What if your fastest swim is still ahead of you? Torpedo Swimtalk Podcast sits down with New Zealand sprinter Laura Quilter, who left the sport for eight years and returned in her 30s to lay down lifetime bests—including a 25.08 in the 50 free at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. Her story blends curiosity, self-coaching, and a focus less is more, challenging the old belief that more metres always equals more speed.
Laura breaks down how she rebuilt her sprint power with targeted strength work and smart periodisation: heavy lifts early in the cycle, then a shift to high-intent plyometrics as race day neared. In the pool, she replaced kilometres with broken 50s using parachutes, fins and paddles, stepping down resistance to convert strength into speed. We dig into the technical details that moved the needle—lateral body line to engage the lats, cleaner kick timing, and start cues like “thumbs to armpits” plus a back-foot loaded stance for a sharper dive. She even rethought her breakout to keep speed from stalling at the surface.
The mental game is just as compelling. As a registered nurse working PM shifts, Laura learned to manage imperfect sleep, test readiness session by session, and keep a simple mantra on loop: be cool. She’s candid about a tough 50 fly in Singapore, the confidence of a heat win in the 50 free, and how breathing choices can swing a race. We also explore recovery at 33 versus 23, creatine dosing, and the freedom that comes from training less but with far more intent.
If you’re a masters swimmer, a coach, or a sprinter chasing tenths, this conversation is a playbook for getting faster with fewer metres, better technique and a calmer mind.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Danielle Spurling (00:05):
Hello, swimmers, and welcome to Torpedo
Swim Talk, the podcastcelebrating swimmers at every
stage, from Masters Legends toOlympic champions.
I'm your host, DanielleSpurling, and each week we dive
into inspiring conversationsfrom around the world about
performance, resilience, and thepure love of swimming.
(00:27):
Today's guest is New Zealandsprinter Laura Quilter, a former
Commonwealth Games athlete whostepped away from the sport for
eight years, only to return inher 30s swimming lifetime best.
What started as a casualmasters meet with friends turned
into a full-blown comeback,powered by a completely
(00:47):
reimagined training model.
Fewer swims, heavier gym work,smarter technique, and a mindset
shift that's made her fasterthan ever.
This year, that comeback tookher all the way to the World
Aquatics Championships inSingapore, where she lined up
against swimmers more than adecade younger and threw down a
PB in the 53.
Laura's story is one ofreinvention, resilience, and
(01:11):
proving that speed doesn't havean expiry date.
Let's hear from Laura now.
Hi Laura, welcome to thepodcast.
Laura Quilter (01:22):
Thank you.
It's nice to be back.
Danielle Spurling (01:24):
Yeah, it's so good to be back talking to you.
I know last time we talked was2023, I think, and you were just
dipping your toes back intomaster swimming and getting and
doing a bit of ice swimming aswell after eight years out of
the pool.
And then things have reallyescalated very quickly.
So let's pick up right where weleft off and tell me back to
(01:44):
that very first masters meetthat you got back in the water
and how that accidentally kickedoff this huge comeback.
Laura Quilter (01:52):
Yeah, it feels quite surreal being here in like
2025.
I'm back on the New Zealandnational team.
I competed at my first everWorld Aquatics Champs as a
33-year-old, and I set thefourth fastest time um in
history for the New Zealandwoman.
So like it started literallyjust from jumping in for a
master's event, and it's um it'sbeen a couple of years.
(02:13):
I also got engaged, so that'slike a big big milestone.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Yeah, it's it's been um it'shonestly been such an enjoyable.
I feel like it's been a secondlife in Swimming because my
entire approach to the sport, myunderstanding of it, and my
motivations are much, muchdifferent.
And um, we can definitely talkabout those key differences, but
(02:34):
yeah, what a couple of yearsit's been.
Danielle Spurling (02:37):
I know, I know, absolutely.
I mean, when you got back intomasters, I remember you sort of
saying, Oh, I sort of I Ithought I'd give it a go because
I wanted to um actually swim ina decent 20 a decent 50-meter
pool for a change.
What what sort of change wereyou there?
How did you sort of come acrossthat I'm swimming better than I
expected?
Laura Quilter (02:56):
Well, at that meet, so it was the brand new
50-meter pool that they'd builtin the Hawke's Bay, and I was
just jealous that I never got toswim in it.
