > During the push phase, the right elbow of the swimmer (left) is breaking the surface. The right elbow of the model (right) is submerged. The vertical yellow lines are synchronized with the video image.

Dr. Rod Havriluk is a sport scientist and consultant who specializes in swimming technique instruction and analysis. His newest ebooks in the “Approaching Perfect Swimming” series are “Optimal Stroke Technique” and “Swimming Without Pain,” and are available at swimmingtechnology.com. Contact Rod through info@swimmingtechnology.com. All scientific documentation relating to this article, including scientific principles, studies and research papers, can be provided upon demand.

DECEMBER 2021

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43

NUTRITION

TRAINING

BY DAWN WEATHERWAX, RD, CSSD, LD, ATC, CSCS

A

s you embark on an intense training cycle, don’t forget to plan what you are going to eat and drink to match the change in volume. Many athletes tend to eat the same caloric amount. This will eventually lead to subpar workouts, slower recovery and a greater likelihood of getting sick. This is also a time to maximize nutrients to ensure recovery and keep your immune system strong.

Follow these five nutritional steps to optimize your training: STEP 1: PLAN! PLAN! PLAN! Pre-plan the week. If you write down what you are going to consume and when, you are 80% more likely you will complete!

STEP 2: Eat Enough Increase caloric needs to match activity. This allows the muscles to recover, repair and refuel for the next workout, and also helps keep the immune system strong. (You can use an app to calculate caloric and activity needs—a cronometer is an app that works well.)

STEP 3: Aim for 30-40g of Fiber a Day (without using supplements) High-fiber foods have numerous nutritional properties and values. Many contain good amounts of vitamin C and zinc. Vitamin C helps strengthen the immune system and protects against germs.

Zinc impacts the instruction of protein synthesis and reduces inflammation. Examples of foods that are high in fiber, Vitamin C and zinc: • Fruits: Citrus fruit, cantaloupe, strawberries • Grains: Quinoa, oatmeal, wheat germ, whole grains, wild rice • Nuts/Seeds: Cashews, chia, hemp, pecans, pine nuts, pumpkin, squash • Lentils, black beans, chick peas, lima beans • Veg: Starchy—green peas. Non-starchy—spinach, broccoli, peppers (green, orange, red, yellow) STEP 4: Get Plenty of Protein Spread Throughout the Day (1.2-1.7g/kg/BM/day) Protein is not just important for muscle health, but it also impacts immune health. Protein provides the building blocks of the cells that power your immune system. Examples of foods: • Lean meats, seafood (oysters), fish (tilapia), fatty fish (salmon, mackerel) • Dairy: Yogurt, milk, kefir • Vegan: Miso, tempeh, tofu STEP 5: Have Foods High in Prebiotics and Probiotics (1 serving a day) Prebiotics and probiotics impact the health of our gut microbiome.

A healthy gut impacts how well we fight illness. Examples of foods: • Kefir, milk, yogurt • Miso, tempeh, tofu • Brined vegetables, kimchi, sauerkraut STEP 6: Sleep The more intense the training, the more sleep an athlete needs.

The body repairs when sleeping. Athletes need a minimum of nine to 11 hours during unyielding training cycles. Lack of continuous sleep weakens the immune system and opens up the opportunity 44

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to get sick or injured. If you struggle getting quality sleep, it is important to explore alternative ways to improve.

Here is a sample menu to use as a guide for optimal fueling during intense/holiday training: 3,000 to 3,500-CALORIE INTENSE TRAINING MENU Pre-Swim Practice (4:30-5:15 a.m.)

1/2 cup Oatmeal 2T Flax or hemp seed 1/2 cup Applesauce unsweetened 1 cup Cantaloupe 6 oz Water (with one NUUN electrolyte tablet/optional) Training (5:30-6:45 a.m.)

4-16 oz Water an hour (amount needed depends on sweat rate) (with one NUUN tablet per 16 oz./optional) Breakfast (6-7:30 a.m.)

Berry Power Crunch Bowl: 1/4 cup Granola 6-8 oz Plain organic yogurt 1-2 T Cashews salted 1-2 cups Peaches/bananas/mangoes 16 oz Water Lunch (11 a.m.-12:45 p.m.)

