Swimming World Presents “A Good Indicator of Future Success: 60% of Swimming World’s High School Picks Go On To The Olympics”

SW August 2020 - High School Swimmers of the Year That Went On To Become Olympians - Natalie Coughlin

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A Good Indicator of Future Success: 60% of Swimming World’s Male and Female High School Swimmers of the Year Go On To The Olympics

By Andy Ross

Since Swimming World first honored its Male and Female High School Swimmers of the Year in 1997, 60 percent of those athletes have gone on to compete in the Olympics from 2000 through 2016.

From 1993-96, Swimming World recognized only one athlete each year as the nation’s top high school swimmer. It wasn’t until 1997 that the magazine decided to attach its name to the award and honor both the top male and female swimmers.

Since 1997 and continuing through 2016 (the last time the Olympic Games were held), 35 swimmers have been recognized as Swimming World’s Female and Male High School Swimmers of the Year. Twenty-one of them—10 girls and 11 boys—became Olympians who have won a combined 55 medals, including 33 gold!

Arizona’s Misty Hyman and Kentucky’s Nate Dusing were recognized as the first “official” award winners. Both swimmers had set national high school records in the 100 yard fly, and both moved on to powerhouse swimming teams in college: Hyman to Stanford and Dusing to Texas.

And they both would later earn spots on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team, with Dusing earning a silver medal on the 800 meter free relay as a prelims swimmer and Hyman turning in one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history in the 200 fly. Dusing made a second team in 2004, earning bronze for the 400 free relay (prelims).

In 1998, California’s Natalie Coughlin became one of the few sophomores to win the award, breaking the national record in the 100 back and 200 IM. Coughlin made three Olympic teams in 2004, 2008 and 2012 and became the first (and only) woman to win back-to-back gold medals in the 100 backstroke. Her 12 total medals rank second (tied with Ryan Lochte, Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres) behind Michael Phelps’ 28.

In the next two years, The Bolles School of Florida provided two high school swimmers of the year who went on to represent their respective countries at the Olympics: Janelle Atkinson (2000) and Alex Lim (1999, 2000). Atkinson represented Jamaica in 2000 and 2004, finishing fourth in the 400 free at Sydney, missing Jamaica’s first swimming medal by less than a second. She finished ninth in  the 800, setting a national record, before swimming four years at Florida.

Lim was the first male to receive the award twice. He represented Malaysia at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Games, finishing as high as 15th in the 100 back in 2004. Lim swam four years at Cal.

To read more about Swimming World’s high school swimmers of the year that went on to become Olympians,
click here to download the August issue of Swimming World Magazine, available
now!

SW August 2020 The Record Breakers - Cover

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Swimming World Magazine August 2020 Issue

FEATURES

014 OPPORTUNITY LOST
by Dan D’Addona
High school swimming has multiple seasons with roughly 130 state/sectional/divisional high school championship meets held as early as October or as late as May of the following year. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in mid-March, some high schools had already completed their championships, others saw their season canceled…while still others were interrupted during the middle of their meet! Here are a few examples of how the coronavirus affected high school swimming.

016 A GOOD INDICATOR OF FUTURE SUCCESS
by Andy Ross
Since Swimming World first honored its Male and Female High School Swimmers of the Year in 1997, 60 percent of those athletes have gone on to compete in the Olympics from 2000 through 2016.

019 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 2020 and where they’ll be attending college in the fall.

022 THE RECORD BREAKERS
by David Rieder
Nine high school swimmers from eight different states combined for 11 public or independent school records and eight overall national high school records—including three times in one event!

026 A GROSS INJUSTICE
by John Lohn
In 1972 at the Munich Olympics, 16-year-old Rick DeMont had won the 400 meter freestyle only to have his gold medal taken away several days later in one of the biggest injustices in Olympic history.

029 ISHOF: THE TOM AND MATT SHOW
by Bruce Wigo
As explained in last month’s issue,sprinters are considered a different breed of swimmer. They’re not just free spirits, but they seem to be rule breakers and troublemakers of the sport. In July, Swimming World featured two of swimming’s notorious female rebels, Eleanor Holm and Dawn Fraser. This month’s article takes a look at two male disruptors who paved the way for professional swimming, Tom Jager and Matt Biondi.

COACHING

012 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: DEVELOPMENT OF AN OPTIMAL MODEL FOR TECHNIQUE: PART VIII—BODY BASE OF SUPPORT FOR BREASTSTROKE
by Rod Havriluk
The torso is the swimmer’s base of support (BOS). During a stroke cycle of a typical breaststroker, excess vertical motion of the shoulder distorts the BOS, which compromises the ability to maximize propulsion and, as a result, limits swimming velocity. This article offers suggestions for how to stabilize the BOS to generate more propulsion to swim faster.

033 SUMMER LEAGUE: HAVING FUN AND GETTING THE WORK DONE
by Michael J. Stott
No matter what tomorrow or next year brings, one can hope that the benefits of summer league as we know them will persist.

035 SPECIAL SETS: TRAINING FROM TRIALS TO THE OLYMPIC GAMES
by Michael J. Stott
Through the voice of Michigan associate coach Josh White, this month’s “Special Sets” traces the training Connor Jaeger did in the period between the U.S. Olympic Trials to the Olympic Games in 2012  and 2016.

041 Q&A WITH COACH NEIL HARPER
by Michael J. Stott

042 HOW THEY TRAIN ANNA HOPKIN
by Michael J. Stott

TRAINING

010 DRYSIDE TRAINING: EXERCISES FOR EXPLOSIVE STARTS & TURNS
by J.R. Rosania

JUNIOR SWIMMER

039 GOLDMINDS: HOW TO BECOME AN “A” SWIMMER
by Wayne Goldsmith
Ultimately, success comes to those amazing people who make the decision to be successful and who then live that decision in practice and performance—in and out of the pool—until they realize their potential.

045 UP & COMERS: ABBY REICH
by Shoshanna Rutemiller

COLUMNS

008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT

032 DID YOU KNOW? PETER JACKSON: “THE BLACK PRINCE”

046 GUTTERTALK

048 PARTING SHOT

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