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It’s always a little more difficult to write about disappointing swim meets. Words tend to come to mind a lot easier when writing about positive experiences rather than negative ones. I believe that with anything in life, it is important to accept what happened and look forward.
I swam at the 2011 short course European Champs in Szczecin, Poland, from 8. – 11. December. I was super excited to see my teammates again and represent my country. We arrived 2 days before the start of the meet and I was pumped up from the beginning. I was to swim the 100m, 200m, 400m Freestyle and a couple of relays at these championships. First up was the 400m Freestyle and the 200 medley relay. In the preliminary session I touched the wall in 3:42.47 and qualified 4th going into finals. I felt great during this race and looked forward to a great final with my Los Angeles teammate Mads Glæesner (Denmark), who was the top qualifier. I swam next to reigning world champion Paul Biedermann (Germany) in the final and felt smooth throughout the race. I touched in 5th with a textile best of 3:41.25. This swim gave me confidence for my endurance in the 200m free, which was 3 days later. First though, I had the 100m freestyle which to me served as a speed tune up for the big race ahead still. With a 48.94 I was slightly disappointed with my time, but knew that I hadn’t worked on much speed the last 3 months. My main focus has been my endurance so that I can close races better.
On the day of the 200m free I found myself nervous beyond belief. Was it because I had high expectations of myself? Maybe. Was it because I hadn’t raced short course in over a year? Possibly. Was it because I didn’t know what I was doing? Possible. I cannot explain why I was so nervous I almost threw up before my race. What I can explain, is why I didn’t swim my own race. I didn’t swim my own race because I was scared. I was scared of losing. I was scared of not achieving my goals. Throughout the competition I told my fellow teammates to not be scared of attacking races and swimming from the front. I told them to have confidence in themselves and believe in their training. They had worked just as hard as anyone else in their races. I touched in a disappointing 10th place over one second slower than prelims. Bummer.
Straight after European Champs I flew to Atlanta, Georgia, to take part in the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool. This was a very special competition for me as I wasn’t only representing Switzerland but rather whole of Europe. The format of the competition was USA vs. Europe. 4 swimmers from each team race against each other, with the winner earning 5 points, runner up 3 points and the 3rd place 1 point, for their team. The atmosphere was amazing. The stands were packed and the event was broadcast live on US television. Unfortunately I wasn’t at my best with times of 3:45.88 (400m free) and 1:45.89 (200m free). I was disappointed that I couldn’t show my best, especially at a prestigious event like that.
When I don’t do as well as I want to, I like to look for inspiration to get me back on my feet. I didn’t have to wait long. I watched my beautiful GF Jessica have a great meet with personal best times every time she swam (she won the 100m breast in a “textile” WR). She was so positive throughout the competition when she knew I wasn’t at my best. I am extremely lucky to have her in my life. Jess’ parents and my mom and Aunt also came to Atlanta to cheer us on. I want to thank both Jess’ parents and my family for always being there for me through thick and thin.
With 217 days until the Olympics I am surrounded by love and positive people. I’m ready for 2012. Let the New Year begin :)
Happy Holidays from a very cold Switzerland |