1/2 cup Chickpeas 1/2 cup Edamame with salt/tempeh/tofu 2-4 cups Mixed greens/spinach 1-2 T Pine nuts salted 1 oz Feta cheese 1/4 cup Golden raisins 1-2 T Oil-based dressing/yogurt dressing 16 oz Water Afternoon Snack (2-3:30 p.m.)

Smoothie: 8-12 oz Coconut water unsweetened 1/2 Avocado 1 cup Spinach 1 T Chia seeds 1 cup Pineapple frozen 1/2 cup Raspberries frozen 1-2 T Unsweetened coconut flakes or carob nibs or hemp seeds 20 g Protein powder of choice Training (3:30-5:30 p.m.)

10-20 oz (with one NUUN tablet per 20 oz./optional) Post-recovery within 30-45 min: 10-20 oz chocolate milk/soy milk or Clif Builder Bar (If you can have dinner within that time, then no need for this snack) Evening Meal (6-7 p.m.)

3-6 oz Mackerel/chicken 1-2 cups Broccoli with garlic salt 1 tsp Land O Lakes butter with olive oil 1T Olive oil 1 cup Wild rice 16 oz Water Evening Snack (8-10 p.m.)

2 Kodiak waffles 1-2 T Butter/wheat germ 1 cup Plain or flavored low-sugar Greek yogurt 1-2 cups Raspberries/oranges  TOTAL ACCESS MEMBERS CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE REFERENCES FOR THIS ARTICLE. NOT A TOTAL ACCESS MEMBER? YOU’RE JUST A CLICK AWAY: SWIMMINGWORLD.COM/VAULT

[ Photo Courtesy: Alex Motoc/Upsplash.com]

HOLIDAY/INTENSE

SPECIAL SETS

ZOE DIXON:

VERSATILITY

IS KEY Zoe Dixon, 2021-22 National Junior Team member, has had quite a year. Swimming for Coach Norm Wright at NOVA of Virginia, the 17-year-old is ranked No. 1 in Virginia and 11th nationally for the Class of 2022, and has committed to the University of Florida.

BY MICHAEL J. STOTT

OVA of Virginia’s Zoe Dixon recently returned from October’s FINA World Cup meets (SCM) in Berlin and Budapest with five top 10 individual finishes, including three fifth-place performances in the 200 meter fly (2:10.94), 200 IM (2:10.22) and 400 IM (4:37.76).

Her run-up to Europe was just short of spectacular.

In February, she won the VHSL Class 5 high school state championship in the 200 yard IM (1:57.22) and placed second in the 100 back in 54.29. In April, NOVA finished first in women’s and combined at the NCSA Spring Invite, where Dixon was top eight in seven events. She placed first in the 400 yard IM (4:08.06) and third in the 200 back (1:54.06) and 200 IM (1:57.90), good for sixth-place in the women’s high-point competition.

NOVA’s head coach, Norm Wright, formerly at Northern Kentucky Clippers, leads Dixon’s training group. He succeeded Geoff Brown, whose well-rounded approach to training has served Dixon and NOVA well. At Olympic Trials (Wave II), Dixon qualified for five events, with her best results coming in the 200 meter IM (2:14.89 for 19th out of 51 swimmers) and 400 IM (4:42.25, 13/42).

Wright’s take on her Omaha performance mirrors that of many first-timers: “She was better and faster physically in practice than at Trials. The newness and nerves, the COVID testing and protocols created a different dynamic than we have experienced before. There were a lot of moving pieces at Trials.

“I knew she could have been swimming faster, and that was proven at the end of the summer at the NCSA Summer Championships.” In Huntsville, Dixon notched four firsts, three seconds, a fifth, eighth and 10th. Two of her victories were state records: 200 meter fly (2:13.34) and 200 IM (2:12.62). Her other wins came in the 200 breast (2:29.82) and 400 IM (4:42.25). For the meet, NOVA men and women each finished third in team scoring and second in combined.

“While her summer NCSA times were not at the top end of her ability, they were a testament to the work we did all year,” says Wright. “She has more in the tank. I think this coming year could be better than her performance in August. She has trained phenomenally, is extremely coachable, very open to critiques, feedback and changes. She has unfinished business.”

