Ian Thorpe
"For myself, losing is not coming second. It's getting out of the water knowing you could have done better. For myself, I have won every race I've been in...."
thoughts on the Duel in the Pool 2009

There were more than a few times last Friday - day one of the Duel in the Pool competition - when I thought I'd died and gone to swimming heaven...

I turned up early on the Friday morning to try and get some fun, relaxed shots of the USA and E-Stars teams warming up in the pool - my hunch being these would make the best pictures. Some of the biggest stars from the world of swimming would be there, including our own Becky Adlington and of course Phelps, so I expected the usual crush of photographers, journalists and hangers-on.
 
Unlimited poolside access meant I could get up close and personal with the swimmers and not have to stick a lens the size of a dustbin on the end of my camera. For a knackered old Masters swimmer like myself this was about as good as it gets.

So I arrived early, signed in with the lovely British Swimming media department and stepped into another world. Manchester Aquatics Centre had been totally transformed into something between a Roman amphitheatre and rock concert stage. It had wall-to-wall seating, lighting, sound systems, TV cameras, banners, roadies and security guards. Unbelievable. Right away I knew this was going to be a special day...

A seasoned pool-side photography veteran like myself knows wearing shorts is a must if you're not going to melt, so I tried to find somewhere to quickly change. But the only place I could find was the disabled toilet (naughty I know, but I was only going to be a minute) so I nipped in and started to change. About 10 seconds later I heard someone outside trying to get in expressing in no uncertain terms her dismay at finding someone else already in there.

'Hang on, I'll just be a second,' I cried out.
'Don't worry,' came the reply.
'No honestly, it's OK I'm coming out right now.'

I opened the door and there was Becky Adlington standing outside the door in swimming costume. A perfect start to the day - and no, I did not try and get a picture ;)  I knew if I had of done she'd of probably grabbed my camera and thrown it in the pool.

Anyway I made it to the pool to discover only a handful of photographers, most of whom knew absolutely nothing about swimming, and started to think this was going to be my lucky day.  Around the pool the atmosphere was electric.  There were school children everywhere watching the warm-up and trying to get autographs (you can see them in some of the pictures).  James Hickman was also there as Compare, whipping the
kids into a frenzy and fuelling the excitement.  Everywhere I looked were swimming superstars...  Phelps, Adlington, Spofforth, Rock, Tancock, Hoff, Soni, Vanderkaay, Halsall etc. etc. Was I really in Manchester?!

My hunch was right and the best shots of the day were from that morning warm-up session - but you can judge for yourself. Afterwards I got talking to some of the US team coaches (gave them a few valuable coaching tips I'd picked up from the City of Sheffield Swim Squad Masters) and I told them what a great idea I thought the Duel in the Pool was.

'Yep, it's a really great idea,' replied one of the Americans who pointed to the guy standing next to him and said, 'So tell him... it was his idea, he started it...' I could think of nothing to say in reply.

The Duel in the Pool was a truly multi-national event and I think the choice of swimming costume for the warm-up session said something about each nationality. Most of the US team girls wore matching designer costumes - all very slick, conservative and consumer branded. The GB team girls wore whatever they wanted - so we had a range of different designs from fun beachwear to shocking pink. And the Italian men and women wore, well, not a lot really. The guys looked like they were modelling Y-Fronts for GQ magazine and some of the Italian girls wore what looked like a couple of pieces of string tied together at the back.

The two day competition itself was really special and I hope it marks the beginning of a new era for British swimming. Our country and especially our athletes need more events like this in the run up to 2012. There can be no better training for Team GB than experiencing the real thing on home ground, and what we saw in Manchester last week was just a taster of what the Olympics will bring in 2012. Imagine the 3,000 people in Manchester multiplied by SIX - that's how big the crowd will be. But it's not just the invaluable training and preparation it provides for our athletes - it also brings swimming to life. It makes it real, exciting and relevant for the young kids who watched it and probably spend hours of their life every week doing it... when their friends are sitting around at home watching TV or playing computer games. I saw first hand what it meant to the children when I photographed them lining up for autographs after the warm-up. Their faces said it all.

The big question is this: would it have been the same event without Phelps? Probably not, but surely we could organise smaller Duels - for example GB versus Germany or Italy - in a cheaper, scaled down version of the one we saw last week?

