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Brad Tandy

Bradley Edward Tandy was on born 2 May 1991 in the Natal town of Ladysmith, where he matriculated at the Ladysmith High School. He swam with the Ladysmith Marlins Swimming Club, where he specialised in breaststroke and 50m freestyle sprinting. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, he won a silver medal in the 50m freestyle.

Brad first started training with Ladysmith Marlins coaches Ivan and Denise Ball at the age of ten. “I was at high school when people started noticing that I was good at swimming. But to be honest, I was more interested in field hockey and just having fun with my friends! I was told, ‘If you trained seriously you could really make a name for yourself in the world of swimming.’

So I took notice and trained with the Marlins for two hours every day after school. Soon enough I was competing and winning events, and was even made the captain of the KZN team entering the SA Games. After high school, I moved to Pietermaritzburg where I trained for one year with the Seals Swimming Club. It was then that I was given the opportunity to take swimming to the next level and try and make a career out of it. I chose to study and train at Indian River State College in Florida and wow, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made!

In 2011 Brad joined the Indian River State College swimming & diving team in Florida. It was there that Tandy helped his team win two National Junior College Champions two years in a row by becoming a five-time national record holder and a five-time All-American in his primary events, the 50 and 100-yard freestyles and relays. He was named the NJCAA Swimmer of the Year and the Florida Athlete of the Year prior to committing to Arizona, and in 2017 he was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame.

In 2013, Tandy opted to continue his education and swimming career at Arizona. Making an immediate impact with the Wildcats, the NJCAA transfer won the 50 free title at the 2014 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships while also earning All-America honours in the 100 breaststroke, 200 medley relay, and 200 and 400 free relays.

Swimming for the University of Arizona Wildcats in March 2014 Brad swam 50 yards freestyle in 18:80 seconds, which put his just outside the top 10 performances of all time. One month later, at the 2014 NCAA Championships Tandy won the 50-yard freestyle, his first NCAA championship. He also earned All-America honours in the 200 free relay and the 200 medley relay in addition to honourable mention honours in the 100-yard breast and 400 free relay.

Calvyn Justus, Cameron Van Der Burgh, Chad Le Clos and Bradley Tandy pose with their bronze medals after the swimming men’s 4x100m medley relay final during the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games

Personal best times

Event Course Time Pts. Date City (Nation) Meet
50m Freestyle 50m 21.70 894 6 Aug 2017 East Meadow (USA) US Open Championships
50m Freestyle 25m 20.94 892 14 Dec 2018 Hangzhou (CHN) FINA: 14th World Short Course ...
100m Freestyle 50m 49.50 848 2 Aug 2017 East Meadow (USA) US Open Championships
100m Freestyle 25m 48.68 781 16 Nov 2019 College Park (USA) ISL Series
50m Breaststroke 50m 27.99 796 8 Apr 2018 Gold Coast (AUS) XXI Commonwealth Games
50m Breaststroke 25m 26.77 809 2 Oct 2021 Berlin (GER) FINA: World Cup No 1 - 2021 Series
100m Breaststroke 50m 1:06.02 639 23 May 2015 Scottsdale (USA) Cactus Classic
100m Breaststroke 25m 1:01.89 712 8 Aug 2014 Durban South African Short Course ...
50m Butterfly 50m 24.35 765 5 Apr 2018 Gold Coast (AUS) XXI Commonwealth Games
50m Butterfly 25m 22.93 853 9 Oct 2021 Budapest (HUN) FINA: World Cup No 2 - 2021 Series
100m Butterfly 50m 56.58 667 7 Jun 2015 Tucson (USA) Southwest Classic
100m Medley 25m 54.42 742 8 Aug 2014 Durban South African Short Course ...
50m Freestyle Lap 25m 21.22 - 9 Dec 2016 Windsor (CAN) FINA: 13th World Short Course ...
100m Freestyle Lap 50m 49.36 - 6 Apr 2018 Gold Coast (AUS) XXI Commonwealth Games
100m Freestyle Lap 25m 48.67 - 26 Oct 2019 Budapest (HUN) ISL Series

Arizona Wildcats logo

University of Arizona 

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2015-16: Tied for sixth in the 50m free at the 2016 Olympics with a time of 21.79 representing South Africa.

2014-15: Named to the Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team…Won a Pac-12 title in the 50 free with a time of 18.95…At NCAA Championships, he tied for third in the 50 free with his season-best time and took sixth in the consolation final of the 100 breast with 52.64…Earned All-America Honorable Mentions honors in the 200 free relay, 200 medley relay, 400 free relay and 400 medley relay…At Pac-12 Championships, he also finished second in the B final of the 100 breast and first in the B final of the 100 free, earning a “B” cut…Had the fastest time on the team in the 50 free (18.91) and 100 free (42.90)…Took first in the 50 free at the Texas Invitational, sixth in the 100 free and second in the B final of the 100 breast.   

2013-14: Won a NCAA title in the 50 free with a time of 18.95…Earned All-America honors in the 50 free, 200 free relay and 200 medley relay…Also earned honorable mention All-America honors in the 100 breast and 400 free relay…Clocked in with a winning, school-record and Pac-12 meet record time of 18.80 in the 50 free at the Pac-12 Championships...Was also part of the winning and Pac-12 meet record 200 medley relay team…Also was part of a Pac-12 title in the 400 medley relay team.