LOOKING AHEAD TO COLLEGE A quick look at Dixon’s best events reveals a college coach’s dream. In the USA Swimming short course power-point rankings, she scores in the high 800s and 900s in the 100/200 stroke events,

[ Photo Courtesy: Erica Dixon]

N

and 979 and 990 in the 200 and 400 IM. “Zoe is very versatile,” says Wright. A former gymnast with great strength, “she is technically sound and can swim all four strokes really well. The weakest part of her IMs is the freestyle. She had five Wave II cuts, but the 200 free wasn’t one of them. That’s where I think her greatest improvement could come. Florida well help her with that.

“She will be a multifaceted person for a while. Then it depends upon what’s needed: 200 fly, back, IM—she can do that. I think the 400 IM will continue to be her bread-and-butter event. Also, fewer people want to train for the 400 IM. It all depends upon what Florida wants.

“You have to stay versatile as an age group swimmer and then mature into your physique doing events that are going to give you opportunities,” says Wright. “At NOVA, we try to keep the versatility across the board—especially in events where hard work is a prerequisite.

“Age group kids need to work on all four strokes, endurance, speed and on everything from beginning to end. Zoe is a part of a system that encourages versatility, a rising tide that raises all ships.”

NOVA SAMPLE SETS (SCY) SET #1 • 4 x 100 free on 1:10 moderate descend HR up • 4 x 50 fly drill on :50 (R/L/2R-2L/flutter) • 1 x 50 EZ on :45 :30 extra rest • 1 x 225 fly AFAP for time on 3:30 Heats of 2- UNDER BEST LC TIME Zoe: 2:12.29 • 4 x 100 free on 1:10 moderate descend HR up • 4 x 50 back drill on :50 (R/L/touch-up/6K switch) CONTINUED ON 46 >> DECEMBER 2021

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45

SPECIAL SETS / Continued from 45

• 1 x 50 EZ on :45 :30 extra rest • 1 x 225 back AFAP for time on 3:30 Heats of 2-

UNDER BEST LC

TIME

Zoe: 2:12.06 • 4 x 100 free on 1:10 moderate descend HR up • 4 x 50 breast drill on :55 (PLD/2k-1p/3 count/flutter) • 1 x 50 EZ on :45 :30 extra rest • 1 x 225 breast AFAP for time on 3:30 Heats of 2- UNDER BEST LC TIME

Zoe: 2:29.82 • 4 x 100 free on 1:10 moderate descend HR up • 4 x 50 free drill on :50 (choose from above) • 1 x 50 EZ on :45 :30 extra rest • 1 x 225 free AFAP for time on 3:30 Heats of 2-

UNDER BEST LC

TIME

Zoe: 2:06.34 • 4 x 100 free on 1:10 moderate descend HR up • 4 x 50 IMO drill on :55 (PLD*/2k-1p/3 count/flutter) * Pull-Lunge-Dolphin (or breast pull with dolphin kick) • 1 x 50 EZ on :45 :30 extra rest • 1 x 225 IM AFAP for time on 3:30 Heats of 2 (2/2/2/3)^ - UNDER

“You have to stay versatile as an age group swimmer and then mature into your physique doing events that are going to give you opportunities. At NOVA, we try to keep the versatility across the board—especially in events where hard work is a prerequisite.”

—Norm Wright, Head Coach, NOVA of Virginia

Extra Rest • BREAST:

8 x 50 (2 PLD - 2 2p-1k paddles) 1:00 8 x 25 odds spin 3 cycle Head up/3 cycle swim :35 (No pullout) evens 2 pullout - fast swim 6 x 50 STRONG at 200 pace 1:10 Zoe: 33.7 1 x 300 kick 5:00

BEST LC TIME

Zoe: 2:12.62 ^ 2/2/2/3 is lengths of each stroke for IM 225 Total: 4,325 yards SET #2 IM • 4 x 400 FRIM* Long & Strong (free is equal to fly take out) 4 x 100 FRIMO** 400 IM pace Take extra 1:00 to check HR after last 100 1st Hit pace +1 on all 100s - keep HR low 6:20/1:45 2nd Hit pace on all 100s - HR moderate 6:10/1:40 3rd Hit pace -1 on all 100s - build the legs 6:00/1:30 4th All-out on all 100s - max legs and speed 5:50/1:25 Zoe Pace Times: FL 57.2, BK 1:01.5, BR 1:09.8, FR 57.8 * FRIM is a straight swim ** FRIMO is done broken SET #3 • 24 x 25 Dive 4 x 25 sprint with SOX :40/1:00

