Despite slower times, Sanders’ swim coach says he “is doing exactly what he needs to do to improve”
While his times might be the envy of many age group swimmers, Lionel Sanders remains much slower than his competition in the water.
Photo by:
Kevin Mackinnon
He’s one of the sport’s most popular figures, with a YouTube following of almost 170,000 followers. Canadian Lionel Sanders might not have won the Ironman or Ironman 70.3 World Championship, but he’s a favourite with triathletes who appreciate his gritty determination and transparency in his popular YouTube videos.
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His latest video highlights a recent swim workout, along with a swim meet he did last month. The results of his efforts at the swim meet generated lots of chatter from his fans on Slowtwitch – some pointed out that his times were actually a bit slower than a few years ago.
Here’s a breakdown of his times and splits from the meet:
Men 35-39 50 Meter Freestyle Finals
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Pl Name Age Club Seed Time Final Time Points
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5 Sanders, Lionel 35 T26 31.00 30.62 4.00
Men 35-39 100 Meter Freestyle Finals
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Pl Name Age Club Seed Time Final Time Points
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4 Sanders, Lionel 35 T26 1:07.00 1:05.56 5.00
32.35 1:05.56(33.21)
Men 35-39 200 Meter Freestyle Finals
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Pl Name Age Club Seed Time Final Time Points
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3 Sanders, Lionel 35 T26 2:28.00 2:22.86 6.00
33.68 1:09.68(36.00) 1:46.59(36.91) 2:22.86(36.27)
Men 35-39 400 Meter Freestyle Finals
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Pl Name Age Club Seed Time Final Time Points
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2 Sanders, Lionel 35 T26 5:02.00 4:57.16 7.00
34.97 1:12.11(37.14) 1:49.64(37.53) 2:27.51(37.87)
3:05.43(37.92) 3:43.24(37.81) 4:20.87(37.63) 4:57.16(36.29)
Men 35-39 1500 Meter Freestyle Finals
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Pl Name Age Club Seed Time Final Time Points
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1 Sanders, Lionel 35 T26 19:30.00 19:13.04 9.00
37.07 1:15.74(38.67) 1:54.82(39.08) 2:34.26(39.44)
3:13.60(39.34) 3:53.02(39.42) 4:32.31(39.29) 5:12.24(39.93)
5:51.28(39.04) 6:30.34(39.06) 7:09.37(39.03) 7:48.42(39.05)
8:27.25(38.83) 9:06.32(39.07) 9:45.03(38.71) 10:23.43(38.40)
11:01.61(38.18) 11:39.82(38.21) 12:18.05(38.23) 12:56.13(38.08)
13:33.90(37.77) 14:11.75(37.85) 14:49.45(37.70) 15:27.21(37.76)
16:05.24(38.03) 16:43.08(37.84) 17:20.81(37.73) 17:58.75(37.94)
18:36.25(37.50) 19:13.04(36.79)
Lionel Sanders really needs a coach … or he’s going to become one
While Sanders’ times would be the envy of  many age group swimmers, those times are much slower than many of the elite triathletes Sanders is racing against would post at a similar meet.
In the Slowtwitch forum, “wetswimmer99” points out that in 2018 Sanders swam 18:50.25 for 1,500 m at a meet on March 23, 2018. That swim was reportedly in a long-course pool, too – times are typically slower in a long-course pool because athletes don’t get the benefits of as many turns.
Based on both his comments and checking out the latest workout Sanders posted on his video channel (see below), though, those times probably aren’t truly indicative of the Canadian’s potential. Who knows how much training Sanders had done leading into the races, and how much better would he have fared had he competed in one or two races compared to the five he took on at the meet. He was certainly proud of the medals he won at the meet, anyway.
“Truly it is make or break time,” Sanders says of his swim training. “It’s life and death. I’ve said that for a decade, but now it actually is. I see no way that you win top-tier racing … The level of swimming and the level of the game is so high you can’t have a weakness.”
According to coach Justin Slade, though, Sanders is doing exactly what he needs to do to improve. The video highlights a tough workout Sanders did with the group that included 10 sets of a 150 followed by 3 x 50. According to Slade, Sanders is making progress and IS swimming fast.
“He got in and swam this morning,” Slade said. “I don’t know what you people want. He gets in and he swims. He swam fast. He swam fast, tired.”
We’ll see how Sanders fares as he continues his quest to improve his swim leg in order to be more competitive in 2024.