The Duel in the Pool was also the moment some of our athletes showed their true class... Rocky beating Phelps, Halsall's win, Simmonds' record-beating swim and Adlington's return to winning ways.  Becky was under huge pressure to win on Saturday in front of a big home crowd and live BBC TV. But she did it, and proved she can be both the celebrity hero AND race winning athlete at the same time.  A turning point?

So over the next couple of years I look forward to more Duels, more magnificent international racing and more Italian swimming costumes ;)

Happy Christmas everyone.

Posted: 23rd December 2009






























































a bit of an attitude is a good thing

Every now and again I read something that really hits the mark, something that absolutely makes sense. This happened when I picked up the December issue of The Swimming Times and read the piece on page 9 titled: 'Finding Factor X: Sir Clive on taking talent to the top'. In it the legendary Sir Clive Woodward talks about his formula for indentifying and coaching world-class athletes. If you haven't seen it go and pull your copy of The Swimming Times out of the recycling bin, make yourself a cup of tea and read it.  There are real words of wisdom from Sir Clive, things like:

'Athletes need more than natural talent to become champions... They also need the ability to learn, to think under pressure and to work hard.'

He goes on to say, 'But my biggest message is that talent alone is not enough. Talent gets you into this room but there is talent all over the world... The key is how you coach pressure... Most people will perform under pressure if at least they have thought about it. 

'It is attitude that sets champions apart from the rest.'

I am not a coach, and I am certainly not a past or present world-class athlete (does coming 3rd out of 3 competitors in a South Yorkshire Masters 100m breaststroke race count?!). But through the GBswimstars project I am gradually meeting more and more people who are, and they all have something in common... total, utter dedication to their sport and their training. They spend hours and hours every week pounding up and down the pool, or diving off boards, or whatever they have to do.

What I notice more than anything is their attitude, especially at the competitions I attend. The superstars soak up and use the pressure and nerves to perform better than anyone else on the day. For them the pressure seems to act as a kind of performance-enhancing drug...

I'll never forgot at a Nationals final this year I was photographing some swimmers lining up for a final (I won't say which one) and everyone there was giving it the thousand yard stare routine with nervous eyes, lots of muscle slapping etc. Apart from one swimmer, who just looked at me, smiled and did a joke 'biting the fingernails' kind of mime. She looked totally relaxed - and went on to do really well in the race.

I guess superstars really do need both the talent and the attitude. 

Now I can think of quite a few British footballers and pop stars who have got plenty of attitude - but little or no talent.  So how does that work?!

Posted: 5th December 2009
the real synchro

The photo shoot at the Reading Royals Synchronised Swimming Club last month was an extraordinary experience. I took more pictures of more people in one go than I've ever done before, and tried numerous different looks and styles - including; fashion, 'mean and moody', underwater and arty (plus some others I can't even remember). In addition I used a new lighting set-up I'd never tried before that involved dangling my very expensive remote flash lighting rig precariously above the pool; plus there were other squads in and around the pool at the same time as us, so I had to keep out their way whilst avoiding getting them in the pictures. Ahhhh!!!!!!!

Despite the challenges we came away with some really great pictures and most of the ideas seemed to work - especially the underwater shots with fun and funky lighting effects.

What I saw during the photo shoot just reconfirmed my view that synchro is a beautiful sport. But it's also a sport you'd appreciate more if you could see it in slow motion above and below the water. There's just too much happening too quickly all at once for mere mortals like me to take in.

During the photo shoot we photographed a few examples of the flexibility and strength land training synchro swimmers have to do. Two of the girls formed a bridge (you can see it in the gallery), which involved them arching their backs into a semi-circle and sticking a leg vertically up in the air. I remember thinking to myself 'what's that got to do with synchro - looks more like gymnastics to me?', then they got into the water and one of the same two girls did this amazing back-flip type move. It was gymnastics on water, with the guarantee of a soft landing.

My aim now is to get some very different pictures of synchro and the swimmers who do it - and not the usual thing you see with legs in the air, head up, arms raised and fixed cheesy smile. Because...

... Synchro is a serious Olympic sport - the Russians dominate the top spot but Team GB is moving up the league table.
... It requires tremendous stamina, flexibility and technique.
... It is growing in popularity.
... In this country it is probably the most misunderstood and poorly represented of the Olympic aquatic sports (although the water polo mob might disagree).

