One of the worst feelings in the world for a swimmer, is one of these unfortunate things happening during a race. What you do once you get out of the water will tell you what kind of swimmer you are.
You have two options. You can dwell on the negative aspects of your situation, or, you can look at the steps you need to take to solve those problems for next time, and use this experience to learn.
Dwelling on the negative elements about your situation, is by far, the easiest thing to do. Finding an excuse and blaming others is a swimmers first instinct when something goes wrong. It is second nature.
Getting out of that pool and letting one bad swim ruin your whole day, meet, or even season is what most swimmers resort to. It is the easy thing to do but sometimes the easiest path isn't always the best choice.
Bad races already cause discomfort, so as a swimmer who wants to achieve their full potential, seek even more discomfort. Put in some positives about a bad situation. The first step to doing this is:
Finish your race to the best of your ability.
Before you even get out of the pool, look to your left and your right and shake your opponent’s hands. Tell them “well done, nice race,” regardless of how bad you are feeling about your effort. Do not let your insecurity impact anyone else.
Take a minute to yourself. Go warm down or take a walk. Start thinking about what went wrong, why it happened, and how you can prevent it from happening again. Self-reflection is the key to self-improvement.
Discuss your race with a coach or a teammate, and listen to their perspective and their advice on the race. Follow this path only after you have come to terms with what happened.
Perhaps the most important thing is the next step, based on your particular situation. Are you finished with the meet? Or, was that your first race of a 2 or 3 day meet?
Figure out what you need to do next, and remember how you will improve your chances of not having a bad race again!
Lastly,
Put your plan into action. Tighten your goggles before you get on the block, practice your two-hand touches every day, or make sure you prepare correctly mentally and physically before each meet. Find the solution to your problem, and most importantly, try again.
Many swimmers let one bad event get the best of them, and this can often lead to avoiding the event or living in constant fear that the same mistake will happen the next time. You cannot let fear get the best of you. You never know if the hiccup will occur unless you, in fact, try again.
These steps to finding a positive outlook on a bad race can be applied at any level of swimming. Whether it is at a summer swim meet against the neighbourhood rival or at the elite level, use your mistakes or missed opportunities as an opportunity to enhance your mental toughness and improve yourself as a swimmer and as a person.
Take pride in that, we are rebuilding a great club, a team above all but above all a team ✊