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.
I remember warming up at 1991 Big Tens in Indy and Mike Barrowman was in my lane. I was trying to just do some easy free, but he was doing *** behind me and was right on my feet! I had to speed up, of course. You can't let a breaststroker pass you when you're doing free--even if it is Mike Barrowman :)
I remember warming up at 1991 Big Tens in Indy and Mike Barrowman was in my lane. I was trying to just do some easy free, but he was doing *** behind me and was right on my feet! I had to speed up, of course. You can't let a breaststroker pass you when you're doing free--even if it is Mike Barrowman :)
