2023 U.S. OPEN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- November 29-December 2, 2023
- Greensboro Aquatic Center, Greensboro, North Carolina
- Long Course Meters (50 meters)
- Start Times
- Prelims: 9 AM (ET)
- Finals: 6 PM (ET)
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
To kick off her 2nd Olympic runup, Summer McIntosh went with the Sarasota Sharks to a 3-week training camp at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. This was McIntosh’s first time training at altitude.
What the hell a Canadian doing at the US Olympic Training Center
Read the comments below, Andy.
OPTC*
Training at OTC is not what most people think it is. It is basically just facilities at altitude. There isn’t a team of specialists and coaches there working with anyone that walks in. Teams and individuals bring their own coaches and trainers. No trade secrets are given out (not like there really are any anyway). The dorms are very basic and the food is average. They should probably charge more than they do, but the USOC isnt really known for making good business decisions. The article focuses on Summer, but she is part of a team and her influence on her American teammates is well worth any benefit it may give her.
food is average?? bro its fire
I hope Rose doesn’t frequent the comment section on SwimSwam, she’d be crushed.
The Sunday AM waffle machine and soft serve alone make the food fire. Having macros listed for every meal was an insane perk and one I didn’t fully appreciate at the time. Kinda shocking someone said the food is fantastic given that its being prepared in large quantities.
Whether they pay or not,I appreciate that the USA allows Canadians in many sports to train in the US.Having the worlds best athletes training beside you helps American swimmers improve and helps the training site remain financially viable.I doubt that there are serious American contenders being denied training because of the presence of foreigners.Anyway ,good on the USA for their generosity.
I am curious to see if Summer continues with Sarasota post-Paris. She clearly has thrived in that training group, but given those friends/teammates her age are starting to head off to college, I could see her potentially heading elsewhere to find a training group with swimmers her age. Just a thought.
ASU…???
100 %
What about school? I’m wondering where she would go for college.
Sarasota is a club team, presumably with HS-aged kids (not aware of any significant pro group there). How do they do a 3-week training camp in the fall? Remote school?
The schooling changes since COVID certainly have to have made this part much easier.
In my experience, elite swimmers always figure out a way to prioritize opportunities like these.
The otc is only free if you are on the US national team. Everyone else has to pay, foreign athletes included, and it usually ends up being about $100 per day. However for higher end athletes their federations usually end up paying for them. We allow them to use to facility because we expect the same hospitality for our athletes when we travel to other countries.
That’s cheaper then staying a days in
I’m wondering if they checked their IDs there are more than a handful Canadians swimming for Sarasota. It is good form to allow international athletes but let’s hope no one is taking advantage to train at this facility.
I am very surprised Summer was permitted to train at the OTC for such a long stint; Do non-American citizens pay to access that facility? My understanding is it’s essentially free for carded USA athletes? If the mission statement of the OTC is to improve odds of Americans winning medals at the Olympics, this sure seems to accomplish the opposite.
I think athletes all over the world in many sports travel to the OTC for occasional training, which certainly aligns with the mission of the Olympics itself!
Yep, athletes from anywhere can train at the OTC – for a fee.
Couldn’t find a line item in the USOPC financials for it. I’m sure the OTC doesn’t turn a profit, but would love to know how much of an offset this is.
$90 / day for USA athletes. $125 / day for international athletes. USAS National team athletes are free. Not sure how other sports work.
Right, I found the fee, but I’m curious what the total take is.
Braden, do you know why not more Americans are using Flagstaff for altitude training? since it is so popular for foreign athletes. In both swimming and track and field also
Hope they check their ID’s otherwise we will have another surprise like Ilya Kharun.
Not sure if you know this, but you don’t have to be a US citizen to get an American-issued ID.
What I was trying to say it’s that I hope they are honest and disclosing they are not Americans even though they swim for an American Team and train for free at this Center.
“If the mission statement of the OTC is to improve odds of Americans winning medals at the Olympics, this sure seems to accomplish the opposite.”
No, they almost succeeded when Summer tried to climb the Pikes Peak staircase, but she survived the ambush!
Known better as “The Incline” – starts in Manitou Springs, ascends the ties of an abandoned cog railway, approx 2000 ft in about 0.9 miles.
Not sure why so many down votes. Its a legit question. I wonder if US swimmers might be able to do the same at the Canadian high performance facilities. My guess is no (but I’m not sure). I was wondering the advantage for the US but someone above had a great answer in that our athletes get to train with the best.
International athletes use the high performance facilities in Australia but I don’t know what conditions and costs apply. There are also international athletes training in high performance programs in Australia.
The best athletes train where the best go.
The downvotes is because everyone is sick of the yawning isolationism that is threatening global stability.
But I digress.
University of Toronto’s varsity has international athletes including Americans on it, and they train at the HPC pool, so I guess that answers your question.
A lot of good replies here that shifted my thinking concerning the importance of reciprocity, but this one is misinformation. UofT does not train at the TPASC, it’s a 30-60 minute drive from UofT campus depending on time of day. Intentional lie, or are you just not Canadian and leapt to that conclusion?