US National Team at World Championships

Friday, July 15th, 2005
Written by Steve Munatones

With only one day before Opening Ceremonies and two days before the world championship 5K race, the team swam in the morning in the rowing course and in the pool in the afternoon.

After training solely in the 2-kilometer course in Lake Placid and in the 2.5-kilometer course in the Olympic rowing basin, the team was surprised how small a 50-meter pool looked it. In fact, most of the team was convinced that the 50-meter pool was too short…by between 10-25 meters.

Comments such as, “No way, this is a 50-meter pool!” to “I want some official to tell me this is 50 meters…this is NOT 50 meters!”… “Why is the pool so short?” … “Ask someone how many meters this pool is.” This is the “open water training phenomenon” where a swimmer’s perspective on distances is changed after doing hard
open water training. Needless to say, the entire team had a great pool workout after head coach Rick Walker dove in and confirmed the pool was, in fact, 50 meters.

The big issue now among the team is waiting for the official decision on the open water race course. Other countries have filed various complaints ranging from the location of the buoys relative to the finish line to the temperature of the water (76-78 degrees). However, the American team remains confident in their training and
is prepared to swim well no matter what the conditions or what race course decisions will be made by the FINA officials during tomorrow’s 5K pre-race meeting.

The weather remains very warm and sunny as hundreds of teams from around the world gather in Montreal for tomorrow’s opening ceremonies which will star Montreal’s world-famous Cirque du Soleil. The US team’s hotel includes the American divers and synchronized swimmers as well as teams from Bulgaria, Malaysia, Ecuador and various other countries. The US pool swimmers will arrive in the same hotel on July 21st while the American men’s and women’s water polo team are staying at a different hotel.