Australia became the first nation to actively prepare all of its top swimmers for the late-night racing they will endure at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro with a special training camp this week. The conditions were set to mimic the radically different times of the day that they will be racing in Brazil, from sleep schedules to meal times.<\/p>\n
The camp started with a couple days of training to ease the athletes into the new schedule. At 10 p.m. Wednesday, the athletes stepped up for some short course meters racing<\/a> as coaches and medical officials watched and recorded data to go along with times on the scoreboard. The racing continued on Thursday with a mid-afternoon prelims-style session followed by another 10 p.m. time trial.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter a couple of days, once you settle into it, it\u2019s OK,\u201d said distance swimmer Mack Horton<\/strong>. \u201cIt\u2019s been more confusing for the mind, because it\u2019s late and you should be tired but you\u2019re feeling quite alert. It takes a little bit to get used to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good to get a bit of racing in so early in the season, giving an indication of where we are at the moment and where we\u2019re looking to go moving forward,\u201d said butterflyer Maddie Groves<\/strong>. \u201cYou don\u2019t notice the time, only afterwards when you\u2019re warming down and you see the clock and it is 1 a.m.\u201d<\/p>\n Video: Swimmers, coaches speak about late-night racing preparation (courtesy Swimming Australia)<\/strong>
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