At Indian River College: Helped Indian River State College to win the national title in both seasons he was on the squad…Was a five-time All-American…five-time national record holder…Was named NJCAA Swimmer of the Year…Owns the Junior College National Record holder in both the 50 and 100 freestyles…Holds the school record in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free and 200 medley relay…Was the 400 free relay swimmer of the year and the Florida Athlete of the Year…Was part of three relay NJCAA records.

Personal: Son of Steve and Vanessa Tandy…Has a brother, Robert and a sister, Sarah…Plans to major in Management Information Systems at the U of A.

Bradley Tandy, better known as Brad, is a South African sprint freestyle specialist. Born in Ladysmith, South Africa Tandy is an NCAA champion and multi-time All-American for the University of Arizona after transferring from Indian River State College.

Tandy has garnered a lot of attention for his explosive and unique start during his swimming career. Off the blocks with his slingshot-like dive, Tandy often finds himself way ahead of the field with his deep underwater phase.

Indian River State College 
Before joining the Wildcats Tandy was a member of the Indian River State College swimming & diving team in Florida. It was there that Tandy helped his team win two National Junior College Champions two years in a row by becoming a five-time national record holder and a five-time All-American in his primary events, the 50 and 100-yard freestyles and relays. He was named the NJCAA Swimmer of the Year and the Florida Athlete of the Year prior to committing to Arizona.

University of Arizona
2013-2014
Becoming a Wildcat was a stressful situation for Tandy as he battled NCAA eligibility to even compete at the Pac-12 Championships. In early 2014 it was announced that Tandy would have two years of eligibility left, and was able to compete in the rest of the 2013-2014 season. Tandy took down the school and Pac-12 records in the 50-yard free with his conference win, and was also a part of the winning 200-yard medley relay squad.

At the NCAA Championships Tandy’s first event was the 50-yard free, arguable his best event. Although his time in the 50 was slower than his performance at the Pac-12 Championships, Tandy touched 1st, winning his first NCAA championship. He also earned All-America honors in the 200 free relay and the 200 medley relay in addition to honorable mention honors in the 100-yard breast and 400 free relay.

2014-2015
In his senior year, and second year at Arizona, Tandy won his second Pac-12 title in the 50-yard free, and advanced to the NCAA Championships. This time around Tandy tied for 3rd in the 50, with a season best, and placed 6th in the consolation final of the 100 breast. In addition to his individual swims Tandy earned All-America honors as a member of the 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay and the 400 free relay.

2016 Rio Olympic Games

In his first Olympic Games, Tandy made the final of the 50 meter freestyle, finishing tied for sixth with Brazilian Bruno Fratus.

Brad Tandy’s Start Is Absolutely Ridiculous

If you follow NCAA swimming by now you have seen the University of Arizona’s Brad Tandy launch himself off the starting blocks like an intercontinental ballistic missile. His explosive start and underwater dolphin kick into a devastating breakout landed him on the top of the podium at the NCAA Division 1 championships last year, as well as winning him a handful of Pac-12 titles.

To dominate on the NCAA level is one thing, but Tandy showed that he will be a force to be reckoned with in the long pool as well.

At the recent Santa Clara Grand Prix, Tandy, swimming next to 100m freestyle Olympic champ Nathan Adrian, let his start do the talking when he exploded off the blocks and emerged visibly ahead of a field that was utterly and completely stacked.

You had 2000 Olympic champ in the event Anthony Ervin, Brazilian Bruno Fratus (who trains out of Auburn and at this point in 2015 has posted the world’s third fastest time in the event clocking a 21.74 at the Maria Lenk Trophy), the Russian lightening bolt Vlad Morozov (2nd in the world so far), Brazil’s Marcello Chierighini, and another speedy Russian, Nikita Lobintsev.Even though the field would reel him in, with Tandy placing fourth in a time of 22.28, you can’t help but feel awed at the sheer power he demonstrates over the first 25m of the race.

Tandy, who stands at 6’3 popped up and significantly ahead of Adrian, who has one of the most powerful starts in the business. Not too mention that Adrian has a 3-4 inch height advantage on the Wildcat, who is originally from South Africa.

Off the start you notice a couple things with Tandy:

  • He pulls back slightly on the blocks, giving him some of the “slingshot” effect when he uses his arms to pull powerfully off the starting block.
  • He gets a crazy amount of distance off the blocks.
  • The coupling motion of his arms helps maintain his speed and power off the blocks/
  • He uses the “flying mongoose” technique of bringing your arms around the side when aligning the body into a streamline for entry.
  • He goes very deep on the entry. So deep that he disappears under the lane line.
  • And he kicks all the way out to 15m (something that is not uncommon at the elite level, with the defending Olympic champ in the event and now short course world record holder in the event Florent Manaudou of France dolphin kicking all the way out the maximum distance allowed).

Tandy’s Start at the NCAA Level

Here is also another video from the Pac 12 championships, which Tandy won the 50 yard freestyle in a time of 18.80.