Uh, at those champs, I wentdown with a couple of mates, we
took our bikes, we were cyclingand um, you know, doing big
rides and then rocking up to thepool, very little prep.
So it was that in itself wasdifferent.
But what sparked the properreturn was um I did a 50
(03:18):
freestyle on one of the relaysand split a 25.9, and I could
not believe it because my bestever time was a 25.8 and I was a
sprinter.
Um, it was from a flying start,so it probably would have been
a 26 low, but just to feel thatkind of speed and for it to hit
me so unexpectedly uh going in,I was training once a week with
(03:40):
the triathlon squad, but I wasway, way stronger.
So that kind of you knowsparked that curiosity and the
experiment of first, like, can Iset a PB in my 30s with a new
style of training?
And that included, you know,around full-time work now.
I'm a registered nurse, soshift work uh is a bit hectic,
but it's also a big positivebecause it means that I can
(04:02):
train at the pool duringoff-peak hours.
So that's been a bit of ahidden asset, to be honest,
because even though I'm up lateand I'm doing different shift
patterns and my circadian rhythmis, you know, doesn't exist,
uh, it also had great benefitsin terms of training.
And we can not to jump forwardand back, but it was actually
really interesting at the NewZealand Nationals.
(04:24):
The 50 Freestyle for the firsttime this year in 2025 was on
the first day, and I hadrequested the day before the
Nationals off work, but I'dactually come off a run of PM
shifts, which means I wasfinishing at midnight, and it it
was really interesting becauseI was a bit disappointed with my
50 freestyle at the Nationals.
I was tracking the splits I wasdoing in training were looking
(04:45):
like I could do that 24 second,which is what I was hunting
after I set the PB.
No woman at that time had beenunder 25 seconds in New Zealand.
It's since been broken by um animpressive athlete who had
Chelsea Edwards.
But to cut a long story short,I um I swam horribly in the heat
and I was just kind of shocked.
I came home and I slept duringthe break.
But it's that kind of sleepwhere you feel really heavy.
(05:07):
And I woke up and went back anddid swim a PB in the night, but
I couldn't nap for the rest ofthe days during the week.
And I wonder whether if I'dasked for morning shifts,
whether my central nervoussystem had been more rested, or
or whether I'm making it all upand it had nothing to do with
it.
But it was quite interestingcoming off evenings, less
quality sleep, um disruptedtraining patterns, and going
(05:30):
into the nationals.
Maybe I could have planned thatbetter because when I finally
got to the world aquatics, itwas a much better swim.
Danielle Spurling (05:37):
Yeah, and you would have had you would have
been resting more, obviously.
And recovery at this age is isso important.
Laura Quilter (05:44):
It was such a funny experience because we we
were there two weeks before theyare the world champs in
Singapore.
So I'm trying to balance, youknow, I'm I'm doing 50 metres.
I'd actually qualified in the50 metre butterfly and got a
bonus of the 50 freestylebecause I'd set the FENA B.
Um, so it was a mix of yes, Iwant to be resting up, I want to
be in bed and not doing toomuch, but also I don't want to,
(06:07):
you know, dampen down mysprinting, I don't know what you
call it, like yeah, like thecentral nervous system.
So I was tracking my steps andI was still walking around,
sightseeing Singapore, andkeeping a lot of my strength
training, like I kept themaximal effort body weight power
work.
So still doing a lot of plyo,but much less reps and much less
(06:28):
sets.
So it was um interestingwatching also my garment, my HIV
skyrocketed and then normalizedwhen I first got over to
Singapore.
Danielle Spurling (06:37):
That is really interesting.
And I'm I'm really interestedto talk more about the strength
and what you did there.
So you kept your maximumweights, obviously, the the
poundage or the the kilos, butyou just did less reps.
Laura Quilter (06:51):
Oh, sorry, no.
So I the the pound so theweight came off.
I should have looked at thisbefore I came.
Um I think it was two weeksout.
I dropped the heavy weights andwent into more bodyweight plyo
work.
So there's actually I posted avideo on my Instagram.
Our uh we had a uh a campaccommodation with a great gym,
but our racing accommodation,the gym was almost comical, it
(07:15):
was so small.
So I was like, well, this isall I've got access to right
now.
So I still managed to do thisum body weight set of say jump
split squats, still doing theplyo push-up, so really trying
to get the claps in, and um, sothe max effort was intensity,
but not weight.
