Indiana University Athletics
DiPrimio: Burns Brings out the ‘Bests’ Amid Final NCAA Swimming Opportunity
3/26/2024 2:00:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Forget silence is golden. Brendan Burns thrives amid roaring crowds.
"I live for the energy of the big moment," Indiana's national title-winning swimmer says. "That motivates me."
Motivation includes a no-guts, no-glory approach with a NCAA Championships "dirty-double" twist.
Burns will compete in the 100-yard backstroke, the 200 backstroke and the 200 butterfly, plus three relays, in this week's NCAA men's Swimming and Diving Championships, which begin Wednesday at Indianapolis's IU Natatorium. He is one of 12 Hoosier swimmers and three divers to qualify.
Three individual events are not uncommon for elite swimmers, and Burns is elite given he already owns a pair of NCAA titles – in the 200 butterfly in 2022 and the 100 backstroke last year, along with four NCAA runner-up finishes, in the 2022 backstroke, the 2023 butterfly and the 400 medley relay in 2022 and '23).
The challenge comes in the timing of the 200 backstroke and the 200 butterfly. Both are done the same day, a task so grueling it's called the "dirty double." Throw in prelims and Burns will swim the 200 backstroke, go straight to the auxiliary pool for warm downs to reduce lactic acid buildup, then race some more – multiple times against the nation's best competitors.
How challenging is the "dirty double" amid NCAA meet intensity? IU swim coach Ray Looze says Burns has never made three individual A finals in an NCAA meet, yet "he's one of the greatest NCAA swimmers there is."
"Doing the 200 back and the 200 fly is high risk," Looze adds.
Sometimes you take the risk because you can, because you believe, in yourself, in your training, in your opportunity, in your team.
Or, as Burns says with a smile often seen at poker tables just as a royal flush is revealed, "I'm a competitor and I love to race."
He's done the "dirty double" four times at the Big Ten meet. This will be his first NCAA attempt.
"It's really challenging," he says. "I'm doing what I can for the team."
Burns has won the "dirty double" three times in Big Ten championship competition, which is three times more than anyone else in history.
He tried to make it four but came up short earlier this month when he won the 200 backstroke, but placed third in the 200 butterfly – an event he'd won each of the last four seasons.
"I don't think he'd ever lost the 200 fly," Looze says. "You can't win everything."
Does his "dirty-double" experience give him an edge?
"I wish there was something super evolutionary I can do," Burns says. "I get a really good warmup in. As soon as I'm done with the 200 backstroke, which is the first race, I immediately go straight to the warm-down pool. I don't do any interviews or talk to anyone. I'm swimming the entire session to get ready for the next race."
"I've had success and experience with it the last couple of years. I've done it so many times I feel I know what to expect. With the preparation and hard work we put in, I'm ready to go."
His Big Ten meet performance reflects that readiness. Besides the dirty double events, he won the 100 backstroke, plus was on three winning relays – 200 medley, 800 free and 400 medley.
He has the same schedule at the NCAA Championships.
Burns excels in part because of his exceptionally strong underwater swimming. Looze describes it as "just electric." Burns credits being very flexible in the spine, ankles and shoulders – "I'm hyper mobile in a couple of areas. I think that's where it physically comes from." – as well as getting coaching at an early age that emphasized underwater swimming's importance.
"It's been called the fifth stroke," he says. "I've always been told being tough and underwater swimming is a decision you have to make. At the end of a race, when you're really hurting, you have to find a way to finish strong."
Burns has won 22 Big Ten titles – 11 as an individual, 11 as part of a relay – along with his NCAA success. Looze calls Burns, "A stud."
"He's incredible. He's the best leader by example I've ever seen. The best racer. The best underwaters. He's been a tremendous winner for us."
That winning edge developed early while participating in multiple sports before settling on swimming.
"Swimming is a very direct, very objective sport," Burns says. "The work you put in is almost directly related to the results you're going to get."
IU hasn't won a national men's swim title since 1973 but continues to be a national title contender. After finishing fourth last year, another top-five performance is within reach.
As in the Big Ten meet, which the Hoosiers won for the third straight season earlier this month, they figure to build into the meet.
"That's the identity of our team," Burns says. "You'll see something similar to that in our first day in the NCAA. We might be outside the top 10 after that first day. The last two days is where we make up all that ground.
"Some teams get out to a huge lead and disappear. We're the opposite. Other teams get scared. We know our best events are on those last two days. We'll finish stronger than probably anyone else. That's a huge advantage when you talk about momentum."
The fact the meet is in Indianapolis has special meaning for Burns. He and the Hoosiers were set to swim there in the 2020 NCAA championships when COVID-19 cancelled it.
"To come full circle and have the NCAA basically back home to finish my career on home turf," Burns says, "is an enormous honor, a huge opportunity. It's not something I'm taking lightly. It will be exciting to wear the candy stripes one last time. Coming back for a fifth year was worth it. I'm excited to go out with a bang."
Players Mentioned
