Another thing that kept popping up in the book was the fact that swimmers, particularly in the U.S., don’t make squat for money from the sport, even with endorsements (the aussies, on the other hand, live and die with their swimming). Is that why we see many top swimmers move over to tri? It seems more top swimmers make the switch than runners or cyclists. Is it purely a money thing? Swimmers can make more in tri than in swimming, and consequently, runners and cyclists stay in their respective sports b/c there is more money than tri. I know there have been some top cyclists come into tri, but that seems it’s b/c they are no longer viable in cycling. I don’t know of any runners that (i’m talking about the top ones) have come to tri.
Actually, it was my impression that a lot of top swimmers make an ok living (not great, but enough to keep training). Then there are the really, really great swimmers (Michael Phelps, etc) that might pocket A LOT of money if they medal in Athens.
This might be me being naive, but i think the swimmers that move into tri are the really good, but short of great swimmers that want to try something new. Obviously there are exceptions, but I think it’s still rare to see the top swimmers moving over.
we have seen some good elite swimmers move over, but have yet to see a true olympic level elite swimmer to move over. Supposedly Amy Van Dyken, I keep hearing this rumour but see no results. IMO she would not be a seious contender anyway - she was a sprinter.
I think the years of work make it a logical switch from swimming to tri. Think about it, elite level swimmers do 60-100K + weekly in the pool, plus weights. That is some serious weekly hours and the switch to training in 3 sports for all those hours can make it seem easy by comparison.
Though Barb Metz at one time was close to the best distance swimmer in the US not named Janet Evans, and Sheila T.'s got that Olympic gold.
I’d guess it was more mental than money. It’s not hard to feel burnt out in the pool, even if you really do love it. Triathlon- you get to swim just enough that it feels fun again, and there are new bonus fun challenging things to try. And when you run or bike, there’s actual scenery to enjoy, not just the black line on the bottom of the pool.