Lamar Taylor, far right, and other swimmers at the UVA Pro Elite SCM Worlds Prep Meet in Charlottesville, Virginia.
By JONATHAN BURROWS
Tribune Sports Reporter
jburrows@tribunemedia.net
LAMAR Taylor said learning to enjoy swimming again has played a major role in his recent progress after he broke the 21-second barrier in the men’s 50-metre freestyle at the UVA Pro Elite SCM Worlds Prep Meet in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Taylor clocked 20.95 seconds on October 15 to finish third behind Jordan Crooks, who won in 20.48 seconds, and Caeleb Dressel, who placed second in 20.90 seconds. His time improved on his previous personal best of 21.00 seconds and established a new Bahamian record.
The performance also moved Taylor into a tie for ninth in the world rankings in the event, marking a significant breakthrough ahead of the World Championships.
“It feels amazing to break the 21 barrier. It means a lot to know that my practices are paying off and to know that what I am doing in practice is working,” Taylor said.
“I think what made a huge difference this year is that I am learning to have fun again and enjoy swimming, and to try and learn something new every day and not try to learn everything in one day.”
Taylor said training alongside Crooks has also helped him find ways to improve, with the opportunity to challenge himself against one of the world’s leading sprint swimmers providing a valuable measure of his development.
“I train with Jordan every day, so I like to challenge myself every day. For example, racing him and seeing what he is doing that I can maybe pick up on. It definitely puts my racing in a new perspective when it is compared to someone else,” he said.
Taylor also set a Bahamian record in the 50-metre backstroke, clocking 23.41 seconds to finish second, and placed third in the 100 metre freestyle in 47.16 seconds. “It feels great to make progress in two of my sprint events. Sprinting is a very technical and difficult thing to get better at, and some days it may feel like you are not making any progress,” Taylor said. “I have felt like I have been at a standstill for a while, so this is a huge breakthrough for me.”
Taylor said reaching the top 10 in the world rankings in the 50-metre freestyle has also given him a new sense of excitement as he prepares for the World Championships.
“Definitely, it makes me feel excited and extremely happy. It is definitely something that I have not done yet in my career, so this being the first time definitely puts me in a new position and makes me very excited,” he said.
Taylor described his overall showing at the UVA meet as better than he had anticipated, explaining that he entered the competition mainly to assess his form rather than expecting to produce such fast times.
“I think my overall performance at the UVA meet was definitely over the top and something that I did not expect. It was a meet that I just kind of wanted to see where I was at and did not expect to swim that fast,” he said. “It was a new experience, and I felt a lot of things that I have not felt in a while, like being fast, being strong and just feeling pure speed, which was really fun.”
With the World Championships approaching, Taylor said his focus will be on refining the technical details of his races, particularly his breakouts, turns and finishes in the 50-metre freestyle and 50-metre backstroke. He believes there is room to improve in how he approaches the wall, noting that he felt he glided into the finish in the freestyle and did not execute his turns and finish as sharply as he wanted in the backstroke.
Taylor also said adjusting to a new pool affected his ability to judge his stroke count and kick count in the backstroke, contributing to some of those mistakes.
“Just those two things I want to work on going into the World Championships. So, just really the finer details and trying to stay healthy and trying to make sure that my body is right for the meet,” he said.
Joanna Evans also delivered a strong showing at the meet, winning the women’s 400 metre freestyle in 4:08.17 and finishing third in the 200 metre freestyle in 1:56.28. She also placed sixth in the 100 metre freestyle in 53.97 seconds.
Evans’ victory in the 400 metre freestyle highlighted her performance in Charlottesville, while her podium finish in the 200-metre freestyle added to The Bahamas’ strong showing at the two-day meet.