By David

Too many Swimwatch articles focus on the sleazy side of swimming. You will know what I mean; Swimming New Zealand providing the media with misleading World Championship results; an Appointment’s Committee that nominates two candidates for two vacancies and calls it an election; employees convicted of criminal behaviour, who violate Clause 7.3 of SNZ’s new Constitution and are rewarded with a glowing corporate testimonial; foreign athletes, the children of a foreign Sport New Zealand executive who swim in the New Zealand taxpayer funded swim school and the mismanagement that saw a small girl from Raumati loose her teeth on the bottom of the Kilbirnie pool. It frequently seems like Swimming New Zealand is a rancid gift that keeps on giving.

But of course there is another side to the swimming story. A world where genuine, sincere people run swim meets and where young people toil to challenge their talent. I want to tell you a story about three swimmers who have toiled through this past ten weeks; who have challenged their talent and have overcome.

As many of you know Arthur Lydiard was famous for developing a training program based on running 100 miles a week for ten weeks. At the conclusion of this aerobic period Lydiard introduced anaerobic and speed training. He called the 100 miles a week “general conditioning” and the anaerobic and speed training, “race specific”.

When I worked with Arthur to develop a swimming version of his running program, it was important to find how far and how fast a swimmer needed to swim in order to achieve the same physiological changes that Lydiard’s 100 miles per week achieved in a runner. We did this by experimenting. Toni Jeffs was the principal guinea-pig but Jane Copland and Nichola Chellingworth also did their time in the Freyberg Pool laboratory. With the advantage of hindsight, we did ask these three to do some incredible aquatic feats; days of very light training and days of over 30 kilometres swum in three 10 kilometre sessions. The experience can’t have been too bad. All three ended up New Zealand national champions, record holders and representatives.

Eventually we settled on a distance we thought worked best; that was far enough to be physically taxing but could still be swum at a firm pace; a distance that achieved the aerobic conditioning necessary to realize successful swimming results. We settled on 100 kilometres a week; swum each week for ten weeks.

It’s a tough ask. Very few swimmers can sustain that level of effort. Many can and do swim 100 kilometres in a week, but for ten weeks? 1000 kilometres in ten weeks is often a hill too high. Toni Jeffs and Jane Copland did it several times; Nichola Chellingworth’s best ten weeks was 956 kilometres. Joe Skuba in Florida got to 1000 kilometres and in that season improved his best 100m long course freestyle from 54.6 to 50.9. But most swimmers old enough to tackle a full Lydiard program, settle for 800 to 850 kilometres.

What I have never seen, is a season when multiple swimmers get to 1000 kilometres in the same season. Never seen that is, until now. Let me introduce Abigail Frink (17), Lara van Egten (21) and Jessica Marston (20). The table below shows what they have been up to in the past ten weeks. Of course it was a conspiracy for them all to stop at exactly 1001 kilometres. But I’m sure you will agree – a good conspiracy. For Lara it was also her first experience of 100 kilometres in a single week. To do all ten weeks at a first attempt demands a very special effort and is another first in my coaching career.

Name	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Total
Jessica	84	100	90	93	110	99	110	100	111	104	1001
Lara	100	100	101	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	1001
Abigail	100	103	104	102	92	100	100	100	100	100	1001

I have called this story “With a Deep Sense of Pride”. Pride in the purity of their effort. That is what I have when I consider the achievement of these three young New Zealanders. Not any personal pride of course, but pride that I was on hand to witness something very special. All that’s best in swimming; all that’s good in people was demonstrated by the pain and effort of this ten weeks.

Not only did the three swimmers get through 1000 kilometres they swam some fine sets. See what you think of these – 10,000 straight swim for time, 8000 fly, 5000 kick timed, 100×25 underwater on 0.40, 10,000 straight kick, 100×100 on 1.30 and 5000 IM straight.

The 8000 straight fly set was still on the club’s white board during the Auckland Age Group Championships. I enjoyed the moment when a visiting Wellington swimmer asked me if he could photograph the board. He said, “I just want to show my mates that they don’t train all that hard after all.”

Of course sets like these only make sense when swimmers are well conditioned. Lydiard loved sending his runners around the Waitakere Ranges. That run and these swimming sets would be damaging if attempted by the underprepared or too young. Done by well-trained athletes, they are a challenge on which athletes and swimmers can grow and prosper. I think it was Peter Snell who said there was something about climbing through the Waitakere Ranges that made you believe you were a champion just by being there.

I believe that 10,000 straight and 8000 fly have the same quality. Of course the eventual race results these three swimmers achieve over 400m freestyle or 100m freestyle or 200m breaststroke will be the test that matters. After all, doing well in competition is the purpose of the ten weeks. But there is another aspect that is also important. Theirs is an achievement in its own right. Irrespective of qualifying times, records and titles they have swum 1000 kilometres in ten weeks. They have learned much about themselves. They have struggled and they have overcome. They have joined a very exclusive club; a club that only the truly tough, the truly honest, can join. Any weakness and 1000 kilometres will find you out.

Lara, Jess and Abigail – welcome to the 1000 Club. As Mohammed Ali is reported to have said, “You done splendid.”