INTRODUCTION: A swim of 500 yards seems like a long race. When you've already swum a mile in the same meet, 500 yards looks like a sprint. Sean Finnerty talks about his love of the sport, particularly the distance events.

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When did you first become involved in swimming?
My parents put me in a learn to swim class when I was three years old and then I started swimming competitively at the age of five. I have been swimming ever since on the same club team that I started with.
 
What attracted you to it?
The first thing that got me hooked on swimming was the feeling that I was flying while gliding on the surface of the water. Also, I have always enjoyed the long grueling practices that kept me in great shape and allowed me to be healthy and active. What kept me going were the awesome people I have gotten the chance to practice with and race against.
 
Were you always a distance swimmer?
Yes, being a long-distance endurance athlete is in my blood with my mom being a marathon runner. I swam my first mile when I was eight years old and I haven't looked back.
 
At the University, you swam the 1,650 at the UAA Championships. That's almost a mile in the pool. How do you train for something like that? And how do you keep your focus over such a long period?
It takes a lot of hours in the pool to prepare to race the 1,650. We first start by focusing on the fundamentals of swimming while slowly building up the yards in practice. By the end of the season we are swimming 4-5 miles every day in practice, so we have the aerobic foundation needed to swim the mile, and come race day we must use what we accomplished in practice to do our best in the pool.
 
I was lucky at UAAs because I was involved in a neck to neck race against a Case Western Reserve swimmer during my mile to keep me motivated and focused on swimming as fast as I could for as long as I could. But in general, there is always a race strategy going into the mile that I focus on implementing during the race. I also keep an eye out for what the coaches are signaling to me on the side of the pool.
 
 
You also swam the 500 freestyle. Compared to the 1,650, it's almost a sprint race for you, isn't it?
The 500 is most definitely a sprint for me, from the time I hit the water to the time I hit the touchpad, which stops the clock, I swim hard. There is still pacing you have to do, but if you go out too slow trying to save energy for the end of the race, more times than not you will fall short of your goals.
 
In high school, you played golf in addition to swimming. Was that a challenging transition to make from season to season?
It was a challenging transition because where I went to school in Ohio, men's golf is a fall sport and swimming is a winter sport. My fellow teammates on the swim team were already in the pool practicing with our club team getting ready for the high school season a full 10 weeks earlier than I could. I was behind the curve when high school swimming started but by the end of the swim season, I was in great shape dropping lots of time.
 
When you are home, do you work with any youth programs – coaching, counseling, serving as an official, or a timer? What do you like about doing that?
I did work as a timer from time to time which was a great experience because this allowed me to inspire young kids about the sport. I do what I can to help the younger generations because I know, for me at least, that swimming has shaped my life and I would hope that it does for them as well.
 
What led you to the University of Rochester?
First and foremost, the academics at the university are top-notch, coupled with the fact that I could pursue my greatest passion at the collegiate level, I knew the University of Rochester would be my home for the next four years of my life.
 
Why did you choose Business as your major?
I took a couple of business-related classes in high school and I enjoyed them. Plus, I have always been good at math which is helpful in the business world because it focuses a lot on math concepts and analyzing numbers.
 
Are you involved in any campus groups tied to your studies?
I am not, but I am actively trying to find groups that are within my major to further my knowledge of the business world.