PARTING SHOT

UP & COMERS

AGE GROUP SWIMMER OF THE MONTH

BY SHOSHANNA RUTEMILLER

Teagan O’Dell

In August 2019, 12-year-old Teagan O’Dell of the Irvine Novaquatics (Calif.) took down Missy Franklin’s 11-12 girls national age group record in the 200 meter IM, clocking 2:18.69 at the Western Zone Age Group Championships to erase Franklin’s 2:19.12 mark set in 2008.

“Teagan has only been swimming for me for a relatively short time,” says her coach, Ken LaMont. “So at a very early stage, we offered up some fast 100s at the end of the workout with a lot of rest between each one. Keep in mind she was only 13 years old at the time, and I was watching her push 51-second 100 yard freestyles in workout.

“Oddly, she doesn’t consider herself a freestyler above other events, which would explain why during the same season, she swam a 1:58.9 200 yard IM at one of our championship meets. This shows her wide range of talent in her swimming ability.”

At the 2020 Speedo Championship Series in Carlsbad, Calif., Feb. 27-March 1, O’Dell, still 13, took first in the 200 yard breaststroke (2:15.06) and 400 IM (4:13.42) despite racing against finalists in her events as old as 18. She also placed second in the 100 back, 100 breast and 200 IM, and third in the 200 back.

“Teagan (now 14) still enjoys one of the hardest things there is to teach—and that is she enjoys racing,” says Coach LaMont. “She is a great girl and very humble regarding her swimming. With that being said, she is also fully aware of her swimming and goals. Whenever I approach her with a goal or future plans, she usually has the same plan in place.”

O’Dell also comes from an athletic family. She is a middle child in a family of four kids. Her three brothers all play football as a quarterback— just like their dad. Both of O’Dell’s parents agree: Their daughter is tough and willing to take on challenges! 

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WHAT IS THE BEST THING YOU DO IN SWIMMING?

I am probably best at competing. It is also my favorite thing about the sport.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TOUGHEST WORKOUTS/ SETS YOU’VE DONE?

Some of the toughest things in practice are any and all 100% efforts. I race against my very fast teammates, and it gets very tiring...but I love it!

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS YEAR?

I am looking forward to going to more swim meets, and I’m very excited to watch the Olympics!

WHO IS SOMEONE YOU LOOK UP TO IN SWIMMING... AND WHY?

Katinka Hosszu is definitely a swimmer I look up to. She is an Olympic gold medalist and world champion. She also swims every stroke, and I aspire to be like her.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES?

Some of my favorite things to do are watching Netflix and reading.

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DO YOU THINK RELAYS SHOULD BE HELD AS TIMED FINALS AT FUTURE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS?

BY ANDY ROSS

RAY LOOZE

Head Coach, Indiana University

[PHOTO BY BROOKE WRIGHT] I liked it. For teams that are a little thinner, I think it helps you get through it a bit better. We had a smaller team at NCAAs than year’s past. I thought it helped manage the event load a little bit better. We still ran out of gas, but I think that was because we went into the meet not as fit as we normally would have been because of the stringent protocols that we had in our conference. I like the timed finals relays.

I did the extra lane as a swimmer, too. We had separated lanes in the past when I was a swimmer and in my first few years at Indiana until they stopped doing it. I don’t think that is something that needs to continue, but I liked having it timed finals.

I would like to take it a step further and reduce the squad size to 12 to keep the same overall number of people. I think it would be a compelling meet. It would add more teams into the mix.

TYLER FENWICK

Associate Head Coach, University of Virginia

[PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK ] We loved having timed finals at NCAAs. It allows athletes to be at their best. Timed finals are a strong proponent going forward. We can’t wait to have parents, friends and fans in the stands. Their energy heightens performances at every meet. We miss our biggest supporters!

SWIM MART

REACH LONG KICK STRONG

CAROL CAPITANI

Women’s Head Coach, University of Texas

[PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK] NCAAs is already hard enough. It’s the fastest meet, and it showcases the best kids. It’s the most intense, and it’s a lot of racing, so why would we make this one meet harder?

At international meets like Worlds and Olympics, the very best swimmers may have 10 or 11 swims over eight or nine days, and at NCAAs, the very best may have the same amount of swims over three-and-a-half days. I don’t think we need to make it more difficult. It would be like in basketball if we moved the three-point line back three feet just for March Madness.

I think the 200 medley relay should be moved to Wednesday night with the 800 free relay and clean it up so there is one relay each night. That would make the most sense to spread it out. If we are looking for great performances, those prelim relays take away the best performances, and by the end of the meet, those kids are fried. It would be cool to have the 4x100 free go a little bit faster or have these individual swimmers be just a tiny bit fresher on the last day. What are we losing if we take prelim relays away?

If you took the prelim relays out of it, there would be more emphasis on getting fast times at conference or mid-season. I thought having just timed finals was better. The only thing we didn’t like was the COVID stuff with four teams in one heat and four empty lanes. It would have been a different experience if eight people were in one heat, and it would significantly cut back on time, and there would be more rest between prelims and finals. Those relays are super exciting, and it would put a premium on swimming fast during the season. No one really goes that much faster in prelims. It’s not like if you took prelim relays away that people would think the meet was easy. It makes the meet just as intense.

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