How Competitive Swimming Shapes Character

Courtesy: Dr. David Manolo Sailer

This article takes some aspects from David’s recent book, “Strenuous” (or in German: “Schonungslos”), which he co-authored with  Jan Kerkmann. You can find the book here.

With the Olympics approaching, the world will once again look at swimming as the most-watched sport of the Games. Personal triumphs and disasters share the stage, with the weight of the world resting on the athletes’ shoulders. Sometimes, only hundredths of a second separate swimmers. Yet, the lessons learned at the highest level of competition – similar to the lessons every competitive swimmer learns through years of training and racing  – last a lifetime.

If you’re like me, then friends, relatives, and even job interviewers will ask you, “So what did you learn from competitive sports? From a lifestyle of athleticism?” Oftentimes, we will answer with something like: discipline and perseverance, friendship, and also resilience. But beneath some of these buzzwords, what are the actual lessons learned? How does competitive swimming shape character?

Together with a team of former elite athletes – Olympians, European Champions, World and Olympic medalists from various sports – as well as leading scientists from Europe and Canada, we explored that very question in our new book: What’s the benefit of competitive sports – and what are the lessons learned for one’s own way of life? Here are my top seven key takeaways from what we’ve encountered both as (elite) athletes and as scientists. Hope you’re ready for some “poolside philosophy”.

  1. Balancing Goals and Mental Health: Competitive swimming teaches us that while goals are crucial, they shouldn’t define our entire identity. Yes, dream big. But don’t make dreams your master. It’s important to remember to enjoy life – and oneself – outside of the pool.
  2. Discipline and Self-Choice: The discipline developed through swimming is more than just a routine; it’s a strategic approach to life. Choosing to push yourself builds character and strength, showing that performance, endurance and success go hand in hand.
  3. Flow State and Focus: Swimming can help us tap into a state of flow where we are fully immersed and “in control”. This focus can be achieved consistently with the right mental training, allowing us to excel both in and outside of the water.
  4. Resilience and Comebacks: Every setback in swimming is a setup for a greater comeback. Accepting defeat is step one for learning from it, and bouncing back stronger – thinking about defeats like that can be a powerful tool that builds true resilience.
  5. Following a Personal Code: This stoic resilience involves adhering to a “personal code” even in the face of adversity. For athletic commitment represents the highest form of self-autonomy, since you follow your own set of choices and rules. And that very commitment to self-imposed rules helps in maintaining discipline, achieving goals, and mastering oneself.
  6. Understanding and Embracing Pressure: Swimming teaches us to thrive under stress. The intense environment of training and competition helps us develop the ability to perform under pressure, a skill that’s invaluable in all areas of life.
  7. Holistic Connection and Synchrony: Achieving a state of alignment, where our mind and body work in harmony – and we’ve examined this from a neuroscientific perspective to understand what really happens in our brains during high-pressure moments – enhances our connection to the sport and the world around us. This holistic approach helps in understanding and achieving peak performance as well as training our minds.

Swimming shapes our character by constantly challenging us and testing our limits. It teaches us determination, resilience, and the importance of maintaining performance through repetitive processes, helping us grow stronger in life’s journey. At the same time, we all know those moments when we feel we can’t go on, not because we’ve lost, but because we’re overwhelmed by our own goals. Strive forward, but don’t let this relentless pursuit of excellence “get to you” seems to be the best course of action. Finding balance between pushing your own limits while preserving your well-being is key. Mental health has gained significant attention in recent years, and rightly so. For the autonomy achieved through athletic commitment fosters a unique blend of discipline and freedom, sculpting not just athletes but strong individuals. And while these are just some of life’s laps, how have you experienced competitive swimming shaping character?

