Woah! It has been a long time since I last posted something in SoUSS. Sorry about that, folks. Between work, graduate school and swimming (or at least trying to given my schedule), I haven't had the time to write some new material.
Pretty soon, I'll be up and running again; writing new stuff about swimming.
Anyway, I have been writing this swimming novel called "The Swimming Diaries: The Comeback" these past few months. While I still have a long way to go to finish it let alone have it published (hopefully), I'd like to give you guys a taste of things to come.
The story is about Jim Salva, a sophomore Management student in the Ateneo Loyola Schools. After quitting the varsity swim team during his freshman year, he decides to mount a comeback to competitive swimming with the hopes of helping the Ateneo Blue Tankers win their first UAAP swimming championship. As he struggles to regain peak competitive form, Jim must find a way to either set aside or confront the issues which led to his quitting the team the year before.
Click here to read the prologue and first chapter of TSD: The Comeback. (It is still a rough draft so pardon any and all grammatical errors.)
Monday, February 27, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Ryan Lochte on Training, Racing and London 2012
Olympic Swimming Legend Gary Hall, Sr. talks with Ryan Lochte about training, racing and his chances in the London Games. Young swimmers, pay close attention to the part about the importance of racing especially during the toughest parts of your training programs.
Take your mark!
Hall Sr. interviews Reezy
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Looking Back on 2011: Renaissance of Swimming
2011 witnessed what I like to call the renaissance of technical swimming. Some may argue that this rebirth started a year ago in 2010--when the high-tech full bodysuits were officially banned from competitions. However, to use the metaphor of the phoenix, 2010 was the death of the fully grown bird and its rebirth as an infant. 2011, on the other hand, was the phoenix's first flight; it's baby steps to reclaim its former glory. With all that has transpired last year, no other metaphor could be so apt. That said, here is my top five epic and memorable swimming moments of 2011.
5. Brendan Hansen wins the 100 and 200 breaststroke in the US Nationals
When Brendan Hansen announced his comeback to swimming, he did not receive that same fan-craze or media-frenzy that Ian Thorpe got when he announced his. However, being a highly decorated swimmer and former World and Olympic Record Holder, USA swimming was more than pleased with the idea that one of the most dominant breaststrokers who ever lived will be attempting to gain more Olympic glory. Especially when USA's breaststrokers have not quite been able to pick up the slack Hansen left when he quietly retired back in 2008.
Some have doubted his endeavor as impossible borderline hopeless but after USA's Nationals, Hansen showed the world that his current swimming prowess matches his mental focus in possibly making the US National team. With impressive wins in the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke and with times near his best, the last surviving member of the original Texas Trio stable is still a force to be reckoned with.
When Brendan Hansen announced his comeback to swimming, he did not receive that same fan-craze or media-frenzy that Ian Thorpe got when he announced his. However, being a highly decorated swimmer and former World and Olympic Record Holder, USA swimming was more than pleased with the idea that one of the most dominant breaststrokers who ever lived will be attempting to gain more Olympic glory. Especially when USA's breaststrokers have not quite been able to pick up the slack Hansen left when he quietly retired back in 2008.
Some have doubted his endeavor as impossible borderline hopeless but after USA's Nationals, Hansen showed the world that his current swimming prowess matches his mental focus in possibly making the US National team. With impressive wins in the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke and with times near his best, the last surviving member of the original Texas Trio stable is still a force to be reckoned with.
"Hello, boys! I'm back!"
Brendan Hansen Wins the 100 meter Breaststroke
"And I'm here to stay! London 2012, baby!"
Brendan Hansen Wins the 200 meter Breaststroke
4. The Australian 4x100 meter freestyle relay gold medal performance
The 4x100 meter freestyle relay is regarded as one of the glamor events in swimming. There is little room for error so much so that a moment's hesitation could mean the podium for a team fast enough to make it to the final heat. While the winners are somewhat predetermined because of the very nature of the sport, miracles and surprise finishes tend to happen. Amazingly, miracle and surprise finishes have been a stipend in the 4x100 free these past three years. That said, it is easy to expect that the Shanghai World Championships would have one coming. The only question is which team would deliver it. Personally, I never expected the Australians to do it.
