NEENAH — A few months ago, NBC 26 caught up with Neenah and soon-to-be senior swimmer Drew Gaerthofner as he was so close to making the U.S. Olympic trials. Well, he did it last weekend in Madison. Sports reporter John Miller met with Gaerthofner to observe his daily life and learn the secret to his success in the pool.
“I do it because I know that if I don’t go to my morning workout, I know other people are doing it and working harder than me,” he said.
That’s an early wake-up call for Gaerthofner so he can hit the road just after 5 a.m. for the first practice of the day, which begins at 5:45 a.m. at the Oshkosh YMCA.
“When you get to a certain point in training, it’s completely normal that you go to morning training, you get through it, it’s unusual that you don’t go to morning training, which I think is just ingrained in my mind now,” he said Gaerthofner.
The difference between the first training and training No. 2, which starts at 6:30 p.m. and lasts until 8:30 p.m., is over 12 hours.
“Waking up and swimming wasn’t bad, but figuring out how to get myself into a state where you’re ready for night practice,” Gaerthofner said
Overall, Wisconsin trains about 16 hours a week. 13 of them are in the pool.
“That’s a lot,” said the future Badger. “It’s almost like a full-time job.”
Gaerthofner says you feel at home in the pool, but preparing for this sport is one of the most complex things.
“It’s really hard because I’m just alone, you can’t even talk to yourself because you’re just lost in your thoughts,” said Neenah, who will soon be a high school senior.
With all the work he puts in, Gaerthofner understands the need to take care of his body.
“Plenty of rest, focus on recovery. eat well,” he said.
Good food is right. Gaerthofner estimates that he burns about 3,000 calories a day, so he must be consuming at least that many calories. He prefers robust carbohydrates and lots of protein.
“You can definitely tell if you’re eating a good meal or not,” Gaerthofner said. “I know I ate salmon a few weeks ago and felt good in training. Just a good source of protein and all that, but if you eat (fast food) right before your workout, you definitely won’t feel as great.
All the work paid off. He qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 100-meter breaststroke last weekend as he competed in his future collegiate pool.
“It was special to have most of my team there, most of my future team, a lot of my friends and family were there. “Being able to celebrate this moment with these people was truly special,” he said.
He’ll be impressed by being around celebrities like seven-time Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel, but he knows he needs to isolate himself from outside noise.
“You just have to approach it with the attitude of: yes, these are really good swimmers, but they’re just regular people, so you have to do the same thing you normally do,” Gaerthofner said.
