Swim Poll of the Week: 68% Favor Opening Swimming Pools For Elite Swimmers

This is the Swim Poll of the Week for Wednesday April 29, 2020, sponsored by Strechcordz Swim Training Products. In our last poll, we wanted to know: Should elite swimmers be allowed access to safe training pool environments in light of the coronavirus shutdown?

Last week, Australian coach Dean Boxall, leader of the St. Peters Western squad highlighted by World Champs Ariarne Titmus and Mitch Larkin, voiced his opinion that elite swimmers should be allowed access to the pool “in the next two weeks” in order to have peak performance at the Olympic Games next year. If they are not in the pool until the end of this summer, then they will struggle to get to their top form in time for the Olympics.

As of this writing for the swim poll, the Games are 451 days away.

It is expected that in some parts of the world like Great Britain, national performance centers will be open before other public pools to give Britain’s Olympic medalist hopefuls an early start at safe training.

The likes of Katie Ledecky and Lilly King in the United States are reported to be training in backyard pools in the United States, while coach Bob Bowman said today that his team in Arizona is getting “very comfortable now with ‘I don’t know.’ ” One of his charges, 2012 Olympic 200m freestyle champion Allison Schmidt is getting 45 minutes in the water three times a week at a local country club.

Boxall had to close his St Peters Western program a month ago as Australia imposed lockdown measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 and the International Olympic Committee and Tokyo 2020 organizers announced a year-long delay in staging the Olympics.

Australia is well down the league of nations that suffered the worst of the pandemic since the spread of the virus emerged from Wuhan in China. To date, 6,647 Australians have contracted the virus, which has caused 74 deaths in the country according to official figures, compared to 819,175 Americans, among whom 45,343 have lost their lives.

While wary of the threat posed by the pandemic, Boxall hopes that guidelines will soon be introduced to ensure elite swimming squad members can get back to pool training.

“I don’t want to be seen as someone who is not in touch with what is happening,” he told reporter Laine Clark of The Australian Associate Press (AAP). Dean Boxall added:

“I get it, people are dying. It is a terrible crisis. But you go to parks and you see stacks of people but we can’t get elite swimmers to swim in a pool. We want to get back in the water but we can’t, we are hamstrung. I am not talking about the whole swimming community in Australia returning to pools, just the elite guys.”

The longer Australia’s elite swimmers spent out of the pool, the longer it would take for them to get back in shape, the coach said, adding:

“They need to be in the water very soon, like the next two weeks, just to get the body back into a rhythm. Usually if you have a month off, it takes you two months to get back into it – it’s normally double. If you call it (pool training return) in September it is going to be a struggle. If you call it in July, August, it is still difficult – they need to get back in the water.”

So for the swim poll, the question remains: Should elite swimmers be allowed access to safe training pool environments in light of the coronavirus shutdown?

We asked for the swim poll and you answered with…

Here are the swim poll answers:

Yes, give them access – 68%

No, it is not worth a risk – 32%

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Leslie Cichocki

3 years ago

I think elite athletes in all countries including the USA should be training in the pool in hopes of the game next year otherwise none of us will be in our top form going into trials if not in by this summer which I agree with the Australian coach.

emilysdoucette

3 years ago

Reply to Leslie Cichocki

ALette Albert Make 6150 bucks every month… Start doing online computer-based work through our website. I have been working from home for 4 years now and I love it. I don’t have a boss standing over my shoulder and I make my own hours. iⅭash68.ⅭＯⅯ

Donald P. Spellman

3 years ago

I think this poll is a premature right now given that numbers in some states are still rising, we way WAY behind on testing in the USA ??, and this virus KILLS asthmatics and people with other heath conditions (that many athletes, coaches, and officials may have).
This entire situation stinks for all involved but I would rather have my athletes ALIVE and training healthy in two or three months than risk jumping back into normal training conditions too early.

Peter Scott

3 years ago

Reply to Donald P. Spellman

Donald P. Spellman finally a voice of reason. Thanks for your comment. Far too many people are wrapped up in their own self interests and delusions ?stay safe?

Donald P. Spellman

3 years ago

Reply to Donald P. Spellman

Peter Scott : My home State is a mess right now and I’m dreading seeing people I know posting items on social media about sick & dying relatives and friends. This is NOT the flu. This is an aggressive and tricky virus that is most likely more widespread than we think.

Peter Scott

3 years ago

Reply to Donald P. Spellman

Donald P. Spellman you are 100% correct. I don’t live in the States I live in Mauritius and I have not been out since 20th March. We are not allowed out except 2 days per week to go to supermarket and that based on alphabete letter of your name. Without identity card you can’t get in. Police will fine you if you are out at the wrong time. The result…..only 10 deaths and hardly no new infections for a week now. We are still in total lockdown until next Monday and then a few jobs will start again.
The comments and attitude of many in USA and UK are really, really disturbing.
This is not the middle or end of the problem but only the beginning……?stay safe?

Graeme Gordon

3 years ago

It’s not fair to allow only elite athletes to train. How about a 15 time gold medalist at 3 Canadian maters championships that is recovering from surgery. I need to get in the pool, not that I’m ever going to break records, but for the healthy mobility of my permanently injured shoulder. And how about the next 10 year old future Olympian/Paralympian that takes home 20 gold at 5 olympics/paralympics. Would you deny the future swimmers over the current elite athletes the opportunity? With the 1980/1984 boycotts, we can certainly equal the playing field for ALL athletes alike by staying home and not dying. Some elite athletes have the facilities to train and some do not. Some have back yard pools like Gary Hall Sr. did at his Phoenix home. Two more months people, that’s it. Two more months of restrictions then we will finally probably have everything back open again. But you have to stay home. Don’t be like the Church leaders that have defied common sense and are now with the Lord. Don’t be like the protester organizers that have contractied (and spread) the virus. STAY HOME.

Rob Richardson

3 years ago

All pools should be reopened now to anyone that wants to swim maintaining a safe distance and other Covid protocols.

If you are sick – stay home.
If you are scared – stay home.
If you are vulnerable (or live with someone who is) – stay home.

Otherwise people should be able to do whatever they want. It should not be access only for the “elite”.

Steven Rose

3 years ago