Swim coach Paul Eaglestone’s winning formula

Coach Paul Eaglestone has put his winning formula into print. His new book Free Speed is out now – we find out why readers will love it

Tell us about your new book and why we will love it?

It’s written with triathletes in mind, but there is something for everyone. I wrote the book mainly for self-trained athletes. I tend to see, especially older athletes, go to a pool and focus on distance rather than quality. I always feel that one of my jobs as a coach is to make swimmers think about what they are doing and why. It covers technique and efficiency, but also how to train. Open water swimmers can learn and use tools and techniques in a pool environment which are transferable to outdoors, like how to use stroke count as a metric and how to reach a goal or target time by breaking it down into small chunks and adapting to pace over shorter intervals.

What is your relationship with swimming?

I started swimming as a kid when doctors recommended it for my asthma and did my first competition as an eightyear- old at Saxon Crown Swimming Club in South East London. I progressed to bigger clubs such as Orpington and Beckenham and had a go at Modern Pentathlon as well. I was a reasonable county level swimmer, then with the help of international coach, Doug Campbell, won a few Kent medals. In my 30s and 40s, I did masters swimming and got the 50m and 100m backstroke Kent records, but always felt my skill was as a coach. At the same time, I started doing triathlons, which is when I started open water swimming.

What are the most common issues with speed in the water?

The classic answer would be dropped elbow, slipping the water and not having a firm hold on it in the underwater propulsive phase. My advice to all swimmers is to focus on your catch and applying pressure on the water when your forearm is roughly vertical so you can almost feel the water as a solid object and that you are pushing yourself forward over it. Always try to keep your body in a streamlined position and keep non propulsion actions relaxed.

What has been your toughest swim and why?

A London triathlon in the Docklands, where I really pushed it. I came out of the water in second place only to find that the inner tube on my bike had exploded. Or a 100m backstroke race at the National Masters Championships where I completely emptied the tank. After, I said to my friends, “I would rather do Olympic distance triathlons rather than another 100m backstroke race.” It was so painful!

How does swimming inspire your writing?

Lockdown was a period where we couldn’t swim or coach at all, but it gave me the time and head space to translate years of experience, training and passion into words for Free Speed. I really wanted to simplify the science of swimming and make it accessible to all levels of athlete, especially those who often train without a coach. The book shows how training in a pool can help your open water swimming, assisting athletes to achieve their goals of becoming faster and more efficient swimmers.

Where is your favourite place to swim?

Tooting Bec Lido as you get the open water feel in a pool environment.

Can you tell us about the next project or event?

I’m currently working with my friend who was a British junior record holder on 400IM. After more than 30 years out of the water he made a comeback, aiming for open water masters events. I’m using the methods in the book, and we are working towards holding a sub 1:15/100m pace, ready for this year’s Nationals.

‘Free Speed: A Winning Formula For Swim Efficiency and Faster Triathlons’ (Meyer & Meyer Sport) is available now through all good bookstores and online retailers.