So I look forward to photographing more synchro over the coming months and helping - I hope - to raise the profile of this wonderful sport and those involved.

Posted: 6th October 2009
synchro here I come

OK - I think I'm ready for the synchro photo shoot coming up soon with the Reading Royals. I've spent the last few weeks adapting some of my photography gear so I can (hopefully) position my lights/strobes directly over the pool and above the swimmers. This meant a bit of head scratching with the design, then a few purchases from China courtesy of eBay and a trip down the road to my local B&Q... so this photo shoot has turned into something of multi-national construction project.

I've also spent time researching what on earth synchronised swimming is all about. Synchro is the new kid on the block - not many people know about it or understand it, myself included. But after much YouTube viewing and internet trawling I'm beginning to get to know this amazingly beautiful sport and can't wait to see it in action.

Those of you who have met me may find this impossible to believe, but years ago I had dance lessons (a long story), so I have the utmost respect for what these synchro swimmers have to do in the pool. They're doing moves upside down in water that I wouldn't have attempted on land the right way up with gravity assistance - and if I had attempted would have put me in hospital for at least six months afterwards.

Probably synchro's biggest problem is everything happens so damn fast and most of the really clever stuff takes place underwater. Ordinary people like me watching it don't see the human platforms they make underwater from nothing in about five seconds to launch their 'flyer' into the air (that's the crazy person who leaps out of the water during the routine); or the strength, technique and elasticity required to do do all those whizzy moves with their legs.

So my challenge is to capture this in pictures and try and show the world what the sport's really about, what it takes to be a synchro swimmer and why the sport deserves more respect and attention than it gets at the moment... easy!

Posted: 20th September 2009
my take on the Nationals 2009

I've been to and competed in many Masters competitions over the years but this was my first time at a major competition - and what a difference... Here winning or losing meant absolutely everything to those taking part and no-where was this more evident than at the end of the races. I saw one guy punch the touch pad (the electronic board at the end of the swim lane swimmers have to touch to stop the clock) with so much force I thought his fist was going to put hole in the side of the pool, and a girl break down in tears still in the pool at the end of the race.

Another thing I learnt from the Nationals is the importance of mental preparation. When I used to compete (which was about 100 years ago when they started races not with a hooter but with a flag and you had to wear a full-length costume made of wool) my mental preparation extended as far as making sure I remembered what time my race started and what lane I was swimming in... What I saw last month was something completely different, which I tried to capture in pictures. I've no idea what went through their minds before the race or how they prepared themselves mentally; but it looked to me like there were two races going on at the same time... one in the pool and one in the mind.

This is scary stuff, so thank goodness the only thing I have to worry about is remembering which way round to swim in the lane during training - was it clockwise or anti-clockwise?!

Well done to everyone who made it to the Nationals - you should all be very proud.

Posted: 23rd August 2009
pressure - what pressure?!

There's no doubt the media frenzy before and during London 2012 will be like nothing we've experienced before. Add in a fanatical home crowd with ridiculously high expectations and you have the perfect media storm, with our athletes right in its eye. In anticipation of this British Swimming is providing some media training for the athletes, but no training is substitute for the real thing and until they reach the top level of their sport most athletes will not experience any significant media interest - and the pressure it brings.

So it's fascinating to see what effect the GBswimstars camera has on swimmers. A professional camera in a swimming pool is - for obvious reasons - a rarity, so point a camera in the direction of most young swimmers and it generates a new psychological pressure most have not experienced before. Generally they deal with this new pressure in one of three ways: they either ignore it and get on with the job at hand, or they take great exception and get visibly agitated, or they think it's absolutely hilarious and start behaving like they're auditioning for a reality TV show. Now I'm pleased to say most just ignore my camera as best they can, but maybe GBswimstars could also be viewed as a kind of introductory media training experience... although I'm no Sharon Davies!

We also do recorded interviews after the photo shoots with some of the athletes and coaching staff, and this adds to the experience for those who take part - for better or for worse!

Posted: August 2009
what it takes

The Beijing Olympics was one of the most successful games ever for Team GB and media coverage during and after the games was incredible. However, unseen were the hours and hours of training put in by the athletes before the games and tireless support provided by their families, clubs and coaches - the unsung heroes!