Coming in the event, all eyes were of course on the Americans. Boasting a team composed of three of the four world record holders (Michael Phelps, Garret Webber-Gale and Jason Lezak) as well as the gold medalist in the 100 free in the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships (Nathan Adrian), the Americans had it won on paper. However, the Australians proved to be the ones fast enough to dethrone the defending champions. Led by the blistering 47.49 split of youngster James Magnussen (that was actually the fastest 100 free in a textile suit, by the way!) as well as the strong anchor leg of veteran swimmer and former 100 free record holder Eamon Sullivan, the Aussies blew away the competition and swam atop the podium. What is more exceptional is that Matt Targett, Matt Abood and Eamon Sullivan all swam 48 seconds mid to low to aptly complement the exceptional 47.49 of Magnusson.
And the Americans? They settled for third after a neck and neck race with arch-rival France. The French got their revenge for always finishing second to the Americans, I guess.
The 4x100 meter freestyle relay is regarded as one of the glamor events in swimming. There is little room for error so much so that a moment's hesitation could mean the podium for a team fast enough to make it to the final heat. While the winners are somewhat predetermined because of the very nature of the sport, miracles and surprise finishes tend to happen. Amazingly, miracle and surprise finishes have been a stipend in the 4x100 free these past three years. That said, it is easy to expect that the Shanghai World Championships would have one coming. The only question is which team would deliver it. Personally, I never expected the Australians to do it.
Coming in the event, all eyes were of course on the Americans. Boasting a team composed of three of the four world record holders (Michael Phelps, Garret Webber-Gale and Jason Lezak) as well as the gold medalist in the 100 free in the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships (Nathan Adrian), the Americans had it won on paper. However, the Australians proved to be the ones fast enough to dethrone the defending champions. Led by the blistering 47.49 split of youngster James Magnussen (that was actually the fastest 100 free in a textile suit, by the way!) as well as the strong anchor leg of veteran swimmer and former 100 free record holder Eamon Sullivan, the Aussies blew away the competition and swam atop the podium. What is more exceptional is that Matt Targett, Matt Abood and Eamon Sullivan all swam 48 seconds mid to low to aptly complement the exceptional 47.49 of Magnusson.
And the Americans? They settled for third after a neck and neck race with arch-rival France. The French got their revenge for always finishing second to the Americans, I guess.
"Eat Our Wakes, Mates!"
Team Australia Dominates and Decimates!
3. Aussie youngster James Magnussen blitzes to the 100 freestyle gold
After his superb starting leg in the 4x100 meter freestyle, the pressure was on for James, "The Missile" Magnussen. With a field that is packed with veteran freestylers the likes of record holder and defending champion Brazilian Cesar Cielo, Canadian Brent Hayden and Frenchmen Alain Bernard and Fabian Gilot as well as American sprint-sensation Nathan Adrian, Magnussen had his work cut out for him. A relative unknown in the international scene, Magnussen was the only swimmer under 48 seconds after the semi-finals, earning him the top seed. If the rookie felt the pressure, he surely did not show it; while he did not leave the field behind off the blocks, he methodically caught up with the leaders in the closing lap to become the first Australian 100 meters freestyle world champion.
I cannot wait to see how Magnussen will fare in the London this August. I am going out on a limb and say that there is a high probability that the 100 meter freestyle event in London will be Ground Zero caused by the Aussie Missile.
After his superb starting leg in the 4x100 meter freestyle, the pressure was on for James, "The Missile" Magnussen. With a field that is packed with veteran freestylers the likes of record holder and defending champion Brazilian Cesar Cielo, Canadian Brent Hayden and Frenchmen Alain Bernard and Fabian Gilot as well as American sprint-sensation Nathan Adrian, Magnussen had his work cut out for him. A relative unknown in the international scene, Magnussen was the only swimmer under 48 seconds after the semi-finals, earning him the top seed. If the rookie felt the pressure, he surely did not show it; while he did not leave the field behind off the blocks, he methodically caught up with the leaders in the closing lap to become the first Australian 100 meters freestyle world champion.
I cannot wait to see how Magnussen will fare in the London this August. I am going out on a limb and say that there is a high probability that the 100 meter freestyle event in London will be Ground Zero caused by the Aussie Missile.
"The Missile has superseded the The Thorpedo!"
