THE YOUNG SWIMMING TALENT

The buzz surrounding the young and talented women’s #swim team is on the tremendous. I remember nine years ago when a young Missy Franklin took over the world in backstroke and freestyle. People thought her lack of international experience would hurt her chances of medaling at the games. However, she overcame the pressure and naysayers to have one of the most significant performances in #Olympic history.

This year, nearly half of our female #swimmers at the games are teenagers. In fact, we’ve never been this young and inexperienced as Missy was years ago. However, they’ve done very well. The surge of young talent isn’t surprising to me and there are several reasons.

For one, the extra year heading into #Tokyo benefitted the club swimmers. The familiarity with coaches staying on the continuum of training has allowed these swimmers to mature under the care of consistency.

Second, the next step of life isn’t looming. After college, a swimmer will either hang up the goggles to pursue an entry-level job or if they’re lucky enough, will jump in to the pro arena. For many, the paycheck calls for them.

Third and certainly not final, there were so restrictions with college programs over the pandemic. College facilities closed down, coaches were forced to send workouts to swimmers versus delivering the goods on deck and long course meets were hard to come by. Club swimmers have more shots shaved and tapered in long course to go fast. Collegiate swimmers, by and large, are all in with short course (and we know, they can’t qualify for trials with those times).

Either way, I was impressed by the youth. Their poise and enthusiasm was remarkable. Torri Huske, Regan Smith, Claire Curzan, Lydia Jacoby, Katie Grimes and company will be forever remembered in this year of change. The moment wasn’t too big for them. #perfectstreamlineswim #itb #swimtrition #usaswimming #speedo #TYR #swimmingworld