Everyone knows U.S. speedskaters did not perform well in Sochi. The long track team failed to bring home any Olympic medals for the first time in 30 years, prompting U.S. Speedskating to investigate what went wrong.
The , released earlier this month, blamed training errors for the poor showing Three national coaches after this year’s Olympic games,聽including all-round coach Kip Carpenter, sprint coach Ryan Shimabukuro, and short-track coach Stephen Gough. The high-performance director, Finn Halvorsen, resigned.*
So we asked the coach of 2010 and 2014 Olympian, Brian Hansen, and four-time Olympic speedskater herself, , to break down what happened so athletes from all sports can learn from speedskating鈥檚 mistakes.
Forget About Altitude
The problem: U.S. Speedskaters spent 10 days before the Olympics training at altitude in Collalbo, Italy, then left for Sochi two weeks before their first races. The idea behind altitude training is that it will make the body produce more oxygen-carrying red blood cells that will improve an athlete鈥檚 endurance at sea level. But it can also have drawbacks.
鈥淭here is a fatiguing factor in dealing with altitude,鈥 Swider-Peltz says. 鈥淵ou can never go super hard.鈥 Also, it can be difficult to maximize altitude鈥檚 beneficial effects. 鈥淵ou have to be very calculated,鈥 she says. That鈥檚 where it鈥檚 helpful to have a coach who can read your fatigue and adjust your training plan accordingly.
The fix: Athletes in shorter, technical sports might want to ditch the mountains. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think you have to train at altitude to be successful,鈥 Swider-Peltz says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 better to work on the things鈥攖he little nuances that can produce that tenth of a second鈥攖han to work so hard adjusting to altitude.鈥
Get Lazy to Stay Off Your Feet
The problem: 鈥淭wo weeks before the first race, we were up at four or five in the morning to take a bus ride to Munich. Then we walked around for four or five hours, then we went to the BMW dinner and were up 鈥榯ill midnight,鈥 Swider-Peltz says. 鈥淭hen you get up at four o鈥檆lock in the morning and travel to Sochi where the transportation isn鈥檛 quite settled and you have to walk a lot.鈥 As a result of the intense travel schedule, athletes were physically and mentally drained.
The fix: Athletes should be prepared to take a few hits before a race, Swider-Peltz says, whether that鈥檚 an unexpected late-night out, or a hitch in travel arrangements. But take too many hits right before a race, and your performance may suffer. So do your best to save the sightseeing and socializing for after your event.
Test Everything in Advance
The problem: As the reported, the executive director of U.S. Speedskating said, 鈥渢he team erred in its decision not to use the brand-new Mach 39 suits in competition before the Olympics, as well as a skate polish that the team introduced on the eve of the Games.鈥
Swider-Peltz says U.S. athletes were asked to make decisions about the suits, skate polish, and kinesiology tape while at the outdoor track in Collalbo just before the Games. 鈥淏ut [the athletes] were cold, they had to change their technique to deal with the wind and the cold,鈥 Swider-Peltz said, making it difficult for athletes to determine if they felt the new equipment was helpful or not. Asking the athletes to 鈥渢o decide if something was good or different, or if it was the polish or the uniform鈥 three weeks before the Games, she says, 鈥渕essed with the athletes鈥 minds.鈥
The fix: 鈥淚n my opinion, you should test things six weeks before to determine if they鈥檙e good or not good,鈥 Swider-Peltz says. Once you鈥檝e figured out your ideal equipment setup鈥攁nd you know it鈥檚 quick, and comfortable鈥攜ou鈥檒l feel confident and fast on race day.
Bonus tip: Vet your coach and team
鈥淚f you鈥檙e going to be a part of a team, it鈥檚 just like a marriage,鈥 Swider-Peltz says. 鈥淢ake sure you wholeheartedly respect the leader. Also, make sure you like the other people on the team, because that is going to affect your ability to like what you鈥檙e doing. If you鈥檙e distracted by the other people, that鈥檚 going to be detrimental to your development.鈥
*Clarification: We updated the language of this paragraph to make it clear that Kip Carpenter, Ryan Shimabukuro, and Stephen Gough Shimabukuro left U.S. Speedskating but were not forced to resign.