You're standing on the starting block. The pool is busy, the announcer calls your name, the crowd is watching. And then, in those few seconds before the starting signal, your mind can go anywhere. What if I'm too slow? What if I make a bad start?
Race nerves are universal. Every level, every age, every athlete. From the beginner at their first club gala to the Olympic swimmer in the final. They never disappear completely. And that's a good thing.
Nerves are not the enemy
The first step is a mental shift: nerves are not something to fight. They are a signal from your body that it is preparing for effort. Adrenaline increases your reaction speed, sharpens your focus and gives you energy. Swimmers who learn to handle nerves perform better than those who only suffer from them.
The goal is not to stop feeling nervous. The goal is to learn to handle nerves so they work for you instead of against you.
Technique 1: The breathing exercise
The fastest way to calm your nervous system is through your breathing. Try the 4-7-8 technique: breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, breathe out slowly through your mouth for 8 seconds. Two or three rounds of this activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Use it in the run-up to your race or during your warm-up swim.
Technique 2: Visualisation — swimming your race before the starting block
Visualisation is one of the most widely used techniques among elite athletes. Your brain barely distinguishes between a vividly visualised action and the real thing. By swimming your race mentally — in detail, including feel and sensation — you train your nervous system for success.
How do you do it? Find a quiet spot, close your eyes and picture the race from start to finish: the marshalling call, the starting block, the signal, the entry, every turn, the drive to the finish. Practise this daily in the run-up to a competition.
Technique 3: Focus words
A stressful thought takes up space in your head. The trick: replace it with something useful. Choose one or two words that focus you on what you're doing instead of what could go wrong. Examples:
- "Long and strong"
- "Attack"
- "My race, my pace"
- "Relaxed, fast"
Practise this word in training too, so it becomes an automatic anchor.
Technique 4: Pre-race routine
The most reliable way to reduce nerves is predictability. If you always follow the same routine before a competition — the same breakfast, the same warm-up schedule, the same breathing exercise — your body is already programmed to perform. Every step in the routine is a signal: I know this, I can do this, I've done this before.
Technique 5: Embrace the discomfort
The most experienced swimmers actively embrace the feeling of nerves. They don't tell themselves "I'm not nervous", because that's a lie. They say: "I'm excited. This is my energy."
Research in sport psychology shows that reframing nerves as excitement has measurable positive effects on performance. Try it: when you feel nervous, say out loud or in your head: "I'm ready. I'm excited. This is good."
What parents can do
As the parent of a competitive swimmer, you have more influence on your child's nerves than you might think. The most helpful attitude: make clear that you are proud regardless of the result. Race nerves increase when a child feels they might disappoint.
Concretely: after a race, first ask "How did it feel?" instead of "What was your time?" It sounds small, but the difference is big.
Practising under pressure: the power of a training camp
Mental techniques only work once you practise them under real pressure. At ZwemExpert's training camps the conditions — a new environment, coaches seeing you for the first time, peers all around you — make a perfect practice ground. You learn not only to perform technically, but also to be mentally resilient.
ZwemExpert Competitive Swimming Summer Camp 2026