Gift link to a wonderful article. Hard work and persistence count for a lot! A good thing for me to remember when I’m discouraged about my lack of coordination! https://wapo.st/3IN70MS
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Thank you for the gift link!
I agree that hard work and persistence count for a lot. For the tippy-top performers, I think it has to be both. You have to be genetically remarkable AND work remarkably hard.
A family member of mine attended a HYPSM on a swimming scholarship. He swam on Sundays and his birthdays. Then again, ALL of his high school classmates did this. But only a few attended D1 schools on swimming scholarships. The difference? Genetics.
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There is also a third element, which is physical environment. So nutrition, medical care, clean air and water, etc.
But these and genetics only provide potential. Becoming a top athlete requires these + a LOT of hard work.
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That is a great point. The swimmers I know who excelled also had the advantages of stable households, access to pools and year-round club teams, top coaches, medical care, nutrition. At the tippy-top levels, it has to be everything.
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I truly admire his dedication (and the coach’s too)! Obviously it worked for him. But… it does make me wonder if there could be advantage to giving the body an occasional rest.
My husband swam in college. Not at a high level but he is pretty informed as to what it take to swim at a high level.
He says that you can swim much more than other sports because the water isn’t as hard on your body. Michael Phelps might have been lucky as far as not having major injuries.
My husband thinks one of the keys to be really successful at swimming (besides athletic talent) is the mental ability to be able to swim for so long
Swimming is very very boring. You spend hours and hours staring at a black line on the bottom of the pool with nothing to distract you. It takes a lot of mental fortitude. You don’t hear anything or see anything for hours and hours each day. Because you can train and will train for an extended amount of time.
Michael Phelps was able to withstand the rigors of training for years and years of his life. It’s quite astounding. And his competitive spirit is amazing.
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My two youngest were swimmers. The older one said that she loved that time in the pool – it was like zen, just her and the water. She swam through college, Div. 3. The younger one said it was insanely boring and quit right before high school, despite having times that would have made her a varsity contributor. The mental part of sports can’t be underestimated.
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Those schools don’t have athletic scholarships. But I don’t doubt that those athletes work very hard.
Athletes are kind of a weird group. Some just love to work harder and harder. Last year my daughter was in an international tournament, having been away from her sport for 4 years. She hired a trainer to get into decent shape because she had a full time job she had to attend to too. She made a schedule, she stuck to that schedule.
I think it is a big deal when I walk the dog 7 days in a row. I’m not a world class athlete.
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Stanford does.
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