Swimming World Presents “How They Train: University of Minnesota’s Sarah Bacon” – Sponsored by Black Line Swimming

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How They Train: University of Minnesota’s Sarah Bacon

By Michael J. Stott

Sponsored by
Black Line Swimming Logo

Battle-hardened by a lifelong series of back stress fractures and concussions, University of Minnesota diver Sarah Bacon continues her quest for an Olympic berth. This past summer, she won silver on the 1-meter springboard at Worlds, becoming the first American female since Laura Wilkinson in 2005 to win any World Championship diving medal and the first on the 1-meter since Wendy Lucero in 1991.

Well decorated nationally, the 5-4 Indiana native is a six-time NCAA All-American and two-time 1-meter reigning champion. Because of two surgeries last year, the junior didn’t start training until second semester. In less than two months of practice, she netted first and fifth at NCAAs, and second and first on the 1m and 3m boards respectively at Big Tens.

A big part of Bacon’s success may be linked to her longstanding relationship with her coach, Wenbo Chen, who coached her from 2007 to 2009 and since 2015.

“I coached Sarah when she was 12 years old at the USA Diving National Training Center,” says Chen. “She is a very talented diver and very competitive. However, she faced many difficulties due to injuries. When she started to train with me, she had a brace because of fractures in her back. After three months of conditioning and a basic skill program, she was able to practice with no brace and no pain. She was able to learn almost the full platform list as well.”

To read about how Coach Chen trained with Sarah throughout her numerous injuries,
Check out the January issue of Swimming World Magazine, available now!
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FEATURES

016 THE TOP 5 STORIES OF 2019
by Dan D’Addona
From the debut of the International Swimming League to a worldwide youth movement, 2019 marked the start of a new era in swimming.

018 2019 ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
by Shoshanna Rutemiller, Dan D’Addona and Michael Randazzo
Diving: Shi Tingmao & Xie Siyi
Artistic: Svetlana Romashina & Svetlana Kolesnichenko
Water Polo: Ashleigh Johnson & Francesco Di Fulvio
Disabled: Sophie Pascoe & Reece Dunn

020 EVENT SPECIALIZATION…WHEN?
by Michael J. Stott
Many coaches are postponing specialization in favor of creating well-rounded swimmers for what lies ahead, leaving preordination behind so that other coaches, human nature and physical development can take its course.

022 READY AND REFOCUSED
by David Rieder
At last year’s World Championships in Gwangju, Ryan Murphy came home with three silver medals, but his first individual long course World title still eluded him. With his focus now set on the 2020 Olympic summer, the 100 back world record holder and 2016 triple Olympic gold medalist is looking ahead to Tokyo with confidence.

026 TAKEOFF TO TOKYO: THE BOYCOTT
by John Lohn
Years of hard work went unfulfilled. Dreams turned into nightmares. Sadness and anger abounded. The repercussions of the United States’ decision to boycott the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow were severe. This summer marks the 40th anniversary of a toxic mix of sports and politics.

030 2019 WORLD & AMERICAN RECORD PROGRESSION
by Taylor Brien

032 ISHOF: SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
by Bruce Wigo
Dr. Kevin Dawson, who recently received the Harriet Tubman Prize for his book, Undercurrents of Power: Aquatic Culture in the African Diaspora, corrects and revises the history of swimming to include and recognize the contributions and accomplishments of Africans to aquatics.

036 MENTAL PREP: BEFORE THE BEEP WITH RYAN MURPHY
by Shoshanna Rutemiller

COACHING

010 LESSONS WITH THE LEGENDS: RAY DAUGHTERS
by Michael J. Stott

014 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: STRATEGIES TO ACCELERATE SKILL LEARNING
by Rod Havriluk
There are many different skill-learning approaches that can help a competitive swimmer improve his/her technique. For example, competitive swimming strokes “can be taught in their entirety or broken down into parts.” While both the “whole” and “part” approaches can help swimmers progress in all four strokes, selecting the most appropriate method can accelerate skill learning.

042 SPECIAL SETS: GETTING READY TO RACE
by Michael J. Stott
As college swimming rolls into its championship season in February and March, meet warm-ups take on even greater importance.

044 Q&A WITH COACH WENBO CHEN
by Michael J. Stott

045 HOW THEY TRAIN SARAH BACON
by Michael J. Stott

TRAINING

013 DRYSIDE TRAINING: TIME TO RESET—READY, SET GO!
by J.R. Rosania

JUNIOR SWIMMER

047 UP & COMERS: RYAN HOGAN
by Shoshanna Rutemiller

COLUMNS

008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT

009 BEYOND THE YARDS

025 THE OFFICIAL WORD

035 GUTTERTALK

048 PARTING SHOT

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