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Special Sets: Sea Otters’ Daniel Diehl – Definitely Driven
By Michael J. Stott
Coach Brian Dowling of the Cumberland YMCA (Maryland) shares some sample sets that he’s given to rising age group swimmer Daniel Diehl, who is ranked by Collegeswimming.com as Maryland’s—and the nation’s—top-ranked male swimmer in the Class of 2024.
Variously attributed to Walt Whitman, Will Rogers and Dizzy Dean, the phrase, “If you done it, it ain’t bragging,” connotes achievement.
Cumberland YMCA Sea Otter swimmer Daniel Diehl has earned the right to tout his achievements. In recent months, the strapping 15-year-old has decimated his competition and has either broken or knocked on the door of several national age group records.
As of November, he remains the 13-14 NAG record holder in the 100 yard back (47.44), and he just missed Michael Andrew’s 100 free mark (43.90) by a tenth of a second. Currently, he has 10 U.S. Open winter cuts along with a host of Winter Junior times. This summer, he was the youngest male competitor at Wave II Olympic Trials, where he clocked 55.42 in the 100 meter back (31st out of 61 swimmers) and 23.24 in the 50 free (58/64). Those times qualified him for the National Junior Team and to participate in the October FINA Swimming World Cup meets in Germany and Hungary. Later in October, Diehl was officially named to the 2021-22 National Junior Team.
As the youngest male on the U.S. squad (and third youngest athlete on the team), he notched seven top 10 individual finishes, including five top 5’s—all in the backsrokes. In the 50 back, he recorded two fifths (24.24, 24.19), third (52.57) and fourth (51.67) in the 100 and fifth in the 200 (1:54.11). On the 4 x 50 mixed free relay, Diehl’s 22.45 leadoff helped the U.S. team to a first-place finish.
Diehl was 11 when coach Brian Dowling noticed the youngster had a very efficient stroke. Today Dowling continues to guide and manage Diehl’s training in a unique environment. That’s because the Cumberland team, which only became an official USA Swimming team on Sept. 1, numbers just 25 to 30 swimmers, half of whom are 8-and-unders. The Sea Otter “advanced” team is comprised of five athletes.
To say that Diehl is dedicated would be a massive understatement, notes Dowling: “Dan is here every single day; he does not miss. His attitude is positive, enthusiastic and inspiring, his demeanor calm and cool. He knows our sport inside and out and everyone’s names, dates, times and stats. He knows where he ranks, what times he wants to beat and who has done them.
“Dan is a coach’s best listener and does not complain come set time. He takes constructive criticism very well and uses video to correct insufficiencies when we find them. Dan’s competitive drive is what separates him from other swimmers. He is extremely goal-oriented with numbers, places and times.
“Motivated? Dan is here doing workouts essentially by himself. He lifts free weights for an hour on Friday evenings and Sundays, and performs core and dryland exercises every day for about 30 minutes. His resistance training includes GMX, bungee cords, drag sox, ankle weights, stretch tubing, fins and pull buoys,” says Dowling.
[PHOTO BY KAREEM ELGAZZAR / USA TODAY SPORTS]
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FEATURES
012 2021 OPEN WATER SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR
by Dan D’Addona and David Rieder
Brazil’s Ana Marcela Cunha and Germany’s Florian Wellbrock both captured Olympic gold in Tokyo and repeated as the world’s elite open water swimmers in both 2019 and 2021.
014 2021 OPEN WATER HIGHLIGHTS
by Dan D’Addona
Although the Tokyo Olympic Games commanded the spotlight in 2021, there were many other open water highlights throughout the year.
018 ISHOF FEATURE: AQUATOTS MURDER CASE—THE KATHY TONGAY STORY (Part 2)
by Bruce Wigo
This is the second of a three-part story about “The Aquatots Murder Case” that first appeared in the October issue of Swimming World. It is about Kathy Tongay, a little girl whose father, Russell, had been training her almost from birth to be an expert diver and swimmer. When she died at the age of 5, her father was arrested for murdering his daughter.
022 PERHAPS OVERLOOKED…BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
by John Lohn
As we creep closer to signing off on this Olympic year, Swimming World offers a look at six athletes—all members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame—who hold a special place in history, even if they are not always at the forefront of the mind.
025 CONTINUING TO MAKE AN IMPACT
by David Rieder
Anthony Nesty’s accomplishments as a swimmer in the late 1980s and ’90s made him a national icon. But decades after that, he is still making a huge impact on the sport from a different vantage point—as a coach.
028 MENTAL PREP: BEFORE THE BEEP WITH DAVID CURTISS
by Shoshanna Rutemiller
030 NUTRITION: THE IMPORTANCE OF IRON—LOW MEANS SLOW!
by Dawn Weatherwax
Iron is a mineral that directly impacts performance.
COACHING
016 COACHING IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT (Part 1)
by Michael J. Stott
In the first of two articles, Swimming World explores how coaches and administrators coped with the recent unpleasantness of COVID-19.
036 SPECIAL SETS: AUDREY DERIVAUX—KILLER QUEEN
by Michael J. Stott
Young Audrey Derivaux of Jersey Wahoos has turned in comparable times to the 11-12 age group superstars who have excelled before her.
040 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: DISTRUST IN SWIMMING SCIENCE IS NOT A MYSTERY
by Rod Havriluk
The fact that general scientific information is routinely ignored provides some perspective about the difficulty in applying science to the sport of swimming. While a single technique element cannot guarantee success, American Lydia Jacoby’s Olympic victory suggests that using science can provide a competitive advantage.
042 SPECIAL SETS: DANIEL DIEHL—DEFINITELY DRIVEN
by Michael J. Stott
Daniel Diehl, 15, of the Cumberland YMCA Sea Otters is Maryland’s—and the nation’s—top-ranked male swimmer in the Class of 2024. In recent months, he has either broken or knocked on the door of several national age group records. In October, as the youngest male on the U.S. National Junior Team, he notched seven top 10 individual finishes at the FINA World Cup meets in Germany and Hungary.
044 Q&A WITH SWIM IRELAND’S NATIONAL PERFORMANCE DIRECTOR JON RUDD
by Michael J. Stott
045 HOW THEY TRAIN IRISH OLYMPIAN DARRAGH GREENE
by Michael J. Stott
TRAINING
039 DRYSIDE TRAINING: BACK TO BASICS (Part 2)
by J.R. Rosania
JUNIOR SWIMMER
047 | UP & COMERS: AVA BUHRMAN
by Shoshanna Rutemiller
COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS
007 THE OFFICIAL WORD
008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT
009 DID YOU KNOW: ABOUT “DO YOU KNOW THAT….”?
032 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE
048 GUTTERTALK
049 PARTING SHOT
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