James Magnussen Wins the 100 meter freestyle, the first Aussie to do so
2. Ryan Lochte sets the first post-high-tech body suit long course world record...defeats Michael Phelps twice!
After Ryan Lochte shocked the world by getting near his 200 IM world record in 2010 during the Pan Pacific Championships, experts agreed that it was only a matter of time until Lochte becomes the first man to set a world record post-high tech body suit era. Almost a year later, at the World Championships in Shanghai, Lochte did not disappoint. Even with a motivated and semi-Olympic fit Michael Phelps racing against him, Lochte out-dueled the Greatest Swimmer of All Time in one of Phelps' signature events in world record fashion. As if to prove a point, Lochte again out-swam Phelps in the 200 meter freestyle.
What is amazing about Lochte's feats of beating Phelps is that he used Phelps' strengths to dethrone him in the world's stage! In the 200 IM, what spelled Phelps' demise was Lochte's powerful breaststroke leg. Historically, the backstroker Lochte always caught up with the butterflier Phelps in the second lap (the backstroke) and would begin to fade come breaststroke. This time around, Lochte distanced himself considerably from Phelps in the breaststroke, giving him enough of a cushion in the freestyle to challenge and defeat the world record line. In the 200 freestyle, Lochte employed a much more powerful underwater dolphin kick at all three turns, preventing Phelps from chasing him down in the final lap.
With London merely eight months away, I cannot wait for the Phelps-Lochte duel Part III. As Phelps continues to train harder with rejuvenated motivation and focus, Lochte will surely have a lot on his plate come the London Games. After all, their rivalry is as great as their friendship.
After Ryan Lochte shocked the world by getting near his 200 IM world record in 2010 during the Pan Pacific Championships, experts agreed that it was only a matter of time until Lochte becomes the first man to set a world record post-high tech body suit era. Almost a year later, at the World Championships in Shanghai, Lochte did not disappoint. Even with a motivated and semi-Olympic fit Michael Phelps racing against him, Lochte out-dueled the Greatest Swimmer of All Time in one of Phelps' signature events in world record fashion. As if to prove a point, Lochte again out-swam Phelps in the 200 meter freestyle.
What is amazing about Lochte's feats of beating Phelps is that he used Phelps' strengths to dethrone him in the world's stage! In the 200 IM, what spelled Phelps' demise was Lochte's powerful breaststroke leg. Historically, the backstroker Lochte always caught up with the butterflier Phelps in the second lap (the backstroke) and would begin to fade come breaststroke. This time around, Lochte distanced himself considerably from Phelps in the breaststroke, giving him enough of a cushion in the freestyle to challenge and defeat the world record line. In the 200 freestyle, Lochte employed a much more powerful underwater dolphin kick at all three turns, preventing Phelps from chasing him down in the final lap.
With London merely eight months away, I cannot wait for the Phelps-Lochte duel Part III. As Phelps continues to train harder with rejuvenated motivation and focus, Lochte will surely have a lot on his plate come the London Games. After all, their rivalry is as great as their friendship.
"Jeah! Got you, Michael!"
Ryan Lochte defeats Michael Phelps and breaks his 200 IM World Record
"Reezy out-swims The Baltimore Bullet"
Ryan Lochte wins the 200 meters freestyle...defeats Michael Phelps again!
1. Sun Yang breaks Grant Hackett's ten year old record in the 1500 freestyle!
The greatest swimming moment in the international stage would be fall of Australian swimming legend Grant Hackett's world record in the 1500 meter freestyle. Set in 2001 at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Hackett's record in the longest and most grueling event in swimming was the only record left unscathed even after the advent of high-tech swimming suits. Dubbed by Olympic Champions Ous Melluoli as an "epic" record, Hackett's 14:34 seemed unbeatable. That is until Chinese swimmer Sun Yang came to the picture.
After flirting with the record in 2010, everyone in the swimming world, including Hackett himself knew that the epic 1500 freestyle record would soon tumble. In front of a home crowd, Sun Yang shifted to a higher gear during the last 25 meters of the race to dramatically and emphatically break the ten-year old record of the Australian swimming legend.
