Olympic Trials 2012

My question is, do you think that with the right training and work ethic I could make a cut for the Olympic Trials in 2012? Not a chance. But I'd love you to prove me wrong.

Never say never. You would have to work extremely hard to improve that much in that small an amount of time. You will need an excellent coach that knows how to maximize your workout time if you are only working out 2-3 hours a day. I believe most Olympic level swimmers workout 4-5 hours a day plus dryland exercises and weights. You will have to be very consistent, dedicated and determined to reach your goal.... early to bed, eat right, train right and TRAIN HARD for the next 7 years to reach that level of swimming. Are you willing to do all that? If so, I say go for it! It is better to try and fail than to never try and always wonder, "What if...?"! GO FOR IT!:applaud:

Just to put things into perspective...not that I am any judge as to how fast someone can progress or how far someone can progress--but if you embark on this trip...I'll root you on, and maybe even set some more lofty goals for myself as well! Qualifying times for the Olympic trials are in long course meter:: 400freestyle: 3:59.99 -->your time 5:13.00 converts to a 4:43.26 200freestyle: 1:52.89 -->your time 1:57.50 converts to a 2:15.84 100freestyle: 51.59 -->your time 52.8 converts to a 1:01.18 50freestyle:23.49 -->your time 24.38 converts to a 28.35 100butterfly: 55.59 -->your time 59.7 converts to a 1:08.78 Oh...one last thing...these times are for the 2008 Olympics...I would venture to guess that the times for the 2012 Olympics may be slightly faster.

take it one step at a time. First get a masters top 10 time win an event at masters nationals qulify for a big national meet do very well at a national meet qulify for olympic trails

I know it may sound a little crazy given my times now but I believe that with 6 years to do it, I can. My goal would be to qualify for the 100,200, or 500 free. You will never know success or failure if you don't try. Go for it while you have the youth and freedom of time.

take it one step at a time. First get a masters top 10 time win an event at masters nationals qulify for a big national meet do very well at a national meet qulify for olympic trails all of these are goals that i will have but the main goal will be trials 2012

Just to put things into perspective...not that I am any judge as to how fast someone can progress or how far someone can progress--but if you embark on this trip...I'll root you on, and maybe even set some more lofty goals for myself as well! Qualifying times for the Olympic trials are in long course meter:: 400freestyle: 3:59.99 -->your time 5:13.00 converts to a 4:43.26 200freestyle: 1:52.89 -->your time 1:57.50 converts to a 2:15.84 100freestyle: 51.59 -->your time 52.8 converts to a 1:01.18 50freestyle:23.49 -->your time 24.38 converts to a 28.35 100butterfly: 55.59 -->your time 59.7 converts to a 1:08.78 Oh...one last thing...these times are for the 2008 Olympics...I would venture to guess that the times for the 2012 Olympics may be slightly faster. Here is a little math I did Considering that these conversions are correct, here is the amount of time I would need to improve over the next 6 years (if the qualifying time do not change, which I'm sure they will :blah:) 400/500, I would need to improve a total of 43.27 seconds, which comes out to about 5.41 seconds per 50 200, 22.95 seconds total improvement, 5.74 sec. faster per 50 100 (free), 9.59 seconds total improvement, 4.8 seconds faster per 50 50, 4.86 seconds total improvement According to this, as of right now I am closest to my goal in the 100 free. It needs the least improvement per 50 (4.8 seconds) to get the qualifying time. Would you all agree with me on this or is it wrong because it's easier to improve in a longer event than it is a short one??

anything's possible!

I'll be totally blunt with you, you need a coach now. If you go as long as you can without a coach (and given your goal) you are wasting your own time. I gotta say I agree with Geek, tburk and others. You MUST have a coach. Does anyone know of people swimming at the trials levels who aren't well coached and taking advantage of every possible training edge? What's the old saying? A doctor who is his own patient is a fool ... Go for it, but don't go solo.

The only reason I would rather do it alone is because I know what I need to do. Swimming with a group of people is great for working out harder but I feel like the workouts are more generalized instead of tailored to my needs. I really believe a coach with experience might be better suited to help you get to your goals as opposed to doing it yourself. Being only 20, you will find a seasoned coach is going to have training options and you haven't even considered. Trying to do it totally on your own is a recipe for failure. I think Fortress' last comment was meant for Gull, in my opinion.