So I was watching the Spurs-Lakers game and Reggie Miller was talking about how Tim Duncan was in great shape, having one of his best seasons and that he had been back in the pool.
I knew he grew up a swimmer but apparently he was really good until a hurricane destroyed the one pool at his home in the Virgin Islands and so he had to quit around age 13.
I wasn't able to find anything more than that so would be interested in hearing more.
From Wikipedia: "...He was born and raised in Christiansted, a town on Saint Croix, one of the main islands composing the United States Virgin Islands. In school, Duncan was a bright pupil and dreamt of becoming an Olympic-level swimmer like his sister, Tricia. His parents were very supportive and Duncan excelled at swimming, becoming a teenage standout in the 50, 100 and 400 meters freestyle and aiming to make the 1992 Olympic Games as a member of the United States Team.
When Hurricane Hugo destroyed the island's only Olympic-sized swimming pool in 1989, Duncan was forced to swim in the ocean and he quickly lost his enthusiasm for swimming because of his fear of sharks. Duncan was dealt another emotional blow when his mother was diagnosed with *** cancer and died one day before his 14th birthday. In her last days, she made Duncan and his sisters promise to finish college with a degree, which would later explain Duncan's refusal to leave college early. Duncan never swam competitively again, but was inspired by his brother-in-law to turn to basketball..."
My hypothesis is that the best swimmers are on the basketball court. Explosive power, great strength, aerobic conditioning, monster vertical leaps - but little motivation (would you rather make millions versus what swimming pays..), opportunity (cheaper to build and maintain a court as opposed to a swimming pool) and no mentors or coaches.
If an average NBA athlete decided to swim competitively (had the burning desire) and got national team support and coaching, I think the men's 100 free WR would be some where south of 44 seconds.
Just my 2 pesos.
From Wikipedia: "...He was born and raised in Christiansted, a town on Saint Croix, one of the main islands composing the United States Virgin Islands. In school, Duncan was a bright pupil and dreamt of becoming an Olympic-level swimmer like his sister, Tricia. His parents were very supportive and Duncan excelled at swimming, becoming a teenage standout in the 50, 100 and 400 meters freestyle and aiming to make the 1992 Olympic Games as a member of the United States Team.
When Hurricane Hugo destroyed the island's only Olympic-sized swimming pool in 1989, Duncan was forced to swim in the ocean and he quickly lost his enthusiasm for swimming because of his fear of sharks. Duncan was dealt another emotional blow when his mother was diagnosed with *** cancer and died one day before his 14th birthday. In her last days, she made Duncan and his sisters promise to finish college with a degree, which would later explain Duncan's refusal to leave college early. Duncan never swam competitively again, but was inspired by his brother-in-law to turn to basketball..."
My hypothesis is that the best swimmers are on the basketball court. Explosive power, great strength, aerobic conditioning, monster vertical leaps - but little motivation (would you rather make millions versus what swimming pays..), opportunity (cheaper to build and maintain a court as opposed to a swimming pool) and no mentors or coaches.
If an average NBA athlete decided to swim competitively (had the burning desire) and got national team support and coaching, I think the men's 100 free WR would be some where south of 44 seconds.
Just my 2 pesos.