Judging by how strong Sun Yang finished the final lap, there is no doubt in my mind that he could have gone 14:33 high had he shifted to overdrive earlier. Judging by how he was "straddling" the world record line in the final 8 meters, I am sure that he could have not only broken but smashed the mile record. However, even if he broke it by 1 second or 1 hundredth of a second, the fact that he broke the longest active world record which survived the high-tech bodysuit era is legendary enough.
The greatest swimming moment in the international stage would be fall of Australian swimming legend Grant Hackett's world record in the 1500 meter freestyle. Set in 2001 at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Hackett's record in the longest and most grueling event in swimming was the only record left unscathed even after the advent of high-tech swimming suits. Dubbed by Olympic Champions Ous Melluoli as an "epic" record, Hackett's 14:34 seemed unbeatable. That is until Chinese swimmer Sun Yang came to the picture.
After flirting with the record in 2010, everyone in the swimming world, including Hackett himself knew that the epic 1500 freestyle record would soon tumble. In front of a home crowd, Sun Yang shifted to a higher gear during the last 25 meters of the race to dramatically and emphatically break the ten-year old record of the Australian swimming legend.
Judging by how strong Sun Yang finished the final lap, there is no doubt in my mind that he could have gone 14:33 high had he shifted to overdrive earlier. Judging by how he was "straddling" the world record line in the final 8 meters, I am sure that he could have not only broken but smashed the mile record. However, even if he broke it by 1 second or 1 hundredth of a second, the fact that he broke the longest active world record which survived the high-tech bodysuit era is legendary enough.
"The Hometown Hero bags the Gold in the Mile!"
Sun Yang wins the 1500 Free and cements his place in swimming history
2011 was truly a memorable year in the international swimming scene. I expect 2012--the London Olympic Games being the most important meet of the year--to be more memorable filled with epic swims, dramatic chase downs, surprising finishes and tumbling world records.
Happy New Year and Take Your Mark!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Swimming Leadership Part II: How Do You Lead?
"Finding Inspiration"
While the movie is not about swimming, one of the many poignant lessons I took home after watching Invictus is how to "inspire ourselves [and our teammates] to greatness when nothing less will do." Witness the conversation between two great South African leaders--Nelson Mandela and Francois Pienaar--and listen to their views on leadership and inspiring your teammates to be better than what they think they can be.
"We Need Inspiration"
The Full Conversation of Two Great SA leaders.
Take Your Mark!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Finding God in Swimming
Religion is one of the few things which I simply do not have the patience or diligence to understand. Having been brought up a Roman Catholic and receiving a catholic education my entire life, I still find myself wrestling with certain aspects of my religion. While I am not entirely a devout man, I fervently believe in God; every time I swim, I could feel His presence.
Quoting Eric Liddell from the movie Chariots of Fire, "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure." Minus the running part, that is exactly how I feel. Whenever I swim fast, I can almost see God smiling with delight and glee. After all, He made a swimmer. It is only right that I glorify Him through the blessing which He has given me. Yet, I feel His presence and pleasure not just when I swim fast but rather when I am simply in the pool, swimming.
Whenever I push off the wall for a sprint-endurance set, the sound of rushing water filling my ears, I could hear Him whispering, telling me to swim faster and use every ounce of my strength to get my target times. During the split second wherein I am suspended in the air after launching myself off the starting block, the calm I feel is His presence slowly washing away the anxieties I feel and replacing them with competitive fire. When I am so fatigued in the 200 meters butterfly, I hear His soothing yet commanding voice telling me to hold on and continue fighting, tooth and nail, to reach the wall. Whenever I look over the time panels and find out that I did not get my best time, I can feel His comforting arm drape over my shoulders as if telling me that I need not be too hard on myself; I swam, fought and raced with every bit of grit I had and for Him that is already something to be proud of.
On more than one occasion, I have doubted my religion. In fact, with everything that is happening around my community, I am afraid that I am losing my religion. Yet, as I grapple with the doubts and reservations I have, my faith in God is adamant. He has been with me as I swam competitively for 12 years. I am sure that even after hanging up my LZR Racers and Fast Skins, He will always be with me, silently pushing me to keep on swimming fast or at least try to swim fast again.
Finding God in all things has been one of the lessons I learned way back in grade school which I have always carried with me. It is only appropriate that I found God in swimming.