Dive 2 x 25 sprint No SOX :40 Push 2 x 25 EZ :30/1:00 1:15 extra rest Extra Rest • BACK:

Fins:

46

6 x 25 touch-up drill :35 2 x 50 single arm R/L paddle at wrist :55 2 x 100 strong swim paddles at fingertips/wrist 1:40 6 x 50 STRONG at 200 pace 1:00 Zoe: 28.9 8 x 25 odds 4-6 cycle spin - evens fast :35 1 x 300 kick fins (streamline) 5:00

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Extra Rest • FLY: 6 x 50 odds 4 kick 1 pull - evens strong R/L :55 Fins: 8 x 25 odds spin 6 cycle with free kick evens fast touch and go :35 6 x 50 STRONG at 200 pace 1:00 Zoe: 29.2 1 x 300 kick fins board 5:00 Extra Rest • FREE: 6 x 50 snorkel - 3 pull with SOX @ knees/ 3 swim DPS :50 4 x 50 STRONG at 200 pace 1:00 Zoe: 27.4 Fins: 12 x 25 sprint, sprint ½, sprint EZ :30

C1: wrist - C2: fingers - C3: none 1 x 300 kick fins board 5:00 Total: 8,500 yards SET #4 • 12 x 300 free See color chart for times!

You should use goal time to find set times - or use set times to set your goal!

4 White

3:40 Zoe: 3:11

4 Pink

3:50 Zoe: 3:08

4 Red

4:00 Zoe: 3:01

• Kick - 3 x 300 free kick descend • 2,000+ warm-up 

5:30

Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach, golf and swimming writer.

His critically acclai-med coming-of-age golf novel, “Too Much Loft,” was published in June 2021, and is available from store.Bookbaby.com, Amazon, B&N and book distributors worldwide.

COACHING

BRENT

BOOCK

Q&A

[Photo Courtesy: Elmbrook Swim Club ]

While Elmbrook Swim Club (Brookfield, Wis.) may have appeared to burst upon the scene at the 2021 NCSA Spring Invite, Brent Boock’s charges, especially his girls, had been prepping for their all-star showing for years.

Two of them—Campbell Stoll and Margaret Wanezek—are 2021-22 National Junior Team members.

BY MICHAEL J. STOTT

Q. SWIMMING WORLD: You have had a lot of coaches in your competitive career. What was the main takeaway?

A. COACH BRENT BOOCK: I had eight head coaches as a senior/collegiate athlete and I’m grateful to all of them. Thank you, Roger Ridenour, Nancy Ehrke, Tom Dewing, Bob Jenkyns, Paul Moniak and Dave Clark! I learned you can find success under a wide variety of coaching styles and training paradigms. The experiences reinforced that my success or failure was in my own effort, mindset, dedication, etc., and not reliant on a specific coach or training regimen.

Today, I try to help athletes to a place of self-sufficiency and ownership. My later coaches were very open to understanding what had previously worked for me and incorporating that into my training. It led me to value the athlete-coach relationship and importance of listening to athletes. I learn as much from them as they do from myself.

SW: You and Fred Russell have been at Elmbrook Swim Club since 1993.

BB: I was Fred’s age group coach for 20-plus years. He has stayed involved with the club as our Masters coach since his retirement eight years ago. Having Fred’s worldly view of swimming and as a mentor has been very meaningful. Fred understands what makes athletes “go,” sensing how to maximize what they do well. He is a student of the sport and tests new techniques with great care before adopting them into his training plans. He has been a great mentor for me.

Our current training model is quite different from what Fred ran, but the basic weekly and seasonal training structure comes directly from him. The experience assisting him with some talented athletes in the ’90s was invaluable. I continue to seek his advice and appreciate his criticisms and compliments.

SW: You joined EBSC out of college and have never left. Why? BB: The experiences I had as an athlete with coaching turnover really make me feel a loyalty to the athletes I coach.

