UVA Freshman Standout David King: “I hadn’t doubled or lifted coming into this year”

At the 2024 Tennessee Invite, Virginia 1st-year David King showed out, clocking best times in the 500 free (4:16.30) and 200 free (1:33.19) before taking the win in the 200 back Super Final (1:39.82), also a PB. King, a native of Charlottesville, had grown up training with Gary Taylor at the local YMCA. Taylor is now in his first season as a UVA Associate head coach and still working with King.

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captain bubbles
1 day ago

Ok, I no longer understand high school swimming. Kids are going sub-4:20 in 500 WITHOUT doubles??!!

Tani
Reply to  captain bubbles
1 day ago

It’s wild!!! I do like what another commenter said about staving off burnout, smart!

joe
1 day ago

Is this Heilman club team? Surprised they never did doubles

Tree man
Reply to  joe
1 day ago

Yes. I believe they do run doubles. I guess he just didn’t go to them

Admin
Reply to  joe
1 day ago

Yep same club.

HOO love
Reply to  joe
1 day ago

https://swimswam.com/swimming-phenom-thomas-heilman-breaks-13-nag-records-in-11-days/ thomas said in 01/2022 that he did not do weights or doubles either

Long Strokes
1 day ago

And that’s how it should be! Stop grinding these high school kids down to nothing or else they’ll burn out in college. Ryan Lochte said he would have fun-day Fridays on his club team and look at his decorated career.

mikeh
Reply to  Long Strokes
1 day ago

I agree this is desirable when possible. However not all young swimmers are equally gifted. Some require heavier training during high school to get that slot on a good team. That said I applaud this young man’s coaches. They could have added a lot of extra work to their phenom, probably produced some amaing times that would have increased the coach’s status and the program’s popularity. But instead they realized he could make UVA with his more limited program, and they deferred his prime until college. The swimmer benefits.

SwimGod
2 days ago

Noah Nichols and Tim Connery appear to no longer be on UVA men’s roster…..

PFA
Reply to  SwimGod
1 day ago

Looks like several swimmers who had another year left are no longer on the roster Max Iida is also no longer in the roster

bobthebuilderrocks
Reply to  PFA
1 day ago

This is strange

Expat Swimmer
Reply to  SwimGod
1 day ago

Nichols seems especially surprising. He’s had a lot of success the last couple years.

Long Strokes
Reply to  Expat Swimmer
1 day ago

They both still have UVAswim in their bios on Instagram. Strange.

Cassandra
Reply to  SwimGod
1 day ago

inch resting… looking at last years roster, that brings it up to 6 guys not returning — Noah Nichols, Tim Connery, Jack Berube, Patrick Gilhool, Kamal Muhammad, Max Iida (former 2 particularly strange bc they ended up swimming this past semester and figured to be key cogs this upcoming semester)

the uva men (uncharacteristically) showed signs of life at their midseason invite, which i assumed was due to recent coaching changes and potentially increased standards — might that also be why so many guys are not returning?

LawHoo
Reply to  SwimGod
1 day ago

Any way there’s some sort of IT mix up? Nichols is shocking – he looked good in TN and has a lot of connections to the team (dating Alex Walsh). Connery not so much…he hasn’t competed since the Florida meet (and didn’t swim well there).

Tani
2 days ago

How interesting to not have lifted or done doubles before his college years. Lots of raw talent.

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