Often called the “long sprint” or the “short distance race,” the 200 freestyle is an exciting event in competitive swimming. As part of the USMS virtual fitness series, swimmers across the country spent this past month strengthening their skills for this challenging event. At Wilson’s Fitness Center, Kathryn Fishman-Weaver “Coach Kat” brought a thematic approach to training with her inaugural May Flowers 200 Free Swim Series.
Each week, the team drew inspiration from flowers that bloom across Missouri in late spring. The flowers reflected different aspects of the event itself. In the Black-Eyed Susan practice, swimmers focused on consistency, rhythm, and repeatable effort. Peony week encouraged swimmers to build strength gradually and intentionally, reminding us that both flowers and the 200 free race open over time, not all at once. This practice ended with an on-deck yoga set. Finally, our Iris practice centered on precision, clarity, and finishing strong.
Triathlete Gretta Cohoon was inspired by the marked improvement she saw in her own swimming. “I really enjoyed seeing my endurance for the 200 increase every week!! It was exciting to shave time off my PR, second by second!!”
Lauren Ries agrees, adding that she especially appreciated the pacing work during our Peony practice, where swimmers completed 10 strong 100 repeats.
Challenge and Belonging
Our USMS practice group includes students who have just graduated from our Adult Learn to Swim program, fitness swimmers, competitive athletes, and former collegiate swimmers. Because of this, Coach Kat writes differentiated options for each practice. “Within these options,” she says, her goal is that “everyone can find challenge and belonging.”
One of Coach Kat’s celebrations from the series was seeing Ellie Trick leverage these choices to swim her first continuous 200 free. She completed her first 200 free in Week 1. “By Week 3,” Ellie says, “I felt so much better at swimming a 200. In the beginning, I was trying to prioritize speed, but I learned that was not the right way to go about a 200. Hurray for the 200 swim in Week 3, and not feeling like I was drowning or dying for breath.”
The series, much like the 200 free event itself, incentivized persistence. Coach Kat announced that swimmers who completed all three workouts would win a prize. As enthusiasm for the series grew, the team was excited to welcome new swimmers to the practice group. Mary Bean shared that she “loved seeing new faces join every week! The May series was a fun way to focus and build on distance free while still having time for fun.” Mary added that she “remembers laughing so hard at each practice!”
The Legendary Third 50
The team laughed hard, and they also worked hard. The 200 free can be divided into four 50s. In swimming culture, the third 50 of this event is legendary because it is often where races are won or lost. By this point, the adrenaline from the start has faded, lactate is beginning to build, and the finish still feels far away. Strong swimmers use this section of the race to make subtle but important adjustments: increasing tempo slightly, maintaining excellent turns, and keeping their stroke long and efficient. These are the skills and drills the team practiced week after week.
“There are also important connections between these skills and life,” says Coach Kat, “and our swimmers talked about that during social kicks and after practice.” Digging deep and setting up for success in the third 50 prepares swimmers for the final 50, which becomes a test of courage, control, and strong technique even when they are tired.
Strength and Community in Bloom
Alongside challenging training sets, the series also made space for reflection, community, laughter, and even some rare moments of stillness in the water. At the final practice, swimmers circled up in the pool to celebrate their progress and each received a custom-printed bouquet of flowers to commemorate the series.
“In addition to swim skills,” Coach Kat says, “you can also see hope, strength, and community in bloom this season.”