There are opportunities with better pool space and facilities than Elmbrook, but at Elmbrook, we say, “It’s not about pools, it’s about people.”

The coaching staff and I have built and deeply care about the program here.

I really enjoy getting to know the 8-andunder athletes, many of whose parents I once coached. Elmbrook pride spanning generations is a very special thing and hard to give up. I do hold onto the dream of a new facility at Elmbrook someday!

SW: EBSC is a USA Swimming Gold Medal team and is Level IV in its Club Recognition Program.

BB: Seeing the Elmbrook Swim Club name next to some of the other Gold Medal teams and being the first Wisconsin team to achieve it is an incredible honor. For teams our size, the Gold Medal is a pretty hard thing to accomplish. I’m thankful to the many EBSC board members, volunteers, supportive parents and coaching staff who made that possible. The Club Excellence grant program has made a huge impact on our small club with limited resources.

SW: For a team of 190 athletes, EBSC girls kicked fanny, especially at the NCSA Spring Invite and summer championships. How so?

BB: Our coaching staff did a fantastic job of instilling a love of the sport, team and guiding them as age group athletes. Coach Mike Rose was instrumental in developing this high-achieving group. Coincidentally, the COVID shutdown, concentrated training, development and growth allowed them to come of age as senior swimmers.

Our athletes were chomping at the bit to throw down at NCSAs in Orlando last

Brent Boock Administrative Head Coach Elmbrook Swim Club Brookfield, Wisconsin

• University of WisconsinMilwaukee, B.A., history, 1992 • Graduate assistant, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1993 • Administrative head coach, Elmbrook Swim Club, 1993-present; senior coach, head coach, 2013-present; age group coach/co-head coach, 2000-13; age group coach, 1993-2000 • Coach, Brookfield East Boys High School, 1998-2003 (state champs, 1999) • Age group coach, Mequon Area Swim Club (Wis.), 1993 • 3x Wisconsin Coach of the Year spring! It was very rewarding to watch the team race and eclipse some pool and meet records.

We had no Trials hangover, and seeing the group come together after Trials and work for Irvine (Speedo Summer Championships West, Aug. 3-7) was awesome. In Irvine, everyone was hitting on all cylinders. Swimming fast on Wednesday or Thursday is great, but it takes some dedication, care and planning to swim fast Saturday. And the eight athletes we took did that.

SW: Any reason the girls team is outperforming the boys?

BB: This age group has always been girldominant as far as numbers go. The boys have been doing a fantastic job as well— CONTINUED ON 49 >> DECEMBER 2021

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47

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PROGRESSION OF TIMES

[Photo Courtesy: Elmbrook Swim Club ]

SCY/LC

HOW THEY TRAIN

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

100 Fly

1:00.30/1:08.56

56.22/1:03.67

53.99/1:01.95

51.89/59.55

200 Fly

2:21.26/2:37.45

2:06.06/2:25.78

2:01.02/—

1:56.14/2:13.79

200 IM

2:03.97/2:29.09

2:02.77/2:26.86

2:00.60/2:20.20

1:58.19/2:16.51

CAMPBELL STOLL

BY MICHAEL J. STOTT

S

ixteen-year-old Campbell Stoll is a poster child for “life is good.” The youngest of four swimming sisters, she is CollegeSwimming.com’s (SwimCloud) top-ranked Wisconsin female in the Class of 2023.

In October, she committed to the University of Texas. In November, she again took first in the 100 yard fly (51.89) and 200 IM (1:58.19) while helping her Arrowhead High School (Hartland, Wis.) team to second place for the third straight year at the WIAA Division 1 State Girls Swimming and Diving Championships, Nov. 12-13.

A newly-minted National Junior Team member, Stoll had a terrific spring and summer. Leading up to her Wave I Olympic Trials 100 meter fly appearance, she won the girls high-point award at the uber competitive NCSA Spring Invite. There EBSC finished second in the women’s and combined competitions.

Says her Elmbrook Swim Club (Brookfield, Wis.) coach Brent Boock, “Campbell really came of age. She swam 10 individual events (100-200 back, 50-100-200 breast, 50-100-200 fly and 200400 IM) along with five relays—25 races and 3,700 yards of racing on the week...tough athlete!”

