Ever wondered how great swims happen? Is it the stroke rate? The time off the blocks? The turns? The Perfect Race is back with another impressive swim from the Athens Olympics, this time examining Larsen Jensen’s American record swim in the 1500.
Exclusive Video of the Race
You may have seen Larsen Jensen win a silver medal and break the American record on national television, but here is an opportunity to re-live this incredible performance. Here’s the best way to analyze the race:
1. Read the article to learn about the different parts of the swim
2. Watch the video, paying attention to the key parts of Jensen’s race, such as race strategy, stroke rate, efficiency and consistency, and other factors outlined in this article. Watch the Race
INTRODUCTION
Over the past three years, Larsen Jensen has emerged as one of the world’s most talented distance sensations to hit the water. Most recently at the 2004 Olympics, Jensen swam an impressive 1500, challenging world record holder Grant Hackett. Though Hackett prevailed in Athens, the swim from Jensen shattered the American record by 11.42 seconds and earned Jensen the silver medal. This Perfect Race feature will examine Jensen’s improvements over the past few years and how specific changes ultimately contributed to his world-class race.
EMERGING ONTO THE SCENE
In 2002, Jensen broke away from the pack and established himself as a promising up-and-comer. He attended Spring Nationals and took 5th in the 800 Free and 4th in the 1500, earning “Rookie of the Meet” honors. Five months later, he attended Summer Nationals and took 2nd in the 1500 with a scorching 15:04.83. Jensen was only 16 at the time, yet only a couple dozen people in the history of swimming had gone faster in those events.
STEADY IMPROVEMENT 
Even at elite levels such as Jensen’s, swimmers and their coaches make changes in technique, race strategy and all of the tiny details that compose a race. These changes often result in an athlete moving to the next level. For Jensen, several areas of adjustment were his distance per cycle, his cycle rate and his turn time. Did it help him to have long strokes? Was it better to take shorter, quicker strokes at a higher rate? Could he do both… longer strokes at a faster rate? In a 1500, Jensen takes 450-500 strokes, so even an extra centimeter increase in DPC can become a HUGE factor in the race.
At the 2003 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool, Jensen shaved a cool 4 seconds off of his lifetime best, posting a 15:00.81. The swim, however, was vastly different from his previous best. Compared to the 2002 swim, he took much longer, slower strokes. His DPC shot up a whopping 27 cm/cycle, yet his cycle rate slowed down by 0.14 seconds/cycle. The new balance may have contributed to the time drop, but one aspect of his race that slowed down was his flip-turn speed. Each turn time was recorded, and while only a single turn can make a big impact on a 100 sprint, the combination of 29 turns can be tremendously significant in a 1500! Unfortunately, his combined turn time showed that Jensen added 8 sec. to his total from the 2002 race. Had he been able to maintain the same turn speed as before, he most likely would have dropped even more time from his personal best. Nevertheless, Jensen’s 15:00 at the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool was staggering, making him the 3rd fastest performer in American history (14th in World history).
One year later, Jensen entered the Olympic Trials as the favorite in the event. Not one to disappoint, Jensen awed the Long Beach crowd with his fastest performance yet. He adjusted his style slightly, sacrificing a small amount of DPC for a little faster Cycle Rate, but the major difference was his turns, where it became apparent that he had identified the weakness and worked it back to old form. Lap after lap, he churned away at incredible speed, finally touching the wall in an American record time of 14:56.71. In comparison to the 2003 swim, another 4-second drop seemed remarkable, but the 7-second improvement in his flip turns more than accounted for the difference. Interestingly enough, Jensen’s new balance of DPC and Cycle Rate showed a tremendous amount of efficiency. Though Jensen stood at 5-11, he took a meager 463 cycles during his race. The average of all 8 finalists at Trials was 521.5… a full 58.5 more cycles than Jensen. Jensen swam with one of the slower stroke rates in the heat, but the tradeoff worked very well for him and clearly distinguished him from the pack.
Jensen and Olympic teammate Erik Vendt, two of the only three Americans ever to break 15:00, traveled to Athens together with high hopes for medals, an eye on the gold, and a new confidence for the battle against Aussie favorite Grant Hackett.
