In swimming, a few hundreds of a second can be the difference between winning and losing a race.
Arizona sophomore Brooks Fail doesn’t deal in hundreds of seconds. He’s all about taking full seconds off his times.
At the Texas Invitational in November and December, Fail set personal bests in the 500-yard freestyle and the 1,650-yard freestyle. But it’s what he’s done in the 500 — his best race — that is making heads spin.
His mark of 4 minutes 11.84 seconds cut three seconds off his previous best time.
“Out of high school, he’s dropped 11 seconds, which is unheard of,” said UA assistant coach Cory Chitwood, whose Wildcats host Arizona State on Saturday at noon in the last meet before Pac-12 Tournament. “His only limits really are the limits he puts on himself. I know he has that potential. There is nothing he can’t accomplish — not to put pressure on him. It’s a matter of fact.”
Brooks Fail
Fail grew up in Tucson watching the UA swimming program’s glory days. He starred at Catalina Foothills High School and was named the Star’s boys swimmer of the year in 2015. When it came time to pick a college, Fail’s choice was easy.
“It’s an honor to swim for my hometown university,” he said. “It’s crazy to think about where this team was — all the records up there and Olympians. Also, seeing those records I want to be up there. Knowing I am super close is definitely motivating for me.
“I’m trying to work my hardest to give a positive effect to the rest of the team. Like, ‘if he works that hard, I could do that.’ Just to improve little by little and get the team — the culture — back to where we were in the past.
“My goals are getting on the record board, getting the culture back, and bringing a positive attitude every day. I want to be the best version of myself as a person, an athlete, and in the community. It’s bigger than swimming. You can win the medals, but swimming doesn’t define who I am and people close to me know that.”
Fail’s two races in Texas got him closer to the UA’s record board. His 500 time is third-best in UA history behind Jean Basson (4:08.92 in 2009) and Chad Carvin (4:11.59 in 1994). Fail’s 1,650 time of 14:43.90) is No. 5, with Ryk Neethling (14:32.50 in 1998) in the top spot. Among current collegiate swimmers, Fail ranks No. 2 in the 500 and fifth in the 1,650.
“What he did in December — I’m not sure if his expectations were surpassed, but mine were,” said coach Augie Busch. “He’s headed for greatness. He’s ranked in the Top 5 in a couple of his events in the country. From 4:22 out of high school (in the 500) he went on an upward trajectory. He’s very, very talented and works hard — one of our hardest workers. He’s a fearless racer and is someone who has hammered down how he likes to race and has confidence. He lets people go a little in the front half, and then he reels them in at the end.”
Fail has already made the cut for March’s NCAA tournament for the 500 free and 1,650 free. He may race in the 200 freestyle and the 400 individual medley as well.
Fail can still get better. He and Chitwood work on being more efficient in the water, getting more distance on turns and taking fewer strokes.
“The three major things we work on are his turns. This is most important,” said Chitwood. “He’s a big kid — 6 feet 6 inches or 6 feet 7 inches. Get in and out of walls and better kicks underwater. Hitting the weight room hard. He’s made giant leaps, which makes him more powerful in the pool. It’s like a big guy in basketball who needs two years in the weight room. This relates to Brooks, the stronger he gets the most time in the weight room, I believe the better and better he’s going to be.
“And technique — when his hands enter the water to the time they leave. You can’t teach some things. Height is one and length is another. Using his length and height to his advantage to be as efficient as he possibly can be.”
