How coronavirus has impacted Aussie swimmers
The most unsettling part of Jack McLoughlin’s past week was hearing three words from coach Vince Raleigh he’d never heard the respected swimming coach uttered: “I don’t know”.
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The most unsettling part of Jack McLoughlin’s past week was hearing three words from coach Vince Raleigh he’d never heard the respected swimming coach uttered: “I don’t know”.
For the first time since McLoughlin took swimming seriously, the 25-year-old Pan Pacific 400m champion is stuck on land with no clear path forward.
Restrictions in place to limit the spread of COVID-19 means most swimming pools have locked their doors for the foreseeable future.
Add to that the Australian Olympic Committee’s decision to not build a team for the Tokyo Olympics, meant McLoughlin’s meticulous plan for preparation and competition this year was thrown out the window.
The Tokyo Games have since been postponed to 2021, but there is little guarantee it will go ahead.
McLoughlin was part of a group of swimmers set to head to the United States less than two weeks ago for a high altitude training camp.
It was delayed for a week due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus, then cancelled as countries, including Australia, closed borders and enforced strict self-isolation measures.
But it was a moment with coach Raleigh that unsettled McLoughlin more than anything.
“I’ve never heard Vince say ‘I don’t know’,” McLoughlin said.
“We were at training as things were being closed and there were times we were thinking ‘should we even be here’.”
McLoughlin was set for his second Olympic Games, after competing at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
The lead-up to the Rio Games was dominated by an outbreak and concern for the mosquito-borne zika Virus.
While he saw some similarities between the two situations as they stood a fortnight ago, it’s clear this coronavirus outbreak is on a totally different scale.
His preparation for his second Games campaign, as is the case with most of Australia’s elite, was fully planned for a peak come the start of Tokyo in just a few months.
But the AOC’s decision, and the International Olympic Committee’s postponement of the Games until 2021, throws those plans into disarray.
After this break swimmers and athletes will hit the training circuit to have their bodies operating at the optimum level come the middle of 2021.
McLoughlin - who totally backed the AOC’s decision - said the biggest challenge may be the development of athletes, and the impact it could have on them.
“I think it’s more the development of athletes that will be affected,” he said.
“You’ve got a number of really experienced people who might have been planning to retire after the Games and this will now prolong their career for another year, and we know that it can be tougher to compete at the same level with age.
“And the up and coming swimmers who will be affected.
“I really wanted to go to Tokyo this year, I was feeling better than I ever have. I think it will be tougher to get back into training and preparation for another year.
“It doesn’t change too much, but this might mean I have a bit of time off and get the head back.”
ADVICE FOR YOUNG SWIMMERS
The country’s youngest swimmers are now locked out of pools, and may miss out on valuable on training and development time as the coronavirus threat maintains its grip on society.
But, McLoughlin sees a silver lining.
He said the forced break from routine could be the best thing for up-and-coming swimmers.
“It’s a really good opportunity to take a break, take a step back and think about why you love swimming,” he said.
“It can get to a point where training just becomes a cycle, that it’s just what you do.
“Whenever I had a break, I’d always think about what I can do to improve myself as a swimmer and I’d get excited about coming back.”
McLoughlin said there were plenty of ways young athletes could keep training on land, and improve their ability.
“There are so many resources out there,” he said.
“There’s heaps of videos on YouTube with tips on how to improve different aspects.
“I generally watch a lot of old swimming champions and study how they race. I’d watch a lot of Grant Hackett Kieran Perkins to see what they did and how they did it.
“It’s a great time to develop the skills around swimming.”
Originally published as How coronavirus has impacted Aussie swimmers