Danielle Spurling (07:32):
Right, yeah.
And I I know like I I want totalk all about the races first
in Singapore.
So you had the 50 fly and youhad the 53 53.
Talk us through how the heatswent and then what happened
after that in both of thoseraces.
Laura Quilter (07:49):
Yeah, so the the 50 fly was first, and it's it
was really disappointing interms of the time.
Like this was the biggest eventI'd done, and I I felt really
relaxed going in.
Like, even in the ready room,before the nationals, before any
event, I do a lot ofvisualization at night.
It's almost like the way I getto sleep.
I basically just rerun andrerun parts of an event.
(08:11):
So going into World Champs, Iknew that part of my challenge
would be controlling nerves.
Um, you know, I had thoughts ofmaybe I'd suffer from imposter
syndrome and things, which Iluckily didn't feel, but I I had
anticipated that would be a bitof a mental uh barrier.
Um so, like the week beforethat 50 fly, I was imagining
what it would feel like to be inthat ready room, to be, you
(08:34):
know, next to some of thosereally amazing top women in the
world.
And I did feel quite relaxed inthe ready room, but um it
didn't it didn't transpire.
I went out like half a secondfaster to 25 metres than I did
at the Nationals and finishedover half a second slower.
So the back end really hurt,but in hindsight, I had actually
(08:54):
um chatted with uh I'mself-coach, but my um club
coach, I I worked really closelywith Michael, and you know, you
don't change anything on gameday, but I wondered whether I
should have taken a breathbecause the 50 freestyle was my
main event going into thenationals, and I had played with
breathing patterns, and itturns out I'm actually faster if
I take one breath.
Whereas the 50 fly was always afun race, so I had um copied,
(09:18):
you know, Sierra the best in theworld, and just challenged
myself no breathing, but hadn'tactually tested breathing versus
no breathing, and because therewas only eight weeks between
the nationals and the worldchamps, I didn't really have
maybe I would have had time.
Um, yeah.
So to summarize, I felt like Iwas relaxed, but the splits show
that potentially I went far tooquickly, and my second 25, my
(09:43):
stroke rate and that time was alot slower than the nationals.
Um, so it it was about my fifthfastest all time.
Still faster than theCommonwealth Games, which was
the last time I represented NewZealand back in like 2014.
So that was a silver lining.
Danielle Spurling (09:56):
That that's a big silver lining.
It must have been oxygen debt,that's why you dropped off a
little bit.
Laura Quilter (10:02):
I think that was part of it because I felt really
good to 25 and I needed tobreathe, and um, I could feel
myself shortening, but I I chosenot to take that breath.
Butterfly, particularly, you'reat risk because you're
breathing forward, you mightswallow water, freestyle, really
low risk.
So I didn't change my plan,even though who knows, who
knows?
So, like to be completelyhonest, I was I was really angry
(10:23):
after that event.
Um, I felt like I'd preparedreally well, and it was just
definitely frustration atmyself.
Like I felt like there was morethere, but I think being a bit
more mature, I think being ableto ride those feelings a bit
more like surfing, surfing theemotion is a bit uh better.
When I was younger, I'd kind ofsit in those feelings, I would
(10:44):
let that you know,disappointment and frustration
really just keep me down.
Um, so I let myself feel angry,frustrated, whatever I needed
to for about an hour, and thenit was more of a like an active
exercise to say, well, you'vegot a 53 now, like there's no
pressure on this, like you know,it's a bonus event.
Um, and I breathed twice inthat because I was like, you
(11:07):
know what, I'm just gonna goexactly by feel.
I was super chill going in, andthat was a massive PV, and the
most frustrating thing, Ifinished in 2508, so I missed my
goal of 24 by like under 0.1 ofa second.
So like that, yeah, such a highcut, yeah, can't be mad about
(11:28):
the PB, but it was tantalizinglyclose to that 24.
Danielle Spurling (11:32):
Don't you hate it when you set yourself
for some kind of PB in yourmind?
And it's always I always set itlike say you know, 25, 0, 0.
I want to go under that.
And then I'm always just like0-1 over it or zero two.
I can never just get thatlittle tiny bit underneath.
I wonder if it's psychologicaland I should set it a little bit
further under, and then I'lljust be under.
Laura Quilter (11:54):
Yeah, that's actually not a bad, not a bad um
strategy.
