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How They Train: Emily Overholt and Markus Thormeyer
By Michael J. Stott
EMILY OVERHOLT
At age 15, Emily Overholt won three gold medals and a silver at the 2013 Canada Games and grabbed bronze in the 400 IM at World Juniors. Since then, she has added eight medals (one gold, two silver, five bronze) at the Commonwealth Games (2014), Pan Pacs (2014), Pan Ams (2015), World Championships (2015 and 2019) and the Olympics (2016). She also set a Canadian national record of 4:32.52 in the 400 IM at the 2015 Worlds in Kazan, Russia. At the 2020 U Sports (NCAA equivalent) Championships, she won six golds and a silver.
To her credit, Overholt has overcome a post-Rio bout of depression and a debilitating hamstring injury that caused her to miss the 2017 U Sports season and World Trials. These days, as a third-year University of British Columbia kinesiology major, she continues to train under Coach Tom Johnson while joining the Toronto Titans, Canada’s professional International Swimming League entry.
Overholt’s training program is middle distance freestyle and IM-based. “She covers all the strokes every week,” says Johnson. “When her freestyle goes well, so does her IM. She struggled with a hamstring injury following the 2016 Olympic Trials, and that has only recently allowed her to return to the type of breaststroke training that she was doing earlier in her career. Breaststroke is the weakest part of her IM, and she swims a breaststroke-based IM program twice a week that has a heavy Jozsef Nagy influence.
MARKUS THORMEYER
Like Overholt, 22-year-old Markus Thormeyer swims for the University of British Columbia, where he is an environmental science major. The seasoned international competitor also competes in the International Swimming League for the New York Breakers.
A two-time World Juniors participant in 2013 and 2015 (gold mixed free relay), he also represented Canada at the 2015 Pan American Games, 2016 Olympics, 2017 and 2019 World Championships, 2018 Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacific Championships. A talented freestyler, Thormeyer is also the Canadian national record holder in the 100 meter backstroke (53.35). At the 2020 U Sports Championships, he garnered seven golds in the 100-200 back and freestyles and three relays.
“Markus is a quiet, thoughtful team leader—one who is very purposeful and engaged in his program. He communicates well and approaches his training with an intelligence I find rare in most swimmers,” says Johnson. In the past year-and-a-half, Thormeyer has placed greater emphasis on his backstroke.
To read more about how Emily and Markus train with Olympic coach Tom Johnson,
Check out the full issue of Swimming World July 2020, available now!
[PHOTO CREDIT: IAN MACNICOL]
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Swimming World Magazine July 2020 Issue
FEATURES
017 A NEW HOPE
by Dan D’Addona
The COVID-19 pandemic has swept across the globe and changed the lives of everyone in the world. Now, there is some light at the end of the tunnel as the world struggles to find normalcy again.
020 ISHOF: “CALLING ALL TROUBLEMAKERS”
by Bruce Wigo
Sprinters are a different breed of swimmer. They’re not just free spirits, but they seem to be rule breakers and troublemakers who also are catalysts for positive change. In the first of a two-part feature, Swimming World takes a look at the stories of two of the most well-known female sprinters who fit this image: Dawn Fraser and Eleanor Holm.
023 GREAT SCOT(T)
by David Rieder
Scotland’s Duncan Scott should be an Olympic medal threat next year in the 100 and 200 free and maybe even the 200 IM, and he will be a key cog for British 800 free and 400 medley relays with gold medal aspirations.
026 TAKEOFF TO TOKYO: A STAR OF SWIMMING…AND HOLLYWOOD
by John Lohn
The latest installment of our Takeoff to Tokyo series looks at the career of the legendary Johnny Weissmuller, one of the first stars in the sport, and then a Hollywood hero.
COACHING
012 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: THE VALUE OF HAND FORCE ANALYSIS: PART IV—FREESTYLE
by Rod Havriluk
The first three articles in this series (Part I—Butterfly, Part II—Backstroke and Part III—Breaststroke) presented information about the value of using hand force analysis to reinforce positive technique elements and identify limitations. The current article includes more general information about force analysis with a freestyle example.
014 AEROBIC OVERLOAD: VOLUME REVISITED (Part 2)
by Michael J. Stott
Last month, Swimming World examined the role of volume in aquatic training. This month, some of America’s most successful swimmers share how volume shaped their development.
042 Q&A WITH COACH TOM JOHNSON
by Michael J. Stott
044 HOW THEY TRAIN EMILY OVERHOLT AND MARKUS THORMEYER
by Michael J. Stott
TRAINING
011 DRYSIDE TRAINING: THE NEED FOR STRENGTH
by J.R. Rosania
JUNIOR SWIMMER
046 UP & COMERS: ZACH TOWER
by Shoshanna Rutemiller
COLUMNS & SPECIAL SECTIONS
008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT
010 THE OFFICIAL WORD
019 DID YOU KNOW? NO TO TOPLESS BATHING; HIGH DIVING; AND FIRST FULLY AUTOMATIC ELECTRONIC TIMING SYSTEM
029 2020 AQUATIC DIRECTORY
041 DADS ON DECK
047 GUTTERTALK
048 PARTING SHOT