The 2018 Phillips 66 National Championships produced many memorable performances: Kathleen Baker’s 100-meter backstroke world record, Michael Andrew’s four sprint titles, Kelsi Dahlia’s 50m butterfly American record and more. Among the memorable showings was Zane Grothe, who tallied first-place finishes in the 400m and 800m freestyle.

His 800m freestyle was an exciting swim for himself and all in attendance, as he went 7:44.57 to set a U.S. Open record (that still stands today) and the fastest swim in the world in 2018 to that point.

Grothe, a four-time national champion and world championships gold medalist, is here to break down his memorable swim and share his tips and tricks that he used to take home the distance freestyle title.
Among some of his takeaways from this race were:

• Focus on long strokes for first 400 meters
• Head position—keep low when you take your breaths
• Be patient off the wall, prepping an extra tenth can make a difference in your underwaters
• Break the race into different parts—some split the race into first 400 and last 400 meters, but Grothe splits this race into three: first 650, then a 100 and finally a 50-meter sprint
• Sprint at the end, but don’t save your energy up for that point

Click below to watch his full breakdown!