Lionel Sanders on how a hard-worker lacking talent can become a good triathlon swimmer

One of triathlon’s best-known stars, Canadian pro Lionel Sanders has captured the imagination of the triathlon community with his efforts to reach the pinnacle of the sport over the past couple of years.

Not known for his swimming ability, Sanders has done a great job of documenting the trials and tribulations of trying to become a better swimmer for close to a decade and seems to have finally found the system that works best for him.

Alongside Aquabear Swim Club coach Justin Slade, Sanders shared in his most recent YouTube video the five factors that he thinks will help him improve and best complement his profile as a hardworking athlete with little swim talent.

What are “The Absolute Keepers”?

Asked what the most important things are for him, Sanders was quick to highlight the importance of having a good team around you, both in the water and on the pool deck.

Lionel Sanders [Photo credit: Talbot Cox]

“Swimming with people and having a coach on deck as often as possible are absolutely keepers, absolute keepers.”

In addition to this, Coach Slade said that a combination of intensity and volume, along with getting a feel of what it is like to swim fast, are very important for his athletes.

“It’s very important to have high intensity everyday, every session. We are going to go fast everyday and we are going to go against what everybody else says.

“You have to feel what it’s like to go fast, just so he [Lionel] can feel it. Sometimes he will swim with fins, or with people either side, or sometimes I will even tie a rope to him! On top of that, he’s also swimming 6,500y per day.” 

“Confidence comes from training”

Thanks in part to a great coach and a strong training environment, Sanders seems to be getting back into his groove and building momentum ahead of the start of the season.

Now, drawing confidence from this training, says the Canadian, is key and is something that he thinks may have been lacking over the last few seasons.

“Confidence comes from training. It has ebbed and flowed over my career, I don’t know if it’s because I am a tinkerer, I’ve tinkered with a lot of stuff and I’ve tried to reinvent the wheel, but what’s comical is that I had it right from the get go.

What was right was train a lot, train hard and when you do that you go to start lines and feel confident in yourself and your ability. It got muddied over the years but that core value, that he who works the hardest wins, is the end of story.

“We’re in the thick of it now, with a mountain to climb still, but now that I’m back to my core values, I believe it can be climbed.”