A NEW STAR IS BORN! 
It was the final day of swimming competition when Jensen got to race in the 1500 final. He had already taken fourth in a quick 400 free final (3:46.08) and cruised to a 15:03.75 prelim swim. That effort advanced him to the finals, where all of his strength, training and preparation would be put to the test.
As the finalists hit the water, Hackett took the front of the race out incredibly fast, separating himself from the pack by a solid three seconds. He separated himself from the rest of the heat, leaving Jensen back with Britain’s David Davies to contend for second. Jensen was swimming just as planned, however, executing his goal splits with remarkable precision and showing off even more improvement since the July Trials. He managed to shave an extra second and a half off of his total turn time, but even more significant was his stroke strategy. He increased his cycle rate by an ever-so-slight 0.01 seconds/cycle, but as he took 460 cycles, that made a 4.6 sec. difference. Remarkably, he also increased his DPC by over 1cm. Not only did he take longer strokes, but he did so at a faster rate.
BY THE NUMBERS:
| Date |
Time |
Cycle Rate
cyc/min(sec/cycle) |
Cycle Count |
Average distance per cycle (m) |
Total turn time (sec) |
| August 2002 |
15:04.83 |
37.03 (1.62) |
504 |
2.67 |
32.30 |
| April 2003 |
15:00.81 |
34.09 (1.76) |
452.5 |
2.94 |
40.10 |
| July 2004 |
14:56.71 |
34.68 (1.73) |
463 |
2.87 |
33.45 |
| August 2004 |
14:45.29 |
34.88 (1.72) |
460.5 |
2.89 |
31.97 |
Jensen’s steady effort kept him neck-and-neck with Davies, and as Hackett began to tire, the two men reeled him in for a fantastic finish. In the end, it was Hackett who touched first to take the gold, but Jensen edged out Davies for the silver. His time – a stunning 14:45.29 – improved tremendously upon his American record set just a month earlier. His improvements in turn time, cycle rate, and DPC all combined for a remarkable 11-second drop and a new American best.
MOVING FORWARD
Jensen’s silver-medal swim may have distinguished Jensen as one of the world’s elite, but he is by no means through. Jensen is currently attending the University of Southern California, where he is a sophomore and already qualified for this year’s NCAA Championships. He is scheduled to swim in the World Championship Trials in April in hopes of qualifying for the World Championships and continuing his pursuit of distance excellence.
RACE ANALYSIS
Name: Larsen Jensen Meet: 2004 US Olympic Games Meet Start: 8/14/2004
Time: 14:45.29 Country: Event:1500 Freestyle Heat: Finals
Dist Brkout Brk DistTime Dropoff Cycles Split Tempo Tempo 2 Tempo 3 DPC Vel. Turn Time
50 3.01 9.25* 27.76 N/A 14* 27.76 38.7 (1.55) 35.1 (1.71) N/A 2.88 1.74 1.48
