Michigan Swims Jon Urbanchek’s Last Workout Before Retirement

In a tribute to now-retired swim coaching legend Jon Urbanchek, Michigan’s mid-distance group swam the last workout Urbanchek wrote for the program today.

Urbanchek has been a longtime Michigan swimming icon, coaching the Wolverine men from 1982 to 2004. Urbanchek continued coaching at the club and professional levels after his time at Michigan, and served on the coaching staff of six separate Olympic teams. He officially retired from coaching on August 31 of this year after a storied career in which Urbanchek put names like Mike Barrowman, Tom Dolan, Tom Malchow, Eric Namesnik, Eric Wunderlich, Gustavo Borges and Brent Lang onto Olympic rosters.

After his retirement, Urbanchek won the prestigious USA Swimming award for his years as one of the country’s most successful and most respected swim coaches.

The Michigan swimming program tweeted today that the men’s mid-distance and distance groups were swimming a practice written by Urbanchek – the workout attached to the tweet appears to show the workout originally being written in March:

Came upon the last workout @jonurb ever wrote.

So we’re doing it. #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/K1TbqUJUne

— Michigan Swimming & Diving (@umichswimdive) October 14, 2020

Urbanchek responded with some specifics about the workout:

Dr Josh! Yes, like the meter mode💪! The 200’s are challenging but rewarding!
The 200 IM set might bring a sub 1:54.0? By ‘21
Sprint might have more
24 low coming home for 46+!
Thanks! I feel honored!
Go Blue! Move it , jon

— jon urbanchek (@jonurb) October 14, 2020

The workout is in long course meters, for those looking to put the intervals and distances into context.