Lewis blog
Lewis Clareburt is the poster-boy of swimming in New Zealand, and this past week he showed us exactly why. Our very own F-Teamer is one of the most talented swimmers in the world, and at the recent NZ selection meet he claimed 8 gold and 1 silver medal amidst a hectic schedule. The 400 Individual Medley is his pet event, and with the Commonwealth Games and FINA World Championships not too far away, its back to the drawing board for Clareburt and Team NZ.
At the Auckland selection meet Lewis won gold in not only the 200/400 IM, but also the 100/200/400 free, the 200 fly, and club relays. He had already qualified for the World Champs (Hungary) starting in late June, but this solidified his position for the Commonwealth Games too. After a grueling schedule of events which featured a program much larger than his standard racing agenda, the meet may have served the purpose of “race-hardening” the experienced campaigner.
“The main focus now is finding what went wrong (at the Trials), what went right, and we will try to fix these. There are a few things I need to work on after looking at the analysis. Now it is time to rewrite those and get faster”, Clareburt said. Excited for the year ahead, it isn’t going to all be serious laps up and down the pool, as he will be able to enjoy a month in the sun between the two major meets. “We are going to spend a whole month in Mallorca (Spain) between the World Champs and Comm Games. I’m not exactly sure the plan, but we will have free reign for a month to train and best prepare ourselves for Comm Games”.
The 400 IM at the Tokyo Olympics was an absolute nail-biter, particularly for the team at Funky Trunks with not only Lewis but also the now-Gold-Coast-based Brendon Smith. “It’s cool that Brendan is swimming pretty crazy times, particularly as a fellow F-Teamer.” Both men posted their lifetime bests in the semi-finals in Tokyo. Brendon holds the Oceanic record of 4:09.27, while Lewis boasts the NZ record of 4:09.49. The former would have won the championship race last July, however the final was a touch slower with Brendon claiming the bronze in 4:10.38, and Lewis 7th in 4:11.22.
Swimming a time a few seconds slower than his best in Auckland last week, Lewis posted a 4:14, however times aren’t necessarily the only focus for many athletes around the world right now. “Comparing my times from now to last year, I suppose my time at trials in the 400 IM is a little slower, but it is tough to compare with last year being an Olympic year. I am moving better in the gym, which is very promising”.
Swimming a 400 IM isn’t all about enduring the grind of many laps in succession, it is an art and the race itself is “quite analytical”. “In training we analyze my turn times, my stroke rates, and my goal-time splits”. A typical set Lewis and his coach in Wellington like to measure up against in the lead up to major events is a broken 400 IM. “The way we do this is by doing 4 x 100, trying to hit a goal time and improve on last time”.
We are excited to see how the Kiwi goes through the year, and to be witnesses of the next F-Team duel between he and Aussie Brendon Smith. 2022 is shaping up to be an exciting one.