McLaren hopes hard work pays off in '02-'03

RACHELLE LACROIX / photo editor Red-shirt senior John McLaren has Olympic hopes for his final year.

Though John McLaren is not a football player, his workout regiment in recent months certainly has been fitting of one. The red-shirt senior swimmer, who has goals of possibly becoming an Olympic swimmer in the near future, dedicated his entire summer to the sport he loves.

"I did a lot of power lifting, similar to what football players do," McLaren, a Virginia Beach native said. "Short, really intense workouts."

Men's swimming coach Matt Barany said of McLaren's dedication, "John's been going really hard at the weights this summer, and his work ethic has just been absolutely amazing. He knows it's his last year at this and wants to make it worth his while."

After bursting onto the college scene his freshman year with a first-place finish at the ‘98 Colonial Athletic Association championships in the 50 freestyle, McLaren took conference Rookie Swimmer of the Year honors. McLaren is also recently is coming off of the strongest performance of his career, swimming a JMU-record 19.97 seconds in the 50 free, a time that until recently was also a conference record.

Heading into his fifth and final year of collegiate swimming, McLaren has high aspirations for himself.
"I'd like to make the NCAA A-cut (a time of 19.74 in the 50 free qualifies)," McLaren said. "It's an automatic bid to the nationals, and you get to be on ESPN."

Don't let McLaren fool you though, ESPN is not his only priority. However, with the amount of attention bound to go towards McLaren and his quest for nationals, McLaren is quick to point out that swimming still, first and foremost, is a team sport.

"One of my biggest goals entering the year is to win another CAA title," McLaren said. "We lost last year, but JMU has taken nine out of the last 11 championships. We've got a great shot at claiming it back this year."

McLaren added, "A lot of guys have been swimming really fast this year, and everyone looked good at the intra-squad meet last week. Everyone's really excited."

Aside from the praise he receives from his coaches, McLaren's also very well-respected in the eyes of his teammates.

"John's times speak for themselves, yes, but he's an excellent role model for this team, both in his character and work ethic," senior captain Brody Reid said. "He really motivates this team."

As far as for what happens after JMU, the sociology major is keeping his options open.

"The guy that broke my CAA record last year is training with the U.S. national sprint team, with two gold medalists from the Olympics," McLaren said. "If I can get my time down, I could be in California next year working out with the Olympic team."