Charlie Swanson Did 3k Singles for 3 Weeks Before Making the World Champs Team

2022 U.S. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TRIALS

Reported by Anne Lepesant.

MEN’S 200 METER BREASTSTROKE – FINALS

  • World Record: 2:06.12 – Anton Chupkov (2019)
  • American Record: 2:07.17 – Josh Prenot (2016)
  • US Open Record: 2:07.17 – Josh Prenot (2016)
  • Jr World Record: 2:09.39 – Haiyang Qin (2017)
  • FINA “A” Cut: 2:10.32
  • SwimSwam Preview – M200 Breast

Podium:

  1. Nic Fink, MAAC / Charlie Swanson, Nova of Virginia – 2:08.84
  2. Jake Foster, Texas – 2:09.73
  3. Will Licon, Longhorn Aquatics – 2:11.03
  4. AJ Pouch, Virginia Tech – 2:11.14
  5. Josh Matheny, Indiana University – 2:11.14
  6. Tommy Cope, Indiana Swim Club – 2:12.84
  7. Maxwell Reich, Indiana University – 2:15.04

Jake Foster, swimming in lane 4 after posting the top time out of morning heats, went out first in the final, leading Charlie Swanson by a tenth at the 50 wall. Swanson took over the lead at the 100, outsplitting Foster by half a second on the second 50. Swanson was still up by almost half a body at the 150 turn and seemed to have the race sewn up.

But then along came Nic Fink.

Fink upped his tempo over the final 50 meters to shoot by Foster. He then began to challenge Swanson and the two traded stroke for stroke over the final 15 meters. They lunged for the wall and stopped the clock at exactly the same time, going 2:08.84 to tie for first place.

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Michael Andrew Wilson
2 years ago

Eddie said in the video on SS a little while back that Charlie and Will were “behind the 8 ball.” Charlie dropped time and Will was well off of his best. Really interesting to see the divergent results in light of where each guy was at.

Suzy Q
2 years ago

boss

Dawn Snow
2 years ago

Coaches who are skittish about “over-tapering” should take heed in these results. If a swimmer has been going super hard for months and months training for an event like 4IM, that base training will carry them through a well-intentioned 3-week taper. I know every swimmer is different, but in my personal experience, many swimmers like Swanson are simply exhausted and need a longer taper (with a focus on speed and technique) in order to bounce back.

oxyswim
Reply to  Dawn Snow
2 years ago

At the end of the day I think it’s more about being about to recognize what each individual needs than a big takeaway that can be applied to a lot of different athletes. A post grad guy with a huge aerobic background who’s 11 seconds off his best in a 200 with a month to go needs a lot of rest to decay that fatigue.

There’s a lot of women and younger athletes that would decondition too much to execute a long course 200 or a 4IM with 3 weeks of 18k per week. Even Casas training in the same place probably didn’t get that much of a reduction because of how fast he was at the same point.

Dawn Snow
Reply to  oxyswim
2 years ago

Good points! I’d add that I think it’s important for coaches to not over-generalize (based on age or gender) and actively analyze where each individual swimmer is as they approach championship meets – and work with them to recognize their needs when it comes to taper.

Last edited 2 years ago by Dawn Snow
Becky D
Reply to  oxyswim
2 years ago

This phrase is going to stick with me: “decay that fatigue.”

About Coleman Hodges

Coleman Hodges

Coleman started his journey in the water at age 1, and although he actually has no memory of that, something must have stuck. A Missouri native, he joined the Columbia Swim Club at age 9, where he is still remembered for his stylish dragon swim trunks. After giving up on …

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