I was able to watch some of the swimming from the Olympics while attending the Long Course Nationals in Savannah - GREAT meet by the way- and although I was impressed by many of the swims, I couldn't help but wonder if the trials were held too close to the Games and as a result compromised the taper of the US swimmers?
The competition at the trials was fierce. Many world records were set. Many had the swim of their lives at trials (I was lucky enough to attend several sessions). But there was only one month after trials until the games. For that elite level it seems to me that many of the swimmers would be into a four week taper following the trials. But inorder to swim their best to make the team in Long Beach, they would have had to taper for trials. Look at Brendan Hansen with two world records or come from nowhere Katie Hoff.
My understanding is that if you hit your taper you can expect (about) a 2% drop in time. Did anyone do that in Athens? My question is why do we have trials so close to the Games? Seems to me we should have had trials two or three months before the Games.
Any comments?:)
Parents
Former Member
The introduction to the chapter on tapering in Swimming Fastest has this to say:
Presently, more mystique than fact surrounds tapering procedures. Only in the last decade have researchers conducted a significant number of studies on tapering. As a result we are beginning to know more about the physiological reactions associated with tapering. Still, the exact nature of the physiological changes that result in better performance after a taper continues to be a mystery.
Strangely, the book doesn't seem to address the question of how long peak conditioning can be maintained. Could someone who set a world record at trials be "maintained" in that state through to the Olympics rather than going through another training cycle?
The introduction to the chapter on tapering in Swimming Fastest has this to say:
Presently, more mystique than fact surrounds tapering procedures. Only in the last decade have researchers conducted a significant number of studies on tapering. As a result we are beginning to know more about the physiological reactions associated with tapering. Still, the exact nature of the physiological changes that result in better performance after a taper continues to be a mystery.
Strangely, the book doesn't seem to address the question of how long peak conditioning can be maintained. Could someone who set a world record at trials be "maintained" in that state through to the Olympics rather than going through another training cycle?