I think I think for me theother frustrating part was like
reaching world champs was justan absolute pinnacle.
I've done, you know, I'vereturned to the pool for two
years.
I didn't know whether I wantedto keep swimming, so like to
know that my times keptdropping.
So technically I haven'treached my ceiling, which is
like that that was a hard pillto swallow.
(12:17):
Yes, I definitely wanted a PB,but it was quite interesting
psychologically to be like, youknow, what do I do moving
forward?
Do I do another cycle into thenationals?
Do I go for Comwife Games nextyear?
Um, but man, did it set me upfor a great holiday with my
family, my fiance over in umSoutheast Asia after that.
I was just buzzing after that50 freestyle.
Danielle Spurling (12:37):
That's exciting.
So they all came over to watchyou race.
Laura Quilter (12:40):
They did, they did.
And the other thing I forgot tomention was it was such a like
sport is such a psychologicalwhiplash, isn't it?
Because in that 50 fly, I wasone of the center-ish lanes, but
I finished last in the heat,and like seeing that 10 next to
your name is just you know, it'sa bit gut-wrenching, but then
conversely, like oh sorry, I'min opposition in that 50
(13:02):
freestyle.
I got first in my heat, andthat felt so cool.
Danielle Spurling (13:06):
That's amazing.
How how far were you outside ofthe the semis for that?
Laura Quilter (13:11):
Um I think it was a 20, I want to say like a 24-7
or a 24-8.
So still in a 50, yeah, close,but not not a fingernail away.
Danielle Spurling (13:22):
Yeah, but still, if if you think if you're
thinking of continuing on tonext year, that's that's a
really a great goal to have toget through to that next one
because now we've got the 50sand 50 form.
Laura Quilter (13:35):
I know that is so exciting.
I definitely messaged a few oldbuddies when uh the 50s got
announced at the Olympics about,you know, get back in the
water, let's have an old girlscrew.
Danielle Spurling (13:46):
Well, I mean, LA's only a few, it's only
three years.
You could definitely hang on tothat.
Laura Quilter (13:51):
I know.
The hard thing being a womanthough, right, is I'm 33, so
there's other big prioritiesthat are swirling around in my
brain at the moment.
So in terms of like life goals,there's um some bigger, bigger
goals.
Danielle Spurling (14:02):
Yeah, understood.
What was it like?
Well, you just talked aboutbeing in the call room and being
a little bit more um able tomanage your nerves.
What was it like sort of beingin there with you know kids?
I suppose, you know, some lateteenagers and early 20s, much,
much younger.
Or how did you how did youfeel?
Did you sort of communicatewith them or were you in your
own space?
Laura Quilter (14:24):
Definitely in my own space.
Like it's interesting.
At that level, everyone isthey're not there to make
friends, they're there tocompete.
So the vibe is um it'sinteresting because obviously
those girls that are really atthe top of their game, they've
got friends in the core roomwith them.
Um, me and my I was actuallyreally lucky.
Zoe and I were both in the 50fly, so I had another Kiwi
there, but we both tend to keepto ourselves in that call room.
(14:45):
So I think I helped um someoneput their cap on, but otherwise
I was just just chilling out.
I didn't take any music in, soit was just you know, tapping
the feet away and hoping Iwasn't gonna get too nervous.
Danielle Spurling (14:58):
Yeah, and what did you think of the pool?
Laura Quilter (15:00):
Beautiful, gorgeous, right?
I only swam in it three times,so I got in once before the comp
and then I did my two events init because my events were so
far down in the program that Ihad to do all my warm-ups and
prep in the uh training pool.
Danielle Spurling (15:13):
Yep, yeah.
But that actually that trainingpool was pretty nice as well
and really well, really well setup.
Laura Quilter (15:19):
Yeah, no, I was such a cool location, like the
the whole experience was prettyamazing and the the strictness
of it, like it's been so longsince I've had to wear
accreditation and you know, eventrying to trying to get into
the facility and stuff andmaking sure that you've got that
cred on you the whole time.
Danielle Spurling (15:36):
Yeah, I mean it was that I thought they
managed it really well.
Obviously, I didn't go to thepart you went to, I went to the
masters later, but um it it wasrun so beautifully and just no
no problems along the way atall.
Laura Quilter (15:48):
Oh, that is awesome.
Yeah, it's the the same for ourone.
It was very, a very amazingevent.