Stoll won the 50 yard fly with a 23.76 in a season where she was not slated to swim the fly leg on the medley relays. That changed when teammate Reilly Tiltmann reported to the University of Virginia a semester early. “There was no dropoff, and she rose to the occasion,” says Boock.

Already an NAG record holder as a member of the girls’ 13-14 200 meter medley relay, she and her teammates Margaret Wanezek (15), Lucy Thomas (15) and Abigail Wanezek (17) set two more medley NAG marks at the 2021 Speedo Summer ChampionshipsWest in Irvine, Calif., Aug. 3-7. The quartet went 1:51.55 and 4:06.93 to break the former girls’ 15-18 200 and 400 meter marks of 1:54.46 and 4:08.39. At that meet, EBSC (with just eight athletes) finished second in the women’s and combined competitions. Stoll set two Wisconsin marks in the 100 and 200 fly (59.55, 2:13.79) to go with her two previous SCY standards in the 200 fly (1:56.14) and 13-14 100 IM (56.76).

“Campbell and I started working together when she was 13,” says Boock. “From the get-go, she made an impact on the Elmbrook senior program. She is super positive and has an incredible willingness to put in the work. When picking different sets, she always gravitated to the most challenging. As a result, she found herself with the 400 IM crew doing distance and breaststroke work 48

DECEMBER 2021

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in addition to her own specific training regimen,” says Boock. The training has allowed Stoll to possess four senior EBSC butterfly and two IM records.

The following workouts for the EBSC national group from mid/ late July are a typical week of work the team does prior to resting.

“There is a lot of speed or pace work here that would not be included (or different) in early/mid-season. In a perfect world, we would prefer to run doubles on Monday and Thursday with weights on Tuesday and Friday, says Boock, “but pool constraints often dictate the schedule. The sprint/mid group and 400 IM group differ, especially on the Tuesday and Friday a.m. workouts.” Wednesday and Friday workouts are lighter and recovery-based. “All training groups on Tuesday and Thursday afternoon did tower resistance work this past summer after Trials, and I feel that was successful,” he says.

CAMPBELL STOLL SETS Elmbrook essentially works on three-day cycles, so the substance of the workouts Monday-Wednesday is similar to those on ThursdaySaturday (provided online for our Total Access subscribers).

MONDAY a.m. (2 hours) - 8,000 LC Main Series (3,600) • 4 x 300 (5:30) + 4 x 50 (:45) + 100 (2:00) • 4 x 200 (3:00) + 4 x 50 (:45) + 200 (3:00) • 4 x 100 (1:30) + 4 x 50 (:45) + 300 (—) Freestyle Descend + 200 pace (+:02/+:01-:00/-:01-:02) + go/max!

Paddles/pull 300 & 50s No equipment 200s & 50s Paddles & fins 100s & 50s No equipment on 100/200/300s TUESDAY a.m. (2 hours) - 6,500 LC Main Series 400 IM Group (3,200) • 400 (6:00) + 4 x 150 (2:30) + 6 x 100 (2:00) • 400 (6:00) + 4 x 150 (2:30) + 12 x 50 (1:00) Freestyle - negative split + 100 freestyle build to fast + 3rd 50 IM order blast legs + Go/max!

100s short IM progression (fl/bk, bk/br, br/fr) 50s IM order Main Series Sprint/Mid Group (2,400) • 2x {4 x 100 (1:20/1:30/1:40/1:50) + 4 x 50 (2:00) + 3 x 200 (3:00) Freestyle tight descend strong to go/max!

[Photo Courtesy: Elmbrook Swim Club ]

+ Choice with fins & paddles - go/max! + Paddles pull snorkel moderate TUESDAY p.m. (1 hour weights/lift 1.5 hour swim) - 3,500 SCY Main Series (2,600) • 3x circuit - choice stroke x circuit 1) 6x {25 + 25 (1:00) Go! + recovery Heavy buckets (full) 2) 12 x 25 (:30) 4 fast/1 easy With fins & paddles Go! easy speed - body position focus 3) 400 (ns) Short fins kick with snorkel Moderate effort - body position focus WEDNESDAY a.m. (1.5 hours) - 5,000 LC • Aerobic, drill work & underwater emphasis  Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach, golf and swimming writer. His critically acclaimed coming-of-age golf novel, “Too Much Loft,” was published in June 2021, and is available from store.Bookbaby.com, Amazon, B&N and book distributors worldwide.

