'Iron Man' Takes 1,650 Free

Sam Wollner’s first-place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle event against Navy on Saturday at Blodgett Pool would have been the highlight of any other meet. But for the freshman, a single race victory was just the beginning of a long and grueling ordeal during Harvard’s 187-113 win over the Midshipmen (9-2, 3-1 EISL).

Selected by his teammates as this year’s “Iron Man,” the rookie swimmer who best represents the ideals of Crimson swimming, Wollner competed in every non-diving event, relays included.

“I was pretty nervous going into it,” Wollner said. “It’s a pretty huge challenge, but it’s also a huge honor.”

Opening the afternoon swimming all four legs of the 200-yard medley relay, Wollner repeatedly climbed out of, then dove back into the pool to mark the transition between strokes.

“It was a little weird to start off with,” Wollner said. “And a little awkward.”

Harvard (5-0, 5-0) placed first and second in the event, with Wollner swimming that, as he did many other races, as an exhibition.

Thankfully for both Wollner and the Crimson, though, his performance in the next event, the 1,650-yard freestyle, counted on the scoreboard.

Though he’d be expected to pace himself with such an overwhelming task ahead of him, Wollner surged into the lead in lap nine, then held on to touch the wall 24 laps later more than five seconds ahead of second-place finisher junior Billy Gray.

After his win, Wollner pulled back, finishing each of the next five events without seriously challenging.

Aside from Navy junior Joe Smutz’s win in the 50-yard freestyle, Harvard captured each event heading into the first diving break. And, surprisingly, it was that brief respite—and not the strain of non-stop swimming—that finally began to get to Wollner.

“After the break, when I started up again, I started feeling really sore,” Wollner said.

But despite his fatigue, Wollner scored again for the Crimson in the 500-yard freestyle, placing third as Harvard pulled away following a brief surge by the Midshipmen.

As the events remaining dwindled, swimmers from both sides joined together to cheer Wollner on.

“Even the guys from Navy were cheering me on, so it was pretty cool,” Wollner said. “It was tough but it was nice to have the whole team behind you.”

That support was most visible in the 17th and final event of the day, the 800-yard freestyle relay. Touching the wall just before Wollner dove in to swim the final 200 yards was sophomore Patrick Morrissey, the Iron Man of a season ago.

Harvard returns to the water Jan. 29, facing off against Yale and Princeton in New Haven.

—Staff writer Timothy J. McGinn can be reached at mcginn@fas.harvard.edu.