From the Start, the 2024 Swimming Campaign Was Defined by Speed … and a Fresh Approach to the Sport
As the calendar flipped to 2024, maybe we should have known. The signs – after all – were there. For starters, we entered an Olympic year, which history suggests is almost always faster than a typical campaign. And when Kate Douglass ripped an American record in the 200-meter breaststroke during a January Pro Series meet, the first domino tipped over.
If nothing else, the past 12 months have offered the realization that the lid has been removed from the speed box. Gone are the days when athletes peaked on occasion, midseason and summer competitions the most notable timeframes. Instead, swift times are now the norm, capable of being produced at multiple junctures of the season.
Headliner competitions such as the Olympic Games and World Championships will continue to supply the best performances. They are the year’s targets and feature all-in-one-place gatherings of the sport’s top stars, who push one another to greater standards. But these global showcases will also be complemented throughout the year by quickness from meets that were previously tuneup events.
Over the past couple of years, and certainly during the last 12 months, the sport’s mindset has shifted. Why does fast swimming have to be limited to a handful of major moments? The answer: It doesn’t. More and more coaches want their athletes to be fast all year long, with physical and mental positives drawn from such scenarios.
Let an athlete put on a tech suit and chase a speedy mark during a Pro Series event or during dual-meet competition. Let him feel fast in the water. Let her confidence boom. It all can lead to enhanced practice efforts and end-of-the-season success that was brewed through a different approach.
“I think increasing the number of peak meets across the year has been a natural evolution in our sport by learning from the experience of other sports and appreciating the swimmers we work with are, indeed, capable of performing at a very high level more often,” said multi-time Olympic coach and Hall of Famer David Marsh. “Coaches know that psychological and consistent emotional engagement by the athletes if often the main contributor to maximum progress in our highly measurable sport. Many of us coaches have found that offering more frequent focused meets fits physiological, motivational, and even family considerations.”
The truth is, swimming – on the whole – needs to be fast more often than not. In a stopwatch sport, high-level racing is desired. Fans want to see showdowns between leading stars and performances that do not sit well off world and national records. Seeking out speed is not just beneficial to athletes and their confidence levels but is engaging to those who fill the stands.
At the Olympic Games in Paris, the racing was exceptional, with Frenchman Leon Marchand and Canadian Summer McIntosh highlighting the action. But the quadrennial event is expected to be nothing short of sensational since it ranks as the primary goal for the athletes talented enough to earn an invitation.
The key moving forward is for multiple meets to have an Olympic feel, not necessarily from a hoopla standpoint, but based on what the numbers read on the scoreboard. Producing fast swims is not going to be even across the schedule of events, what with distance performers requiring greater training bases. Still, a door has been opened and the sport’s key stakeholders – athletes and coaches – have willingly walked through.
If speed continues to be flashed throughout the year, and not at minimal points, an opportunity for the sport’s growth exists. Couple that mentality with the ongoing efforts to spice up meet environments (light shows, music, unique events) and attendance has the chance to spike to new highs.
When we look back, 2024 can be viewed as a year in which speed was promised at more competitions than ever before.
Let’s hope that momentum continue.
