Who is the best athlete you ever swam with?

Thought it would be neat to share our stories about the best athlete we ever swam with. Note that it is not necessarily the fastest or best swimmer we have trained with. The best athlete I ever trained with was a young man that showed up for my masters swim group. He was training to pass the test to be a Navy SEAL officer. Having graduated from a non-Naval Academy college, the standards for making the officers cut were tough. He was, however, a good prospect. With no prior competitive swim background, he was able to get his 500 yard sidestroke down to a 7:30 in a matter of a few months. However, this was not the main thing that impressed me. It was the times/scores on his practice tests which I helped time him on. Here is what he could do: 500 yard sidestroke swim: 7:30 8 minute rest 2 minutes of push-ups: # done was 112 2 minute rest 2 minutes of sit-ups: # done was 110 2 minute rest max number of pull-ups (palms facing away from body): 25 8 minute rest 1.5 mile run done in combat boots and long pants: 9:05. The guy was a machine. Speed, strength, endurance, and power. Doing 25 pull-ups shortly after a hard swim, pushups, and sit-ups was impressive! The young man decided not to pursue a career in the Navy but chose to stay near family. Last I heard he had started his own business and was doing well.
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  • I was fortunate to train with some outstanding swimmers in college. It's really hard to choose, but, for me, the "best swimming athletes" would need to be someone who was great all-around across strokes and distances. The two guys that stand out in my mind are Bill Stapleton ('88 Olympics) and Doug Gjertsen ('88 and '92 Olympics). These guys could compete in practically any event and hold their own with the elite in the country. Their versatility in collegiate dual meets was awesome. As far as athletes who can do more than swim, the people who impress me are the Ironman triathletes who can hold their own (or beat) experienced & fast swimmers on a 2.4m swim, then proceed to crank out a 112 mile bike and marathon run. I'm always humbled after a Saturday morning swim workout, when I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for having done about 5000 yards ... only to hear the Iron-guys in the locker room talk about the 30 mile "warm-up" ride they did before the swim workout and the 70 mile "training ride" they're about to head off on ... Oh yeah, and that's a light day for them. :bow:
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  • I was fortunate to train with some outstanding swimmers in college. It's really hard to choose, but, for me, the "best swimming athletes" would need to be someone who was great all-around across strokes and distances. The two guys that stand out in my mind are Bill Stapleton ('88 Olympics) and Doug Gjertsen ('88 and '92 Olympics). These guys could compete in practically any event and hold their own with the elite in the country. Their versatility in collegiate dual meets was awesome. As far as athletes who can do more than swim, the people who impress me are the Ironman triathletes who can hold their own (or beat) experienced & fast swimmers on a 2.4m swim, then proceed to crank out a 112 mile bike and marathon run. I'm always humbled after a Saturday morning swim workout, when I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for having done about 5000 yards ... only to hear the Iron-guys in the locker room talk about the 30 mile "warm-up" ride they did before the swim workout and the 70 mile "training ride" they're about to head off on ... Oh yeah, and that's a light day for them. :bow:
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