Danielle Spurling (15:54):
Yeah.
Now I just wanted to think backto your early career and you
were probably you know swimming10, 11, 12 sessions a week.
Now you and you were coached,now you're self-coached, you're
swimming sort of three, three,four sessions a week and doing a
lot of weights.
What was that big change foryou and how did you how did you
structure that?
(16:14):
What what sort of research didyou do to make that sort of be
such a a great sort of win foryou in the end?
Laura Quilter (16:23):
I think when I first decided to set the
challenge of trying to beat mypersonal best after the masters
in 23, I wanted to likechallenge my entire narrative of
swimming and be like, I want tobe at dual PB, but almost like
how little can I swim to dothat?
And I'd seen some excitingstrategies coming out of you
know, Cam McAvoy is the king ofthis um specific sprint
(16:44):
training, and I had the benefitof going all the way down to the
50.
I didn't have to worry aboutany other event except one lap
of freestyle.
So from there, I definitely umI followed Cam stuff a lot
because he was the world lead inthat in that space, and then I
was very lucky.
I actually did a personaltraining certificate a few years
ago, and so my understanding ofum, you know, the principles of
(17:07):
strength training and overloadand how to build power was
pretty rudimentary.
So, from taking that basicunderstanding, I started to look
into the literature about howto better structure programs,
and um, while I'm self-coached,like I had so much help that in
2024 I did have a personaltrainer who taught me a lot
about the Olympic liftingbecause I've always had a bit of
(17:28):
a fear of fast heavy weights.
So when I started doing thingslike power cleans, um I really
wanted my technique to be good.
Like that's the that's thereason I'm here.
Like, technically, I I find itreally fascinating to get into
how our bodies move.
Um, and I also relied on myfiance heavily because he's a
physiotherapist, he's been on afew trips with the New Zealand
(17:49):
team.
He is like the expert in thespace.
So, how it looked is I wouldget these ideas, I would
structure my week, and I'd getall the key sessions, and I'd
like show Alex and he'd be like,Why are you doing heavy weights
and then doing a speed set?
Like switch these round and youknow, helped me to better
program in not only the keysessions but also fatigue
(18:09):
management.
So, um, what my week lookedlike this year, if we just take
it down to 25 when I was trulyself-coached, so I wasn't um
training with the swim club orthe PT.
Um I was swimming three times aweek Monday, Wednesday,
Saturday, and I was liftingMonday, Tuesday, Thursday,
(18:31):
Sunday was fully off, but then Iwas doing some mobility.
So I was six times a week,which like a lot of recreational
people are doing way more thanthat.
So I think it was um it waschallenging psychologically to
be like, I don't need to bedoing more.
You know, I'm a nurse, so Ihave this philosophy of minimal
effective dose.
Um, you basically need to giveyour body the least amount of
(18:54):
stimulus for your goal becauseanything over that is
superfluous to need andpotentially going to actually do
damage.
So um that that was quiteinteresting, and there were a
few times where I had toquestion my own um programming.
So I think our bodies lie to usa lot.
So I think I've got a goodunderstanding of my energy
(19:14):
systems and whether I'm preparedto do, say, a heavy weight
session.
But often I would be sofatigued after, particularly
after a really stressful day atwork if we'd had a lot of um
acute patients or something.
I'd just say go to the pool orgo go into the weights room, do
your warm-up and begin the firstset and see how you feel.
Honestly, nine times out often, I would end up doing like
(19:37):
PVs, or I'd feel amazing.
And I was like, I don'tunderstand how an hour ago my
whole mind was like, no, youneed to have a hot chocolate and
a nap.
And then I'd get to the pooland be like swimming amazing.
So I think it was also such afun experience and being like
suspicious of my mindset and howI thought my body felt.
Um, but you know, that one outof 10 time felt terrible.
(19:59):
I'd come home and have a napand be like, oh, that that was
the right call.
So I think that minimaleffective dose and being um
suspicious of your own uhpsychological state were quite
good learnings.
Danielle Spurling (20:11):
Yes, yeah, exactly.
What did what did you change inthe water?
Like, have you been doing a lotof work with parachutes and um
power stacks and things likethat?
Laura Quilter (20:20):
Yeah, so I got a couple of sessions on power
stacks.
Obviously, they are um linkedwith a lot of the clubs, so they
were awesome for a couple ofsessions, but my primary
weighted sessions were with theparachute, the socks and
paddles.
