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.
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  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Originally posted by ande gary's olympic dominance, it's true he won the 50 free but only by 1/100th of a second. I'll be surprised if he wins in 2008. 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. ande I don't care what his MARGIN of victory is gold medals are gold medals. Also, don't believe everything you read about Gary's training. I watched him and the sprint team train in 2000. Although their methods were unique to say the least, they trained to race and race only. Gary is the best RACER I have seen in my lifetime. When it matters, he is ready to go. I also know that as he has aged and dealt with Type II Diabetes, so who knows how hard he can actually train due to his illness. Like it or not (and I don't because I don't have his talent!), he has dominated at the highest level of our sport for many years now. I don't care what "the margin of victory" was. To state he could go faster if he trained harder is complete hyperbole.
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  • Former Member
    Former Member
    Originally posted by ande gary's olympic dominance, it's true he won the 50 free but only by 1/100th of a second. I'll be surprised if he wins in 2008. 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. ande I don't care what his MARGIN of victory is gold medals are gold medals. Also, don't believe everything you read about Gary's training. I watched him and the sprint team train in 2000. Although their methods were unique to say the least, they trained to race and race only. Gary is the best RACER I have seen in my lifetime. When it matters, he is ready to go. I also know that as he has aged and dealt with Type II Diabetes, so who knows how hard he can actually train due to his illness. Like it or not (and I don't because I don't have his talent!), he has dominated at the highest level of our sport for many years now. I don't care what "the margin of victory" was. To state he could go faster if he trained harder is complete hyperbole.
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