If you take the approach that you are only 'swimming for 2nd place' because you think your competitor is too good, you have fallen into the 'reputation trap' and will probably swim a slow time - and yet if you pay no attention to it at all during the race, it will make no difference at all. If you have a reputation yourself, by the way, this is great news, because many competitors are quite intimidated by reputations and will often swim badly against you in meets. This is a fact! It even happens at the very peak of the swimming world.
I read a few days ago that Lenny Krayzelburg, the world champion 50m,100m and 200m backstroke titleholder, said that he wanted to instill in his rivals the mentality that they were 'racing for second place, and that when it came to major events like the Olympic games, the gold medal was already gone'. This is very clever thinking, despite the fact that it has apparently brought some strong words in reply from other swimmers (who say they refuse to swim for second place).
Before I mention why, let me say that I generally would not recommend most Club swimmers to try this tactic unless you have the performances in the pool.
The fact is - Lenny's words carry a lot of weight because of the fact that he is the world champion, and he can back up much of what he says with his performances in the pool. However, by saying this to the other swimmers, all he is really trying to do is place a very tiny seed of doubt in his competitors' minds, that is all that may be required to get a slight edge over them. If his competitors do not beware, these small seeds of doubt can turn into fear, and subconsciously they could find themselves swimming for second place.
We've discussed in the past how small things such as your mental attitude and your body language can influence your competitor's morale - and certainly if you can create a reputation for being a strong performer it can make it mighty tough for your competitors mentally. Kieran Perkins has used some powerful mind games in past years to set up an 'aura of invincibility' around his reputation, which seemed to make others feel like they were swimming against a 'legend' instead of just another competitor - however some contenders are now making strong claims to take over his place on the pedestal. Perkins said at the Atlanta Olympics that the mind is so powerful that certain swimmers could actually control the pace of the entire race - he mentioned that when Alex Popov slowed down, the others seemed to slow down as well - almost as if he was orchestrating the whole race himself!
This is the power a reputation can have, but if you don't have a great reputation yet, then this is an important thing to do; don't give anyone else's reputation the time of day. Don't respect it, forget it - and remind yourself that they will only be as good as their time on THAT particular day, not from the results of the past 2 years. Reputations can be a big trap if you allow yourself to fall into them, so by all means, cultivate your own reputation, but never worry about anyone else's at all - because if you pay no attention to it, it will have no power over you.
