Clarifying a cryptic Tweet sent out by the SwimMAC Twitter account late Sunday and since deleted, both SwimMAC CEO David Marsh and Trojan Swim Club head coach Dave Salo have confirmed that Conor Dwyer is currently training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Salo says that Dwyer is “at altitude for an extended period.” Dwyer has been there since mid-March after the conclusion of the Arena Pro Swim Series meet in Orlando, breaking to compete in Mesa in early April.
While Salo is not there, other portions of the U.S. National Team is present, including Michael Phelps and his training group from Arizona State. Dwyer was formerly a part of this group while they were still training in Baltimore at NBAC.
Dwyer will then head east to Charlotte, where he will race at the SwimMAC-hosted Arena Pro Swim Series meet at Charlotte. There, he will be united with his former Trojan training partner Anthony Ervin, who is training with SwimMAC at their home base in Charlotte at present. Ervin’s parents live in Charlotte, and while he’s left the Trojan Swim Club for good, Marsh says Ervin hasn’t declared his intent to permanently join SwimMAC Team Elite, and his agent has declined to comment.
Dwyer won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games as part of the American 800 free relay. Swimming the 200 free had represented most of his international awards, including 3 of his 6 World Championships medals in relays, and his two World Championship medals individually (1 in long course, 1 in short course).
Dwyer’s name will bring some starpower to a meet that currently will be without Nathan Adrian, Katie Ledecky, and Caeleb Dressel at least, while they compete not far away in Atlanta on the same weekend; and Michael Phelps. The SwimMAC training group, which includes superstar Ryan Lochte and Olympic champion Tyler Clary, will also help boost the profile of the third-to-last stop on this year’s series.
What about the psychological benefits, like no distractions.
At Colorado Springs, I’m sure there is nothing left to do but eat, sleep, swim. (Repeat over and over for an extended period of time)
Remember the Phelps high altitude chamber he slept in in the run up to London?
Unless you spend your non-training time, including sleep/rest at a much lower altitude, then training at a high altitude has virtually no effect when returning to competition at a low altitude.
Actually it’s “train low, sleep high”. Generate more power with more oxygen, and increase RBC production by living at altitude.
Wow, that’s like saying PED will not help you in swimming. Staying at high altitude will increase your hemoglobin by 3.0,(17.00 vs. 13/14 at sea level) close to being illegal, just look at Missy Franklin’s performances at high alt. 2.04 200 bk, 2,08 at sea level. Enough said.
Acoach, if living and training all year at high altitude is so great, and I think that’s obvious, why so few swimmers or so few track athletes have that idea? Weird.
I meant train low, sleep high (not train high, sleep low). Neither of which Dwyer is doing. So it won’t help him.