{"id":67666,"date":"2013-07-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-07-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.arenaswim.com\/uncategorized\/fred-vernaeaux-spains-biggest-swim-asset-talks-barcelona-mireia\/"},"modified":"2013-07-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-07-22T00:00:00","slug":"fred-vernaeaux-spains-biggest-swim-asset-talks-barcelona-mireia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.arenaswim.com\/en\/elite-team\/fred-vernaeaux-spains-biggest-swim-asset-talks-barcelona-mireia\/","title":{"rendered":"Fred Vergnoux talks Barcelona and Spain\u2019s ‘n\u00famero uno’ Mireia Belmonte"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fred<\/a>
Fred Vergnoux<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q: Is Spain ready to step up at a home World Championships in Barcelona and what would constitute success?<\/p>\n

A<\/strong>: Spain is always proud to organize an international competition. After the success of the (1992) Olympic Games and the success of Barcelona 2003 (FINA World Championships), Spain has to raise the bar even higher, so they are ready to put on a well-organized competition that will be exciting to watch. With the diving competition against the backdrop of the city, open-water in the port \u2013 I went to the test event a couple of weeks ago, and it was just amazing to see the swimmers racing in the port \u2013 and swimming in the basketball arena (Palau Sant Jordi), everything will be well-organized to show what Spain is capable of.<\/p>\n

As for the swimming team, we have focused on how we can improve on the swims from the trials in Pontevedra for the Championships. With our team philosophy we know we can create chances to make the semi-finals, get to the finals, and maybe even win medals, and we want to be sure that we do everything on a daily basis to make the swimmers faster in the 16 weeks we have for preparation. Through this focus I think we will create more possibilities. Obviously within the team we have individuals such as Mireia (Belmonte), Rafa Mu\u00f1oz, Melani Costa, Erika Villa\u00e9cija, and Aschwin Wildeboer, who will be aiming for more than the final (of their main events).<\/p>\n

Q: Is there a sense of excitement about the championships in Barcelona and what level of expectation do you sense in Spain in terms of what the host-nations swimmers might achieve?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> They expect some good results, they expect to see as many swimmers as possible in finals, they expect the top swimmers to win medals, to be on the podium and perhaps even listen to the national anthem. Sport is important in Spain, the Spaniards enjoy both playing and watching sport, and there\u2019s always something going on in Barcelona \u2013 Formula 1, handball, basketball, and of course now swimming. It\u2019s a very cosmopolitan city, and I think they are looking forward to seeing what we can produce.<\/p>\n

There is a big focus in Barcelona on the Championships, and that of course can be a good thing and a bad thing. It\u2019s a good thing because usually the year after the Olympics it\u2019s difficult to get back to work and to refocus on preparation, selection policies, get back to racing, and so it\u2019s been a good situation for us (to regain our focus). On the other hand there\u2019s a bit of pressure, we have to do well, so we don\u2019t talk about it, we don\u2019t focus on it, but the reality is that people expect us to do well. Of course this is normal, it\u2019s a major investment, and while the World Championships is obviously not the Olympics it\u2019s still a huge amount of work and investment, not just from the organizing committee, but also from the (Spanish Swimming) Federation, the city of Barcelona, and the many volunteers. There will be a lot of schoolkids going to the morning sessions to watch the heats, and so it\u2019s not just the swimming community involved, it\u2019s a lot more than that. Of course there will also be many people going to visit Barcelona at the end of July to have a good time, and with the World Championships going on at the same time, it\u2019s going to be exciting.<\/p>\n

