(VIDEO) Jon Urbanchek: 'My Workouts Drain Ryan Lochte's Tank'
Jon Urbanchek is an absolute legend in the sport of swimming.
Known most prominently for his 22-year reign at the University of Michigan from 1982 to 2004, Urbanchek led the Wolverines to 13 Big Ten Championships and one NCAA Championship. During his tenure at Michigan, he had a hand in coaching Olympic greats such as Mike Barrowman, Tom Malchow, Tom Dolan, Chris Thompson, Erik Namesnik, and Klete Keller amongst others.
After his official departure as the head man in Ann Arbor, Urbanchek stuck around to assist newly-minted head coach Bob Bowman guide one of the most epic post-graduate training groups in Club Wolverine from 2004-2009. Names in that group included Michael Phelps, Erik Vendt Peter Vanderkaay, and Allison Schmitt just to name a few.
After leaving Ann Arbor, he ventured out west to Southern California to help coach U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) sponsored training center -- Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team (FAST) with Sean Hutchinson. During his time with FAST, Urbanchek helped guide star swimmers Katie Hoff, Tyler Clary, Matt McLean, and others.
Urbanchek is now a part-time volunteer assistant coach with Dave Salo at the University of Southern California.
He is also well-known for innovating threshold training in swimming by creating the heart rate color zone training system. It combines a speed approach to assigning zones based on test-set performance, and an ideal set of heart rate goals at each level. This system is based off the endurance (EN) levels 1-3 and is defined by five colors -- progressing from white (the easiest), to purple (the most intense).
Outside of the pool, Jon Urbanchek is beloved and revered by all of the athletes he has had a hand in influencing throughout his lifetime on the deck.
In the video interview above, FloSwimming's Clark Burckle chats with Urbanchek at the 2017 Los Angeles Invitational. Topics include: Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, results from Open Water World Championships, post-Olympic year, Southern California, the toughest trainers he has ever coached, and much more.
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