{"id":324351,"date":"2018-08-08T13:00:18","date_gmt":"2018-08-08T20:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=324351"},"modified":"2018-08-08T18:07:19","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T01:07:19","slug":"a-new-era-of-swimming-the-post-phelps-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/a-new-era-of-swimming-the-post-phelps-era\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Era of Swimming: The Post-Phelps Era"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

The world of professional swimming has been accustomed to both volatility and stagnation. Throughout the course of swimming history, we\u2019ve witnessed absolute domination from household names like <\/span>Michael Phelps<\/b>, <\/span>Janet Evans\u00a0<\/b>and Ian Thorpe<\/b>, to name a few. Their legacies are cemented by the fact that watching them swim was not the observance of a race, but the marveling of a monumental feat. <\/span><\/p>\n

Today, we find ourselves in a new era of swimming – one that is characterized by amateurism and uncertainty: the Post-Phelps Era. <\/span>It all began with the 2016 Rio Olympics, where the invulnerable status of the elite veterans was usurped by a plethora of young athletes with no expectations. <\/span><\/p>\n

The History<\/h2>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

So what exactly does it mean to be an \u201celite veteran\u201d? An elite veteran is an athlete who not only has the ability to continually dominate year after year but also possesses the mental fortitude to be consistent in his or her performances.<\/p>\n

The results of both the Beijing and London Olympics, and the majority of the major international competitions in between, are not very surprising. The podium was for the most part familiar – occupied by the big names of not only the events but also of the sport in general. Phelps, <\/span>Rebecca Adlington<\/b>, <\/span>Ryan Lochte<\/b>, <\/span>Stephanie Rice<\/b>, <\/span>Sun Yang<\/b>, <\/span>Rebecca Soni<\/b>; the rigidity among medal winners was undeniable. <\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, the veterans who dominated swimming between 2008 and 2012 all followed a similar trajectory: they made their first international team or had their first breakout swims in college or right after college (or around that age, if they did not attend). Thereafter, they began to solidify themselves as experienced professional athletes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Take <\/span>Nathan Adrian<\/b> for example. As a freshman in college, Adrian placed sixth in the 100 free at 2007 NCAAs. He redshirted his 2008 season to focus on Olympic Trials, where he had a breakout swim to qualify for the relay at the 2008 Olympic Games. <\/span><\/p>\n

After going to the Beijing Olympics and winning a gold medal in the relay, Adrian would go on to win the 100 free at NCAAs the next three years in a row and win the 50 free in both 2009 and 2011. He set American records in both races. <\/span>Adrian qualified for every international team that followed Beijing, including the 2012 Olympics, where he would win gold in the 100m free as a post-grad – his first individual medal earned at a major international competition. Since 2012, he has unquestionably been the predominant American sprint freestyler.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That was the typical progression of veteran swimmers at the time, although Adrian developed a little earlier than most of his rivals such as\u00a0<\/span>James Magnussen <\/b>or\u00a0<\/span>Brent Hayden<\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Catalyst<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"simone-manuel-penny-oleksiak-gold-medal-rio\"

Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports<\/p><\/div>\n

The Rio Olympics became the moment when a lot of young swimmers realized that the veterans could in fact be taken down. Many of these swimmers didn’t follow the same trajectory – they were younger and much less experienced in international competition than their veteran rivals. Nevertheless, they seemed to believe that they could be the ones to shift the paradigm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rising Texas Junior <\/span>Joseph Schooling <\/b>claimed the gold medal in the men\u2019s 100 fly, denying Michael Phelps an Olympic three-peat, as well as beating out veterans <\/span>Laszlo Cseh <\/b>and <\/span>Chad Le Clos<\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sixteen-year-old <\/span>Penny Oleksiak <\/b>tied for gold in the 100 free with rising Stanford Junior <\/span>Simone Manuel. <\/b>The two\u00a0touched ahead of both <\/span>Cate Campbell <\/b>and <\/span>Sarah Sjostrom<\/b> – the former and current world record holders – and defending Olympic gold medalist <\/span>Ranomi Kromowidjojo<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eighteen-year-old <\/span>Kyle Chalmers <\/b>won the men\u2019s 100 free over 2012 Olympic Champion Adrian and <\/span>Cameron McEvoy<\/b>, the textile world record-holder. <\/span><\/p>\n

Soon-to-be Indiana Sophomore <\/span>Lilly King <\/b>won the women\u2019s 100m breast over four-time world champion <\/span>Yuliya Efimova <\/b>and the former world record holder <\/span>Ruta Meilutyte<\/b>. She would go on to break the world record in both the 50 and 100 breast at the 2017 FINA World Championships.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"team-usa-\"

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

Even the general competitive landscape was different at the 2016 Olympics than previous ones. Looking at the U.S. Olympic Team in 2012, 46 percent of the men and 44 percent of the women had qualified for a previous Olympic Team. In 2016, only 24 percent of the men and 37 percent of the women were Olympic veterans.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s clear that college-aged swimmers are not just the future of international competition – they are the present, too.<\/p>\n

All of this change is significant, which begs two questions: what facilitated it to happen in the first place, and what does it mean for the future of our sport?<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>There are two important aspects to consider in answering these questions.\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Monkey See, Monkey Do<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"townley-haas-\"

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

There is something very crucial about the notion of seeing someone do something unheard of and thinking: \u201cI can do that, too!\u201d In the sport of swimming, the two most premier examples of this would be breaking a record or dethroning a veteran.<\/span><\/p>\n

The progression of the men\u2019s 200 yard freestyle is one of the best examples of how impactful this phenomenon can be. <\/span>In 2015, <\/span>Christian Quintero <\/b>won the title in 1:32.06. It took a 1:33.26 to qualify for top eight, and a 1:34.06 for top 16. Only three people broke 1:33. <\/span>In an interview with Quintero after his team won the 800 free relay, an interviewer brought up <\/span>Simon Burnett<\/b>\u2019s 200 freestyle NCAA record of 1:31.20 set back in 2006.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat record will last a long time,\u201d Quintero said of Burnett\u2019s record. \u201cIt is a really fast time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n