UPDATE:

Recently The Race Club, whose head coach Gary Hall Sr. collaborated with us on our underwater dolphin kicking guide, posted an awesome video of Tandy and his start.

Tandy is filming a series of webisodes for The Race Club (click here to see their YouTube channel–tons of great stuff), and they uploaded the slow-motion rocket launch of Tandy’s start below.

The swimmer next to him is Mike Alexandrov, two-time Olympic breaststroker, who we have worked with a few times on guides for breaststrokers (improve your breast kick, breaststroke pull, and a couple breaststroke sets).

In a similar situation is the above video, Tandy explodes out to an early lead with a dominant start/breakout and turn.

Here is the race video from the Santa Clara Grand Prix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AL8z4p0g_Y&t=1s

Read the article here.

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South African Olympic Finalist Brad Tandy Announces Retirement

11 April 2022

South African Olympic Finalist Brad Tandy Announces Retirement

Brad Tandy, a two-time Olympian from South Africa, declared his retirement this weekend at the South African Swimming Championships.

Tandy, 30, swam the 50 free at the meet in Gqeberha, just over a week after taking part in the TYR Pro Swim Series in San Francisco. He finished second in the race to 17-year-old Pieter Coetzee, clocking in at 22.49.

 For one of the last generation’s stars of South African swimming, it served as a passing of the torch to a rising star.

“I think it’s time for the next chapter of my life,” Tandy told Swimming South Africa after the swim. “To be honest, the little boy from Ladysmith, what I have achieved has surpassed all goals I set out. I could have retired happy after winning my first national championships. I’ve just been blessed and blessed in the sport but I just feel like all the stars are aligning, I’m getting married, job, right age – it feels good. There are some great up and coming swimming so I’m leaving it in good hands.”

Tandy finished sixth in the men’s 50 freestyle at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the swim for which he is best known. A hyper specialist sprinter in the 50, he won a bronze medal at the 2018 Short-Course World Championships in Hangzhou and a silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. He added medley relay bronze at the latter. Tandy won two relay golds and bronze in the 50 at the 2019 African Games.

Tandy qualified for his second Olympics in 2021, tying for 24th in the 50 free in Tokyo.

Tandy has settled in Arizona, where he was a star at the University of Arizona after two years at Indian River Junior College in Florida. A four-time All-American for the Wildcats, he won the NCAA title in the 50 free in 2014, in a tie with Kristian Gkolomeev, and the Pac-12 title in the event in 2015.

Tandy was pleased to get a farewell closer to his native Ladysmith.

“It’s quite an emotional one for me,” he said. “They always say the starting is the hard part, but they don’t really give you a heads up on the finishing. I was going to be happy with whatever I swam, just to be back here in South Africa, seeing the crowd. I didn’t win it, but I still got the applause … it means a lot to me.”

 

Commonwealth Games Medalist Brad Tandy (RSA) Retires From Swimming

On the penultimate night of competition at the 2022 South African Championships, 30-year-old sprinter Brad Tandy announced his decision to retire from swimming.

Arriving in Gqeberha from the United States just this morning, Tandy earned a time of 22.49 to snag silver in the men’s 50m freestyle behind 17-year-old Ryan Coetze who touched in 22.34 for the win.

Coetze had already qualified for the World Championships and Commonwealth Games earlier in the meet with his 200m free relay leadoff of 22.15.

After the race, Coetze revealed the words Tandy spoke. “He said: ‘Well done, it’s all yours now. You take it from here. So that was a great moment to share with him.

“To win it is great and obviously to race Brad was awesome, and very emotional to see him finishing. He’s one of the greatest guys in the world of swimming. He’s an amazing swimmer and I really got to know him in the village in Tokyo – he was like a mentor to the younger guys on the team, so it was great to experience the Olympics with him,” Coetze said.

Tandy’s career-key moment came when he placed 6th in the men’s 50m freestyle final at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Tandy is also a Commonwealth Games multi-medalist, having earned silver in the 50m freestyle in 2018 on the Gold Coast while also scoring bronze on South Africa’s men’s medley relay.

More recently, Tandy too part in season 2 of the International Swimming League (ISL) as a member of the Tokyo Frog Kings.

Prior to his professional career, Tandy was a highly-successful student-athlete at the University of Arizona. In his Wildcat days, Tandy was a 4-time All-American, earning an NCAA title in the 50m free in 2014.

On his decision to retire, Tandy said of today’s race, “It’s quite an emotional one for me. They always say the starting is the hard part, but they don’t really give you a heads up on the finishing.

“I was going to be happy with whatever I swam, just to be back here in South Africa, seeing the crowd. I didn’t win it, but I still got the applause… it means a lot to me.”

A resident of Arizona, Tandy said, “I think it’s time for the next chapter of my life.

“To be honest, the little boy from Ladysmith, what I have achieved has surpassed all goals I set out. I could have retired happy after winning my first national championships. I’ve just been blessed and blessed in the sport but I just feel like all the stars are aligning, I’m getting married, job, right age – it feels good. There are some great up and coming swimming so I’m leaving it in good hands.”