Lessons from the Olympic Games
By John Leonard
Originally published on SwimmingCoach.org
While watching the Sydney Olympic Games in September of 2000, 10 clear messages came through for swimmers and teams at all levels.
Anyone can win, Anyone can lose, Swim The Race.
"Unbeatable" athletes regularly were beaten by athletes with less impressive track records from the past Monumentally, Misty Hyman defeated Susie O’Neill in the 200 fly, a race that Susie had not lost for over 7 years, and in which she had set a world record that broke the "unbreakable" record of
Mary T. Meagher. Incidentally, Misty broke Mary T’s old record also.
Secondarily, young Ian Thorpe, pre-ordained a double gold medal winner, lost his signature event to
A Dutchman, in the 200 free. He did win the 400 free.
Both Thorpe and O’Neill are wonderful, great athletes and class acts. But anyone can be beaten.
Swim the Race, don’t give it up beforehand.
Don’t over swim the first half of any relay swim, keep your cool, get your hand on the wall first at the end of the race.
Witness the USA Men’s 400 Free Relay on the first day of the games when each American led at the 50 and was overhauled by his counterpart on the Aussie team at the end of each 100. Both teams went under the world record, but the Aussies won with great 2nd 50’s. This is not a car race, there is no "lap money" at stake. Ian Thorpe left the blocks a body length ahead of Gary Hall. He was BEHIND Hall a body length at the 50. He took the lead back from Hall 6 inches from the wall and won the race and Set Australia on Fire. And Hall took a final breath inside the final flags. Give Hall credit. Later in the meet he got better and got revenge.
Great Finishes Count. Practice Them.
Peter Van den Hogenband out-touched Thorpe in the 200 free. If Ian finishes with his head down as he touches the wall instead of head up, eyes on the wall, he wins and is a legend. He doesn’t and is still an "unfulfilled" legend in waiting.
The night before, Thorpe out-touched Gary Hall.
Megan Quann won the 100 Breast at the wall on a touch over her Australian rival.
And on and on. At this level of meet, starts turns and finishes magnify in importance.
(Remember Matt Biondi’s 100 fly finish in Seoul. Anthony Nesty is a gold medallist thanks to Matt’s mistake and his own fine finish.)
Put Yourself In Position To Win.
Faint hearts won no gold medals.
Winners were in the race all the way. Maybe not leading early but in the race all the way.
Good athletes don’t let competitors come from "way back" to win. At the Games, they’ll ALL good athletes. Note: Brooke Bennett leading from the gun in the 400/800 Gold Medal double.
Note: Diana Munz’s gutsy silver medal in the 400, where she stayed very close and then finished like a banshee on the last 100.
Note: Tom Dolan – aggressive, determined start to his 400 IM Gold Medal and World Record.
Go for it. Don’t hesitate.
Be Generous in Defeat. Then get determined not to have to do it again!
Ian Thorpe and Susie O’Neill were terrific when they were beaten. They congratulated their opponents repeatedly and repeated that the "best athlete won today". It made them famously popular and took the sting out of the media in a country noted for its tough media folks. Then they came back and had good swims later in the meet.
Gary Hall was classic. His famously ill-advised comment that the USA Relay team would smash the Australian’s "like guitars" came back to haunt him big time when the Aussies and Ian Thorpe kicked his butt in the relay. Afterwards the Aussies celebrated with some substantial "air-guitar play" that had to sting Gary. But Gary handled it well, telling the media that the air-guitar stuff was all in good fun and "not offensive at all". Then he went to work and beat Australia’s best in the 100 Free later in the week, and wrapped up is week with a magnificent win the 50 Free, to silence his Australian critics.
Aussies won the gold medal in the relay, Klim set his world record 100 free leading it off, and got to play air guitar on the front page of every paper in the country, but Hall beat him in the individual 100 and won an individual Gold Medal in the 50, something Klim is still looking to achieve.
Be generous in defeat. Then get revenge and be generous again.
Swim for Your Team.
The Aussie 400 and 800 Relay Teams and the American 400 Medley team as well as the three American Women’s Relays were something to see. The team aspect of our sport is the emotional
Glue that binds. Don’t miss the opportunity to experience it with your team. Together Everyone Achieves More. No doubt.
Stroke Technique is Everything.
Every winner looked fantastic. Fast swimmers start well, turn well, and swim beautifully. Stroke work is clearly the key to world-class performance. Thorpe, Hall, Krayzelburg, etc. for the men, and de Bruijn, Thompson, Moravcova, Quann, et al. For the ladies….they all had technique. There is no substitute.
Eight Days is a Long Meet.
The hot team and hot individuals at the beginning were not the hot teams and individuals at the end.
Can one hold a taper for 8 days?
Grant Hackett was not brilliant and overwork was suspected early in the week. By the 8th day, he was good enough to earn his gold medal.
The Aussies in general started well, and faded. The USA got better and better as the meet progressed.
How to solve this? What if you have, like Hackett, events early and events late?
A big technical problem, which the FINA "Technical Committee" made up of officials, not coaches, clearly did not recognize. We need an "Officials Committee" and a "Technical Committee" made up of the Coaches Commission members. Politics do affect reality in the pool.
Throwing Money at the Sport Does Not Ensure Gold Medals.
Witness Australia and England. Huge amounts of cash, below expected results.
USA, with one of the lowest per capita expenditures of money in the world from the standpoint of cash spent by the federation, dominated.
Great athletes working in close coordination with dedicated, single-focused, enthusiastic coaches still wins medals. That’s something you can’t always buy.
That said, cash will keep some dedicated athletes around the sport longer than previously, and in some cases, they continue to improve. Witness and congratulate Josh Davis, whose 200 free was a huge improvement on his previous best time and a New American Record and renewed respect for American 200 freestylers.
Aussie Crowds are the most knowledgeable swimming fans in the World!
And our thanks for arguably the finest swim meet in history! Media coverage was unprecedented.
Friendly rivalries were everywhere and compelling drama, and once again, the Athletes saved the Olympic Games.
Used by permission. Original article found at http://www.swimmingcoach.org/articles/leonard09262000.asp