Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Ziegler's (almost) back

Even though Kate Ziegler didn't win the World Championships 1500, she was 2nd, and third (and the rest of the field) wasn't close to her, even though she wasn't close to first. But swimming the distances requires absolute faith in your training, as well as good training, because they hurt. Marathon and long-distance runners and long-distance swimmers both have the same situation; if any little part of the machine isn't fine-tuned, then it takes considerably more effort, with less efficiency, to perform. Ziegler's machine wasn't hitting on all cylinders at either the Worlds or the Olympics -- even though to perform at even the level she did is somewhat amazing. It's very hard to make comebacks in distance swimming due to the pain of training and the dedication required to accept it, which makes Ziegler's accomplishment in Shanghai even more impressive. Let's see if she can make Friis work for it in the 800 meter freestyle, the Olympic distance (for women).

Kate Ziegler ends medal drought with silver in the 1500 meter freestyle

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