INTENSE TRAINING PAYS OFF FOR DWYER

By Matt Entringer//Correspondent

When Conor Dwyer touched the wall at 1:46.64 in the Men’s 200m Freestyle, he knew he had spent his last 11 months wisely.

The 23-year-old Winnetka, Ill. native, who qualified for the 800m freestyle relay in the 2012 London Olympics after coming in fourth place, trained upwards of six hours per day for almost an entire year, rarely taking a day off.

The countless days of pool and dryland workouts all started shortly after Dwyer’s last NCAA Championship appearance for the University of Florida in 2011. However, Dwyer said his drive for making this U.S. Olympic team really started at the 2008 Trials.

“In ‘08 I was kind of a spectator,” Dwyer said. “I swam, but I was watching and observing and it pushed me because it’s such a big venue. I wanted to be in the finals and be out there trying to make the U.S. team.”

When training for these Trials, Dwyer competed against some of the best U.S. and world swimmers day in and day out. Dwyer said that made it easier for him to know how fast he’d have to be at Trials and helped push him during the last 11 months.

“I think we had a great training group with Peter [Vanderkaay], Ryan [Lochte], Elizabeth [Beisel], Teresa [Crippen] and another 20-plus foreign swimmers,” Dwyer said. “Everyone just had the sole purpose of making their teams and doing something at the Olympics.”

Crippen said Dwyer’s work ethic is unmatched by many and he was always listening to what coach Gregg Troy had to say.

“Conor’s a great competitor,” Crippen said. “He always works really hard in practice. Ever since he came to train with us, the summer before he transferred [from the University of Iowa] he always did what coach Troy said. He’d just put his head down and get after it.”

Coming into the Trials, Dwyer said he felt confident because of the amount of work he had put in. That’s not to say he wasn’t a little nervous. He knew that if he didn’t qualify for the Olympics this time around he would be 27 before he would get another chance.

“That’s what all the pressure is about,” Dwyer said. “Thankfully, this year, I knew I put in 11 months of training so it’s like studying for the test. I wasn’t that nervous, but it is somewhat scary knowing that this opportunity only comes around once every four years. You have to take advantage of it when it does come around and make sure you’re on top of your game.”

Dwyer was certainly on top of his game as he finished second in both the preliminary and semifinal of the 400m Freestyle. Finishing just 0.16 seconds behind training partner Vanderkaay, Dwyer earned an unofficial Olympic spot that has since become official.

The next day Dwyer continued his hot start with a fifth-place finish in the preliminary round of the 200m freestyle. After coming in third in the semifinals, Dwyer earned a spot in the finals and a shot at his first official Olympic qualification.

Dwyer finished the race in fourth place, which means he will team up with Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Ricky Berens to form the 800m freestyle relay for the U.S. team. Dwyer said it was a little bit of a shock at first, but he’s just glad that all his hard work paid off.

“It’s a dream come true,” Dwyer said. “It’s something I’ve strived for pretty hard the last 11 months. I haven’t taken any days off. It’s really hard to put into words just how amazing it is.”

Now that Dwyer’s made the Olympics, he plans to go back to training as soon as the Trials are over.

“I’ll probably go [back to my old routine] for a week or two and then drop back down, another taper,” Dwyer said. “We’re usually better our second taper so I’m looking forward to it.”

Dwyer and the rest of the U.S. Olympic team will head to London where the Olympics will kick off with the opening ceremonies on July 27.