08/12/09

Andrew Gemmell of Delaware and Fran Crippen of Philadelphia were relatively unknown and unproven until they vaulted themselves among the world’s elite at the World Swimming Championships.  Gemmell, who will head to Georgia as a freshman this month, finished a strong fifth in the 5K and came back to win a silver in the 10K only 24 hours later.  Crippen finished seventh in the 5K and won a bronze in the 10K.  

While Crippen stuck to his game plan in both races, Gemmell was like a switch hitter, using different strategies in the 5K and 10K.

In the 5K, after a slow first loop among the 41 men from 24 countries, Gemmell took the temporary lead at the 3K mark.  As Gemmell pushed the pace, 35 swimmers – including Crippen – started their pursuit.  “I felt good and the pace wasn’t tough,” recalled Gemmell, “So I went.”  Around the fifth of eight turn buoys under relatively smooth conditions, Gemmell held strong.  But, as the pace quickened down the back straightaway, Gemmell purposefully slowed a bit, “let up a bit and let [Germany’s gold medalist Thomas] Lurz take the lead.”

Despite willingly giving up the lead, there was still plenty of room to reel in his competitors.  But the 31-year-old Lurz, as he has done during his other world championship gold medal swims, took the bait and took off.  Lurz never relinquished the lead.  “Lurz set an extremely tough pace down the back half,” recalled Gemmell.  “I was behind him and the Greek swimmer [silver medalist Spyridon Gianniotis].”

Like the women’s race before them, the lead pack split into two towards the end with Crippen and Australian Trent Grimsey staying to the left and Lurz and Gianniotis staying to the right.  Sid Cassidy, who was right in the thick of action as one of the referees, said, “Andrew made a conscious decision to try and stay with Lurz and Spyridon.  He was awesome [in his first world championship].”

Around the last turn buoy, the two packs converged, but Lurz and Gianniotis were still in control, leading the group.  Sprinting within a pack towards the finish, Gemmell and Crippen valiantly hung on, but they didn’t medal.  “I wasn’t right on their feet [to draft effectively],” said Gemmell.  “And I just couldn’t close the gap.”

But he certainly gave it his all.  As Cassidy remembers, “Just as Andrew finished, he started blowing chunks.  I’d say he gave it his all.  Fran looked like he had a great line to the finish chute, but he was well inside the last yellow marker buoy on the straightaway and it cost him.  But to his credit, Fran made up nearly a dozen places in the last 400 meters to get seventh.”

The American duo then loosened down and retooled for the next day’s 10K, determined to gain a spot on the podium that had eluded them on their first foray at the world championship level.

The next day, the 10K race took on a completely different complexion.  Despite facing much higher surface chop and a steadily increasing wind, the lead pack in the 10K race was at least a minute faster at the 5K mark compared to the 5K race the day before.  The crowd sensed the pressure and prestige of the 10K distance – as the official Olympic open water distance, the entire field seemed to step up.

As expected, it was the Europeans – always a factor in major international competitions – who were taking turns in the front with Crippen darting in and out like a boxer throwing jabs in the early rounds.  But it was clear that Crippen was waiting to throw a knockout punch.

Meanwhile, Gemmell was mellowing out back in about the 35th position – between 20-50 meters behind the leaders.  He appeared out of it early on.  But, in hindsight, Gemmell said, “I felt very relaxed [back in the pack].  I was able to conserve my energy.”  Similar to the strategy used by gold medalist Maarten van der Weijden in the Olympic 10K, Gemmell had revised his strategy in his second race.  “I felt like I was fighting the whole way [in the 5K].  It was too much work on my part and I thought I used too much energy.  In the 5K, I was in the lead for too long.”

Towards the front of the pack, Italian open water hero Valerio Cleri took control at the 7K mark and started to push the pace, hoping to stretch out the field while challenging others to keep up.  As Gemmell fell further behind, he remained confident in his strategy while Crippen still prowled around towards the front, biding his time.  

Suddenly and inexplicably, Cleri slowed down and gave up the lead, causing the entire pack to bunch up again.  With a changing of the guard towards the front of the pack and the pace temporarily slowed, Gemmell’s patience paid off.  He now found himself in position to pounce on the opportunity.  Making a strong move, Gemmell moved so quickly towards the front that both he and Crippen were in the top 7 around the final turn buoy.

“Over the last 1000 meters, I was really pushing it,” said Gemmell.  “I made up time and was in fifth or sixth [around the last turn buoy with another 650 meters to go].  I was right on the feet of Lurz and I felt good – much better than I did in the 5K.  We took a wider line.  I didn’t see Fran, but when we went past Cleri, we were moving a lot faster.”  

Suddenly, to the surprise of the open water swimming community, there were two Americans in a position to medal, something that had not happened since the 1991 World Championships in the women’s 25K race.

While Lurz was charging fast and closing in on his second gold medal of the championships, it was still anyone’s game behind him.  “Over the last 150-200 meters, we were really sprinting, but I couldn’t catch Lurz.”

Although he ran out of real estate while nipping at Lurz’s heels, Gemmell finished well enough to capture his first world championship silver, only 1.4 seconds behind Lurz in an hour and 52 minute race.  

With Crippen’s bronze medal, the duo are now bona fide players among the global open water swimming elite.  With several young Americans right behind them, the future looks bright for the men in the red, white and blue caps.

“[Double gold medalist] Thomas Lurz is phenomenal,” said Gianniotis.  “He is the best in the world of open water swimming.”  

True.  Very true.

But Gemmell and Crippen also proved themselves capable of stepping up on the world’s stage.  

The three men will next meet in New York City on September 6th in the only FINA 10KM Marathon Swimming World Cup on American soil. 

For more open water news and info, check out www.10kswimmer.com.