The Road to Nationals-Eric Shanteau
The Road to Nationals-Eric Shanteau
Days after the 2008 Olympic Trials, the swimming community was shocked to learn that Beijing-bound breaststroker
Eric Shanteau had been diagnosed with testicular cancer. Shanteau made the calculated decision to put surgery on hold and compete at the 2008 Olympic Games, swimming to personal best times in the process. After undergoing surgery, Shanteau was declared “cancer free” and went on to have a breakout 2009.
At the
2009 FINA World Championships in Rome, Shanteau broke the American Record in the 100 and 200-meter breaststrokes, and was part of the world record-breaking 4x100m medley relay.
The former Auburn standout spoke with SwimNetwork about his goals for the
2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships, training in the heart of Longhorn country and what he’s looking forward to this summer.
With your cancer in remission and a record-setting 2009 under your belt, what would you like to accomplish at Nationals this August?
Eric: I think a big part of this summer is going to be – and this goes for myself and the swimming world – really proving what I did last year. I want to be one of if not the best breaststroker in the world. I’ve worked so hard to get there and once you’re there you want to stay for as long as possible. So, for me, it’s getting back to where I was last summer and getting ahead of it. At this point that means breaking world records. That’s where my goals are at right now.
Eric: I think a big part of this summer is going to be – and this goes for myself and the swimming world – really proving what I did last year. I want to be one of if not the best breaststroker in the world. I’ve worked so hard to get there and once you’re there you want to stay for as long as possible. So, for me, it’s getting back to where I was last summer and getting ahead of it. At this point that means breaking world records. That’s where my goals are at right now.
Since it is mid-March, what types of training are you focusing on right now to set yourself up for those goals this summer?
Eric: Well I actually just spent a week vacation in Hawaii, which was great. I’ve never done that in the middle of a training season before. When you become a professional swimmer, your seasons pretty much run from summer to summer so you have a full 12-month training cycle. It’s not like a college season where you’re resting in February and March. I think taking that vacation was really good for this mid-way point in my training cycle. I got back in to [training] last week and picked up where I left off, which is really getting my butt kicked both in the water and the weight room.
Eric: Well I actually just spent a week vacation in Hawaii, which was great. I’ve never done that in the middle of a training season before. When you become a professional swimmer, your seasons pretty much run from summer to summer so you have a full 12-month training cycle. It’s not like a college season where you’re resting in February and March. I think taking that vacation was really good for this mid-way point in my training cycle. I got back in to [training] last week and picked up where I left off, which is really getting my butt kicked both in the water and the weight room.
With your schedule running from summer to summer, how do you stay energized to compete each season?
Eric: You have to have that balance between training, competing and having a normal life. Swimming is an extremely demanding sport; probably one of the more demanding sports out there in terms of putting in the training time. The fact that I just took a week vacation to forget everything definitely helped give me some down time, recharge and get ready for the training I have left the next few months.
Eric: You have to have that balance between training, competing and having a normal life. Swimming is an extremely demanding sport; probably one of the more demanding sports out there in terms of putting in the training time. The fact that I just took a week vacation to forget everything definitely helped give me some down time, recharge and get ready for the training I have left the next few months.
What have you enjoyed about training with the post-grads in Texas?
Eric: Oh man, it’s been a great experience. This was a very big move for me after college, especially coming from Auburn and going to Texas. Obviously anyone who follows swimming knows that that is one of the biggest rivalries in college swimming. It was obviously a very big change, one that five years ago I honestly never thought I would make. It has been an incredible experience training with these guys and coaches. When I moved out here there was Brenden (Hansen), Ian (Crocker), Neil (Walker), Garrett (Weber-Gale); the list goes on and on as far as professionals goes. They really took me under their wing and welcomed me to the program. I adjusted really quickly and it has taken off since then. I have really enjoyed being part of the program, but also living in Austin. I moved out here for swimming purposes, but I really love this city.
Eric: Oh man, it’s been a great experience. This was a very big move for me after college, especially coming from Auburn and going to Texas. Obviously anyone who follows swimming knows that that is one of the biggest rivalries in college swimming. It was obviously a very big change, one that five years ago I honestly never thought I would make. It has been an incredible experience training with these guys and coaches. When I moved out here there was Brenden (Hansen), Ian (Crocker), Neil (Walker), Garrett (Weber-Gale); the list goes on and on as far as professionals goes. They really took me under their wing and welcomed me to the program. I adjusted really quickly and it has taken off since then. I have really enjoyed being part of the program, but also living in Austin. I moved out here for swimming purposes, but I really love this city.
Do you have a favorite road trip memory?
Eric: I haven’t done too many actual road trips in my life, but my senior year of high school I took a road trip with my best friend. We flew out to California and did a road trip up the Pacific Coast Highway. We started in San Diego and went all the way up to San Francisco. We spent the week driving up the coast, stopping to spend the night somewhere and then drive another 100 miles or so the next day. That was probably the best road trip I’ve ever taken.
Eric: I haven’t done too many actual road trips in my life, but my senior year of high school I took a road trip with my best friend. We flew out to California and did a road trip up the Pacific Coast Highway. We started in San Diego and went all the way up to San Francisco. We spent the week driving up the coast, stopping to spend the night somewhere and then drive another 100 miles or so the next day. That was probably the best road trip I’ve ever taken.
Did you stop anywhere in particular along the way?
Eric: My friend was actually a year behind me in school and he knew that he wanted to go to college out in California. So we were stopping at schools along the way – USC, UCLA, Pepperdine and Santa Barbara, which is where he ended up going.
Eric: My friend was actually a year behind me in school and he knew that he wanted to go to college out in California. So we were stopping at schools along the way – USC, UCLA, Pepperdine and Santa Barbara, which is where he ended up going.
Did you play any road trip games or music?
Eric: (Laughs) No, no games that I can remember. Just a lot of relaxing music like Jack Johnson. Good California music.
Eric: (Laughs) No, no games that I can remember. Just a lot of relaxing music like Jack Johnson. Good California music.
If you could take a road trip with anyone, who would it be and where would you go?
Eric: I would definitely take a road trip along the Mediterranean coast; cruising around Italy, through the south of France and over in to Spain, which would be a pretty long road trip. I think that would be really cool and honestly, I’d probably want to do it with a good group of friends.
Eric: I would definitely take a road trip along the Mediterranean coast; cruising around Italy, through the south of France and over in to Spain, which would be a pretty long road trip. I think that would be really cool and honestly, I’d probably want to do it with a good group of friends.
Is there anything else that you are looking forward to this summer?
As far as the summer is concerned, the thing I am looking forward to is sort of the opposite of last summer. Everyone was talking about the suits, and I think this summer is actually going to be more interesting without the suits. A lot of attention was brought to the sport because of the suits last year, and in my mind there should be even more attention to the sport because everyone thought was the reasons why we swam so fast. I think it’s going to be fun to show the world we are still that fast without them.
As far as the summer is concerned, the thing I am looking forward to is sort of the opposite of last summer. Everyone was talking about the suits, and I think this summer is actually going to be more interesting without the suits. A lot of attention was brought to the sport because of the suits last year, and in my mind there should be even more attention to the sport because everyone thought was the reasons why we swam so fast. I think it’s going to be fun to show the world we are still that fast without them.
