When Mario Mola and Gwen Jorgensen were crowned winners at WTS London, we asked them to share their swim secrets and top workouts to ensure you don’t get left behind in the water come race day.
(Main image: Janos Schmidt)
Mario Mola
“Don’t obsess over your technique. Some basics are important, but everyone has their own way of swimming, with its pros and cons.
“Our swim in open water has little to do with swimming in a pool, so train to get the most out of your own freestyle, avoiding stress and trying to always enjoy being in the water!"
(Image: Rich Cruse/ITU)
Favourite session
“My favourite swim sessions are based on short and explosive sets, from 25m to 100m. I especially like one that I did recently, with some reps of 25m-50m-75m-75m-50m-25m, one fast, one easy, with a very short rest. I think it’s a good way to get used to the changes of pace that we have in competition.”
Gwen Jorgensen
“Practise running out of the water and taking off your wetsuit at race pace – it’s important to practise race-specific things during training. You can even simulate having a timing chip by wrapping a watch around your ankle.
“I also think technique is often overlooked when a person gets tired. It’s hard to focus and meet the demands of competition when you’re tired, but it’s most important to hold technique and form during this time.”
(Image: Delly Carr/ITU)
Favourite session
Warm-up
• 400m, focusing on good technique or something that you struggle with
• 4 x 100m, increasing speed/pressure and holding form under fatigue
• 4 x 50m, descending, continuing to hold form
Main set
• 2 x 25m max effort
• 200m broken at 200m pace
• 3 x 100m threshold
• Break for 5-10mins to recover
• End with a cool-down
For lots more swimming advice head to our Training section