The Rio 2016 Olympic Games

From Surrey Park trained swimmers' perspective!

With the Rio Olympics nearly completed its time to reflect back on how our Surrey Park trained swimmers faired, in what for many of them, was their first Olympic Games experience.

Once every 4 years this crazy circus comes to town, and in this case the town was Rio. Amidst all the hype and build up for these games, there was always the lurking phantom, of hosting a games in one of the world’s most beautiful yet dangerous cities.  

Controversy seemed to be everywhere, from the arrival of teams into the village, where numerous complaints emerged about substandard and unfinished facilities, to the ongoing issues of traffic and transport.

Success was going to be rewarded to those who would not be distracted by external factors. That’s exactly what we saw over the 8 days of the swimming events.

Our Chinese swimmers performed admirably and with only a few exceptions came away with Personal Best times, National and Asian records, semi-final and finals. Special mention to the few swimmers being rewarded with trips to the Podium for that coveted Olympic Medal.

The results were as follows:

The above swimmers were the most recent groups to train with us, with the majority completing the late April through till early July with our program.

We had some extremely fast swims from the above group and when you realize that 5 of those swimmers are 18 years old or under, it is very promising for the next 4 year Olympic cycle.

I must make mention of the casualties of the Olympics within our group. Ning Zetao, who this time last year as celebrating being crowned World Champion, had his preparation severely hampered after leaving Melbourne, before arriving into Rio. This had a massive effect on his ability to recover and perform at his best. But this still did not dampen his spirits and he fought his heart out like a true champion.

Also, Ye Shiwen, who was the defending Olympic Champion in both Medleys, contracted a nasty cold 4 days before her first event, the 400 IM, which left her weak and unable to perform at her best.

However, being the champion she is, she bounced back with her fastest time in the 200 IM in her semi-final since the London Olympics of 2012.

But again, fate stepped in and on her dive to start the final of the 200 IM, her goggles slipped down into her mouth and stayed there for the remainder of the race, hindering her opportunity to get to the podium.

Especially after her semi-final swim would have placed her a close 4^th to the eventual Bronze medalist.

We all should be very proud of their results over the past couple of weeks. Many of you have swum alongside these guys in training for the past 12 months. Take note and remember, “Nothing is impossible”.

Matt Brown

Director of Coaching

Surrey Park Swimming Club

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