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Three-time Olympian Dana Vollmer announced this weekend via social media that she will most likely not be swimming at this summer’s 2018 Phillips 66 National Championships.
Despite her return to training and her focus on training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Vollmer has only attended a single swim meet since she had her second son, Ryker, with husband Andy Grant in July of 2017.
Earlier this year, Vollmer attended the Austin stop of the 2018 TYR Pro Swim Series, where she competed in the 50 free. She clocked times of 27.53 and 26.37 in prelims and finals respectively.
Vollmer’s post explained that she has been focusing on strength and “retraining movement patterns that I know will improve my overall health and strength in the water.” She cited a back injury from 2004 and injured shoulders as the beginning of her shift in training focus.
Her full announcement reads,
“My focus is on being my best at 2020. The past couple weeks have been very exciting in terms of figuring out better ways to move. I had a bad back injury fall of 2004 that had me dealing with pain through 2010. It’s been a journey seeing how my body adapted to back pain and learned to work without utilizing many major muscles that I linked with increased back pain. Now, 8 yrs later, we are still uncovering layers. Same process with my shoulders after years of swimming. I’ve taken a step back from intense pool training and have been focused on strength and retraining movement patterns that I know will improve my overall health and my strength in the water. I’ve been so thankful to be injury free in these later years of my swimming career and I get so excited learning how to better use my body and ways to apply that to my strokes! I will not be competing in Santa Clara this weekend and most likely not at Nationals. It’s unfortunate that next years World Championship team is selected this summer as I expect my racing to be in full swing again by then, but I am confident in my plan to be the best at 2020!”
Vollmer’s intent to focus on strength training and not attend this summer’s Phillips 66 U.S. National Championships means that she will miss out on an opportunity to not only qualify for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships, but the 2019 World Championships and 2019 Pan American Games as well. This means that Vollmer would not have a big long course meet to partake in prior to the 2020 Olympic Trials.
Fay Salam
Love this picture. The intensity!