Inside the World Sprint Center

The race to the land down under

By: Jeff Croghan

Part One – The Team

The 2000 Olympics are over. As with Olympics of past, new heroes were created, athletes overcame adverse conditions to succeed, surprise performances inspired, while disappointments made us all weep. In swimming, Tom Dolan blew the competition away in the 400 IM, the US men lost the 400 free relay for the first time in history (by only .2 seconds). Jenny Thompson became the most decorated US woman in Olympic history, but failed to out pace the Netherlands Inge de Bruijn in the 100 meter fly.  Gary Hall Junior was in the limelight again, as the anchor in the 400 free and medley relay, bronze medal winner in the 100 free, and sharing the gold medal in the 50 with his training partner Anthony Ervin. While most people know of his performance in past Olympics, his antics after the games of 96, his recent fight with diabetes, and his accomplishments in Sydney, few people outside of the swimming elite however, know of the training that preceded the trials.

Gary, and his team rival, Anthony Ervin were part of what was coined  The World Sprint Team 2000,  a group of elite athletes who were able to train for the 2000 Olympics under the best conditions. Consisting of ten swimmers from all over the world , Julio Santos and Felipe Delgado from Ecuador, Francisco Sanchez from Venesualia, Bart Kizierowski from Poland, Gordon Kozulj from Croatia, and John Olsen, Gary Hall Jr., Anthony Ervin, Matt Macedo, and Scott Greenwood from right here in the United States of America. Five of the swimmers, Gordon, Bart, Matt, Scott and Anthony, also attended CAL Berkeley.  In an age where technology such as the internet blurs national borders, it seems almost poetic that this sprint team represented counties from three continents. 

As team videograrapher, I had an opportunity to live through a month of peak training with these swimmers , eating and breathing the Olympic dream with the rest of the team.  I had the opportunity to  live with Gordon and Matt and be around the swimmers 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  They made me a part of the team although I was only a high tech spectator with digital video in hand.  Although I did not participate in swimming workouts, I did everything else right along side them including hikes, weekend trips, and other sports like basketball and golf.
 
 

To prepare for what may be the most focused, intense taper, in swimming history, the Sprint team located itself in Phoenix, Arizona at the Phoenix Swim Club, where Gary Hall Jr. started swimming. They believed that this facility supported their training conditions the best because everything was already there in one package. "You have absolutely everything, starting from a great swim complex, to great trainers, to a great weight room, therapists, doctors, and a great staff," says 96 Olympian Felipe Delgado. Mike Bottom, chose the facility because, "at CAL Berkeley we are always hassling to get the facilities we needed to train , but here there is no hassle. At the Phoenix Swim Club we have all the water time we need, we have the weight room, we have the mental training side we have the spiritual training side we have the ability to provide for the total athlete here." 
 

On location at the Boreyko Sports Complex, home of the Phoenix Swim Club, a mental training specialist, Rayma Ditson-Sommer, PH.D. coached swimmers to swim "in the zone".  In contrast to sports psychology, Dr. Ditson-Sommer taught the swimmers how to develop a relaxation response and to develop brain synchrony for peak performance through the use of light/sound technology and biofeedback. Through gentle pulses of light and sound the brain was trained to naturally shift from one hemispheric wave to another by differing programs on the Sportslink mental training instrument. Thus, mental focus,performance enhancement, relaxation and whole brain learning were accomplished 
 

Mike Bottom, the coach of the Sprint Team, is well known in swimming.  Currently the assistant head coach at UC Berkeley, Mike qualified for the 1980 Olympics but was unable to attend due to the US Boycott. That year, the USS held a meet in honor of the Olympic swimmers that were unable to make the trip. Mike swam the 100 fly, beating the fastest time set by Par Arvidsson at the real Olympics held in Moscow. Of local interest, Par was the first person attending an American college (UC Berkeley) to win a gold medal in the 80 Olympics.  Though not bitter, those memories are some of the motivation that helps Mike continue to work with today's elite The thing that makes Mike a great coach is the relationship he holds with his swimmers.
 

In Phoenix each swimmer had the opportunity to speak to Mike and tell him how they felt and what they thought they needed to work on. "He's done everything for me, if my shoulder is hurting he'll drive me an hour out of his way after practice and thats something that I think is really hard to find. I think for the rest of my swimming career I'll have some association with Mike Bottom, I think it would be foolish of me to train with anyone but him," says Matt Macedo.
 

The Dynamics

You might think that there was a natural rivalry between such an elite group of sprinters, but during my stay, at least, there was none. One day one person would swim faster and the next day you never knew.  They would all just jump in whatever lane was available and start swimming.  Everyone would always push each other to do well, but there was never anybody trying to always finish first.  They would all just swim according to the way they felt that day.  If  they had a lot of energy they would use it and if they were tired they would be more relaxed with their sets.  As far as the different strokers went,  they were right in there with everyone else.  Gordon swam in the same lanes as everyone else you just saw more of his face because he was on his back most of the time rather than on his stomach.  Francisco didn't put much attention towards butterfly - he mostly worked on freestyle with a
little fly in the last couple of weeks.  There was never a faster person and there was never a slower person.  Everyone worked as a team and not for themselves.
 

The Qualification

In preparation, they swam at a few invitiationals such as Janet Evans Inventational meet which they took 1st 2nd and 3rd in the 50 free.  At the american trials I dont know how they did.  Everyone from america swam in the 50 and 100 free.  Only Anthony and Gary made the American team.Filepe and Julio had already made their olympic team for Ecuador, Francisco had made the team from his home country of Venesuala, Gordon and Bart, although already making their olympic teams, went to the European trials where Gordon took 1st in the 200 backstroke and Bart placed well in the 50 and 100 free.
 
 

The Outcome

In the Olympics Gary Hall Jr. took 1st in the 50 free and 4x100 medly relay, 2nd in the 4x100 relay and 3rd in the 100 free.  Anthony Ervin took 1st in the 50 free and 2nd in the 4x100 relay.  Bart Kizeroski took 5th in the 100 back and 5th in the 50 free.  Gordon Kozulj took 8th in the 200 back. 
 

Final thoughts

The one thing that made the Sprint Team work so well is that everyone there acted as one big family. Six of the team mates lived in the same apartment complex only rooms away from each other, this is also where I lived with Gordon and Matt. While Hoolio, Francisco and Filepe lived in a house together about a 10 minute drive and Gary Hall Jr. lived only blocks away. We spent 24 hours a day 7 days a week together both on and off of the pool deck. John Olson brought his wife, Jennifer, and daughter, Gabby, along with him which provided even more of a family environment. It was like we all had a little sister to look out for and to play with when we felt like times were tough. Everyone gave as much support as they could to their teammates whether it be at swim meets, practice, or just everyday problems. Gordon "The good thing about this is that when we are here training together we have so much fun that I don't worry about how fast I am going to be at the end of the year. I know that I would rather be here than anywhere else." 

Mike Bottom missed a medal in 1980, but his new Olympic memories will include 2 athletes qualifying in the US, 5 in each of the other countries. Out of those, four of his swimmers made it to the finals, and of course, there was Gary overcoming his diabetes to share the this year’s title of “Worlds fastest Swimmer” with that friend and rival from Cal Berkeley, Anthony Ervin. 
 

Next Week: The Training