Roberto Pavoni got caught up in some very tough British qualifying times for the Rio Olympics and missed selection despite being British champion over 200IM. Here he reflects on how he came to accept there was more to life than his own swimming.
All good things come to an end, or so they say. Good things include, of course, the careers of those at the sharp end of swimming as their time in the pool moves towards its conclusion. It’s a difficult time, one of transition that marks the next significant period in one’s life. In this podcast special, Jemma Lowe, Roberto Pavoni and Ross Davenport join regular contributor Katie Wyld and Lane 4 consultant Rick Cotgreave, who specialises in athlete transitions, to share and discuss their own experiences. There’s also a chance to consider the support available and to ask the question, should there be more?
In interviews ahead of the European Championships, Adam Peaty admitted that talk of a 56 second swim had been banned. “The past year I’ve been obsessed by that” he said “and it’s almost had a negative effect on my training.” Sports psychologist Helen Davis explores what that change of emphasis did for Adam and what it could do for your swimming.
Three more days of competition went by and Britain gained a further 13 medals in the Tollcross pool. Plenty, then, for Katie, Steve and Bob to dive into as the 2018 European Championships come to a close.
Halfway through the second major meet of the year for Britain’s swimmers and there’s been as much to talk about out of the pool as in it. Katie, Bob and Steve consider whether we should expect more than timing malfunctions at this level of competition as well as looking at what really matters, the medals won in the water.