ABOUT DR. DAVID MANOLO SAILER

David Sailer has been a competitive swimmer for over 17 years – starting at the age of 6, he learned to swim in a heated seawater pool at the French Riviera (Côte d’Azur). With the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens having a profound impact on the young man, he joined one of the then best swimming clubs nationwide. As a nationally top-ranked age grouper, he specialized on the short-to-mid butterfly and freestyle distances – most notably the 100 and 200 fly as well as the 400 free, where he achieved ranks in the European Top-100 (at Junior age group level) –, later becoming a multiple state and (youth) national champion in his home country of Austria. With the water never completely letting go of him, he graduated summa cum laude with a PhD at age 26. Today, he conducts research and publishes on various philosophical subjects. His new book “Schonungslos” (“Strenuous”) – which forms the basis of this article – was published in May 2024 just in time for the Olympic Games in Paris.

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Stingy
1 month ago

Bruh my coach just gave a whole speech at the end of practice about how swimming develops your character…..it was a good speech actually and I agree with this article

Bryan Ferry
1 month ago

How is #1 even possible? The swimming community is absolutely, completely, totally broken. Swimming not only defines a kids’ entire identity it requires and devours it, leaving a shell of a person behind. Non-stop 2 hour practices, that go on endlessly/year round, with no sleep. New seasons that start before the last season has had its banquet. Parents chasing split second college fantasies. There is no life outside the pool for a swimmer and if you don’t believe me, you have lost track of reality. Ask a swimmer what else they like to do besides swimming…you will see a confused kid, sometimes a sad kid. The best you will get is something like I play piano or chess or read.… Read more »

Happy Slappy
Reply to  Bryan Ferry
1 month ago

My man, you never ran with swimmers. And it shows.

While articles like these are generic to every sport, your assessment of the swimming community clearly comes from experience. And kudos to you for staying in the community! Seems like there is enough here to stick around.

Tranta
Reply to  Bryan Ferry
1 month ago

Interesting that you see it this way. I can understand the bubble that kids who compete at an elite level have to live in, but to be achieve greatness they have to surround themselves with like-minded people. Sacrifice builds character, not hanging out with kids beings kids all the time. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Human performance requires great sacrifice and extraordinary commitment, especially from an early age to reach the pinnacle in sport, the arts or academia.

Bryan Ferry
Reply to  Tranta
1 month ago

So the goal of sports “from an early age” is to sacrifice everything in your life in search of a singular moment of “greatness”? Achieving goals is good, achieving goals at the expense of everything, I would argue, is bad. There are a million ways to build character, determination and resilience without sacrificing your entire being on the altar of one niche activity. All sports can provide those learned traits and also allow you to hang your cleats up in the off-season and try something else…or maybe even chill. Swimming is a very tough/good sport that has been hijacked by ambitious coaches and college obsessed parents who don’t understand that a young athlete might need a break once in awhile… Read more »

G-Steed
Reply to  Bryan Ferry
1 month ago

But you will never forgot the time your relay broke a team record, or an individual record. The time, your best friend made a state cut time or even the time, you did it, for your first time. But lets not forget the time you got to throw your coach in the pool fully clothed, after winning a Region Championship. And the first time you went sub :50 seconds in your 100 yard free,and when you made your best friend for life.

Stingy
Reply to  Bryan Ferry
1 month ago

No…I’m sorry for your experience with swimming but for me, I can tell that 10, 20 years from now when I look back on swim I’ll be overwhelmed with nostalgia…. Swimming really is something that I will miss when it eventually comes to an end.

I don’t see how swimming makes kids lonely? The team I am in, it truely feels like a family and the kids there are some of the most hardworking, purest, happiest people I have ever met. I love em, best people in the world.

I’m not sure what experiences you went through to wrap your perspective but for me, swimming is the best thing in my life.

Confused
Reply to  Bryan Ferry
1 month ago

This response makes me so sad for you. My kiddo is a competitive swimmer but also plays the drums, rock climbs, spends time with his friends, volunteers, and excels at school. He has friends who have never swam a day in their life and friends who he sees every day at practice. We travel and have regular childhood experiences. All while he is ALSO a competitive swimmer.
I have a lot of questions about how you came up with your thoughts above as nearly all of them are complete opposite of what we experience in real life.