Upper Dublin’s Jensen, Hatboro-Horsham grad Thomas shine at World Juniors in Singapore
It began with a silver-medal finish by the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, which included a solid third leg by Upper Dublin senior Michael Jensen.
It culminated with a bronze-medal effort by Hatboro-Horsham graduate Michael Thomas, soon to be swimming at the University of California-Berkeley.
In between those races, the points just kept flowing in.
“It was awesome,” said Upper Dublin Aquatic Club and Upper Dublin High coach Geoff Scheuer, selected as one of Team USA’s assistant coaches. “It was an awesome experience. To win a team title is a great thing, but any time you win a team title and that team is USA, the feeling is almost surreal.”
Team USA, with as balanced an effort as they come, raced to the team title at the 2015 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Singapore this past week.
“Everybody on the team,” said Scheuer, who grew up glued to the television set every time the Olympic Games rolled around, “contributed to the title. Literally, everyone had something to do with the outcome of the meet.”
Jensen’s race was both an icebreaker and a catalyst for the rest of the competition.
“That was on the first day, and on the first day, there is a lot of unknown,” Scheuer said of the 4×100 free relay. “We didn’t know what was gonna happen. All in all, Michael swam just about where we expected him to swim.
“To start things off, as a team, we learned a lot from that race.”
Thomas, meanwhile, had to wait all the way until the sixth and final day of the competition for his event. He took a great deal away from his morning swim in the 200 butterfly, powering his way to the bronze medal in the evening.
“He made the right adjustments, swam a smarter race,” Scheuer said.
Jensen also gained some additional experience by swimming in the preliminaries of the mixed 4×100 freestyle relay.
With a great deal of focus and intensity on each and every race, there was still an ample opportunity to soak it all in.
Said Scheuer of his coaching experience for Team USA: “It was such an overwhelming education. You just sit back and watch the coaches and the kids. Seeing the athletes get hyped…There was so much to take away.”
Earlier this summer, Scheuer guided the Upper Dublin Aquatic Club to an outstanding performance at the 2015 Speedo Junior Nationals in San Antonio, Tx., which included five Olympic Trial time cuts, multiple trips to the medal stand, and a pair of relay records.
The journey to the 2016 Olympic Trials continues.
“Singapore’s a crazy city,” Scheuer said of the experience. “It’s a mix of different cultures. It’s a cool place. It’s funny how you will see the signs are in English, yet you drive on the opposite side of the road — we just got around by bus.
“Now, we’re just getting ready for the swim season. The Olympic Trials, (June 26-July 3 in Omaha), will be next, but we have a lot of stuff to do, a lot of stuff to take care of, before we get to that.”
