Olympic pool swimmers and open-water swimming?

I'm not sure but didn't Grant Hackett try out for the Oz 10k team but not make it?

It is complicated and posted in detail at www.openwatersource.com/olympic-10k-marathon-swim.html. The purpose to have this qualification process is to enable as many countries as possible to qualify its swimmers for the Olympic final. In 2008, there were 23 countries represented among the 25 female finalists and 24 countries represented among the 25 male finalists in Beijing.

Plus, the qualification process to get into the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim is much more difficult than it is for a pool swimmer. The qualification process for a pool swimmer is brutal. I don't know the qualification process for the 10K. Could you please explain it? Thanks!

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.

Steven Munatones is probably the best person to answer this question. That said, off the top of my head the best recent examples would probably be: - David Davies (UK) - 1500m bronze medalist (2004 Olympics and 2005 Worlds), and also 10K O.W. silver medalist (2008 Olympics). - Chloe Sutton (USA) - 5K O.W. bronze medalist (2008 Worlds), and currently ranked 3rd in the world in the 400 Free (and gold medalist @ Pan Pacs) World class in open water and almost-but-not-quite world class in the pool? That's a bit more common: Mark Warkentin, Chip Peterson, Alex Meyer, Fran Crippen (all USA), as well as Petar Stoychev (Bulgaria) and Thomas Lurz (Germany). As for Phelps, he probably just doesn't have the appetite for it. To be great in open water, I think you really need to love it, and at least tolerate all the challenges that it entails (rough water, cold/hot temperatures, jellyfish, physical jostling). Speed and endurance are necessary but not sufficient. Video of David Davies at Beijing 2008 Olympics www.olympic.org/swimming-marathon-10km-men

Video of David Davies at Beijing 2008 Olympics www.olympic.org/swimming-marathon-10km-men I hadn't seen this... wow - they're booking!

The rate of turnover is truly outstanding for a race of this distance. I love watching open water. As a pool swimmer I am always amazed by the open water competitors Thanks for posting that - I'd been looking for video of that race forever (though, I wish they'd shown more than just a few minutes). There's also a video of the Women's 10K on that same site - definitely worth watching. If you're interested, I measured the stroke rates in both races over in another thread. I agree - they're incredible athletes.

I hadn't seen this... wow - they're booking! The rate of turnover is truly outstanding for a race of this distance. I love watching open water. As a pool swimmer I am always amazed by the open water competitors To the original post... shorter pool races are often won on the dive, turns and breakouts. None of these skills have any value in open water racing. In Beijing Phelps completely dominated the 200 free to win the Gold www.olympic.org/swimming but take a look at how much he gained on his dive, breakout, and spectacular turns.

Thanks for posting that - I'd been looking for video of that race forever (though, I wish they'd shown more than just a few minutes). There's also a video of the Women's 10K on that same site - definitely worth watching. If you're interested, I measured the stroke rates in both races over in another thread. I agree - they're incredible athletes. I found another video of Davies but this time in a pool, take a look at it and compare. www.olympic.org/swimming-1500m-freestyle-men

To the original post... shorter pool races are often won on the dive, turns and breakouts. None of these skills have any value in open water racing. In Beijing Phelps completely dominated the 200 free to win the Gold www.olympic.org/swimming but take a look at how much he gained on his dive, breakout, and spectacular turns. There are no caveats or "buts" to Phelps' swimming, or any Olympic swimmer. They are great swimmers. Just because Phelps doesn't want to do OW doesn't mean if he did he would suck. He'd still be one to beat.