Troy Prinsloo Is A Strong Contender At The Olympic Marathon

July4, 2012

Hercules Troyden Prinsloo from Durban, South Africa qualified for the Olympic Marathon Swimming 10km in London and is considered one of the darkhorses for a podium finish on August 10th in the Serpentine.

A 2008 Olympian in the 1500m freestyle and 2011 graduate of the University of Georgia in the United States, Prinsloo shifted over to the open water in 2011 with great success. "I do the majority of my training in Durban now with my coach Nick Gray and in Cape Town with Cedric Finch who I started working with at the beginning of this year."

And like many who have reached his level, the time commitment and personal sacrifice is significant...but worth the pain of admission.

"I usually swim about 18 km a day and between 90-100 km a week. I swam pool my whole life, but since 2011 I have completed changed my focus to open water swimming."

While over 30,000 people and a global television audience are expected to watch Prinsloo race six loops at the Olympic 10K, his training is far removed from the public eye. "I train on my own and there have been numerous occasions where I am the only one in the pool training with the coach on the side." But he mixes things up as he experiments in his new discipline. "I usually kick 1 km per session and pull half the session, so about 4 km of pulling each set. Since I am very new to open water swimming, I am not too sure on how to taper for it properly. For [the Olympic Marathon Qualification race in] Portugal, I had a 2-week taper where I dropped the mileage and intensity quite a bit."

His workouts - for those not called Hercules - can be intimidating. "The toughest workout I did was when I was training for the mile was in college with my coach Harvey Humphries. He made us go a 500 on 5:50 long course meters. Then, we went 5 x 100 on 1:05. We did that 6 times without a break. It was extremely difficult because we had to try hold [our] mile pace for the 100s. Holding 60s isn't easy on 1:05.

The toughest set I have done for open water was a set I did recently where I had to go 15 x 100 pull on 1:15 then straight into a 5 km straight. Then I did another 15 x 100 on 1:10 then straight into 1500m long course. But then I had to come back that same afternoon and do the exact same set again."

His memorable first name is a family name. "Hercules is my father's first name too. But I go by my second name Troy because I've been called that since I was a kid...and it's kinda embarrassing to be called Hercules." Strong as he is physically, his previous experience at the 2008 Beijing Olympics will undoubtedly help me in London. "I know how tough the level of competition is. I know what to expect in London and will be able to handle the pressure a lot better."

The Games will certainly be a pressure boiler, but Prinsloo has the pedigree to stamp his name in the annals of Olympic marathon swimming history.

South African Olympian Troy Prinsloo has set a new standard for the 7.5 KM Robben Island swim of 1 hour 23 minutes and 43 seconds.   The previous record for the crossing was held by German Christof Wandratsch (1:33:11) who did the swim in 2005.   Prinsloo is one of South Africa’s top distance freestylers and was recently second to his countryman Chad Ho at the MidMar Mile (the world’s largest open water swim).    Robben Island can be a very challenging crossing for even the most experienced open water swimmer given its strong variable currents and cold temperatures.   The reported temperature of Prinsloo’s crossing was 15 degrees celsius (59 degrees fahrenheit .   Prinsloo complete the record swim without a wetsuit.

TROY PRINSLOO SETS A NEW RECORD FOR ROBBEN ISLAND SWIM

South African Olympian Troyden Prinsloo has smashed the record for the icy 7.5km Atlantic crossing from Robben Island to Blouberg.

Prinsloo, wearing only a Speedo costume, cap and goggles, swam a time of 1:23:48 which is nine minutes faster than the previous record held by German elite swimmer Christof Wandratsch (1:33:11) set in 2005.

Prinsloo recently placed a close second behind four time winner Chad Ho at the world’s biggest open water swim, the Midmar Mile and has his sights set on the 10km race at the Rio Olympics in 2016. He placed 12th in the 10km at London 2012.

Seconded by world renowned, veteran cold water swimmer, Ram Barkai who has mentored him in coping with icy water, Prinsloo set off from Robben Island on Wednesday morning at a lighting pace.

He slowed down after 3km due to the impact of the cold water which averaged around 15◦C. “It looked like a record swim from the outset. But, Robben Island is a tricky crossing and the currents and the cold have broken many experienced swimmers,” said Barkai. “The final push came in the last 1.5km when I held aloft a white board stating: Record Time, GO, GO, GO!”

Troy squeezed a big grin, put his head down, and sped up. ‘What an awesome day for South Africa – the record is back in our hands thanks to Troy.” Barkai exclaimed.

Prinsloo said he was “over the moon.” “I’m very happy with this achievement. Conditions were good and I gave it my best. I want to thank everyone who assisted, particularly Speedo for backing me.”

Speedo SA’s brand president Stuart Hopwood said he was thrilled with Prinsloo’s record saying he was an inspiration. “We salute Troy for yet another great accomplishment and pledge our ongoing support to him and other South Africans who continue to push the envelope in world class fashion.”

“I’m very happy with this achievement. Conditions were good and I gave it my best. I want to thank everyone who assisted, particularly Speedo for backing me.”