Modern distance swimmers are not just the tireless plodders of yore. Anyone who watched the blazing last 50 of Sun Yang’s world-record effort in the 1500m free at the 2011 World Championships can see that nowadays distance swimmers also work on their high-end speed.

Sprinting is not just for sprinters: distance and open water swimmers can benefit from power training and speedwork. Chris Ritter of The Swimmer’s Circle explains why in two articles: The Need for Speed and Expand Capacity to Increase Speed.

A common mistake in training is to overemphasize your strengths and avoid working on your weaknesses. Distance swimmers obviously need to spend a lot of time in maintaining and improving their aerobic base, but they also benefit from unleashing their inner sprinter every so often. Give it a try!