What Distance Swimmers and Sprinters Really Think Of Each Other

Photo Courtesy: David DeCortin

What Distance Swimmers and Sprinters Really Think Of Each Other

By Ailish Dougherty, Swimming World College Intern.

For some swimmers, the distance life chose them. Others were born to be sprinters. While each group of racers has equal merit, and each distance requires a unique kind of mental toughness, the rivalry between them is infamous. The animosity stems from yardage differences during training to disparate levels of praise received during competition. I rounded up a few athletes on either side of the fence to ask them what they really think about their teammates of a different breed.

One of the main complaints on the distance swimmer side seemed to be that sprinters luck out with “easier” practices (which I gathered to mean less yardage), especially come peak training season. It can be difficult not to be resentful as a distance swimmer struggling through 3x1500s on training trip, while the sprint group does two rounds of 16x25s on a minute.

Sprinters, in response, feel like they don’t get the respect they deserve from their distance teammates, like their practices aren’t valid if they don’t do enough yardage or aren’t ready to collapse after a long main set. Building off of that, they complain that their races are not as respected or revered for their difficulty as the longer races are. As Tufts University sprinter Roger Gu mentions, “sprint is different – you don’t need to put in tons of yardage at practice to be able to swim a decent 50. But there is less room for error because the races are so close.”

Speaking of respect, a distance career is often recognized as thankless. When asked which group receives more glory, every person interviewed answered sprinters. Tufts sophomore miler Brandon Jinn complains that sprinters get all the attention, especially in college swimming: “Everybody loves to watch sprinters swim fast and get their hand on the wall first, but fewer people appreciate the methodical pacing that goes down in distance races. One of the only times distance swimmers get some attention is when Katie Ledecky swims, and that’s only because people want to see a world record broken.” Furthermore, meets often come down to the nail-biting relays, where sprinters shine, and distance swimmers are left on the sidelines.

Photo Courtesy: Doug Mills/The New York Times

While sprinters often display a certain swagger and confidence, some distance swimmers see them as cocky and even lazy – while a distance swimmer may be able to put together a decent 50, a true sprinter would have an extremely hard time doing what distance swimmers do, whether it be completing a high-yardage practice to pacing a fast 1650. Sprinters, on the other hand, realize that they do what they do because they were good at it from the start; I, for example, swim distance because I can’t swim sprint (and couldn’t from a very young age), and that is a sentiment echoed by Jinn as well as many others.

Alex Good, a Tufts distance swimmer-turned-sprinter, recognizes that while sprinters are usually the happier of the two groups, distance swimmers must have a special kind of mental toughness, a unique dedication, to survive in the sport. Distance swimming is all about pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, and then holding it for as long as possible. Distance swimmers don’t just “swim” the mile, they “race” the mile. It’s about challenging yourself to conquer the pain and discomfort from the very first stroke, to the 66th lap.

However, as Good and Gu both mention, sprinting introduces a whole new kind of pressure. “Especially when everyone is around the same level, it becomes a mental game of who wants it more,” Gu says. “Imagine training for four years and knowing that one missed turn or one slow reaction time could render all that work meaningless.” Sprinting requires laser-focus, but also extreme confidence, as Swimming World Intern Jacob Riley mentions in his article, “The Sprinter’s Dilemma:” “Sprint events are not designed for thinking. They’re designed for going as fast as possible.”

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

While distance swimmers can be seen as anxious over-thinkers in comparison, I myself have learned to embrace the challenge with pride. When asked who had better endurance, everyone answered distance swimmers. When asked who had better technique, the majority answered distance swimmers. For example, as Jinn points out, “it is possible to get away with being a sprinter with a late breath because after all, how many times are you breathing in a 50? For a distance swimmer, however, every little imperfection in their stroke adds up over time. Having a late breath in a race where you breathe over 500 times is extremely costly.”

Thus, the stereotype remains among distance swimmers of the jacked guy with the jacked technique who plows his way through the water with awful strokes, but still somehow goes fast. While stereotypes and other holier-than-thou sentiments may persist until the end of time, the common theme I found among members of both groups was respect. Respect for each other’s dedication, focus, and ability to play to one’s own strengths. Multiple people said, and I quote, “I could never do what they do.” So take pride in your chosen club, but honor those who are different than you. After all, winners score points, no matter if they take the 50 title or the 1650.

