Gered Doherty Sets Lanes Ablaze for M. Swimming 

Susie Lee
Spectator Associate Sports Editor 

Gered Doherty is fast. 

It took the sophomore only 20.41 seconds to put a field of 54 of the strongest swimmers in the East in his wake as he qualified for the Eastern Championship finals in the 50-yard freestyle last Thursday at Army. 

Doherty went on to clinch a tie for second place in the final with a blazing time of 20.68. He tied Harvard junior Alex Kurmakov, and the two shared the title of the fastest sprinters in the Ivy League and earned All-Ivy honors. (Army junior Joe Novak clinched the win in 20.21) 

Though the race took just over 20 seconds, the hard work and the drive for last weekend's accomplishment began over 11 months ago. 

Last year at Easterns, according to Columbia Head Coach Jim Bolster, "Gered wasn't even on the map." 

Doherty swam a 21.7 in the 50 free a year ago, and didn't crack the top 30. 

"He made some decisions last year, especially in the off-season," Bolster said. 

Coming out of high school as a three-sport athlete, Doherty found the transition to one sport and one season in college a difficult one. In high school he made All-State as a middle linebacker/running back in football, All-American in swimming, and was an All-Region catcher in baseball. 

At Columbia, most of the adjustments after his first season involved work in the weight room. Doherty recalls the day last spring when he picked up a workout labeled "Day one," written by Head Strength and Training Coach Thomas McKinney. When Doherty finished the workout, he asked "Is there a Day Two?" and McKinney said, "There's a Day Two, and a Day Three..." 

Throughout last summer McKinney mailed workouts home to Doherty in Sterling Heights, Michigan, and now Doherty is somewhere around Day 330. 

"I think I only missed two days in 11 months," Doherty said. 

There are over 700 student-athletes who compete on the varsity level at Columbia, and McKinney supervises workouts for them all. 

"The biggest thing I can say about Gered as an athlete is that he is the hardest working individual I've ever encountered here at Columbia," McKinney said. 

"He did everything he was asked, never made an excuse to miss a workout, never compromised a day of training. His greatest attribute is that he works hard, trains hard, and competes hard. Very few athletes at Columbia take that approach to training," McKinney continued. 

Bolster describes Doherty as an athlete who enjoys his sport, and has the right approach and attitude towards training. "He's just got his head on right," Bolster said. 

"His work in the weight room gave him a lot of confidence because he just grew exponentially in terms of strength," Bolster added. "That really helped his explosivenessÉ He swims fast because he's technically sound. He's explosive. He's got a great start and great explosion off the wall." 

And all the hard work paid off for Doherty last weekend at Easterns. In addition to his medal and All-Ivy honors in the 50 free, Doherty qualified third in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 44.91, slicing .01 seconds off a Columbia varsity record in the process. Doherty finished fourth in the final; his time of 45.00 qualified him for the NCAA B-cut. 

He also entered the season with a 52.4 in the 100-yard fly, and went a 49.9 at Easterns. He has his eyes on the varsity record of 49.4 in that event. 

"I don't think I could have done as well without the team," Doherty said. "We were all so together this year. Easterns is a team event, and without that it wouldn't be as much funÉ I had a great year this year, and I owe a lot of it to my coaches, to the team, and to the captains." 

Doherty also swam the lead-off leg in the 200-yard freestyle relay which finished fifth in the final. Their time of 1:22.19 in the preliminaries rewrote another Columbia record. 

In the 400-yard medley relay, Doherty swam the butterfly leg, and pulled the team to a fourth place finish. Their time of 3:21.48 ripped down yet another varsity record by .28 seconds. Doherty also swam the butterfly leg of the 200-medley relay, which powered past Harvard to clinch second place and annihilate yet another varsity record with a 1:31.27, earning All-Ivy honors as well. 

"It's the best relay I've ever been on," Doherty said. "It was pretty amazing." 

On top of the medals, the records, and the All-Ivy titles, "The most rewarding part is walking up to the awards stand, and getting to wave to my parents," Doherty said. "They've been so supportive. They're awesome. They've stuck through a lot, and I'm really lucky to have that." 

Doherty embraces a diligent work ethic, sets high goals and does the work necessary to get things done. "Hopefully more athletes at Columbia will take Gered's approach," McKinney said. 

"He has taken all of the success very well," Bolster said. "It hasn't gone to his head by any means. He has two more years to go in which he can get even better. I think we are just beginning to tap his potential."