“Other than in cycling and running, for me in the pool – unfortunately – the following seems to be true: harder and more is better. Of course, technique is key, but you can’t drill your way to glory… not when you’re 37…”
Swimming is clearly not Sebastian Kienle’s favorite discipline. And that’s no surprise, as the former Ironman world champion owes his victories mostly to his impressive bike and run part. Kienle currently enjoys the last years of pro-life, because the German athlete has announced to quit racing after 2023. Maybe that “deadline” is what is bringing him new insights when it comes to swimming. On Instagram, he explains why he struggles with this discipline.
“Learn to love things that you hate”, Kienle starts his message. “Why even do something that you don’t like and are not very talented at? Two years ago I thought ‘as soon as I end my career, I will never swim again’. I would not say I’m in the best shape of my life, but I definitely enjoy swimming right now. Why? First of all: I enjoy some really good conditions, I had to swim during public hours for most of my career. Second, I have a good mix of training with partners and alone”, Kienle says, thanking his training partners Nils Lorenz, Gregor Payet and Laura Philipp.
“I’ve also changed my mindset, I’ve a sense of urgency and I started to ’embrace the suck’, like Macca (Chris McCormack, multiple Ironman world champion, ed.) once said”, he continues. “I’m not quitting sessions anymore just because I’m not satisfied with the splits. Other than in cycling and running, for me in the pool – unfortunately – the following seems to be true: harder and more is better. Of course, technique is key, but you can’t drill your way to glory… not when you’re 37…”
