{"id":286839,"date":"2017-12-02T19:15:35","date_gmt":"2017-12-03T02:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=286839"},"modified":"2017-12-02T19:15:35","modified_gmt":"2017-12-03T02:15:35","slug":"the-legend-of-zane-grothe-grows-with-record-crushing-mile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/the-legend-of-zane-grothe-grows-with-record-crushing-mile\/","title":{"rendered":"The Legend of Zane Grothe Grows with Record-Crushing Mile"},"content":{"rendered":"

By David Rieder.<\/em><\/p>\n

Remember that 1650 free from last year\u2019s NCAA championships, considered one of the great collegiate races ever<\/a>? Four men\u2014Clark<\/strong> Smith<\/strong>, Felix<\/strong> Auboeck<\/strong>, Akram<\/strong> Mahmoud<\/strong> and Jordan<\/strong> Wilimovsky<\/strong>\u2014all swam faster than anyone ever had before, with Smith touching first in 14:22.41.<\/p>\n

Well, less than nine months later, that record is gone\u2014obliterated, actually. Two days after smashing Smith\u2019s American record in the 500 free<\/a>, Zane Grothe<\/strong> beat the record in the 1650 free by an even greater margin: four seconds. His final time: 14:18.25.<\/a> From the first 100, whether the mark would go down was never in doubt.<\/p>\n

But unlike in the NCAA race, when none of the four men would have swum as fast as they did without each other, Grothe was all by himself. He won the race by 25 seconds over Mitch D\u2019Arrigo<\/strong> and lapped everybody else in the race at least once.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, my goal was faster than that,\u201d Grothe said, acknowledging that he had hoped for a 14:15. \u201cI told my coach (Mike<\/strong> Westphal<\/strong>), \u2018I want to be closer to my goal than the record.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Grothe had previously swum a 14:29 in the 1650 free back in February\u2014with no rest, he explained\u2014so he craved the opportunity to go for short course yards time with a full taper and shave. Westphal gave him one, and Grothe delivered in full.<\/p>\n

Twice this week, public address announcer Mike Poropat<\/strong> had the opportunity to call Grothe\u2019s record-setting swims\u2014so who better for some perspective on what happened?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"zane-grothe-\"

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAfter Thursday in that 500 free, you knew there was a likelihood you were going to see something special out of Zane tonight,\u201d Poropat said. \u201cComing home in the 500 in under 50 seconds, I think you could tell, he wasn\u2019t going to fall apart in the mile tonight. Hitting 4:17 at the 500, that was like, \u2018Wow.\u2019 That\u2019s a top-five time in the 500 free at National Championships.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once during the race, Poropat even uttered the name \u201cLedecky.\u201d As in, Katie Ledecky<\/strong>\u2014she of unprecedented dominance in so many clutch moments. Winter Nationals might not have been the deepest meet this year, but Grothe still won by nearly a full 50.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mentioned it was like a Ledecky impersonation, where he\u2019s totally alone, leading by a 50,\u201d Poropat said. Grothe was still pushing hard. \u201cI think that really speaks to his personality, his mentality. He\u2019s always had that level of, \u2018I\u2019m going for this, all out on every length of the pool, and nothing\u2019s going to stop me from this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

As Grothe closed in on the home stretch, Poropat called Grothe\u2019s effort \u201cone of the greatest swims in USA Swimming history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you think about how much work went into the guys just to make it into the fastest heat, just to qualify for the meet, and here a guy\u2019s going to beat you by 40 seconds or 30 seconds,\u201d Poropat said. \u201cNo one here is a slouch. Everyone here is an excellent, phenomenal swimmer. When you have someone who\u2019s that far ahead, to me, that\u2019s historic.\u201d<\/p>\n

As if it was not perfectly clear after the 500 free two nights earlier, Zane Grothe is for real.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo really have a breakout here\u2014you could say the breakout was this summer when he won the 400 free (at U.S. Nationals)\u2014but this, when you\u2019re taking down records, especially two in a week, I\u2019m really happy for the guy,\u201d Poropat said.<\/p>\n

Watch a post-race video interview with Zane Grothe:<\/strong><\/p>\n