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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35 Comments

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Tarzan

7 years ago

How about those mid distance swimmers?
They have to have both mentality to hold pace and go faster than a distance swimmer but slightly slower than a drop dead sprinter.
I find that to be an amazing talent as well.
Just pointing it out for our mid distance swimmers.

Shea Huntington

7 years ago

Miguel Sole Canales Maaike Van Willegen Sasha Duncan Danny Moon

Miguel Sole Canales

7 years ago

Reply to Shea Huntington

3×1500 vs 16×25 JAJAJAJJAJ

Maaike Van Willegen

7 years ago

Reply to Shea Huntington

Rather have 10x 200m than 20x 100m!!! Miguel??

-1

Miguel Sole Canales

7 years ago

Reply to Shea Huntington

oh hell nah

Shea Huntington

7 years ago

Reply to Shea Huntington

20×100 was way better

Sasha Duncan

7 years ago

Reply to Shea Huntington

Agreed

Miguel Sole Canales

7 years ago

Reply to Shea Huntington

YOU SEE Maaike

Maaike Van Willegen

7 years ago

Reply to Shea Huntington

You guys are crazy CRAZY I TELL YOU

Danny Moon

7 years ago

Reply to Shea Huntington

a true sprinter would have an extremely hard time doing what distance swimmers do, whether it be completing a high-yardage practice to pacing a fast 1650. Sprinters, on the other hand, realize that they do what they do because they were good at it from the start Maaike Van Willegen just let that sink in this literally applies to me

Maaike Van Willegen

7 years ago

Reply to Shea Huntington

Good from the start huh?

Danny Moon

7 years ago

Reply to Shea Huntington

print what i just quoted and stick it to ur locker

Badreddine Loulidi

7 years ago

Amar Zaidi

7 years ago

Reply to Badreddine Loulidi

16×25 best set ever

Badreddine Loulidi

7 years ago

Reply to Badreddine Loulidi

Hahaha

Jake Storm

7 years ago

Josh Nowlan

Swim Giggles LLC

7 years ago

Might sound crazy, but I always preferred doing the 500 over the 50!

Dave Hoover

7 years ago

No detente will ever be achieved!

Bevan Jacobs

7 years ago

Sam Jack Toby Dylan Kendall

Jack Durmydarmy-durmdarm Ward

7 years ago

Reply to Bevan Jacobs

Lel

Christina Wijkhuijs

7 years ago

Josien Wijkhuijs

Brandon Chin

7 years ago

Shivam Singh Jacob Schoenfeld Peter Althoff distance swim bros ?

Emma Grace Koranda

7 years ago

Mandy Lawson

Giorgia Piantanida

7 years ago

Stephanie Tilneac

7 years ago

Reply to Giorgia Piantanida

i feel invalidated

Sandy Hartmann

7 years ago

The constant agreement at the dinner table. But it’s distance swimmer vs IM/mid distance.

Kristie Wisniewski

7 years ago

My twins are one distance and one sprinter. They are fraternal though.

Brett Davies

7 years ago

I was and still today am a distance swimmer . Never could sprint really fast. But I never looked down on my sprinting buddies. We all had a lot of respect for each other. The only problem I had was that the sprint era always seemed to get all the glory. Were as us distance men were considered as crazy freaks after all who wants to swim at a fast pace for 15 or so minutes when you can finish it all in 50 or so seconds .

Olivia D'Agostino

7 years ago

Sammy Gregory

Stone Sima

7 years ago

Olivia Arnold we can’t even join this debate coz we rnt even good

Olivia Arnold

7 years ago

Reply to Stone Sima

Lmao true

Paul O'Connor

7 years ago

Courtney Adams

Daniel Byrd

7 years ago

Distance swimmers are the dentists of swimming, sprinters, the doctors;)

Pete Fitzpatrick

7 years ago

I like both, but especially focus on 50’s for the fly, which is obviously less difficult than, say, a 200 fly. Some strokes are just easier to go long distances. It all comes down to fast twitch vs. slow twitch, eventually.

Jason Doyon

7 years ago

I love all out 25’s and 50’s. Nothing like feeling the water at that speed. All out or nothing!!!!