Sean Ryan swims in a meet at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in January.
(UM Photo Services, Martin Vloet)Participating in the Canada Cup recently in Montreal, Sean Ryan found himself in an unfamiliar environment.
The former McCallie School swimming star from Hixson walked the streets and saw billboards and advertisements in French. He heard French being spoken almost everywhere. Even when he was at the Olympic Park Athletic Centre getting ready to swim, Ryan heard announcements in French before he heard them in English.
But while his surroundings were alien to him, he felt right at home in the pool.
"It was definitely an interesting event," Ryan said after earning two silver medals and a bronze. "It had that foreign-country feel, but it was exciting. I'm excited by the results because those are great results for me right now in my training."
He's in the Florida Keys this week, training with the U.S. team for his main competition of the summer - the World Aquatic Championships in Shanghai, China. A top-10 finish in the 10-kilometer open-water swim there on July 20 (9 p.m. July 19 EDT) will put him in the Olympics next year in London.
Three weeks after taking first and second place in the 5k and 10k events, respectively, at the USA Swimming Open Water Nationals, the University of Michigan sophomore continued his sensational summer in Montreal.
Competing against some opponents with far more international experience, Ryan medaled in all three of his Canada Cup events. He was second in the 1500- and 800-meter freestyle in 15:29.07 and 8:14.71 and was third in the 400 in 3:57.36.
Those results were even more impressive considering he hadn't spent much time training specifically for that competition.
"I'm in the middle of a tough training cycle, so I didn't know how well I would do," Ryan said. "I wasn't rested at all. I am still training for Shanghai - the World Championships - so I was training throughout the meet. I had three solid swims and it went well."
While it's not advisable to train intensely throughout a meet, Ryan couldn't afford to lose precious practice time with the Worlds coming up. Although he has done well in recent months, the beginning of his college career was full of difficulty, including illness hitting him as swim season was getting under way.
After a taxing first couple of months, Ryan started to fulfill the great potential he had shown in high school. With the help of the Michigan coaching staff, especially assistant Josh White, Ryan worked tirelessly to improve.
"I've gotten stronger and bigger and I have more speed," said Ryan, now all of 160 pounds on his 6-foot-3 frame. "Definitely more low-end speed, such as at 200 and 400 meters, and I think that has helped me close on people at the end of races."
He also improved his stamina, completing longer distance races with more ease.
Healthy and confident, the Wolverine became a dominating force near the end of his freshman season. He was a Big Ten champion in three events and earned All-America honors.
"Sean stepped it up," Michigan coach Mike Bottom said. "It's a completely new experience coming to college, so there's a lot of adjustment that happens. But he got better in his life skills and he got better in the water, and his confidence grew as a result. He's swimming at a different level [now]."
Ryan is thinking big for the FINA Championships next week. He recognizes the great opportunity he has, and he believes he can capitalize.
"Qualifying for the Olympics is definitely the focus of my training," Ryan said. "I think that I am in a position where I should be top 10 at the World Championships."