For those of you who aren’t on “the Twitter,” or simply missed it, here’s a little update on what Vlad Morozov is shooting for this summer.
He posted a picture of a piece of paper that he says he’s had hanging over his bed for a while. That piece of paper had “17.9” and “40.8” written on it; presumably referring to the 17.9 relay split and 40.8 flat-start 100 free that he cleared this past weekend (he was a 17.86 relay start on the 50, and set the NCAA and U.S. Open Records in the 100 freestyle with a 40.76.
Now, he’s revealed what his goals are for this summer: 21.50 (50 free long course) and 47 (100 free long course). Those would give him a big chance at a podium at the World Championships, and though he said he was shaved and tapered for this meet, he’s been fast all-year long so they’re both within reach. He was as good as 22.06 in the 50 and 48.56 in the 100 freestyles in long course in 2012.
As they say, it’s not a goal unless you write it down. This is a great strategy for young swimmers to learn from: writing down realistic goals, and putting them somewhere that you’ll look at them every day. Not to put too much pressure on yourself, but for whenever you hit the down cycles that are inevitable in training as difficult as swimming, it’s a good reminder of why you’re doing it, and what you’re shooting for.
There are short Olympic Medalist on Fly and Breast.. but it is much harder on Back and on Free I can´t even name a short guy.. the shortest I remeber from recent times was Bousquet.. Short axel strokes like breast and fly are easier. I was in the 5’3″ range in high school and in community college at 5’4″. So my best strokes were breast-fly.
Lars frolander was a short guy too, and he won the 100 butterfly at the sydney Olympics…. And he was elected the best freestyle turner in the early 2000! So height is not everything.
There are short Olympic Medalist on Fly and Breast.. but it is much harder on Back and on Free I can´t even name a short guy.. the shortest I remeber from recent times was Bousquet..
Frolander has a Bronze on the 100 freestyle at the 98 and 01 Long-course championships…. But i agree with you that height has much more to say specially in freestyle, and i think it’s getting more and more important atleast in the last 5-10 years. For example at last year’s Australian championships (Olympic trials) the only guy under 1.90 centimeters was Eamon sullivan and he is 1.89 (6.2)
But in backstroke i don’t think it is that big of an advantage, just look at Liam tancock he’s the wr holder and he’s 6.0, and if Ryosuke Irie get’s a bit stronger i think he can beat everyone in the 200 Backstroke 😉
Sorry if i have bad language English is… Read more »
that’s not true actually, Cameron McEvoy was in one of the outside lanes, and he’s 6’0. He came second at Aussie trials this year with a 48.0
For ex: Ryosuke is 1,78m.. His Tech on my vision is the best among all backstrokers now.. but if he were as tall as Clary or Locthe (and a little bit stronger) he could push much better than he does now..
The shortest Olympic Medalist level swimmer I can think was Ricard Prado with ONLY 1,58m (5’2).. but I don´t think he could fare well on this times where height is becoming much more important..
lochte isn’t at all tall. He can’t be taller than 6 feet. I’m about 6 foot 1, and when I stood next to lochte for a picture, i was noticably taller than him.
Are you sure you were not wearing shoes while Lochte was barefooted?
Because according to Wikipedia, Lochte is 6ft 2in (1.88 m), also according to USA Swimming, he’s 6ft 2in (1.88 m) as well.
Anyway, Lochte is not among the best in 50-100 free.
And I definitely think he reached his potential in 200 free in 2011 Shanghai.
The shortest male/female WR holder/olympics medallist in the past decade I can think of is Libby Trickett, and on the male side it’s Eamon Sullivan. even Anthony Earvin is still over 190cm.
Morozov may prove that height is no factor after all (in the real swimming of LCM), but until it happens, we’ll see.
Pretty sure if Lochte focussed solely on the 50 and 100 free he’d be amongst the world top five in both events. He made the final of the 2008 World short course in the 50 remember!
Sprintdude9000,
Again, the operative word is “short course”, and in 50 SCM, it has a wall, and we all know Lochte is the best in turn and underwater.
