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 think we all need to decide what makes a great athlete. In my mind, an athlete is someone who has been blessed with unusual coordination, balance, speed, strength, explosive power, and endurance. Those blessed with these attributes are usually going to excel in several sports. Many coaches out there in many sports, swimming included, actually believe that you can measure a person's athletic potential by vertical jump alone.
For example, Cullen Jones has a vertical jump of 36 inches and was a talented basketball player. Thankfully for the United States, he gave it up at some point in high school to focus more on swimming.
I'm not a big believer in the vertical jump because many endurance-oriented athletes don't have a stellar vertical jump. These individuals certainly demonstrate athleticism in completing grueling events in impressive times.
Another athlete I admire is Bruce Gennari. He qualified for Olympic Trials in the 400 free in 1984 and 1988. In the last few years, he has been named USAT Triathlete of the Year and USAT Masters Triathlete of the Year.
A very nice, humble fellow, Bruce shows up for all the local races which makes my male friends cringe as it throws off their rankings. I've seen the guy cuise a 600 yard swim crushing the field and then look like he was out for an easy jog as he did the 5k on the end of the triathlon in 16 minutes. He is getting older now (I believe he is 42) but still going strong.
I think we all need to decide what makes a great athlete. In my mind, an athlete is someone who has been blessed with unusual coordination, balance, speed, strength, explosive power, and endurance. Those blessed with these attributes are usually going to excel in several sports. Many coaches out there in many sports, swimming included, actually believe that you can measure a person's athletic potential by vertical jump alone.
For example, Cullen Jones has a vertical jump of 36 inches and was a talented basketball player. Thankfully for the United States, he gave it up at some point in high school to focus more on swimming.
I'm not a big believer in the vertical jump because many endurance-oriented athletes don't have a stellar vertical jump. These individuals certainly demonstrate athleticism in completing grueling events in impressive times.
Another athlete I admire is Bruce Gennari. He qualified for Olympic Trials in the 400 free in 1984 and 1988. In the last few years, he has been named USAT Triathlete of the Year and USAT Masters Triathlete of the Year.
A very nice, humble fellow, Bruce shows up for all the local races which makes my male friends cringe as it throws off their rankings. I've seen the guy cuise a 600 yard swim crushing the field and then look like he was out for an easy jog as he did the 5k on the end of the triathlon in 16 minutes. He is getting older now (I believe he is 42) but still going strong.
