Backstroke Racing Strategy with Aaron Peirsol
Backstroke Racing Strategy with Aaron Peirsol
Courtesy of
Casey Barrett//Correspondent
In swimming circles, Aaron Peirsol has long been known as the sport’s “laid back superstar.” It’s an easy and apt label for the Southern California native. On the surface at least, his relaxed persona stands in sharp contrast to the intensity of a Brendan Hansen, or the fiery focus of a Michael Phelps. Peirsol, it seems, does what he likes and likes what he does. No need to stress, no need to rush.
When trying to set up an interview for this piece, his agent, Bobby Brewer, reminded me to be patient. “He doesn’t move quickly outside the water,” he noted. When we spoke, Peirsol was checking into a hotel in Palm Springs, a quick break from a training camp in Colorado Springs, while the three-time Olympic champion met with some sponsors in the desert. Life as a pro swimmer can be sweet, but when you’re the dominant backstroker of your era, somebody always has a question about something.
In this case, I wanted to know about his race strategy. He’s a bit of an authority on the subject. Over the last seven years, he’s lost only one backstroke race in international competition. (And it took a world record by Olympian Ryan Lochte to do it…) Good-natured as ever, Peirsol passed along the basics of his strategy – namely, in the 200, it’s all about the third 50…
However, at the end of one answer, he offered something that belied that take-it-as-it-comes vibe. He said that the idea is to race exactly 200 (or 100) meters. If it was one meter more, you’re finished, your body would break down. If you had to take one more stroke, you couldn’t do it.
You don’t win gold medals, and set world records, by being laid back in the water. You clear your head at the start, you control the front half, you make your move, and you deliver every ounce of energy over the given distance. Every time you race.
More on Peirsol's Race Strategy
What’s going through your mind the moment you hear “Take your marks?”
Pretty much nothing. If you’re thinking at that moment, there’s something wrong. That’s when you let the training take over.
Explain your strategies for the 100 and 200 back?
Well, the 100 is a controlled sprint. There’s less fear of dying. You can over-swim the first 25, but I’m pushing it pretty hard right from the start. In the 200, I need to take it out controlled, then start rolling on that third 50. Of course then you gotta get home. The whole objective is to swim exactly 200 meters. If it was 201, you’d fall apart.
What do you consider the best race – or races – of your career?
I’d say my best-executed 200 was in 2002, at Spring Nationals in Minnesota. I was 18, and it was my first world record, just a wonderful race. As for my 100, I think I swam a pretty great one last spring when I went 52 in Melbourne (at the World Championships).
