University of Minnesota Athletics
Swimming Outside The Box: Junior Michael Daup
7/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Michael Daup became a distance swimmer because he feels there is a high correlation between the distance of a competition and how much success he achieves. The only problem for Daup is the longest event NCAA Swimming offers is the 1,650-yard freestyle, but luckily the Eagan, Minn. native has found a way to quench his thirst to ascertain his limits in the water.
After achieving success at every level he has competed, the young distance swimmer decided he was ready to face a new, unique challenge. He did just that when he discovered a type of competition that would remove him from the clean, clear, calm waters of pools where he spent his youth playing sharks and minnows and a sizeable portion of his life training in. He decided to place himself in the midst of 30 competitors competing in bodies of water where there are no lane lines, no starting blocks, and no bulkheads, where competitors exchange blows and battle for positions all eyeing to take home gold.
While this may sound like some sort of swimming meets, NASCAR, meets ultimate fighting hybrid of a sport, it’s simply the style of competition common in the world of competitive open water swimming.
On May 30th, Daup packed his mirrored goggles, sunscreen, and suit for a trip to Fort Myers, Florida to compete in the 5K Open Water National Championships. Daup placed an impressive fifth place out of the field that included 31 of the nation’s top open water swimmers, notching a time of 57:06.1.
“Being a distance freestyler, this type of training was nothing new to me,” said Daup. “I always seem to get better as the distance of a race increases. Competing in these events just seemed to make sense.”
After his formidable fifth place finish, Daup was through with his 5K, 57:06.1 warm up. Daup’s true test was scheduled for four days later, when he would increase his distance by five times while fighting a blazing sun, choppy waters, and boiling water temperatures -- waters exceeded 90 degrees in some stretches of the race.
When taking a quick glance at these conditions, one might be inclined to think Daup was trying to swim across the River Styx, though Gophers’ assistant coach Bill Tramel proved to be a much friendlier face than Phlegyas.
“Michael was amazing in some very difficult conditions,” said Tramel. “It’s an incredible accomplishment for him.”
Tramel was the skipper of the boat that guided Daup through the traitorous open water course, providing food and water to Daup during the race. In total, Daup’s menu included a gallon of Gatorade, three 16-ounce bottles of water, a banana, and a few energy gel packets.
“For the first hour, we tried to feed him (Daup) every 15 minutes or so,” Tramel explained. “After that point, we cut it down to every eight to 12 minutes and then every five or so the rest of the way.”
After an arduous five hours and 46 minutes of swimming, Daup completed the 25K and in the process earned the right to put USA Swimming 25K Open Water National Champion on his already extensive swimming resume; a resume that includes being a 2008 Big Ten Championships finalist in the 1650 freestyle and now the first Open Water National Champion in the University of Minnesota school history.
Daup first got the idea of training and competing for open water competitions at last year’s long course nationals meet in Indianapolis, where an open water event and camp was offered through USA Swimming. Daup was eager to test his limits both physically, as well as mentally.
USA Swimming enlisted the services of long time coach Dave Thomas to tutor the athletes in the art of open water competitive swimming. Daup found the camp advantageous to the cultivation of not only to his skills an athlete, but also to his relationships within the swimming community.
“The camp went over the details that go along with competing in open water events,” commented Daup. “For example, they went over different ways to train and tips for swimming around the turns, which is one of the biggest differences between competing in open water events opposed to competing in the pool.”
Elite distance swimmers from around the country were well represented in the USA Swimming camp; however, Daup wasn’t the only athlete representing a Big Ten school, as he noted he recognized a familiar face from Penn State in the crowd.
As far as the style of competition goes in these events, Daup says the physicality of the sport often gets overplayed, but was quick to note that it is still an element of the competition.
“No one goes out there to try and hit other guys,” remarked Daup. “A lot of people hear it’s a really rough sport and you get beat up, which isn’t necessarily true; however, you have so many guys trying to get to certain spots on the turns and at different points throughout the race that, often times, you find yourself swimming of top of guys and taking shots.”
Daup recommends open water events to any distance swimmer, noting that he has had nothing but good experiences competing in these types of events.
“The 5K in Fort Myers was especially fun,” Duap went on to say. “I got to compete against some big names in open water swimming like Fran Crippen and Cody Kauffman. It was a great experience for me.”
Daup took a break from competing outside of pools to make his bid to travel to Beijing by competing in the U.S. Olympic Trials this past weekend in Omaha. However, Daup plans to return to open water competitions August 3 to compete in the USA 10K Open Water Championships held in Minneapolis in Lake Harriet.
Daup will also contend for the U.S. National Team that will compete in Rome at the 2009 World Championships.
Story by Jesse White, athletic communications student assistant
Players Mentioned