Q: All Spanish eyes will be on Mireia, a proven force at the highest of levels. This will be the first big home – and home-base city at that – international of her career. How do you think she will handle it – and how does she respond to what some might describe as “pressure”? And what about you, the guide to Spain’s biggest swimming asset: nervous?\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\"Fred<\/a>
Fred Vergnoux & Mireia Belmonte (2012)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A:<\/strong> I think that the step Mireia made last year gave her not necessarily confidence but the capacity to step back and observe the situation with a different mindset. So yes she knows it\u2019s a home World Championship and yes she knows she\u2019s the number one swimmer in Spain, yes she knows that she made history because she\u2019s the only swimmer that trained in Spain to win Olympic medals, and everybody is expecting Mireia to win. She knows all of this but we never speak about it, we\u2019ve never had a conversation about it \u2013 maybe at the beginning of the year in January 2013 we said \u201cThis is what\u2019s going to happen\u201d and she said \u201cYes, I know\u201d \u2013 and we are just focusing on the preparation. That\u2019s what we did last year, that\u2019s what we are trying to reproduce, because the way we did it last year is a working formula, and we\u2019re just repeating the same \u2013 focus on the preparation, enjoy the experience as much as possible, and when it\u2019s time to race, race the best you can.<\/p>\n

Q: London might have been a little different, here she\u2019s in front of her home town, so the thoughts must pass through her mind that there is a level of expectation. So even though you don\u2019t speak about it do you think she\u2019s able to put it out of her mind and simply focus on getting ready to perform?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Yes, I think it\u2019s the case because we want to turn that into a positive situation. We don\u2019t want to say that half of the people at the pool are Spanish and they want you to win a medal and do well, and you must do this and you must do that. We\u2019d rather say that half of the people at the pool are cheering for you and supporting you, you need to take that energy and turn it into being faster in the water or a faster reaction off the block or a faster last 25. We really want to turn it into a positive moment and walk on air \u2013 if it\u2019s a heat or semi-final or final and the crowd is cheering for you, it\u2019s probably the best energy you can absorb.<\/p>\n

Q: And what about you, the guide to Spain’s biggest swimming asset: nervous?\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> I used to be, but I\u2019m not any more. (Having said that,) I still get really nervous during a final or an important moment when the swimmer has to produce a particular time. The coach that tells you he doesn\u2019t get nervous is a lair, we get nervous, I try to keep the bad nerves to myself and use the good ones to egg my swimmers on. For me it\u2019s a challenge to reproduce what we did last year with Mireia in Barcelona, being at home, and to make people happy. People have said to me \u201cFred that would be amazing if Mireia could would a medal, that would be fantastic, we\u2019ll be so happy.\u201d A lot of people say this, it\u2019s not just about winning a medal or swimming this or that time, it\u2019s about making people happy. For me to be part of this is enjoyable, it\u2019s a challenge and I\u2019m doing my best to take it on. Of course some nervousness is good and as a coach that\u2019s what I\u2019m looking for, because first of all with Mireia we\u2019re going to have the opportunity to race in Barcelona probably only once, and with the relationship we have we want to enjoy the experience. But also we have to take (the opportunity) as much as possible and use that energy for yourself. Us coaches \u2013 and even the swimmers \u2013 really enjoy the sort of nerves you get once a year if you\u2019re lucky, maybe it\u2019s only once every four years. So it\u2019s exciting, this is what we want, we want to get nervous, we want to not sleep the day before a final, we want to enjoy the last coffee together before going into the calling room, that sort of thing.<\/p>\n

Q: Given that these will be home world championships, how has that affected, if at all, your long-term cyclical planning for Rio 2016?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> It\u2019s actually a pretty good situation in terms of the timing because the fact that we have the World Championships in Barcelona has allowed me to refocus pretty quickly after the Olympics, and say \u201cLook we cannot mess up, it\u2019s the World Championships and we need to perform.\u201d So it was good for me to put the swimmers back into training and to recognize those who wanted to get back to work and those that didn\u2019t. So I made some pretty hard choices, I had to split the group that I\u2019ve had for the past two years and focus on the ones that want to go for it.<\/p>\n

From an Olympic perspective, it gives me more flexibility for the year coming up. For example, next year we\u2019re not going to worry too much about racing, we\u2019re not to worry too much about times or getting close to a world record or being top-ranked in so many events. We\u2019re just going to keep training, obviously, and keep the same amount of urgency in what we do. But if we want to do open water, we will do open water, if we want to race internationally, we\u2019ll go and do some travelling, we\u2019re going to really enjoy the swimming season, and then (after that) we have two years when we\u2019re going to focus on the preparation for Rio.<\/p>\n