One of my favorite sets was umfive times broken 50 freestyle.
So I'd do the first set wouldbe maximum weight, so I'd use
(20:41):
the big blue, heavy parachute,and big paddles, and I'd do 13
strokes with the best techniqueI could at maximum intensity.
So 13 strokes, heavy chute, bigpaddles.
I'd rest for 30 seconds andrepeat that three times because
that would roughly be 50 meters.
So 13 strokes three times.
I'd do that exact process fortwo sets, then I'd drop it and
(21:04):
become slightly lighter.
So I'd take the paddles off.
Oh sorry, that first set I hadfins, so it was heavy shoot, big
paddles and fins.
The second set I would go downto fins and a red chute.
So two heavy, one moderate,then I'd go lighter for the
fourth set.
So I'd take the fins off, butwith the red chute, and then the
last set in the early season,I'd stay with the parachute,
(21:27):
coming near the end, I'd startto do body weight, so that last
set would be just um swimming,trying to maintain that
technique.
And it's um, you know, thatsession, what is it, five broken
50s?
It'd take me two hours.
Danielle Spurling (21:39):
It's amazing.
Laura Quilter (21:40):
Yeah, because I'd do really easy swimming or just
chill out.
Like I it's quite funny.
The pool that I love trainingat here is um AUT Millennium,
and there's the National AquaticCentre, it's got the big 50
where I used to do all mytraining 10 years ago, and
there's this like learn to swimpool that's at like 33 degrees,
but it's 25 metres long.
Like 90% of my training was inthis like warm learn to swim
(22:01):
pool.
Because I'm a sprinter, I'vebeen just hanging out doing not
much for long periods.
I found that warm pool really,really helpful.
If I tried to do that in thebig pool, I got too cold and
actually had to get out, shower,that kind of stuff.
So that was quite a funny.
Um, I was very lucky that I hadaccess to that facility.
Danielle Spurling (22:18):
And did you change anything technically with
your stroke?
Laura Quilter (22:22):
Yes, I did.
Again, getting a lot ofinspiration from sprinters
around the world.
Um trying, I know this soundsreally weird, but rather than
like rotating forward and back,like this is something that you
can really see underwater umfrom Cam, again, bringing up him
so many times.
But he's got the most uniquestroke where he looks like he
moves side to side.
(22:42):
And when I talked about thiswith Alex, uh, he's um a
Fitwater, he does canoe polo,which is a crazy sport in
itself.
But he said, yeah, it makessense because when you when you
paddle a kayak, I can't rememberthe terminology he used, but
basically it makes sense to movethe body laterally rather than
tipping it, you know, shoulderup, shoulder down, thinking
(23:03):
about shoulder just forward.
So you're kind of moving, yeah.
So to think about that, I wasyou know, floating my scapula
forward and really trying tolike get like get that rib cage
out.
And um, I felt like when I didthat, so rather than focusing on
moving the shoulders forwardand back and and went side to
side, I could activate my latmore.
(23:25):
And I think a lot of swimmersstruggle to feel the activation
of the lat.
They often complain aboutfatigue and like the triceps or
the shoulders.
So learning how to position thearm to get that lat engaged is
really helpful.
Um, and then the other thingthat I really focused on was the
kick timing because that islike the key.
If you can align thosepropulsive forces, that's where
(23:47):
your power comes from.
So I think yeah, those werekind of the key things that I
changed.
And also the um breathing.
I decided to start breathingthis year because I'd done a few
timed efforts and whittle downthe kicks underwater.
So I got really specific.
I ended up with six kicksunderwater.
Danielle Spurling (24:05):
Did you did you work on your dive much at
all?
Laura Quilter (24:08):
Yeah, and it was so frustrating.
I mean I have really, reallyworked for my power.
Like I'm not a naturally fastperson, like it's all been
driven from gym work.
Um so I touched the shoulder ofa lot of top New Zealand
sprinters.
Um, Carter Swift is phenomenaloff the blocks, he's just got
this ability to get his bodyflying through the air really
(24:30):
well.
So he gave me a few tipsbecause I found it because the
dive happens so quickly, right?
It is really hard to practicedifferent aspects, and because
I'm 33, my back flares up if Ido too much diving.
Danielle Spurling (24:43):
Oh, okay, yes.