TOTAL ACCESS MEMBERS CLICK HERE TO SEE A MORE DETAILED PROGRESSION OF TIMES FOR CAMPBELL STOLL AS WELL AS MORE WORKOUTS

Elmbrook Swim Club’s (from left) Margaret Wanezek (15), Campbell Stoll (16), Lucy Thomas (15) and Abigail Wanezek (17)—coached by Brent Boock— bettered two 15-18 girls’ national age group relay records at the 2021 Speedo Summer Championships-West in Irvine, Calif. Aug. 3-7. The quartet went 1:51.55 and 4:06.93 to break the former 200 and 400 meter medley marks of 1:54.46 and 4:08.39.

Q&A / Continued from 47

they just aren’t as visible because there are not as many. Michael Long and Brady Miller performed extremely well in Irvine.

We have a lot of young boys coming up in the next age group and are excited for their futures.

SW: Was this season’s success a result of different training? What role did COVID play in your workouts? Less work, more rest?

BB: After the initial shutdown in March, we were able to access pools in late June.

We were training maybe 10 hours a week that summer and swam really well at a few meets in August. We thought, “If we swam pretty well with less, let’s get back to business and be great.” We have been full steam ahead since last November. From the shutdown, we learned to seize the day!

SW: Where are you on kicking, resistance work, toys?

BB: We kick to varying degrees of

difficulty and equipment—around 1,200 to 2,000 every day. A sizable chunk of time every Wednesday and Saturday is devoted to underwater work. We love the Destro Towers. They are very mobile, which is helpful since we bounce between training sites. The amount of work we do on the towers depends on the time of the season.

We are typically on them once per week once we are fit and twice per week later in the season.

Our senior athletes are in the weight room for an hour twice per week. We are very fortunate to have “super-pro” Dwight Sanvold run our strength training. He has a swimming background, is a former coach, and is trained in sports medicine, nutrition and performance training. Prior to every season, Dwight and I map out our goals, and he executes a plan.

The strength program has been absolutely essential to keeping athletes healthy and successful. This past year, we kept our athletes in the weight room much closer to major competition to very positive effect. 

TOTAL ACCESS MEMBERS CLICK HERE TO READ MORE Q&A WITH COACH BRENT BOOCK. NOT A TOTAL ACCESS MEMBER? YOU’RE JUST A CLICK AWAY: SWIMMINGWORLD.COM/VAULT

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49

JUNIOR SWIMMER

UP & COMERS AGE GROUP SWIMMER OF THE MONTH

BY SHOSHANNA RUTEMILLER | PHOTO BY BRAD HEILMAN

F

ourteen-year old Thomas Heilman has been making a habit of knocking down national age group records. Since 2018, the Cavalier Aquatics (Va.) swimmer has collected more than his fair share of records in the boys’ 10-and-under, 11-12 and 13-14 age groups.

The number of records over the years in freestyle and butterfly is a testament to his work ethic: 10-and-under—Short Course: 100 yard butterfly (58.36) 11-12—Short Course: 50 freestyle (21.50), 100 freestyle (47.15), 200 freestyle (1:44.28), 50 butterfly (22.87), 100 butterfly (50.82) and 200 butterfly (1:53.66) 13-14—Short Course: 200 free (1:36.25); Long Course: 100 meter freestyle (51.20) and 100 butterfly (54.45).

“I have coached Thomas only briefly, but continue to be impressed with the work he is able to accomplish daily,” says Coach Gary Taylor.

“He performs at a high level both mentally and physically, which is truly outstanding at only 14 years of age.

“Having coached collegiately for more than 10 years, I believe it would be rare to find a 14-year-old who shows mental and physical capabilities similar to college swimmers. His prior coach, Mike Wenert, did a fantastic job setting him up for sustained success.”

Outside of the pool, Heilman still enjoys the other sports he recently stepped away from to focus on swimming. These include pick-up basketball games with friends, football with his brother and softball with his sister. He also enjoys helping coach his sister’s softball team and umpiring at local Little League baseball games.