Q: Mireia lived through a time of disruption after winning two silver medals at London 2012. Were you in touch with her during that period and what advice, if any, were you able to give to her?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Yes, we were in touch, I saw her a couple of times, we had a few chats, we were on the phone and a couple of times on WhatsApp (Messenger). It\u2019s been complicated, it\u2019s not been easy but the good thing about the whole situation is that Mireia knew what she wanted, she needed to have a break and do her own thing, try different things \u2013 she went to France to try out different coaching \u2013 she needed the time to reflect. It takes time, you cannot do this in a week or two. I said \u201cMireia you need to enjoy what you\u2019ve done, you need to celebrate your success.\u201d She needed time to make up her mind, that took about four months, and in the end she came back to square one \u2013 she went to look at something else, it didn\u2019t work, she probably needed time to realize that what she had been doing was a working formula if I can put it that way, and she came back to step one. It was very important for her to reflect on what she\u2019d done, I think that was the key for Mireia after the Olympics.<\/p>\n

You need to understand one thing as well, and for me it\u2019s very interesting because I\u2019ve coached in the UK and the English culture. Here in Spain or France or Italy it\u2019s very, very different. We live on emotions, we live through relationships, and a situation that you can deal with in 10 seconds with a British swimmer is going to take months with somebody else (here). Everything\u2019s about love, passion, I hate you, I like you, it\u2019s the way Mediterranean people are. It all comes down to emotions, when I was in the UK it was a bit more logical. So it was interesting (and necessary) for her to reflect and that\u2019s what she did.<\/p>\n

Q: So for you it was important to give Mireia her own space, to work it out for herself, and in the long run it has resolved itself. Now she is happy again, so it has turned out finally in a positive way.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Yes, it was difficult and yet everything finished well. If Mireia is happy, she can do anything. Last year at the Olympics she was happy, she really enjoyed the experience, she stuck to the plan from Day One to Day Eight, she was very professional, but she was a happy camper. She didn\u2019t have that in September-October, she wasn\u2019t happy with what she was doing, she didn\u2019t really want to be back training full-time, and she was enjoying different things \u2013 media, fashion, going out, friends, family. All of this takes time, but it\u2019s not permanent, and there comes a day when you realize \u201cNow I have to go back to the pool and work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Q: What was Mireia’s level of fitness like when she returned to training with you – and what did you have to do to get back to the kind of level she was at on the way to London 2012?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> I was expecting Mireia to be not so good in the water and pretty good on land, but in fact it was the reverse, and I was surprised. She was actually pretty good in the water and not so good on land, which, at the end of the day, is probably better, because she swims multiple events and she\u2019s more of an aerobic swimmer than a sprinter. Having said that, she\u2019s done some training, she\u2019s swum at the national training centre at Sant Cugat, where the coaches there did a good job with her, and all I did was put her back to work in the water and start to get her fit in the gym.<\/p>\n

Q: You are known for favouring cross-training and getting your swimmers fit not only in water but in other environments. Can you tell us what exercises\/activities you get your squad to do beyond the pool – and what benefits stem from that (i.e.,. why do it)?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> My thinking is that a swimmer is an athlete first, so we don\u2019t just swim, we do a lot of different sports. Staying (only) in the pool, you miss a lot of opportunities. Getting stronger and fitter is difficult if you just stay in the pool. If you want to get strong, you need to go to the gym to lift weights, if you want to get fit you need to do some conditioning. Here typical training includes twice a day in the pool, but we also do something on land twice a day, including running, rowing, cross-country skiing, biking, cross-fit with weight-lifting, strengthening and conditioning, core work, medicine ball, many different things. The idea behind this is first of all to get strong \u2013 and you must lift weights to get strong, whether you\u2019re going to do repetitions, weight 90%, 100% of maximum repetition, body weight \u2013 and try to get a high level of fitness in order to be able to recover better. In the case of Mireia, at the World Champs she\u2019s going to race every day, and for example on Day One she could race four times with 200 medley and 400 free. So if you have a high level of fitness, you can recover faster and better, and will be able to swim at a high level more often.<\/p>\n

