Russian swimming star Yuliya Efimova announced last November the creation of a new professional swimming squad called ‘Team Efimova’ and, thus far, the experiment appears to be working. While competing on the Mare Nostrum Tour, the 25-year-old two-time Rio silver medalist clocked a 200m breaststroke time of 2:19.83, falling just .72 shy of the current 2:19.11 world record. She also notched the 3rd best 100m breaststroke of all-time with her outing of 1:04.82 in Canet.
Primarily led by her coaching father, Andrey Efimov, Efimova’s training formula also consists of tapping well-known technique resources from around the globe. Team Efimova’s latest collaboration was with South African Olympian and former world record holder Roland Schoeman, the man known for helping introduce the ‘catapult’ racing start to the international swimming scene.
For years Schoeman’s dive has been recognized world-wide as one of the fastest starts in swimming. Anthony Ervin and Tom Shields have referred to Schoeman’s start as the standard, as presented by SwimSwam back in 2012. For a refresher on his mechanics, you can watch Schoeman break-down his catapult start and dive technique via this video.
Per Schoeman, he has ‘spent almost 20 years working on and refining the catapult start’, building up knowledge and drills that he offers up to others via his private consultancy business. The South African most recently worked with Singapore Swimming at their National Training Centre before being contact by Team Efimova to consult and work with Yuliya and her team on improving starts, underwater and various technical components.
37-year-old Schoeman, who still owns South Africa’s national record in the 50m freestyle at 21.67, can be seen coaching Efimova’s start in the Instagram photo below, as well as appearing with the Team Efimova squad in the subsequent tweet.
На сборе в Матаро к работе с Efimova Team приступил – олимпийский чемпион Роланд Шуман из ЮАР (на фото – справа) pic.twitter.com/UoC23asFE6
— Efimova Team (@EfimovaTeam) July 7, 2017
I asked Schoeman how he feels about working with swimmers in general who may have served doping bans, given his past outspokenness on social media regarding the state of clean sport today. Below are just two tweets from the South African in response to doping issues within the past year.
Instead of actually finding ways to catch drug cheats you contemplate banning caffeine SMH! @wada_ama https://t.co/djxYeTDZ8Y
— Roland Schoeman (@Rolandschoeman) March 9, 2017
So let me see if i understand this correctly, 3 missed tests = 24month ban. FAILED drug test = 3 month ban. Makes sense. Well done @fina1908
— Roland Schoeman (@Rolandschoeman) May 12, 2017
Schoeman says, “Given my outspokenness in the past this is exactly why I’m going out of my way in helping others with something that is 100% legal.
“I have a unique perspective on the [swim] start and my goal is to be able to provide the insight nad skills necessary for someone to have a start that is technically better and faster.”
Schoeman, who worked with Efimova and her squad in Europe for one week, says that “Yuliya and her team were an absolute pleasure to work with. I have truly been fortunate to have worked with Olympic medalists, world champions and even age group swimmers.
“What I appreciate and respect most is their eagerness to learn and improve. My goal is to help any swimmer develop the best start they’re capable of, because I never had the luxury of having something help me develop my start.”
Schoeman will next be journeying to the Czech Republic, working with their squad at two separate camps before moving on to France to work with an individual athlete.
Roland and Garrett’s start tutorial/interview is excellent and sheds some light on his technique sharing philosophy. I’d love to have him as a teacher.
It’s his decision to help whoever he chooses, but it is sure to raise some eyebrows. Personally, I wouldn’t work with an athlete who I believed had cheated, busted or not. That’s just too hard to swallow.
Shame on him. His speaking out against drug cheats has just be erased. Shame. Shame. Shame.
I’m confused as how helping someone with their start has now officially negated absolutely every time he has stood out and publicly criticized drug cheats.. It would be great if you actually explained this one. .
One could say shame on you for criticizing someone helping the sport.
Let’s see… let me tweet about doping in sport and how against it I am as an athlete… oh wait, a doper wants to come to me , possibly pay me and learn how to take the power she obtained while on illegal supplements ( because all the strength she gain during use of said illegal supplements magically disappeared when she stopped right?) and teach her how to use it.
Yes, shame on him. If you need further justification then shame on you for not understanding how dopers are ruining our sport!
No one else finds it odd that she is practicing in a thong bikini?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta_myupIJm0
Why not. How is it different from pictures of “Iron Lady” in gym.
“Anna Kournikova is a Russian former professional tennis player. Her appearance and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis stars worldwide. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name one of the most common search strings on Google Search”. Wikipedia
It was taken as insult to the Sport first of what she was wearing on the court, but actually she’s done a nice thing and professional sport and fans have to say thank you to her.
Odd is not the right word
I think you meant “awesome”
Yes thats what i meant….damn autocorrect got me again!!
Sold his soul to devil. I wonder who is sponsoring all this.
And how exactly did he sell his soul I’d be interested to know!! Did you read his statements?? Your statement in and of itself sounds resentful and rather soulless.
His statements were far from a convincing moral justification.
Why does he need to justify working with someone on their start???? He’s providing a “legal” service to someone. Something you clearly seemed to have missed
Yes, indeed, pecunia non olet (“money does not stink”).
Interesting in the video that he says his mass is slightly back. What I’m seeing is the shoulders directly over the hands which is standard instruction.
Got some hater trolls on here. Made an objective observation and got 5 thumbs down?
That’s cool
Meilutyte doesn’t need that