Fighting for an Olympic spot, Tom Koucheravy

April 9, 2008

23 year old Tom Koucheravy is the 8th fastest qualifier for the 1500 meters Olympic swimming trials in Omaha, Nebraska, and he is now focused on actually landing a spot on the team. Meet this athlete and find out more about his training and interests.

ST: Tom, you were at George Mason University on a swimming scholarship. What are you doing these days?

Tom: Actually I started getting a scholarship from GMU in 2004, which was my sophomore year. Last year was the last year of scholarship. I was a walk on my freshmen year and my times coming out of high school weren’t spectacular enough to get money coming in.

ST: At what age you started swimming and have you done any other sports?

Tom: I swam summer league at my neighborhood pool every summer from when I moved to North VA in 4th grade till I graduated high school. Summer swim is only a month and its more playing then training. I started swimming seriously freshmen year of high school. I did no other sports really… minus t-ball in 1st grade… if that counts. My folks never pushed the “try a million activities,” which I’m grateful for because choosing to swim came from me. I just went with the swim program because I knew no other sport that well and I wanted to be a on a high school team.

ST: The Olympic Trials in Nebraska are coming up soon. Can you describe your goals and for the event?

Tom: I’m training for the mile and like every crazy person training for the Olympic trials, the biggest overall goal is to make the Olympics. I’m also swimming the 400 free but mainly focusing on the mile. Personally I want to do as well as I can. To make the Olympics would be out of this world. I want to make the final heat of the mile and the ideal ending would be finishing top 5 for this Olympic year. I plan to train for another Olympic trials, so going to these trials will be a learning experience and help me gain perspective for the future.

ST: What would you call your biggest achievement or favorite race result in swimming so far?

Tom: Coming out of high school, I wasn’t that fast. Going into GMU, which is a mid-major, I was competitive at best. Over time I dramatically dropped time in my freestyle events. Each year in college a goal was set and I’d train my guts out and they would more or less be met. I didn’t set outlandish goals but ones that were obtainable and reasonable. Lack of confidence and some self doubt though have always plagued my thought process and thinking…
In the summer of 2006 at the end of my junior year, I raced the mile at the summer national meet in hopes of making Pan Ams. In my prelim heat, I went my lifetime best in the mile. What was significant was that I was racing Eric Vendt and I was ahead of him for 1300 metes. Unfortunately in Eric Vendt fashion, he ran me down at the end. Regardless I was ahead and held him off for over ¾ of the race. That race, I swam out of my head and it was awesome. The biggest part that I got out of the race was that in the nation I am just as significant or competitive as anyone else in my event. Vendt was and is my hero for the mile but he's just a regular guy like you and I. To race him and do well, you have to take him off the pedestal I placed him and make him more human. To best sum it up, I had my best race ever and I realized I was just as competitive as my swim hero or anyone else in the nation. Guess it took a good swim to convince myself.

ST: What else is on your schedule in terms of racing for 2008?

Tom: I have a grand pre meet in Omaha about a month out from Trials, I’d like to do the Santa Clara Classic (have to talk to my coach about that) and two weeks of training at the Olympic training center with some of the best in the nation.

ST: During the season, what workload do you have during a typical week?

Tom: I don’t really think too hard or count my yardage in. My coaches would know better then me. I practice between 10 or 11 practices a week. Tuesdays and Thursday afternoon are usually a recovery practice while the rest of the week is fair game for madness. I usually get a morning or an afternoon off.
Yardage also depends on who coaches me more in a week. I train mainly with my college coach Peter Ward (in the pic next to me) but also do half my workouts under Ray Benecki with training partner Kate Ziegler. Peter Ward's practices on quality days will range from 7000 to 7500. Ray's practices can range from 6500 to 10,000, it all depends on the day of practice… you never know what to expect.

ST: Would you also be so kind and describe a typical hard workout?

Tom: This is a Peter Ward workout:

Warm up
3x 300 swim, kick, pull this
3×200 swim, kick, drill
3×100 swim kick, skull

12 x 75 rotating IM fast on third 25

40 x 100
10 on 1:10, 10 on 1:05, 10 on 1: 10, 10 on 1:00
Sometimes lower if my coaches are feeling sassy

800 long and smooth with snorkel. Use this swim to connect and find stroke.
200 warm down

ST: Do you actually have a favorite pool/aquatic facility, or is it all the same to you?

Tom: Audrey Moore Rec center. It is a few miles from GMU and my family's house. It is nothing fancy, but the walls have a mural of an aquatic scene and it is rather beautiful. Just about every other pool looks blank and practice isn't always the most exciting thing on earth. A big painting on the wall kinda makes training a bit more enjoyable and the place memorable.

ST: Do you have much of an off-season at all, and if so, what do you do during that time?

Tom: I usually get 3 week in August. From whenever summer nationals end until I move back into the dorms. I sleep in a lot, stay out late as much as I can. I also go to a lot of concerts and catch up with people that got neglected during the summer training.

ST: What is going on for you in terms of sponsorship and endorsements?

Tom: I am actually not sponsored. I'm still pretty much a leech off my parents. I'm very grateful they are so supportive of my dreams. I feel like I'm fast but not competitive enough yet to get sponsored. One of my goals is to get to that point that I am sponsored. I have never really been approached to endorse or be sponsored… But if someone is reading this and wants to, I’d be more then happy to talk. ☺

ST: Do you do any cross training such as cycling and running?

Tom: I lift 3 times a week and getting back into running 3 times a week.

ST: Can you share with us some of your food likes?

Tom: I love food that involves dead animals.

ST: What about music? What do you listen to?

Tom: I am a huge music nerd. I am so nerdy that I collect Vinyl records and my ipod is on me 90% of the time. I like mostly rock and the many mutations it can be, but I’m flexible with other types of music. I like music that is real and not influenced by big business. I am currently in love with the following bands. Boris, Botch, Converge, These arms are snakes, minus the bear, Elliott smith, The smiths, The Replacements, Black flag, Flipper, Fear, minor threat, Fugazi, Big black, Pavement, Clap your hands say ya, The Cramps, The mars Volta, Neutral milk hotel, Mono, My bloody Valentine, Explosion in the sky, Cannibal ox, Owen, Patrick Wolf, Jeff Buckley, joy division, the Pixies, the velvet underground, The stooges, Lou reed, Genghis Tron, Some Girls, The Cure, Blacklisted, Shipwreck AD, bloc party and The Dillinger Escape plan.

ST: What is the last book you read?

Tom: "Magical Thinking" by Augusten Burroughs. It's written by the guy who wrote “Running with scissors.” Funny read.

ST: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Tom: Satisfied with my swimming career, holding a steady job and unfortunately becoming a grown up.

ST: I there anything else we should know about you?

Tom: I wish I had enough coordination to play guitar… I'm so bad I can hardly handle guitar hero… that's about it.