Q: In this final countdown to Barcelona, has Mireia got back to where she was a year ago?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> I would say that she\u2019s probably better than (this time) last year in the pool, and more or less the same in the gym. I think last year she was a little stronger going into the Olympics than this year, but only in some aspects of what we do outside of the pool, not everything. I think she was fitter on the cross-fit, she was probably running better than now, she was probably better on things like body-weight exercises. This year she\u2019s pretty good in core work, she\u2019s pretty good in weight-lifting, heavy-weight stuff, but in the water she\u2019s swimming better than last year.<\/p>\n

Q: Mireia has a big and diverse program to get through: is there a “priority” event (what is that and why) or are all things equal?\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> I think they\u2019re all the same, although there\u2019s a natural priority that emerged from the results of the Olympics. Freestyle and butterfly are kind of important, but I would not say they\u2019re more important than the others because the way we approach it is to try and keep the card open without imposing any limits on Mireia, so if it doesn\u2019t go well on Day One there\u2019s still Day Two and Day Three, etc. That\u2019s what happened at the Olympics \u2013 if we had focused on two or three events we would have missed out on medals for sure. As Mireia\u2019s coach I think the 800 free, 400 free, 200 fly is a very good combo, from a training perspective it really works well together. Mixing distance and medley, why not, even though 200 medley is a very, very specific race, and it\u2019s difficult. But at the moment we\u2019re keeping everything open. If we speak again in a year I\u2019ll probably tell you something new (different).<\/p>\n

Q: Which event does she like best – and which least?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> Probably the ones that she likes least are the 800 free and 1500 free, but that\u2019s just because she\u2019s not very experienced \u2013 even though she won a medal (in 800 free) \u2013 and it\u2019s not something that she used to swim. She has a lot more experience in 200 fly and 200 and 400 medley because that\u2019s what she\u2019s done for many years, so she has more confidence in those events, even though now she knows that she\u2019s had more success in freestyle and fly than medley. I think the ones that she really loves to race are the 200 fly and the 200 and 400 medley, and my guess is that she\u2019s going to start enjoying 400 free more and more.<\/p>\n

Q: Can you describe what Mireia is like to work with? (ie., Does she have a high work ethic; does she question what she is asked to do; is she always engaged; is she fun to work with; is she challenging to work with)?\u00a0 \u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> She\u2019s very professional, she really enjoys training, she always arrives on or ahead of time, she never arrives late for a training session. She does what she has to do, and sometimes asks for more. She really fights (works hard), and just last night she was faster than the boys. All coaches would like to have a Mireia Belmonte in their squad, she\u2019s fantastic. Another good thing with Mireia is that at the end of pretty much every session she comes to see me, and we talk for anything from 10 seconds to half-an-hour. \u201cWhat do think about this, what about that set, maybe I should do better?\u201d She\u2019s involved in her swimming, there are some swimmers who finish the session and they leave (right away), but it\u2019s important for her (to be involved).<\/p>\n

Q: You\u2019ve just highlighted some of her strengths, is there room for improvement in other areas?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> She could be faster, so speed is something we will have to look at, because she\u2019s more like a consistent swimmer than a split swimmer, and she can develop (more) speed. We still need to do a lot of work underwater \u2013 she\u2019s pretty good underwater, but still that\u2019s something that we could improve a lot. She\u2019s not a very tall swimmer, so she could also work on technique \u2013 her butterfly is pretty good, her freestyle is pretty good, but we can improve her breaststroke and backstroke. There\u2019s also a lot of work to do on land \u2013 she\u2019s made a lot of progress, and I remember the first time we went to the gym she couldn\u2019t do any pull-ups, now she can do many with 10\/15 kilo weights on her legs. So there\u2019s been a lot of improvement but still there\u2019s a long way to go with the land work. So for a coach it\u2019s exciting and for her to know that she can still improve it\u2019s exciting, and the future is bright for Mireia if she keeps doing what she\u2019s doing now.<\/p>\n

