224 Jan Sibbersen - (Part 2) - Insights and Training Tips to Improve Open Water Performance

Jun 22, 2022

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Matt welcomes Ironman World Champion swimmer and CEO and founder of Sailfish, a triathlon performance apparel company, Jan Sibbersen, for Part 2 of their discussion in which they focus on success in open water swimming.

With more than 35 years of competitive swimming experience, Sibbersen shares his insights and best training practices for athletes both with a swimming background and without.

In today's show, you'll learn three main things:

The key differences between pool swimming, and open water swimming.

(32:49) “I think we've all seen it - how good pool swimmers sometimes completely fail in open water. And it's because [...] it's an unfamiliar environment [...] So the best way to address that is to familiarize yourself with all these situations and train it."

Technical and training considerations to prepare for an open water swim.

(34:21) “You know, it only helps usually when you have somebody standing on the deck on the pool deck. You can do all the drills in the world, you can do all the technique work in the world. But if you don't get immediate feedback from someone who's watching you, it's really hard to improve it over time.

Recommendations and tips on how to overcome anxiety in open water.

(45:20) “Give it those extra one or two minutes that the masses are gone and just jump in last. [...] it's so much better and so much more enjoyable if you start slowly, and then you ease your way into it. [...] Don't worry about this minute or so that you lose, you lose a lot more if you get a panic attack”

Additional topics include:

Navigating race day - What to look out for in the water and what to keep in mind.
Leverage your swim - Improving overall triathlon performance and conditioning through swimming.
Expert advice - Troubleshooting your wetsuit.

The goal of this episode is to broaden the understanding of open water swimming and how to prepare in order to put forward your best performance.

Jan Sibbersen Career at a Glance

-German National Swim Team (1990 to 2000)

-Harvard University: Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Economics (2000)

-Goldman Sachs New York and Frankfurt: Financial Analyst (2000 and 2002)

-IRONMAN Hawaii World Championships: Swim course record, 46:29min (2018)

-IRONMAN Hawaii World Championships: “First out of Water” (2001-2004)

-IRONMAN Germany: Swim time record holder, 42:17min (2004)

-IRONMAN Germany: “First out of Water” (2002-2004)

-IRONMAN Canada: "First out of Water" (2005,2006,2008)

-IRONMAN USA: "First out of Water" (2006)

-IRONMAN France: "First out of Water" (2007)