Heres the scoop. I've been swimming for about 3 years now. My best times (scy) are as follows:
500 free 5:13.something
200 free 157.something else
100 free 52.8
50 free 24.38
100 fly 59.7
I swim between 20,000 and 30,000 yards/week now. I'm 20 years old, (male). 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? I would expect to train between 2 and 3 hours/day. 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.
Heres the scoop. I've been swimming for about 3 years now. My best times (scy) are as follows:
500 free 5:13.something
200 free 157.something else
100 free 52.8
50 free 24.38
100 fly 59.7
I swim between 20,000 and 30,000 yards/week now. I'm 20 years old, (male). 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? I would expect to train between 2 and 3 hours/day. 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.
I think you have got to get a coach who will customize your workouts to help you reach your goals! A good coach will have experience on how to train you to improve faster. You may need to decide on one to two events to specialize in. Training for the 100 free differs tremendously on how you would train for the 500! In my opinion you need to really concentrate your efforts on either sprinting or distance training to get the maximum results. Good luck!
It is possible but it takes great coaching and a lot of personal desire and talent.
By way of example, 5 year ago my son (age 15) after swimming for 2 years was swimming the 500 in 5:20, the 200 in 1:58 and the 100 in 56. Today (age 20) he is 4:29, 1:37 and 45 (hoping to be 4:25, 1:35 and 44 next month with a shave and taper). He is close to trial cuts in the each of these and plans to get the cuts this summer. So 6 years to go from 5:20 or 5:13 to a trial cut is not impossible.
Work with your coach, share your goals, and as Tracy said enjoy the journey.
Rob,
That is incredible! I've enjoyed watching his times. Your son must work extremely hard to improve that much in that small an amount of time. Good luck to him and his goal of reaching Olympic Trials. I think he'll do it!
Rob, congrats on your sons incredible times. Where does he swim for?
Yes, Noah swims for Georgia Tech. They just wrapped up the dual season and are getting set for ACC's Feb 21-24 at Chapel Hill, N.C. I'm not sure how far UNCW is from Chapel Hill, but it may be worth the trip to see some fast swims.
Beth, thanks for your kind comments. I am very proud of his accomplishments in the pool, in the classroom and in life.
Yes, Noah swims for Georgia Tech. They just wrapped up the dual season and are getting set for ACC's Feb 21-24 at Chapel Hill, N.C. I'm not sure how far UNCW is from Chapel Hill, but it may be worth the trip to see some fast swims.
Beth, thanks for your kind comments. I am very proud of his accomplishments in the pool, in the classroom and in life.
Yup, the young Copeland is quite an impressive swimmer. I had the chance to watch his 4:29 last year and meet his proud father last year when ACCs were at UMD.
I don't go to UNCW right now, I'm going to Cape Fear. It is a community college, so no swim team. However I have lots of friends that swim for UNCW and am pretty good friends with the coach (Todd Desorbo). There is another guy, Dave Sokolofsky, who swam for UNCW but is now graduated. He coaches the age group team at the YMCA, where I swim. I plan on working with Todd and Dave and during the off season swimming with the UNCW team. 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. Again, I really appreciate all of the encouraging replies. Even the not so encouraging ones because that makes me want to do it even more. Rob, congrats on your sons incredible times. Where does he swim for?
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??
Shaving 10 seconds in 100 is quite a jump. Your current speed is pretty remarkable considering you've been swimming for 3 years. 52 is a good time, but I can assure you that each .5 second drop from this point on will become exponentially harder. I certainly would not discourage you from trying, pretty much anyting is possible if you believe without a doubt it is possible, you have to know in your heart it is possible. Just keep in mind that thousands and thousands of swimmers who have been bred to win and competing since they were in grade school will not make it to the Olympic trials. It would be a pretty big jump for someone who started @ age 17. Not impossible, but not probable. Especially if you are talking US Olympic trials.
Heres the scoop. I've been swimming for about 3 years now. My best times (scy) are as follows:
500 free 5:13.something
200 free 157.something else
100 free 52.8
50 free 24.38
100 fly 59.7
I swim between 20,000 and 30,000 yards/week now. I'm 20 years old, (male). 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? I would expect to train between 2 and 3 hours/day. 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.
Take the advice of the many coaches and others on this thread as far as getting a coach and training. Then GO FOR IT!!!! If you don't, you will always wonder if you could have done it.:agree: :agree:
No technical advice (not qualified to offer that), but just this: if it's something you really, really want to do, go for it. I had a much more modest goal as a runner when I first began running: to qualify for Boston in my age group. It took me until my fourth marathon to do it (I'm not gifted with natural speed, but I'm very, very stubborn.) ;) In the process, I became a much better runner than had I set no such goal. If you do it, recognize and be proud of the milestones along the way. The journey teaches a lot! You'll have days when you're discouraged, days when you're on top of the world. You'll have days when you want to kick all kickboards into the city dump. And days when you can't wait for the next workout. All good. All part of the process! Win or lose, may the time yield rich memories!
I wish you success in your goal!
