Foreign swimmers training in the U.S.

Former Member
Former Member
There has been a lot of discussion since Athens about foreign swimmers training in the United States. Most of them attend U.S. Universities, receive athletic scholarships, and compete at NCAA's. Some notable examples include Duje Draganja (Cal), Fred Bousquet and Kirsty Coventry (Auburn), Markus Rogan (Stanford), and the South African sprinters (Arizona). Some train in the U.S., but don't compete for a university (Inge de Bruijn). All of these athletes benefit from U.S. coaching, from training with U.S. swimmers, and in some cases, from financial support provided by U.S. entities (athletic scholarships). They all turn around and then win medals for other countries. A couple questions: 1) What do you think about this arrangement generally? 2) Is it of benefit or detriment to U.S. swimming to have these foreign athletes training and competing here? 3) Should we be giving athletic scholarships, which are a scarce resource in swimming, to foreign athletes who will represent their own countries internationally instead of U.S.-born swimmers who will represent us internationally? I'm sure there are other issues, but these come directly to mind.
Parents
  • Originally posted by ande Granted Gary's one of the most talented swimmers who's ever graced our sport, but I believe he didn't swim as fast as he could have if he trained harder and more consistently and that's the shame of it. That's a little self righteous, don't you think? C'mon now, he's a gold medalist and by your own admission one of the greatest swimmers of all time. He's turned his sport into a career, advocates for diabetes, etc, etc, etc. There's no shame in anything he has done. What does he have left to prove? Could MJ have won a seventh title if he hadn't played baseball? Yes, probably, what a shame!
Reply
  • Originally posted by ande Granted Gary's one of the most talented swimmers who's ever graced our sport, but I believe he didn't swim as fast as he could have if he trained harder and more consistently and that's the shame of it. That's a little self righteous, don't you think? C'mon now, he's a gold medalist and by your own admission one of the greatest swimmers of all time. He's turned his sport into a career, advocates for diabetes, etc, etc, etc. There's no shame in anything he has done. What does he have left to prove? Could MJ have won a seventh title if he hadn't played baseball? Yes, probably, what a shame!
Children
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