Ever since 8-time Olympic swimming coach Mark Schubert had his swim team workout in Lake Mission Viejo, the world’s most famous swimming team has demonstrated its collective prowess in the world of open water swimming.
From the era of total world domination when Mission Viejo Nadadores workouts included 7-time world professional marathon swimming champion Paul Asmuth and 7-time world professional marathon swimming champion Shelley Taylor-Smith, the Mission Viejo Nadadores have consistently produced open water swimming champions at every level.
The tradition of open water swimming includes younger age-group winners who were introduced to the sport by legendary coach Siga Rose and masters world champions like Gerry Rodrigues. It includes Catalina Channel relays by teenagers and masters swimmers who have completed the English Channel and the late Fran Crippen. Year in and year out, decade over decade, the combination of a year-round distance-training mentality and regimen, hundreds of top-notch swimmers, the year-round climate of Southern California, the proximity to the Pacific Ocean where the water temperature ranges from 55-70°F (13-22°C), and the tradition of excellence in all things freestyle have produced an unparalleled open water swimming program.
Currently under the direction of head coach Bill Rose, Olympian and 2008 Beijing Olympics marathon swimmer Chloe Sutton, Team Pursuit world champion Ashley Twichell, national champion David Heron, and world junior open water swimmers Janardan Burns, Nicholas Norman and Brooke Lorentzen are leading the program in the distance freestyle.
And Coach Rose just added another open water element to the program when he recently hired Emily Hanson from Bloomington, Illinois to his coaching staff. Hanson, a former USA National Swim Team member and an NCAA All-American from the University of Michigan, competed in the 5km and 25km at the 2009 FINA World Swimming Championships in Rome and finished 6th in the 25km at the 2010 World Open Water Swimming Championships in Canada.
Hanson said, “It’s an honor to be a part of the Mission Viejo family. The Nadadores have an amazing history of swimming excellence, and I could not be more excited to grow and learn from Coach Rose and his staff.”
She may be one of the few coaches in the world who could jump in the pool and rip off a 10-20km workout and keep up with the blazing fast Mission Viejo Nadadores.
The open water swimming tradition continues at Mission Viejo.
Copyright © 2012 by World Open Water Swimming Association