Take Your Mark!
Whenever I push off the wall for a sprint-endurance set, the sound of rushing water filling my ears, I could hear Him whispering, telling me to swim faster and use every ounce of my strength to get my target times. During the split second wherein I am suspended in the air after launching myself off the starting block, the calm I feel is His presence slowly washing away the anxieties I feel and replacing them with competitive fire. When I am so fatigued in the 200 meters butterfly, I hear His soothing yet commanding voice telling me to hold on and continue fighting, tooth and nail, to reach the wall. Whenever I look over the time panels and find out that I did not get my best time, I can feel His comforting arm drape over my shoulders as if telling me that I need not be too hard on myself; I swam, fought and raced with every bit of grit I had and for Him that is already something to be proud of.
On more than one occasion, I have doubted my religion. In fact, with everything that is happening around my community, I am afraid that I am losing my religion. Yet, as I grapple with the doubts and reservations I have, my faith in God is adamant. He has been with me as I swam competitively for 12 years. I am sure that even after hanging up my LZR Racers and Fast Skins, He will always be with me, silently pushing me to keep on swimming fast or at least try to swim fast again.
Finding God in all things has been one of the lessons I learned way back in grade school which I have always carried with me. It is only appropriate that I found God in swimming.
Take Your Mark!
How to Win a Swimming Championship
The biggest frustration I ever had in my swimming career was not being able to hoist up a swimming championship in the UAAP seniors division the way I twice did in the juniors. While the sweet second place my teammates and I landed in 2009 will be with me forever, winning that elusive championship could have been the pinnacle of my on-again, off-again relationship with swimming. But that is for another time. This entry will be about something else--something any swim team could find useful in their quest for aquatic supremacy.
Winning a championship requires what I like to call "collective individualism" or in the words of my former coach, "team success through individual excellence". Simply put, every member of the team needs to work on being an exceptional swimmer in his own right to the very best of his abilities. Everyone needs to adapt a confident attitude which will foster this aura of being intimidating instead of being intimidated. Most of all, each and every member of the team needs to be confident in his own swimming prowess so that no one will be too reliant on the elite swimmers.
But how does one do these things, you ask? Below are three points which may be helpful.
1. Train the way you compete.
The fault of many swimmers these days is that they tend to take the importance of training too lightly. It is quite disturbing that most swimmers resist pushing their limits whenever a set seems too difficult to accomplish. Instead of accepting a new challenge, they cower away and mediocrely swim the set just to finish it. Their excuse: there's always tomorrow...
Guys, there is no tomorrow--not if you want to be the best that you can be! Besides, there is no point in attending training if you do not have any intention of simulating how you will be competing. Why do we train, in the first place? We train because we want to get faster; the only way to get faster is by making fast-ness natural to us. What better venue to make ourselves naturally fast than practices--the place wherein we are allowed to make mistakes and test new techniques or stroke mechanics until we come close to perfect with regard to it.
Train the way you compete, fellas. Treat your trainings as an aquatic laboratory of sorts. Envision how you intend to compete and try it out when you train. If you plan on performing long underwater dolphins during the meet, do exactly that in every set of the training if it is applicable. If you plan executing a flip turn during the back-to-breast transition, practice that consistently. If you plan on using a track-start before you dive, track-start during training so that you are absolutely comfortable in that position come the meet. If you plan on wearing a swimming cap, by all mean, wear a swim cap in training!
As the age old saying goes, "practice makes perfect." The thing is, you have to ask yourself what it is your are perfecting in practice. Are you perfecting your slacker skills by cutting corners and taking it easy? Or are your honing your competitive skills by perfecting every aspect of your swim while training?
Guys, there is no tomorrow--not if you want to be the best that you can be! Besides, there is no point in attending training if you do not have any intention of simulating how you will be competing. Why do we train, in the first place? We train because we want to get faster; the only way to get faster is by making fast-ness natural to us. What better venue to make ourselves naturally fast than practices--the place wherein we are allowed to make mistakes and test new techniques or stroke mechanics until we come close to perfect with regard to it.
