In full view of thousands, Zach Harting<\/strong> stepped onto a pool deck and became swimming\u2019s Batman. Preparing for his first Olympic Trials final in the 200 fly, Harting decided to forgo his typical Louisville warmup gear in favor of a Batman towel with a hood, a Batman onesie and a pair of yellow crocs.<\/p>\n

Harting\u2019s favorite super-hero is Batman\u2014the Christian Bale<\/strong> version from The Dark Knight<\/em> trilogy, he emphasized\u2014but his dress-up plan for Trials was a backup after Harting realized his original finals walk-out idea was impractical.<\/p>\n

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Harting dressed as Batman at the 2016 Olympic Trials — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cI was going to Heely out for finals, but the flooring wasn\u2019t optimal to roll. So I called my parents, and I was like, \u2018Yo, bring the onesie,\u2019\u201d Harting said. The onesie had been a gag gift from an uncle a few years earlier. \u201cI had them bring it from Alabama.\u201d<\/p>\n
And so Harting was Batman. After he finished seventh at Trials, he would be better known for his Batman attire than his actual swimming. Not that Harting minded\u2014in fact, he loved when his international teammates who would go home and tell their friends that they swam with Batman.<\/p>\n
By that point, his teammates knew: That\u2019s just Zach.<\/p>\n
Harting thought back to one of his first weeks at Louisville, the summer before his freshman year of college. He remembers a set of 10 x 400 IM, where every third repeat was fast, and the rest of the Cardinals weren\u2019t yet used to Harting\u2019s personality.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018Screw this, I\u2019m going to try being funny.\u2019\u201d So before the third repeat of the set, Harting announced to his team, \u201cI\u2019m going to take this one down like the Avengers took down Ultron!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo seconds later, I pushed off into my fast one. The girls behind me probably didn\u2019t know what to think. (Louisville assistant coach) Steph<\/strong> (Juncker<\/strong>) was standing over the blocks with the watch thinking probably like, \u2018Who the heck is this guy?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
But the way Harting saw it, the set was hard, so he wanted to make it a bit more fun. He wanted \u201csome stupid phrase or line to make it seem like we were not about to do a fast 400 IM in practice on a Thursday morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
The logic of wearing a Batman costume to the blocks for the biggest race of his life? The same: Go big to distract himself from the enormity and the pressure of the situation.<\/p>\n
The other Louisville swimmers and coaches got used to Harting\u2019s shenanigans, and they became endearing, rather than annoying. Whatever would help him swim fast\u2014so long as he\u2019s not damaging any property, any of his teammates or himself. For instance, Harting refuses to simply jump into the pool when he arrives for early morning practice.<\/p>\n
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Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cIf I\u2019m going to get into a cold pool at 5, 6 a.m., I need to make sure I have a reason to do it,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m always one of the first ones in, definitely first one in my lane. That way it\u2019s safe, and I\u2019m not risking jumping on anyone. I always do a flip.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harting has tried back flips. He\u2019s tried running and jumping onto one of the starting blocks in the deep end and then doing one-and-a-half flips into the pool. One time, he jumped off the five-meter platform and touched the flags. But when he tried to run and jump over the flags, \u201cthat was almost bad,\u201d Harting recalled, \u201cso I\u2019m probably not going to do that again.\u201d<\/p>\n
He will even do a handstand on the blocks and let himself fall into the pool.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to be careful. You kind of just tip it forward and then go feet first in and push off the bottom. That\u2019s a fun one, too. Coaches don\u2019t like it, though,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to make sure you push up hard enough to make sure you go into the water. Mallory<\/strong> (Comerford<\/strong>) always freaks out when I do that. I\u2019ll be on the block, inverted and about to fall in, and she\u2019ll be like, \u2018Oh my gosh!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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Right before the 2018 NCAA championships (Harting\u2019s junior year), he purchased a gas can, despite having no intentions to store fuel inside. He wanted to drink water out of the can. He had seen a performer try that once at a concert.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018Alright, there\u2019s no normal, sane person that normally drinks from a gas can,\u2019\u201d Harting said. But he knew that his status quo, both in training and in competition, had to change. With the end of his NCAA career looming, he knew he needed a breakthrough so that he could afford to continue swimming past March 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I wanted to be with these people I\u2019m trying to compete with, Olympians and World Champions, I figured my training would have to be insane.\u2019 The gas can was ultimately for them, to keep me reminded and focused on what I was trying to do at practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than 1000 swimmers participated at this summer\u2019s U.S. Nationals, and most of them brought traditional water bottles. Harting brought his gas can. And when he swam the 200 fly on the meet\u2019s first day, he got that breakthrough he had been looking for.<\/p>\n
Harting acknowledges about the 200 fly that \u201cyeah, she\u2019s cold-hearted, and she\u2019ll be mean and rough you up,\u201d but he calls the event his \u201cbaby.\u201d He is rarely the aggressor in the race, preferring to hang back and then charge home. Indeed, in the National final, he was last after 50 meters, last after 100 meters\u2014and then fourth at the 150, after posting the fastest split on the third lap.<\/p>\n
Harting couldn\u2019t quite finish the race with the same intensity as Justin<\/strong> Wright<\/strong>, but he ended up placing second. He qualified to swim at the Pan Pacific Championships, and there he earned a bronze medal in the 200 fly, securing his spot on next year\u2019s World Championship team in the process.<\/p>\n
And when he came back, he was the same old Zach.<\/p>\n
In early November, Juncker posted a video to Twitter of Harting blasting his guitar at full volume inside Louisville\u2019s Ralph Wright Natatorium prior to the team\u2019s 6 a.m. practice.<\/p>\n
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Yes, this is before 6 AM. <\/p>\n
Yes, this is @hartingz<\/a>. <\/p>\n
Welcome to life with @UofLswim_dive. @USASwimming<\/a> @swimswamnews<\/a> @SwimmingWorld<\/a> @GoCards<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/RoGghbgYDX<\/a><\/p>\n
— Stephanie Juncker (@stephjuncker) November 8, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n