I just saw this article "Swimmer’s death leaves open questions":
"Asked if he’d ever try the event, US swimmer Michael Phelps said, “Not a chance, no way. I won’t do open water.’’
I'm a bit surprised. Is he scared of the dangers of open water? Or is he technically competitive in open water? :rolleyes: Have there been any swimmers who won both pool medal and open-water medal in world events?
Most of the top open water swimmers in the world are also competitive in races from the 400 IM to the 1500 freestyle in the pool - and many pool swimmers are competitive in the open water. However, in this age of specialization we may never see the likes of another Greta Andersen - or even a David Davies. However, Olympic 10K Marathon Swim pre-race medal favorites like Keri-Anne Payne and Cassandra Patten are very competitive in their pool events (200 IM, 400 IM, 800 free) as are swimmers like Chloe Sutton (400 and 800 free) and pro marathon swimmers like Thomas Lurz (1500) and Spyridon Giannoitis (finalist in the 400 and 1500 frees). In the US, there are swimmers like Andrew Gemmell and several others (Chloe Sutton) who must make hard choices as to what their priorities will be - especially as these young open water swimmers mature and get faster and closer to qualifying for the Olympics in both the pool and open water. But, it is my guess that it will be very difficult for someone to medal in both the pool and open water at the same Olympics. However, when I think of the potential to achieving this goal, I think someone like Chloe Sutton has it. Michael Phelps proved that a great athlete can do 8 great races in a short time at the Olympics, so I would not put it past Chloe - or some of the other aquatic athletes at the highest echelon - to have 2 perfect races in a short time period at the Olympics. In fact, the schedule and course at the 2012 London Olympics is nearly ideal (as ideal as can be expected) for someone to pull off this feat. There is enough time between the pool and open water races at the Olympics to recover; however, how does one train for both? Plus, the qualification process to get into the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim is much more difficult than it is for a pool swimmer. I was planning to write a full analysis of all the top swimmers as we get closer to the qualification races this summer.
Most of the top open water swimmers in the world are also competitive in races from the 400 IM to the 1500 freestyle in the pool - and many pool swimmers are competitive in the open water. However, in this age of specialization we may never see the likes of another Greta Andersen - or even a David Davies. However, Olympic 10K Marathon Swim pre-race medal favorites like Keri-Anne Payne and Cassandra Patten are very competitive in their pool events (200 IM, 400 IM, 800 free) as are swimmers like Chloe Sutton (400 and 800 free) and pro marathon swimmers like Thomas Lurz (1500) and Spyridon Giannoitis (finalist in the 400 and 1500 frees). In the US, there are swimmers like Andrew Gemmell and several others (Chloe Sutton) who must make hard choices as to what their priorities will be - especially as these young open water swimmers mature and get faster and closer to qualifying for the Olympics in both the pool and open water. But, it is my guess that it will be very difficult for someone to medal in both the pool and open water at the same Olympics. However, when I think of the potential to achieving this goal, I think someone like Chloe Sutton has it. Michael Phelps proved that a great athlete can do 8 great races in a short time at the Olympics, so I would not put it past Chloe - or some of the other aquatic athletes at the highest echelon - to have 2 perfect races in a short time period at the Olympics. In fact, the schedule and course at the 2012 London Olympics is nearly ideal (as ideal as can be expected) for someone to pull off this feat. There is enough time between the pool and open water races at the Olympics to recover; however, how does one train for both? Plus, the qualification process to get into the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim is much more difficult than it is for a pool swimmer. I was planning to write a full analysis of all the top swimmers as we get closer to the qualification races this summer.
