2022 FINA SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Tuesday, December 13 to Sunday, December 18, 2022
- Melbourne Sports and Aquatics Centre, Melbourne, Australia
- SCM (25m)
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SwimSwam spoke with team USA head coach Braden Holloway directly after the conclusion of the 2022 Short Course World Championships in Melbourne as he was walking back to his hotel. Holloway said that much of the USA staff hadn’t taken the bus once during the meet, meaning they would walk 1.5 miles to/from the pool twice per day.
On the meet itself, Holloway spoke to USA’s resiliency, noting that even when things weren’t going their way, the team could still put their best foot forward. He also gave the coaching rationale for the relay lineups of the mixed 4×50 medley relay as well as the men’s 4×50 free relay. Notably, on that free relay, Michael Andrew was left off. Andrew split 20.3 later in the meet, a split that would have netted a medal for USA in the 4×50 free relay (they wound up 5th) had he replicated it.
The only way USA men’s 4×50 free relay was going to be on the podium was to swim MA on the relay. MA beat Kyle Chalmers 3 times in this meet. 2 times heads up and 1 time in the heats of 50 free. You don’t see Australia pull Kyle off the relay because he got 7th in the 50 free finals.
Braden this is why you should always put Michael Andrew on the 4×50 men’s free relay. He beat King Kyle Chalmers twice in heads up 50 free competition on relays.
Event
4×50 men free relay Kyle Chalmers 20.34 anchor vs Drew Kibler 21.1 anchor
4×50 mixed free relay Kyle Chalmers 20.97 lead off vs Michael Andrew 20.81 lead off
4×50 men medley relay Kyle Chalmers 20.48 anchor vs Michael Andrew 20.39 anchor
4×100 men medley relay Kyle Chalmers anchor 44.63 vs Keiren Smith 45.95 anchor
You did hear him say that he and the other coaches determined that Michael was swimming like crap at that point in the meet and that went into their decision making. Anybody watching from home saw the same. Michael did not swim better until later in the meet.
Then swim him in the prelims. Braden left MA off the relay and Team USA got a FIFTH. Put MA in and they were easily on the podium.
At World Cup Indianapolis Hunter Armstrong swam 50 free 21.45. Yet he was put on the prelim relay over MA whose best SCM 50 free prior to this meet was 20.94. MA was sick at World Cup in Indianapolis. He swam 50 breast 26.32, 50 fly 22.95, and 100 IM 51.22. He had some decent SCM times prior to Worlds.
MA best time SCM 50 fly is 22.32. He swam 50 fly heats 22.34 semis 22.47
MA best time SCM 50 breast 26.02 mixed 4×50 mixed medley relay he swam 25.56
MA best time SCM 100 breast 57.24 he swam 58.22
MA best time SCM 100 IM 51.16 heats he swam 52.21, semis 51.41 qualified 1st
… Read more »
Everyone knows Michael was swimming bad at that point in the meet. Real time trumps that other stuff
No his first event the 50 fly was almost a personal best time. He swam 22.34 flat start. He beat Trenton Julian’s split in the relay who had a rolling start. He almost beat Shaine Casas’s split in the medley relay who had a rolling start. He didn’t start out bad at all in the 50’s. .
Doing 12 relay lineups for prelim and finals is not easy! Kudos to the staff but not using MA on prelim or finals 4×50 free relay doesn’t make sense….with who they had there, MA is better than some of them on his worst day!
Braden with the middle aged dude SEALs training equivalent. Locked in, baby.
Jokes aside, great interview & a window into how clearly Braden & staff mapped it all out to maximize podium placements on relays inside a very intense 6 day format. The swimmers must be absolutely down to fumes both mentally & physically with all of the demands they’ve grinded through.
Agreed! He did a great job. Love the honesty talking about how they used recent SCY and SCM performances to make determinations because it was more relevant to SCM performance. Hopefully a voice to get USA Swimming to revamp qualification criteria for this meet.
Except MA recent SCM meet at World Cup Indianapolis where he swam sick and posted decent times wasn’t even considered.
Staff did a great job! 🐺