Swimming World August 2021 Presents – A Voice For The Sport: Already Looking Ahead – By Editor-in-Chief John Lohn

Voice For the Sport Tokyo Olympics pool

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The Swimming World August 2021 Issue Presents

A Voice For The Sport: Already Looking Ahead

By John Lohn

Missing it already? Have you started the countdown to Paris? Only a little more than 1,000 days this time around. Should be manageable. And remember, you were able to cope with a five-year gap between the Olympic closing ceremony in Rio de Janeiro and the launch of action in Tokyo. No, it was not fun. But you made it—COVID-19 be damned.

The Olympic Games just wrapped up, the Japanese capital enduring a one-year delay to serve as the centerpiece of the sporting world. It was an Olympiad unlike any other, with numerous restrictions in place. Familial support was absent for the athletes. No spectators. Limited movement for all parties involved—athletes, coaches and media.

The 2020ne Olympics will forever be known as the Pandemic Games. The fact that label will be attached to Tokyo’s second hosting gig (1964 was the first) does not mean the city failed. On the contrary, plenty of memorable moments were captured for eternity, and Tokyo deserves applause.

Yet, when a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic arises, and affects the world, there is no escaping an arm-in-arm walk into history. So, accept the reality that Tokyo and COVID-19 will always be linked.

Although Tokyo is in the rearview mirror, the next few months will provide the chance to replay some of the epic moments. A favorite triumph. A heartwarming tale. An upset no one saw coming. At the same time, we will start to peer ahead, envisioning what will unfold when the Olympics—a century later—return to Paris.

As much as we craved competition from the Tokyo Games, especially due to the extra-year wait, we are a what’s-next society. Call it a measure of impatience or view it as an eagerness to witness the next great hope or the continued excellence of a current star. Simply, the excitement level hovering over what might come is rarely extinguished.

The last time the Olympic Games visited Paris, it was 1924, and a 20-year-old named Johnny Weissmuller emerged as a star. He claimed three gold medals during his Olympic debut, the highlight a victory over fellow American Duke Kahanamoku in the 100 meter freestyle.

Their duel was a changing-of-the-guard moment, as Kahanamoku was the two-time defending champion. For Weissmuller, a repeat in the event was completed in 1928 in Amsterdam, with a famed career as Tarzan on the Silver Screen following.

Now, we glance at Paris 2024 and begin to wonder: What will we see? There will be no shortage of possibilities, the number of storylines growing with each passing month.

Consider a few of these early questions:

• Which of the sport’s current veterans will continue to shine? Caeleb Dressel is poised to maintain his powerful presence. Will Sarah Sjostrom remain a factor on the international scene? How will Katie Ledecky approach her pursuit of a fourth Olympic Games?

• Which present-day early teenager will emerge as a major force? We know there is one. Somewhere, whether it be in the United States, Europe, Australia or Asia, there is a
13- year-old with considerable talent, a can’t-miss type bound for stardom. And when Paris rolls around, she will be a 16-year-old ready to soar onto her sport’s biggest stage.

• What can be expected of someone like Carson Foster? The University of Texas standout just missed qualifying for Tokyo, and his vast talent figures to take him to Paris. How will he progress over the next few years, and will he be a face of Team USA the next time the Olympic Torch is lit?

• In the coming months, as is tradition, several big names will say goodbye and move on to a new phase of their lives. But with one less year until the next Olympic Games, will some athletes hang on for another go?

It’s strange. Tokyo just concluded, and here we are already wondering about Paris. Are we that impatient? No. The Olympics are just that great a spectacle, a defining aspect of our sport. And we can never get enough.

John Lohn
Editor-in-Chief
Swimming World Magazine

Click here to download the full issue of Swimming World August 2021 now!Swimming World August 2021 - Torri Huske - Female High School Swimmer of the Year - COVER[PHOTO BY PETER H. BICK]

 


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SWIMMING WORLD AUGUST 2021 FEATURES

012 | READY FOR A NEW CHALLENGE
by David Rieder
Torri Huske finished her high school career by setting national high school records in the 100 yard fly and 200 IM and by being named Swimming World’s Female High School Swimmer of the Year for the second time (2019, 2021). The 18-year-old senior from Yorktown High School (Arlington, Va.) will be moving on to Stanford in the fall, but first, she set an American record in the 100 meter fly at U.S. Trials that earned her a trip to Tokyo to compete in her first Olympics.

