Someone Racing Right Next To Me
Someone Racing Right Next To Me
A closer look at Kate Augustyn's record-setting 100 Backstroke win at Nationals
Kate Augustyn exercises restraint. She is articulate but not overly anxious to fill empty spaces in conversation; thoughtful but not aggressive in imposing her views. And she projects a genuine calm.
But, ask her ‘what was different about this breakout year,’ and she becomes noticeably more intense.
KA: Yeah, I think the biggest thing was kind of a change in mindset and the way I approached practice. Last season, at the 2023 NCAAs, I was close in the 100 backstroke. For the season, my best time was off the lead by less than half a second. I don't know the actual amount. [d3so: 0.43] And after Nationals, I realized, wow, I could actually win an NCAA event.
KA: I was so close. And it kind of gave me...confidence going into this year's season.
Ms. Augustyn hesitated before choosing the word 'confidence.' Like she recognized that it would only capture part of her meaning.
KA: In practice, a lot of times I would think about that race at Nationals, like that last 25 especially. If we were doing repeat 50s backstroke, I would imagine myself in that race and think about finishing that last 25, imagining someone racing right next to me, having a really close race.
Ms. Augustyn's motivational game played out in the solitary, often painful, and seemingly endless grind of practice throughout the season. It was a race against a phantom. A phantom who appeared whenever the fatigue started to set in, a tireless specter determined to pass her and take away the national title that was just at her fingertips, just out of reach.
KA: It gave me a mental focus that unlocked a new level of intensity and intention. And I think that helped a lot.
That's relatable. Because it is easy to say 'I would like to swim really fast.' And it is often said 'I want to take every lap seriously in training.' But unless you find a powerful emotional connection, where you genuinely feel like you are fighting for something that should be yours, how are you going to maintain that daily intensity for months?
Another way to look at this is to think about the negative role rumination plays in most people's lives, where reliving some past frustration wears them down, and reduces their confidence and ability to do better next time. Kate Augustyn was - in her own sort of way - ruminating. But there is something about the nature of swimming where rumination - focused rumination, during training - might actually help. If it is in service of a future positive outcome. If you are mentally strong enough to do it.
Here is how it all worked out.1
As you can see from the HyTek, Ms. Augustyn trailed Sophia Verkleeren at the 50 yard mark by 0.22 seconds, before coming back 27.51 in the last 50 yards of the race.
A digression on 0.22 seconds
We find that - after watching a lot of swimming at this level - we suffer from an odd sort of desensitization, where we start thinking of 0.22 seconds, in the context of a 100 yard race, as a lot of time. Because, on the one hand, it is. It is common to see three or four athletes finish a race within one 0.22 second block.2
But, really, it isn’t a lot of time at all. If you want a visual display of just how little time is measured by 0.22 seconds, look at the gif below. Note that Ms. Augustyn and Ms. Verkleeren (marked by the white arrow) appear to be nearly even just before they start their flip turns. Ms. Verkleeren’s flip is more compact, and appears to generate more rotational velocity. Ms. Verkleeren’s feet pounce onto the wall first, 0.22 seconds ahead of Ms. Augustyn.3
Finishing that last 25
At the 75 yard mark, Ms. Augustyn and Ms. Verkleeren again turned together. But here Kate Augustyn was entering that last 25 yard stretch, the one she practiced, visualized, and - in her mind - raced, in training session after training session, throughout the season. And in these last 25 yards, Ms. Augustyn just flew. Her finish looked smooth, elegant, rehearsed. Like she had been there many times before.
Here is the whole race.
In discussing what is next, Kate Augustyn started talking about the 200 Back. She mentioned that she thought about the 200 Backstroke record. Here's what she meant when she said she 'thought about it.'
She had it written on a post-it note on her wall.
In the middle of a sentence, the words 'Crile Hart's (like) 1:55.67 200 Back record' just popped out of her mouth.
Ms. Augustyn shared that she was surprised how close to the record she came this year. So were we. Ms. Augustyn's 200 Back time of 1:55.98 is the closest anyone has come to Crile Hart’s record since it was set on March 24th, 2018.
Ms. Augustyn also shared that the 200 Back record will be 'still a motivating factor going into next year.' We have come to understand what Ms. Augustyn means with those sorts of understatements. And we imagine Kate Augustyn training through the long winter months next season, with the phantasm of Crile Hart in the next lane, pushing the pace.
We are aware that at this point, Ms. Augustyn had already broken the 100 Back record (the night before) in the lead leg of the 400 Medley Relay. We are choosing to focus on Event 24 because it was Ms. Augustyn's goal to be a national champion in an event and, even in possession of the 100 Back record from that relay, she was not yet an individual event national champion.
By the way, as Ms. Augustyn was putting on her tech suit before that relay event, it ripped. So badly that it was unusable. Her adrenaline spiked. Where before she was excited, she was now just freaked out. Even after she had a new suit to wear, her hands continued to tremble. Her residual adrenaline never returned to it’s normal pre-race levels, but she was able to calm herself enough to compete. She hopped into the water, about one minute away from setting a new Division III record in Women’s 100 Back.
The next Women’s event final was 100 Breast. This is from the consolation final.
12 Rotival, Sophie SO Swarthmore 1:02.97 1:03.70 B 5
29.23 1:03.70 (34.47)
13 Arwood, Fiona JR Emory 1:03.38 1:03.73 B 4
29.90 1:03.73 (33.83)
14 Wheeler, Quinci FR Tufts 1:03.58 1:03.74 B 3
30.01 1:03.74 (33.73)
15 Soosai, Alicia FR Chicago 1:03.28 1:03.90 B 2
29.76 1:03.90 (34.14)We realize that after watching this a few times, the time difference becomes quite clear. So, if you want more of a challenge, look at Izzy Huang of Emory, in Lane 1 (at the bottom of the frame) and Sammi Thiele of Austin College, in Lane 7 (the second lane from the top). Pull back your field of view far enough and - without first peaking at the HyTek - see if you can tell which athlete hit the wall a full 0.04 seconds sooner than the other.