So what does it take to get to the top and stay there?  In the world of swimming most club swimmers are in the pool twice a day at 5.30am and 4.00pm, 5 or 6 days a week. They train 4 hours a day, combining weights and other dry land training with swims totalling around 60 kilometres a week, or 2,000 miles a year.  That's like swimming from London to Luton every week!

Here's what one of Britain's top swimmers - the open water Olympic silver medallist Keri-Anne Payne - said about her typical day (as reported in the Times in December 2008):

"5am... I have toast and jam, then head to Grand Central Pools in Stockport.
"6am... I start with a 10-minute run in the gym, followed by some core stability work using a medicine ball - working the muscles around my abdomen - then a 45-minute circuit, with sit-ups, press-ups and weights.
"7am... My first hour in the pool - a hard, fast-paced session. We’ll usually swim about 5,000 metres.
"8am... I have a cereal bar, then back to the gym for a 10km run or a cycle. Then more circuit training, with more weights, sit-ups and chin-ups.
"1pm... A couple of sandwiches for lunch, then a banana or pear, before heading back for the afternoon session at 3.30pm.
"4pm... We have half an hour for stretch work and to work on injury prevention; then it’s back in the pool for two hours.
"7pm... I head home for a dinner of pasta or steak and potatoes, sometimes chips. I don’t worry too much about my diet."

Add in the time and stress of studying or working in the day and that usually leaves just one day off a week to recover (but only if you're not swimming in competitions which are often held at weekends). There can be few sports that demand this amount of sacrifice and commitment, leaving little time for the body to recover, which means a part of you hurts all the time...

And spare a thought for the friends and family who also make big sacrifices - for example the 5.00am taxi ride to the pool every day, hanging around for two hours then the 8am taxi ride to school - with the whole thing repeated all over again in the afternoon.

Finally the clubs, coaches and volunteers also play a vital role in the making of a GB swim star - because behind every champion there is a small army of people who have helped them get there.

Posted: June 2009

coaching matters

I love the Sunday night Masters swim training session at Ponds Forge. 'Masters' is the polite name given to members of swimming and diving clubs who are past their sell-by date - which nowadays is about 25. The session is usually 'long course' (meaning it's a 50m long pool instead of 25m); so I can dive into one of the best pools in Europe, engage my brain's auto-pilot and chug up and down the swim lane for an hour like an old but well maintained tug boat. But last Sunday night I had something of a revelation - or is it an epiphany? Actually it could be a lobotomy, I'm not sure which... whatever hurts the most.

You see the problem with engaging auto-pilot and chugging up and down the pool is you never improve. You keep doing the same wrong things in the same wrong way. And to make this point crystal clear last Sunday night our long-suffering coach (Andy) dragged us out the pool and made us watch two of the best Masters swimmers in action. And that's when I had the first revelation; because as I watched these guys gliding effortlessly across the water I realised swimming's not just about raw power and fitness, but doing the right things in the right way at the right time. Which means I've got to think - not just swim.

To hammer the point home over on the other side of the pool I saw kids in another squad powering up and down with snorkels on. Snorkels? Why?! Because the snorkels let them absolutely focus on what they're doing with their arms and legs without having to worry about anything else - like breathing.

Determined to immediately correct the terrible things I'd been doing I jumped back into the pool and tried rolling my shoulders more and doing all the other technique stuff Andy said I had to do. Which is when I had my second revelation. Because now I was using muscles in a way they hadn't been used before - which meant after about 30 minutes everything hurt really badly and I felt awful - but I knew I was swimming better. I'd begun the the long hard slog to Phelps-like technical perfection... knowing I'd never get there!

This is why skilled and dedicated coaches are so important. Look at the difference someone like Bill Sweetenham made when he joined British Swimming a few years ago. By all accounts he may not have been universally popular, but something fundamentally changed when he arrived and you see the successful swimmers who started when he was in charge coming through now.

The environment is tough (hot pool side with no natural light), the hours are awful (5.30am start - 7pm finish, plus weekends) and the pay isn't great - so it takes a special kind of crazy person to be a coach.

But as London 2012 draws closer I hope GBswimstars helps all our club coaches get the recognition they truly deserve.

Posted: July 2009