I was looking over the high school records and noticed one glaring disparity. The oldest record on the books is the boys public 500 yard free, set in 1983 by Jeff Kostoff at 4:16.39. The next oldest boys record is in 1991. The oldest girls record is the 100 fly set in 1996 by Misty Hyman. Any ideas as to why that one has stood for so long?
www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/.../USA_High_School_Records.pdf
Every now and then a swimming publication will write about the hardest workers of all time in practice and often Kostoff ends up #1. I remember Swimming World once reporting a few of his remarkable sets. My memory is foggy but one was doing either 3 or 4 x 5000 yard swims on 50 minutes with the last one descended into the 46+ minute range. I think he *only* did three of them but maybe it was four. Another set was 10x400 IM on 4:20 (scy). While at Stanford his coach had him do 3x1650 on the NCAA cut. I think that was before "A" and "B" cuts so whatever the cut was that year in school, that was his interval. I also heard he did cross country (running) at Stanford and was amazingly fast in a 10k, so obviously he had the cardio thing going for him.
I think Phelps went around 4:18 when he was a junior in high school but turned Pro before his senior year so never was eligible to go for the record.
I'm sure Skip Thompson has far more details on some of Jeff's sets.
Jeff lives near me and was active in Masters swimming for a while. Here is a link to an interview with him by our LMSC newsletter editor many years ago:
artemis.crosslink.net/.../jeffintr.htm
Kostoff was definitely a beast. He was a hero of mine growing up and I remember reading about his accomplishment in Swimming World frequently in the mid '80s. Southern Cal was a real hotbed for distance swimming in those days. Mission Viejo had lots of great distance swimmers, but Kostoff chose to train at Industry Hills instead. Interestingly, he made the U.S. Olympic team in both 1984 and 1988 in the 400 IM, but never a freestyle event.
Kostoff also still holds the record for the 3,000 yard swim for 18 year olds with a 27:39.81. You break that down and it's holding 3x1000 at a 9:13 average, or 30x100 at around 55.
Jeff lives near me and was active in Masters swimming for a while. Here is a link to an interview with him by our LMSC newsletter editor many years ago:
artemis.crosslink.net/.../jeffintr.htm
Cool interview, thanks for the link! Hopefully he returns to masters swimming some day.
Hopefully he returns to masters swimming some day.
That would be way cool. Everything I ever heard, read about the guy was that he was a training animal. I remember doing a dual meet with him in the 1000 during my freshman or sophomore year in college; I'd like to say I raced him, but I was merely in the same pool. It was very humbling swimming a decent time (for me) and still get lapped.
OP here: while continuing to surf on this issue I dug up some info on a set I was unaware of. Has anyone ever heard of this set Joe Hudepohl did?
en.wikipedia.org/.../Joe_Hudepohl
From the Jeff Kostoff interview:
Q: Have you heard that caffeine can enhance your swimming performance?
A: Oh yes. It releases free-floating fatty acids, slows the depletion of glycogen stores, stimulates the Central Nervous System and raises the pulse rate and blood pressure. I don't drink coffee while training - only before a race.
Well, there's at least one thing we have in common... :anim_coffee:
OP here: while continuing to surf on this issue I dug up some info on a set I was unaware of. Has anyone ever heard of this set Joe Hudepohl did?
en.wikipedia.org/.../Joe_Hudepohl
Just a wee bit of editorializing in that entry :D. I've never heard of the "Hudepohl set" but it looks to me like a variation on a basic ladder set.
I remember the story - he was a big gun back in the early mand mid 90's. That set is crazy especially at the speed he did it. I'm surprised he didn't have more success individually in events.
It's a 7,200 yard or meter set, so the bit about "few people have ever finished..." the set is probably a little overblown. Maybe "making it" means making a 1:00/100 interval for the entire set? Yeah, that would be tough alright.
Hudepohl is the big name in Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati (mostly due to Hudephl Brewing Company). I have emailed a teammate of mine who is from the area and would have competed against this guy in high school to get the scoop on him. Will post if he ever replies.
