{"id":314074,"date":"2018-06-14T13:00:19","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T20:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=314074"},"modified":"2018-06-14T17:33:10","modified_gmt":"2018-06-15T00:33:10","slug":"translating-short-course-success-to-long-course-dominance-the-classic-conundrum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/translating-short-course-success-to-long-course-dominance-the-classic-conundrum\/","title":{"rendered":"Translating Short Course Success to Long Course Dominance: The Classic Conundrum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commentary By Eamonn Keenan, Swimming World College Intern.<\/em><\/p>\n

Many of America’s top yards swimmers perform equally as fast in meters, but why are some of the most elite short course swimmers far less dominant in the big pool? This is a difficult question to answer – as many variables are at play – but one that is crucial to consider for the future development of US National Team.<\/p>\n

NCAA Division I Championships vs. The Olympic Trials<\/h3>\n

The 2016 NCAA Division I Championships served as a sneak preview for the 2016 US Olympic Trials. Whereas the predominant elite American veterans were widely favored to occupy at least one of the two spots in most events – e.g. <\/span>Michael Phelps<\/b>, <\/span>Maya DiRado<\/b>, <\/span>Connor Jaeger<\/b>, <\/span>Dana Vollmer<\/b>, etc. – it was also anticipated that the top collegiate swimmers would be in the mix as well. <\/span><\/p>\n

This hypothesis would later turn out to be true; roughly 70% of the 2016 US Olympic Team were first timers, with the majority being current collegiate athletes. These collegiate swimmers spend a significant amount of their training time in short course yards.
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Most of the college swimmers who made the Olympic team dominated at NCAAs. Ryan Murphy<\/strong>, Lily King<\/strong>, and Townley Haas<\/strong> all destroyed the American records in the respective yard-versions of the events in which they qualified for the Olympics. With the majority of past short course yards American record holders being former Olympians, who would bet against a American record holder receiving an Olympic bid?<\/span><\/p>\n

2016 NCAAs: Men’s 200y Breast Final<\/h3>\n
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Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

At the 2016 NCAA DI Men’s Championship, the 200 breaststroke final was shaping up to be a dogfight between Cal senior <\/span>Josh Prenot <\/b>and Texas junior <\/span>Will Licon<\/b>. The breaststroke duo had alternated wins the previous two nights, with Licon edging out Prenot in the 200 IM by a tenth and Prenot bouncing back with a solid win in the 400 IM. Despite being outstanding IMers, they are both widely considered to be breaststroke specialists. <\/span><\/p>\n

When the race finally started, however, it was over by the first 50. Licon took out it strong and never looked back, winning the race in a blazing 1:48.14<\/a> to break <\/span>Kevin Cordes\u2019<\/b> American record over Prenot\u2019s second\u00a0 place time of 1:49.38. After that swim, a lot of stock was put into Licon\u2019s Olympic potential – it seemed that the answer to the top two American 200 breaststrokers was in Cordes and Licon. <\/span>
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\n<\/span>But the true answer was less obvious.<\/span><\/p>\n

2016 US Olympic Trials: Men’s 200m Breast Final<\/h3>\n
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Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

At the 2016 United States Olympic Trials, Prenot would go on to take first in 2:07.17, which not only broke the American record but also was exactly a tenth off of the world record. Cordes would finish in second with a 2:08.00. Narrowly missing an Olympic bid was Licon, who touched third with a 2:08.14. <\/span><\/p>\n