Train the way you compete, fellas. Treat your trainings as an aquatic laboratory of sorts. Envision how you intend to compete and try it out when you train. If you plan on performing long underwater dolphins during the meet, do exactly that in every set of the training if it is applicable. If you plan executing a flip turn during the back-to-breast transition, practice that consistently. If you plan on using a track-start before you dive, track-start during training so that you are absolutely comfortable in that position come the meet. If you plan on wearing a swimming cap, by all mean, wear a swim cap in training!
As the age old saying goes, "practice makes perfect." The thing is, you have to ask yourself what it is your are perfecting in practice. Are you perfecting your slacker skills by cutting corners and taking it easy? Or are your honing your competitive skills by perfecting every aspect of your swim while training?
2. Swim while everyone else is resting!
While others rest, prepare. Need I say more?
One of the things I used to lament back then was how late my teammates started training seriously to prepare for the UAAP. I am honestly astounded that they expect to be in top form with only three to four months left before the meet that I almost scoffed at their misplaced confidence. While some of them actually do regain and surpass their peak performances with such a small window of preparation, most seem confused as to why they put up such disappointing borderline embarrassing times. Many a time I just kept my mouth shut; how could they be so obtuse to not know what they did wrong?
As I mentioned in one of my earlier articles, the competition does not start or end with the meet. Competition is 24/7! It is true that off-season trainings are not as intense as the ones during the season, they do serve a purpose of maintaining stroke integrity and keeping swimmers as fit as possible. I am not saying that you should continue the rough trainings; by all means, any swimmer is entitled to a well-deserved rest after a grueling season. What I am saying is that you might want to take advantage of this period to get ahead of the game, so to speak. Especially when you are playing catch up against competition which is faster and far more trained that you, use this downtime to close the distance separating you from the them.
While others rest, prepare. Need I say more?
One of the things I used to lament back then was how late my teammates started training seriously to prepare for the UAAP. I am honestly astounded that they expect to be in top form with only three to four months left before the meet that I almost scoffed at their misplaced confidence. While some of them actually do regain and surpass their peak performances with such a small window of preparation, most seem confused as to why they put up such disappointing borderline embarrassing times. Many a time I just kept my mouth shut; how could they be so obtuse to not know what they did wrong?
As I mentioned in one of my earlier articles, the competition does not start or end with the meet. Competition is 24/7! It is true that off-season trainings are not as intense as the ones during the season, they do serve a purpose of maintaining stroke integrity and keeping swimmers as fit as possible. I am not saying that you should continue the rough trainings; by all means, any swimmer is entitled to a well-deserved rest after a grueling season. What I am saying is that you might want to take advantage of this period to get ahead of the game, so to speak. Especially when you are playing catch up against competition which is faster and far more trained that you, use this downtime to close the distance separating you from the them.
3. Fight (Swim) like a Champion!
We all remember the Pacquiao-Marquez fight a few weeks ago and how controversial the decision was. Regardless of how the pundits and would-be experts analyze the fight, the mere fact that the challenger was not at all challenging the champion was Marquez's downfall. Sure, he gave Pacquiao a hard time and might have even won the fight had me knocked him down once. But the fact is, he was not launching an all out assault on the champion. And he dare say that he ought to be champion when he was not acting like one?
Fellas, to be a champion you have to act like a champion and not just talk like one. Swim like a champion by being an aggressive competitor in training and in meets. Never back down from anything no matter how daunting workouts are or how fast your competitors are reputed to be. Challenge yourself and your teammates everyday to be the best swimmers that you can possibly be.
So you see, it all boils down to every member of the team doing his part exceptionally. In contrast to club swimming, varsity swimming is much more complicated since not everyone can just join a team and compete. There are certain academic requirements which have to be met for any athlete to be part of any team as most of us know well. Hence, varsity teams do not have the luxury of simply recruiting all the top talents and dominating the field since said talents need to prove their worth--and more importantly earn their keep--in the classrooms as well as the in the pool.
However, keep in mind that regardless of how the recruits fare academically, you can be certain that they will perform splendidly once they plunge in the pool and amass team points crucial for the championship. You ought to do the same, don't you think?
Winning a championship in swimming starts with the swimmer. You and your teammates have to believe that you are more than capable of winning the championship. Beyond believing, you guys have to be willing to put in the requisite amount of work a champion is called to deliver. Believe adamantly and swim exceptionally--it is as simple as that.
Take Your Mark!
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