WHAT IS THE BEST THING YOU DO IN SWIMMING? One aspect of my swimming I take pride in is my work ethic. I treat every workout as a chance to improve, and I give 100% effort and focus on a daily basis.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TOUGHEST WORKOUTS/ SETS YOU’VE DONE? 1. 20 x 100 @1:40 - Best Average Free (LC) 2. 3x the following in one set: • 400 @ 4:45 - aerobic free • 6 x 150 @1:50/1:45/1:40 by round - descending by round from aerobic to all-out

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT SWIMMING? My favorite thing about swimming is that although everyone comes from different teams, at the end of the day everyone is part of the swimming family—and everyone is working toward the same goal of trying to improve each day.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS YEAR? I am most looking forward to having more normalcy at meets. Last year, it took some time getting used to not having family in the stands or teammates on deck cheering you on. This year should be more exciting again with everyone back in the arena.

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WHO IS SOMEONE YOU LOOK UP TO IN SWIMMING...AND WHY? The swimmer I look up to the most is my older brother, Matthew. He has been a member of the Cavalier Aquatics senior group for four years now, and he has taken on a big leadership role on the team, leading through his voice and his work ethic, in and outside of the pool. Matt is someone that I not only look up to, but someone the entire team aspires to be like at some point in their swimming career.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES? When not in the pool, I enjoy playing basketball, playing chess and watching sports. DECEMBER 2021

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ROWDY GAINES

1984 Olympic gold medalist & television sports analyst [ PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK ]

It is an imperfect system. I think everybody understands that. I think going forward, it just depends on how much emphasis is put on short course meters.

It takes a lot to put on a meet like that, a trials. Is it worth it?

Is it valuable enough? Katie Ledecky has barely swum short course meters. Have you seen a list of the top 10 performances all-time? She’s not on it.

It has not been important in the past, but it’s becoming more important now because of money. When there wasn’t any money, nobody cared.

Now that there’s money, then people’s livelihoods are at stake. Now that it’s really a livelihood situation, then short course meters has become important.

I think things need to be done to accommodate those kinds of athletes who put an emphasis on short course meters and make their livelihood on that.

It took something like this (Coleman Stewart being left off as a world record holder) to make this an issue. It’s an imperfect system.

52

DECEMBER 2021

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TOM SHIELDS

ZACH HARTING

[ PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK ]

[ PHOTO BY MIKE LEWIS/ISL ]

2x U.S. Olympian (member of Short Course Worlds team)

Yes. Create an amalgamation / combination of results with a creative formula or just implement a “use-your-head” policy. Refer to someone who knows the game (short course yards/meters), and who is ideally unbiased to help make the hard choices between NCAA swimmers and pros.

Or else just run a meet. And I believe there should be an American record/world record consideration.

But in my opinion, we can extrapolate a formula to identify direct medal threats with a little bit of brain work.

Not me, but we have some smart dudes around who can whip something up, and we can tweak it as we go.

swimming in the ISL and maybe some summer league swims are about it. So I think that route is invalid.

Basically, there’s no good way to select the team. While I’m happy to go, I know the current system benefits me and other long course “specialists”—if that’s the word for it—so I plan to do my best and not let the others down.

2021 U.S. Olympian (member of Short Course Worlds team)

Yes and no. I’m one of the guys who benefits from it being picked from long course. I understand that. I do think holding a Trials would be challenging. If there was a Short Course Worlds Trials, it would give an advantage to pros who can focus on that or taper properly for that over college kids whose focus is conference and NCAAs. There’s also not a good time to hold them. Maybe November? But this year there wasn’t, not with ISL. I also don’t think you can pick based off SCM times. I think that’d be unfair to college kids who would have a shot otherwise.

But SCM isn’t really a thing in the U.S., so the pros

BEATA NELSON

American record holder in SCM 100 IM (not on Short Course Worlds team) [ PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK ]

I would love it if they did a qualification meet. I know it is difficult to make something like that happen, but I think short course performance should be a part of deciding a short course team, for sure. TOTAL ACCESS MEMBERS CLICK HERE TO READ MORE RESPONSES.

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