On a different topic, I appreciate the fact Vlad had the courage to post his goal times for us swimming enthusiast to see. Phelps for example, had goal times, but would keep it secretive (heck, he wouldn’t tell us what events he would be swimming!) That’s just a testament of how confident he is because what other swimmers is doing the same thing? Good on you Vlad & I hope all this scrutinizing doesn’t discourage you (if you’re reading)!
Garcia told he aims for 47 flat also..
Cielo uses this papers to.. but has not shown his times for worlds..
Cielo in the past always told his times(even for minor champs like Maria Lenk).I believe with his injuries, he dont want to risk to be that far, like in London.By the way, Cielo goal in London was 21.20 and 47low(i think it was around 47.2).In the past Maria Lenk, his goal in 50free was 21.35(he made 21.38), but after his time in 100free(48.2) at the same competition he dont told nothing more…
over the 50 is his height really gunna matter that much more than his explosiveness? his 17.8 split definitely was heavily influenced by the fact that his team was behind. adrian or cielo may possibly have swam that fast in college but both were on strong relay teams if memory serves right. his 100 performance was undeniably epic, no doubt about it, but the question is can he transfer it to LCM as previously stated. I think if you compare the times he did last NCAA’s and the times he did at world champs or olympics it’s obvious to see his growth. swimming is as unpredictable as ever but one thing is clear, vlad is going to have to fix… Read more »
I think a lot of people forget that Vlad swam a very impressive leg in the 4×100 Free Relay at the Olympics – coming in at 47.6 which was on par with people like Cullen Jones and Eamon Sullivan on the third leg. That’s not a slow split, and he’s definitely gotten faster since last year given his performances recently.
I also think Vlad’s got room to improve – watching his videos from NCAAs he can still squeeze bits out of his underwaters and he tends to get a bit too choppy because of his crazy-fast rotation especially across the last length. He’s right in one of the interviews he did at NCAAs about Dave Salo telling him to try… Read more »
Vlad had a 47.8 split, not 47.6. Yes, he wasn’t bad on the relays, but it was nothing spectacular.
Getting technical here….1 meter 80 centimeters is 5 foot 10.886 inches.
Almost 5″ 11″. 6 feet tall is 1M, 82.88 CM
Sounds like Vlad is almost 5″ 11″ tall……
Anyone know Vlad’s exact height and weight stats?
Hard to say unless you see his medical records. His friends will say he’s 6’1, his detractors will say he’s 5’11…his London bio has him at 5’11” and 160 pounds.
5’11 ou 6’1. he is still short
cielo 6’5
Manadou 6’6
Jones 6’5
Fratus 6’2
Adrian 6’7
Magnussen 6’5
Hayden 6’5
Agnel 6’8
He is sill short compared to these guys except Fratus..
Adrian is six-seven?That tall…i was thinking he was six-five…
No matter what, Vlad is a great talent, even being so short.Its incredible how he can gliding high in the water with his strokes like he was wearing a life buoy.
Adrian is one of the biggest 50/100 swimmers out there. He is also over 220, which is unusual for that type of swimmer, but that doesn’t seem to limit him at all.
Funny…reminds me of the NBA…you need to subtract a few inches from all listed heights.
I agree LCM is a different sport but do not put too much stock in Vlad’s times from London. He was still implementing the stroke changes suggested by his Russian coaches and let’s hope he goes faster at Worlds.
pretty sure adrian’s first olympics he was a relay only swimmer about the same age as morozov was at last year’s olympics, but obviously historical perspective is lost on this crowd because he was faster than both cielo and adrian ever were in college, without full body suits and you guys hating on him- btw, when you are behind in sprint relays short course, the is no draft, that is called surf!– same guy beat mandaou head to head at short course worlds…. being 6’4 doesn’t hurt you in any course. guy is a racer willing to put it out there, pretty tough for any height
Shinji
Cielo was already faster on LCM at the same age of Morozov.. and I Think Adrian too… People should stop putting such heat on SCY and focus on LCM
Shinji
Found about Cielo
Morozov at 20.. 22.06 and 48.56
Cielo at 20 21.84 and 48.51
“Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will not themselves be realized”