Junior Swimming: The Phelps Effect

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Lander Eicholzer, Swimming World College Intern.

Junior Nationals serve as a crucial bridge to Olympic Trials and International competition for many of the nation’s top young swimmers. The quality of this year’s field, while diluted across two separate championships, proved exceptional. The United States has always benefited from a massive pool of talent and excellent coaching at all levels of the sport, making the continued success of USA Swimming a cultural phenomenon as much as an athletic one.

While junior swimmers do not break into international squads with the same regularity as in the days of people like Sippy Woodhead, young athletes still have shown the ability to redefine the sport time and again. Junior meets are getting faster and more competitive with each passing year, and this may be attributed to a shift in expectations. This is nothing new; in fact, it is inherent to organized competition. Achievements like Roger Bannister‘s sub-four minute mile and Bob Beamon‘s long jump in Mexico City are famous historical examples that altered expectations of human performance.

The growth of domestic swimming in the United States in the past 16 years may be attributed to one man: Michael Phelps. Many of the young swimmers competing at Junior Nationals this weekend can aptly be called the “Phelps Generation” with their involvement in the sport attributed to the “Phelps Effect”. These kids witnessed the arch of Phelps career broadcast globally from places like Melbourne, Beijing and London with an ease that had never been afforded to athletes before.

Comparisons of Phelps as swimming’s Michael Jordan are tired from a cultural and commercial standpoint. For Phelps, his success never rested on the back of endorsement deals. His work with Under Armor, Speedo, and later his own brand of apparel were always destined to be niche products that did enough to further his career. Phelps’ achievements have been almost singularly confined to his swimming feats. It’s almost impossible to discuss swimming today without acknowledging the impact of Phelps, but far easier to discuss basketball without mentioning Jordan. Today, Jordan’s empire is tied to shoe deals and other business ventures as much as his time on the court. Not so for Phelps.

Phelps redefined domination in swimming more than any swimmer in history, and the next generation are setting out with his image as the peak of performance. The odds that we will see another Phelps sooner rather than later are solid because of the cultural expectations he changed. With Phelps, there was a new kind of fast to aspire to. Katie Ledecky has already succeeded in making Janet Evans looking slow, challenging every swimmer to dream bigger than we ever thought possible. While the arrival of another Phelps may not appear imminent, Ledecky’s growth from young phenom to transcendent superstardom proves it is possible.

This weekend, Ryan Hoffer established himself as one of the best sprinters ever after posting an 18.71 in the 50 freestyle. Reagan Smith came close to a Missy Franklin national age group record in the 200 backstroke, set on Missy’s path to becoming the most dominant swimmer that event has ever seen. Alex Walsh showed off her versatility by scoring a breaststroke national age-group record after establishing herself as a backstroke star.

The brilliance of modern day swimming performances can be easily broadcast and immortalized through the Internet, something that was not possible before Phelps. It is due to the global reach of the Internet that the sport is more competitive than it has ever been. Race results are visible from anywhere with a connection to the web. While it is important to recognize the value of athletic feats in their own era, each generation adds to a collective narrative. For today’s swimmers, that conversation starts and ends with Phelps. With its current crop of promising swimmers, the United States looks poised to remain the most dominant swimming nation on the planet.

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

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Sandeep Vats

7 years ago

So sweet