Q: In general, how do you assess progress at the squad in Sabadell? Is there a specific or favoured set you like to use to test the swimmers – and if so, could you share it with us?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> We\u2019ve worked with a fairly big group from the end of August\/1st September to the trials (in spring 2013), and I coach from 50 free to 25km and even more \u2013 we have two guys who do the World cup 88km. So it\u2019s a very open group from the age of 17 to 32 years old, and I think that\u2019s the strength of the Sabadell group. With the diversity and experience that we have, everybody has their own target, and everybody comes to train knowing what they want. The philosophy of what we do is pretty much based on hard work and being involved in the club. For me personally, I think I could probably coach in one or two places in Spain, but not many, and I got lucky to end up in Sabadell, coming in behind the legacy of Paulus Wildeboer. Paulus and I have a similar philosophy, although we do some things differently, and there are things that he does and I don\u2019t and vice versa. But the overall philosophy is the same so for me it\u2019s been a stroke of luck to be coaching at Sabadell after Paulus. There\u2019s nothing much I can tell you about a specific training set \u2013 the Sabadell kids sometimes do 400 butterfly or 800 medley in competitions, things like that. We like to go and race open water, or take part in a 10km run in Sabadell or Barcelona, and just challenge ourselves every day.<\/p>\n

Q: How many of your swimmers from Sabadell will be swimming at the World Championships?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A:<\/strong> There will be six, including Mireia, Judit Ignacio (100 & 200 butterfly), Marc Sanchez (800 & 1500 free), Aschwin Wildeboer (50, 100, 200 backstroke), a swimmer from Argentina (freestyle & backstroke), and a guy swimming the open water.<\/p>\n

Last year we were very proud to have 8 swimmers going to the Olympics, including two 18-year-old girls participating in the Olympics for the first time \u2013 Judit (Ignacio) and (Claudia) Dasca \u2013 so for me that was quite a big achievement. We took a photo at the end of the Olympics and I\u2019m sure everybody has it hanging somewhere in the house. We\u2019re not like some big American programs, we\u2019re just a normal club, so last year I think we did pretty well.<\/p>\n

The Olympic trials last year in Malaga was an amazing competition for us and for the Spanish team. We talked about emotion earlier, and it was just different (in Malaga). My assistant coach was crying every time one of our swimmers made the cut, the swimmers were cheering, the national performance director was jumping up and down in his chair, it was really enjoyable. This year it was lower key, but knowing that it was for the World Champs in Barcelona, it was still pretty tense \u2013 one of the girls made the 200 fly cut by 0.01, and I had to refocus everyone again after that.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m really looking forward to going back into the (World Championships) arena and to feel that tension. I was speaking to a colleague a few days ago, for us it\u2019s a drug, it\u2019s the drug that we want, and we can only get it on very few occasions. Now it\u2019s coming, and if the World Champs could be tomorrow, I would sign up for them right now.<\/p>\n

As I said before, the timing (of the World Champs) is really good for us. If we do well in Barcelona then we can do things differently (next year). As a coach I\u2019m looking forward to next year and trying new things. I talked earlier about speed and doing different types of work in the gym. We actually started here in Sierra Nevada (at the Spanish pre-Worlds training camp) doing something new that I think nobody else has done \u2013 we are using an ergometer, a rowing machine which we\u2019re using like a swimming bench to reproduce the butterfly movement, and measuring things like intensity and velocity. As I said, next year is not about not training or taking a holiday, it\u2019s about doing things differently. For a coach it\u2019s very exciting to be able to do some experimentation because that\u2019s something that we lack in our daily life.<\/p>\n

For me coaching is a passion. When we had a team meeting the other day I told the swimmers that probably number one for me is the relationship, from the psychology with the swimmers and the way you talk and try to convince them that they can do it, to the 20 minutes before the calling room. Number two is probably how I can make my swimmers better \u2013 constant thinking, constant feedback, asking if that\u2019s the best I can give my swimmer: was that session the best that I could give them today, this morning, tonight, or can I do better? Why is Mireia not doing this or that, how can I improve? If you get on top of that, people from the science field can then make you think even more, it\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n

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Q: Is Spain ready to step up at a home World Championships in Barcelona and what would constitute success? A: Spain is always proud to organize an international competition. 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