HOW THEY TRAIN: HALEY ANDERSON

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“Dave Salo and I recruited her to USC at the end of 2008, and she subsequently qualified for World Champs in the 800 the summer of 2009,” says Kase. “I got her to do an open water select camp in 2010, and she soon qualified for her first open water World Championships in the 25K. “She continued to compete in both open water and pool throughout college. During that time, she was not only a leader on the team, but an NCAA champion, Olympic silver medalist, Pac12 champion and Olympic Trials finalist. “Over the past 10 years, she has developed a passion for the sport and has consistently gotten stronger and faster, enjoying sustained success at the highest levels. Haley has competed in different HOW THEY TRAIN HALEY ANDERSON bodies of water all over the world (rivers, oceans, lakes, varied courses) and has won races in water hot and cold. She is BY MICHAEL J. STOTT flexible, adaptable and responds to ever-

Ochanging circumstances in a race. pen water competition is a take-no-prisoners endeavor. “Haley is tough and can handle just Meteorological conditions (wind, weather, etc.) and about anything in workout. She thrives in competition, can elements such as waves and water temperature present physical handle short-rest sets, loves racing-quality sets and has an ability and mental pressures unlike those found in shorter aquatic contests. Then there are seasoned opponents—e.g., the average age of female 10K competitors at the 2016 Olympics was 25.03; for men, 25.64. Among those in Rio was 24-year-old Haley Anderson. Her credentials include being an 11-time NCAA All-American (USC), three-time NCAA champion, 2012 Olympic silver medalist (10K) and five-time open water World Championship medalist (two gold, 2013 and 2015 5K; two silver, 2017 team to descend any distance. My job has been to stay attuned to her needs,” says Kase. “Dave Salo and I liked to vary practices, keep things interesting and challenge swimmers with different distances. We rarely repeated sets. However, at training camps or a few days before a competition, I often had Haley repeat a set of 3x (8 x 50). The results would give me a good read on how fast she was swimming. I could then tailor training to what I thought would event, 2019 10K; one bronze, 2019 team event). build her confidence leading into the race.

The Granite Bay, Calif. native also has four U.S. open water “Sometimes I would change intervals—i.e., 1 round on :40, championships, two Pan Pac gold and two World University 1 round on :45, 1 round on :50. Other times I would look for Games gold medals. A USA Swimming national team member descending 1-4, holding each round faster, or 1 easy/1 fast and since 2009, last season she wore the colors of the International really get her going with a good kick. At a venue, I wanted to Swimming League’s Cali Condors. see her on the course, adapting to the environment—landmarks,

In short, Anderson is decorated and determined. And at age buoys—just taking it all in. We would also practice turns and 29, on her third U.S. Olympic team, she is headed for the Aug. finishes. 4 10K starting line at Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo after an “In 2016, she had speed, endurance and was training better extended stay in Mission Viejo, working with Mark Schubert. than ever. She used her fifth place in Rio (1:57:20.2, just 28.8 Through it all, her main open water coach and training director seconds out of third) to motivate herself and to continue to pursue has been Catherine Kase. her goals,” says Kase. “To her credit, she used that experience

“Haley is competitive, loyal, coachable, independent, to grow and to ultimately produce two of her best career years adaptable, a DIY project lover and a great traveling partner,” in the pool (she posted her fastest times in 2018) and winning says Kase. “She is extremely aware and observant of all things. international open water races.”  Every day she brings her best to the pool, trains hard, smiles and leaves it there. Haley makes those around her better in training Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach whose Collegiate and pursues excellence in everything she does. She loves her School (Richmond, Va.) teams won nine state high school snorkel, can train every stroke in workout, mixes it up and is championships. A member of that school’s Athletic Hall of Fame, great at changing gears. he is also a recipient of NISCA’s Outstanding Service Award.