My Concerns for David Popovici's Career...

Is David Popovici capable of breaking the World Record in the 200 Freestyle?

Yes.

When he was 17 years old, he swam a 1:42.9 - the fastest textile swim ever!

Now, at only 20 years old, he’s an individual Olympic Champion and a former world record holder in the 100 freestyle.

He could have another 5, 6, 7+ years of breaking world records!

But will that happen?

I’m not sure…  And here's why.

The hardest thing for an Olympic swimmer to do is maintain dominance.

Once you've struck gold (literally 🥇), success becomes a lot harder to repeat. Now, the pressure of the world is on your shoulders - everyone expects you to win.

We’ve already seen this in action:

After Popovici went 1:42.9 in 2022, everyone assumed he was going to get an easy Gold at the Paris Olympics. However, this didn’t pan out as expected.

Popovici’s winning time was a lot slower than his best time – 1:45.65, finishing only 0.39s ahead of Lucas Henveaux (Belgium) in 2^nd place. The race was a lot tighter than expected.

Did the pressure get to Popovici? Or was the slower time due to other factors?

The next few years in David Popovici's career will go 1 of 2 ways:

It's either going to be sky high

Or it's going to be tough…

Do you think David will continue to dominate the 200 freestyle for years to come? Can he break the world record? Let me know what YOU think!

The 3 Types of Resistance Equipment: My Tips & Tricks

Parachutes

The benefit of the parachute is its versatility.

One thing I like to do is tuck it between my legs, take a few strokes fast AND THEN release the parachute to activate the resistance wherever I want within the lap. This lets me feel the difference between resisted and non-resisted swimming, improving my feel for the water.

You can also use parachutes for aerobic capacity building. We used to do aerobic 200s and 300s with the chute - just a cool way to spice up your usual endurance training.

*Try to get a parachute with a soft rope, or else you’ll kill your ankles when you kick it!

Drag Socks & Mittens

I wear these for tactile awareness purposes.

As my friend Van said, when you are wearing the socks and mitts at the same time, you feel like you're swimming through syrup. The water feels really thick and you move really slowly.

The main thing I use drag socks / mitts for is contrast training.

I wear the drag socks and mitts for a few laps, and then go straight into sprinting with no resistance.

It feels incredible.

We used drag socks and mitts all the time in the Indiana breastroke group - it’s the Ray Looze special!

Resistance Bands

I LOVE resistance bands.

I like to challenge myself to do a full length of the pool, while wearing the resistance band. It’s super fun, but extremely exhausting.

By the time you get to the flags, you have to take 3x as many strokes just to reach the wall.

Most people can't get all the way. Can you?

Running the Rails of Resistance - My FAVOURITE Resistance Set

Until my next newsletter, I will see you all - later