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Up & Comers: Cumberland Valley Aquatic Club’s Ava Buhrman
By Shoshanna Rutemiller
Ava Buhrman of the Cumberland Valley Aquatic Club (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) swims with the consistency and tenacity of a swimmer much older than her 10 years. Last summer, she made her mark at both the Middle Atlantic Junior Olympics, July 22-25, and Eastern Zone Long Course Age Group Championships, Aug. 4-7.
Buhrman was the 10-and-under girls’ high-point winner at JOs, earning gold in the 100-200-400 meter freestyle (1:09.22, 2:30.45, 5:22.97), 50-100 back (35.11, 1:18.59) and 50 fly (34.88). Two weeks later, she went even faster at Zones to earn gold in the 200 free (2:27.20) and 100 back (1:18.13) and silver in the 400 free (5:17.92).
“Ava has a natural feel for the water and is very athletic,” says her CVAC coach, James “Gus” Schnell. “She’s worked really hard to refine all of her strokes and has been working on her racing skills. But what makes her special is her consistency in practice sessions. She can dig deep and stay really efficient when tired, especially at the end of long sets. So it’s no surprise that she is able to split very well at the end of races for a 10-year-old.”
Outside of swimming, outgoing Ava also plays water polo for her middle school and surfs with her family on vacation at the New Jersey beaches. When she’s not in the water, you might even find her in the kitchen baking cakes with her parents!
SWIMMING WORLD: WHAT IS THE BEST THING YOU DO IN SWIMMING?
AVA BUHRMAN: My best event is backstroke even though I never wanted to do it when I was younger. My mom signed me up for it, and I found out that I was really good at it. Now I always swim the 100 back as my favorite event. My coaches also tell me that I am a “back-halfer” on longer events. I am able to maintain my splits throughout the race.
SW: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TOUGHEST WORKOUTS/SETS YOU’VE DONE?
AB: One of the toughest sets I have done is 24 x 50 on 1:30. It is challenging because you have to keep your time consistent through all of the 50s. When I did it, I was just getting back into practice, and I swam a consistent time of 31 seconds.
SW: WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS YEAR?
AB: I am looking forward to moving up in age groups to 11-12 in January before winter MA Junior Olympics. I’m hoping to qualify for some events in this competition. The higher age bracket of swimmers will push me to swim faster. In USA swim meets this year, I am hoping to meet up with some of the friends I made on other teams at past competitions.
SW: WHO IS SOMEONE YOU LOOK UP TO IN SWIMMING… AND WHY?
AB: I look up to a senior swimmer on my team named Jennifer Bolden. Even though I look up to all Olympic swimmers, I can relate to Jennifer much more. When I see her at practice, I watch and learn from her techniques to see what she’s doing to improve. She is always friendly, supportive and hard-working. I admire that she has broken many records for Cumberland Valley Aquatic Club. She is a very strong freestyler, which is another one of my favorite strokes. Because she worked hard in school and swimming, she is going to a really good college, Bucknell University. I hope to get into a good college and continue swimming at the next level.
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[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
Swimming World is now partnered with the International Swimming Hall of Fame. To find out more, visit us at ishof.org
Great Job Ava!!!!