Disclaimer: BlueSeventy Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The BlueSeventy Swim is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets.
For many, the end of college marks the end of a competitive swimming career. For Zane Grothe, it was only a beginning.
The Auburn alum has showed unparalleled growth in his post-grad years, competing for Badger Swim Club and training out of Indiana University. That culminated this week with a pair of American records in the 500 and 1650 freestyles.
While many swimmers, tired of the grind and volume of distance, try to transition into sprints as they age, the 25-year-old Grothe did the opposite. After years in an Auburn program known mostly for sprints, Grothe moved to Indiana to tackle a higher-volume program that is now paying massive dividends.
On Thursday night, Grothe blasted a 4:07.25 to chop 1.2 seconds off the standing American record in the 500 free, winning a national title by three and a half seconds. Just two days later, he was back in the pool to surge to a 14:18.25 in the mile, smashing the American record by four full seconds.
Here’s a look at Grothe’s progression over his collegiate and professional years:
500 free:
| Year | ||
| Best High School Time | 4:24.51 | 2010 |
| Best College Time | 4:14.44 | 2013 |
| Best Pro Time | 4:07.25 | 2017 |
1650 free:
| Year | ||
| Best High School Time | 15:11.89 | 2010 |
| Best College Time | 14:37.59 | 2012 |
| Best Pro Time | 14:18.25 | 2017 |
And here’s race video of Grothe’s insane 500. (Video for the mile is not yet available)
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Very talented and cool guy – love his endurance and sprinting at the end .
inZANE last 150
Zane was really flying the last 100 or so. He must have hit his taper spot on. He goes into sprint mode and increases his turnover at the end of his races.
He’s got a lot of natural endurance. His age-group coach said that it was hard to tire him out.
Please someone post a mile video
Anyone know what suit he was wearing?
Tyr