014 | TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
by Dan D’Addona
Everything appears to be OK for Norman North (Okla.) High School senior Aiden Hayes. He set two national high school records (100 fly and 50 free) this past season. He competed and gained experience at the U.S. Olympic Trials as the fastest 18-year-old in the country in butterfly. And he was named Swimming World’s Male High School Swimmer of the Year.

016 | CREAM OF THE CROP
by David Rieder and Andy Ross
There were some mighty fast swimmers who finished the 2020-21 high school season right behind Swimming World’s Female and Male High School Swimmers of the Year, Torri Huske and Aiden Hayes. Of the four runners-up, two of them are underclassmen and will be returning for more fast swimming in 2021-22.

018 | TOP HIGH SCHOOL RECRUITS
by Chandler Brandes
Swimming World takes a look at the swimmers it considers to be the 10 best high school recruits—both male and female—from the Class of 2021 and where they’ll be attending college in the fall.

021 | NUTRITION: WHAT TO EAT BEFORE THE “BIG RACE”
by Dawn Weatherwax
To reach your swimming goals, it is important to know what to eat—at what times and in what amounts. It is different for everyone, but very important to master.

022 | ISHOF: THE U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS—DONNA DeVARONA AND THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF WOMEN’S SWIMMING
by Bruce Wigo
At the recent U.S. Olympic Trials, there was one moment that linked the past with the present and future of swimming like no other. It came when Donna de Varona presented Olympic qualification medals to Katie Grimes, the youngest member of the 2021 Olympic swimming team, and three-time Olympian Katie Ledecky.

025 | ONE OF THE GREATEST SPRINTERS OF ALL TIME
by John Lohn
The 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney are widely remembered for the home-nation success of Australia, which was spearheaded by teenage sensation Ian Thorpe. But the Games Down Under also served as a redemptive locale for the Netherlands’ Inge de Bruijn, who used the stage to define herself as one of the sport’s legends.

028 | MENTAL PREP: BEFORE THE BEEP WITH KATE DOUGLASS
by Shoshanna Rutemiller

COACHING

030 | SPECIAL SETS: TRAINING KAYLA WILSON
by Michael J. Stott
Coach Richard Hunter of TIDE Swimming in Virginia Beach, Va. discusses goals and workouts for one of his top swimmers, Kayla Wilson, a rising senior at Norfolk Academy who recently committed to Stanford for fall 2022.

034 | SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: MAXIMIZING SWIMMING VELOCITY (Part 4)—MINIMIZING THE ARM ENTRY PHASE TIME IN BACKSTROKE AND BREASTSTROKE
by Rod Havriluk
To minimize the arm entry phase time in backstroke, a swimmer must quickly move the hand downward directly behind and below the shoulder. Minimizing the arm entry phase (glide phase) in breaststroke requires precise control of the timing between the finish of the kick and the beginning of the pull. A decrease in the non-propulsive entry phase decreases the time for a stroke cycle, increases stroke rate and increases swimming velocity.

038 | SPECIAL SETS: ENERGY SYSTEM TRAINING
by Michael J. Stott
George Heidinger, former USA Swimming National Team High Performance Consultant and owner of Pikes Peak Athletics (Colo.), specializes in long-term athlete development. As such, he is well-schooled in the science of energy systems and shares some sample sets he has given to rising high school senior Quintin McCarty and his PPA senior teammates.

040 | A COACHES’ GUIDE TO ENERGY SYSTEMS (Part 3): WHILE THEY’RE YOUNG
by Michael J. Stott
In Part 3 of our series on energy systems, two age group coaches—one from Clovis, Calif. and one from Richmond, Va.—share how they inform and guide their younger athletes through energy system training.

043 | Q&A WITH COACH NICHOLAS ASKEW
by Michael J. Stott

044 | HOW THEY TRAIN: MILES SIMON
by Michael J. Stott

TRAINING

033 | DRYSIDE TRAINING: GOLD MEDAL WORKOUT
by J.R. Rosania

JUNIOR SWIMMER

036 | GOLDMINDS: 10 GREAT REASONS TO GET BACK IN THE POOL
by Wayne Goldsmith

47 | UP & COMERS: BRIAN HAMILTON
by Shoshanna Rutemiller

COLUMNS

008 | A VOICE FOR THE SPORT

011 | DID YOU KNOW: ABOUT ETHELDA BLEIBTREY?

046 | HASTY HIGH POINTERS

048 | GUTTERTALK

049 | PARTING SHOT

 

 

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