100 2.09 5.75* 57.28 1.76 15* 29.52 36.1 (1.66) 33.6 (1.79) 34.5 (1.74) 2.92 1.67 1.16
150 2.06 5.75* 1:27.28 0.48 15* 30.00 34.4 (1.74) 33.3 (1.80) 34.4 (1.74) 2.91 1.63 1.04
200 2.16 6* 1:57.18 -0.10 15* 29.90 35.3 (1.70) 34.5 (1.74) 33.7 (1.78) 2.89 1.64 1.17
250 2.15 6* 2:27.10 0.02 15* 29.92 34.0 (1.76) 33.3 (1.80) 34.0 (1.76) 2.93 1.63 1.04
300 1.95 5.5* 2:56.96 -0.06 15* 29.86 34.7 (1.73) 33.5 (1.79) 33.7 (1.78) 2.95 1.65 1.19
350 2.03 5.75* 3:26.91 0.09 15* 29.95 34.0 (1.76) 33.2 (1.81) 34.2 (1.75) 2.94 1.64 1.18
400 2.07 5.75* 3:56.74 -0.12 15* 29.83 34.8 (1.72) 33.5 (1.79) 34.1 (1.76) 2.93 1.64 1.13
450 2.20 6.25* 4:26.76 0.19 15* 30.02 33.9 (1.77) 33.2 (1.81) 35.3 (1.70) 2.90 1.63 1.21
500 1.95 5.5* 4:56.68 -0.10 15* 29.92 34.6 (1.73) 33.6 (1.79) 33.5 (1.79) 2.95 1.64 1.21
550 1.98 5.5* 5:26.32 -0.28 15* 29.64 34.6 (1.73) 33.5 (1.79) 34.4 (1.74) 2.95 1.66 1.09
600 1.85 5.25* 5:56.02 0.06 15.5 29.70 34.8 (1.72) 33.8 (1.78) 35.2 (1.70) 2.91 1.66 1.11
650 1.98 5.5* 6:25.78 0.06 15* 29.76 34.6 (1.73) 34.1 (1.76) 34.7 (1.73) 2.91 1.65 1.14
700 1.88 5.25* 6:55.36 -0.18 15.5 29.58 34.1 (1.76) 34.9 (1.72) 35.5 (1.69) 2.90 1.66 1.03
750 2.15 6* 7:24.77 -0.17 15* 29.41 34.9 (1.72) 35.0 (1.71) 33.5 (1.79) 2.95 1.67 1.26
800 2.04 5.75* 7:54.58 0.40 15.5 29.81 33.9 (1.77) 35.2 (1.70) 34.2 (1.75) 2.87 1.62 0.84
850 2.13 6* 8:23.89 -0.50 15* 29.31 35.0 (1.71) 34.5 (1.74) 34.5 (1.74) 2.89 1.65 0.81
900 1.64 4.5* 8:53.47 0.27 15.5 29.58 34.9 (1.72) 34.8 (1.72) 34.9 (1.72) 2.92 1.67 1.04
950 1.64 4.5* 9:22.79 -0.26 15.5 29.32 34.7 (1.73) 34.9 (1.72) 35.4 (1.69) 2.93 1.69 1.03
1000 1.87 5.25* 9:52.28 0.17 15.5 29.49 34.9 (1.72) 35.9 (1.67) 34.8 (1.72) 2.89 1.67 1.17
1050 2.01 5.5* 10:21.77 0.00 15.5 29.49 35.0 (1.71) 35.3 (1.70) 35.4 (1.69) 2.88 1.67 1.11
1100 2.00 5.5* 10:51.14 -0.12 15.5 29.37 34.8 (1.72) 35.9 (1.67) 34.8 (1.72) 2.90 1.68 1.11
1150 2.04 5.75* 11:20.49 -0.02 16* 29.35 36.6 (1.64) 35.7 (1.68) 35.3 (1.70) 2.82 1.66 0.99
1200 1.80 5* 11:50.20 0.36 16* 29.71 36.5 (1.64) 35.0 (1.71) 35.4 (1.69) 2.83 1.66 1.10
1250 2.02 5.75* 12:19.49 -0.42 15.5 29.29 36.1 (1.66) 35.9 (1.67) 35.8 (1.68) 2.83 1.67 1.10
1300 1.99 5.5* 12:49.06 0.28 16* 29.57 36.0 (1.67) 36.3 (1.65) 34.7 (1.73) 2.83 1.66 1.11
1350 1.99 5.5* 13:18.30 -0.33 16* 29.24 37.4 (1.60) 34.9 (1.72) 35.9 (1.67) 2.83 1.68 1.06
1400 1.92 5.25* 13:47.48 -0.06 16* 29.18 36.5 (1.64) 35.9 (1.67) 35.9 (1.67) 2.85 1.69 1.10
1450 2.14 6* 14:16.73 0.07 16* 29.25 37.6 (1.60) 36.6 (1.64) 36.4 (1.65) 2.74 1.66 0.96
1500 1.97 5.5* 14:45.29 -0.69 16* 28.56 37.0 (1.62) 36.8 (1.63) 36.4 (1.65) 2.74 1.67 0.00
Totals:1:00.71 170.25 460.5 14:45.29 31.97
15M Vel: 2.34 15M Start:6.42 7.5M Vel: 0 7.5M Finish:0 Free Swimming Time: 13:12.61