The remarkable rise of Cam McEvoy as the fastest man in history in the water has convinced a prominent Australian Olympian to do what few swimmers do ā leave Dean Boxallās esteemed program at St Peters Western in Brisbane and embark on a radical new training program ahead of the 2028 Olympics.
Elijah Winnington, a silver medallist in the menās 400m freestyle at the 2024 Paris Olympics, said he had an āepiphanyā after last monthās Pan Pacific Championships in California: he wanted to join McEvoy and his coach, Tim Lane, at Somerville House.
It sets up one of the more intriguing coaching moves in Australian swimming in recent years, with Winnington, a middle-distance swimmer, hoping to apply similar principles to those that helped transform McEvoy into the worldās fastest 50m freestyler.
āEveryone called Cam crazy when he started his journey, and he changed the sprint world,ā Winnington said ahead of next weekās Australian shortcourse trials in Sydney.
āWeāre confident we can do pretty close to the same in middle-distance swimming. Iām just taking the leap of courage.ā
Boxall, one of the most in-demand swimming coaches in the world, has mentored the likes of Ariarne Titmus, Mollie OāCallaghan and Shayna Jack to Olympic glory.
He has a proven track record of getting the best out of swimmers, with few established athletes leaving his program.
But at the halfway mark of the Olympic cycle, following results during the past two years that fell short of his expectations, Winnington sat down with Boxall and broke the news that he wanted to leave and reunite with his former training partner McEvoy.
With Australian teammate Sam Short getting the better of Winnington in the 400m freestyle during the past two years, the 26-year-old believes he needs to try something different if he is to return to his best before the Los Angeles Olympics in less than two years.
āThere were no hard feelings or bad blood at all,ā Winnington said. āI said, āLook, itās not fair on you, itās not fair on me, and itās not fair on the other people in this squad to ask you to spend this much time with me on something that is going to be new to developā.
āItās not necessarily something thatās proven or just been done before. Itās just the type of change that Iām needing.
āDean took it really well. Weāve always had a really good relationship. It was obviously super emotional because everything that Iāve achieved in my professional swimming career has been under him. I really acknowledged him for that, but he completely understood. Iām trying to be back at my best.
āThe move isnāt because I donāt believe in Deanās program.ā
After the Commonwealth Games and Pan Pacs, Winnington knew he could have stayed with Boxall and continued making Australian teams. But if he wanted to return to the very top of world swimming, he felt something had to change.
McEvoyās secret weapon has been Lane, who flies under the radar compared to many of the other coaches on the Australian team.
Lane and McEvoy devised a revolutionary training program in 2022, built around dramatically reduced swimming volume, greater specificity and targeted gym work. It helped propel McEvoy, who had effectively walked away from the sport, to world championship, Olympic and Commonwealth Games glory. Lane has also coached Korean world champion Park Tae-hwan, a middle-distance swimmer.
Winnington will not simply copy McEvoyās program. Their events are too different for that. Instead, he plans to take the philosophy behind McEvoyās reinvention and apply it to the 400m, with fewer training kilometres, greater intensity and an increased emphasis on improving strength and maintaining a perfect technique.
āWhen you get up to 70 kilometres a week, itās physically impossible to hold that stroke for that long,ā Winnington said.
āItās definitely different to traditional training, but itās not idiotic, right? Itās not like Iām doing just a couple of kilometres a week and just cross my fingers and hope Iāll be right.
āTim is the most humble guy ever. He will never take credit or say he does anything. Thatās probably why he does fly under the radar a lot. Tim is just really passionate ā¦ and it is athlete led.
āItās almost like Cam is a glorified assistant coach of mine now. Camās very passionate about this ā¦ and heās almost as excited as I am.ā
Tom Decent is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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