Laura Quilter (24:44):
Yeah, so I've got this like every now and again,
it's not not huge, but I get aniggle in my like lower right
back, and I found with excessivedive practice, like it would
flare up.
So I had to be, I didn't knowexactly what I was working on.
So one of the most useful cuesthat um Carter mentioned was to
basically zip up.
So almost think about thumbs toarmpits, because one of my
biggest issues is like when Idived and I watched it on video,
(25:06):
I looked like this rainbow, soI'd like just like fall into the
water no matter how powerful itfelt.
So to try to get that chest up,no other cue worked until he
said that thumbs to armpits, andthat really made me lift my
stern and get an open chest andget a better flight angle.
Um, so that really helped.
I also went from a front footdominant stance to a back foot.
(25:28):
So you see, Roland Stuarman'sreally um, I hope I said that
name right.
He's really famous for that.
He would pull back quite hardon the block and then fire
forward.
And he had a world-class divein his time.
So yeah, from front footdominant to leaning slightly
back, trying to load thathamstring.
That was uh quite aninteresting learning point.
Danielle Spurling (25:47):
Yeah, I think you've got a you've made a good
point there because you you canget a lot more power from that
bent leg on the kicker than youcan off the front leg.
Laura Quilter (25:55):
Yeah, yeah, but I saw so many.
It looked like a lot of thosetop women were preferably, you
know, putting weight into thefront leg, which is why I had
started doing that.
As soon as I started getting abit of tension on the hamstring,
and I have to shout out MitchNien from Club 37 in New Zealand
because he really helped me atone of the mates feel this.
He basically got me to likelean back as far as I could, and
(26:17):
so I could it felt like myhammy was gonna rip that back
leg.
And then he said, All right, gofrom that point there.
So I could feel the tension inmy hamstring of the back leg, so
it was ready to go like a coil.
Whereas prior to that, I wouldget this like my weight was on
my front foot, I would almostdip down and then go forward.
And I think leaning, not hugelyback, leaning slightly back,
(26:38):
trying to get tension in thehamstring really helped get more
power.
I'm also I'm super tall, right?
So like I don't necessarily paytoo much um attention to the
reaction times.
Because you see, Gretchen Wolf,she's not the fastest off the
blocks.
She is by far the one of thebest in the world to 15.
So whatever she's doingunderwater and her entry angle,
(27:01):
there's a lot more to a divethan just the reaction speed.
You've got power off theblocks, you've got your flight
angle, you've got your entryangle, you've got the position
under the water, whether youcome up steep or whether you
kind of come out a little bitflatter, like a lot of the
endurance guys do.
Some of the sprinters are quitesteep.
Danielle Spurling (27:19):
No, that's a good point.
Kate Kate Campbell was verymuch like that as well, being
tall like yourself.
She her reaction time wasalways a little bit slower off
the blocks.
Laura Quilter (27:27):
So that's why like I think for taller people,
you definitely want to, youdon't want to have 0.8 reaction
speed, but I think getting downto those real quick reaction
speeds um when you've got abigger form can be hard.
It's not impossible, but it'sit's very challenging.
Danielle Spurling (27:42):
But I think also what you say about what
happens underwater after you'veafter you've dived in, and even
your obviously your entry intothe water makes a big difference
because if you mistime that, aswe know, you start um dragging
against the water.
Laura Quilter (27:55):
And actually, one of my good friends, she was the
former national record holderbefore Chelsea uh got it in
2025.
She was watching one of my umjust my regional swimmates, and
she said you need to startbreaking out earlier because she
said I was reaching the top andthen starting to stroke, and
she goes, You almost want half astroke underwater so that by
the time you're coming out,you're like launching yourself
(28:17):
out.
And I think that actuallyreally helped, but it took a
long time to get used to becauseyou know, I have broken out of
a dive or out of a turn how manytimes over the last 20 years to
like try and even make thatmicro change for it to be
slightly earlier.
Sometimes I'll break up and belike underwater, like it felt
like I had a piano on my back.
Um, and then other times it wasum it was spot on.
(28:40):
So that was quite a good tipfrom her about a slightly
earlier stroke, so that when I'mcoming out, it's not I'm not at
the surface and starting tostroke, it's happening slightly
earlier.
Danielle Spurling (28:52):
I love that.
I think that's great advice.
How about how about yourrecovery?
Like when you were swimmingback in 2014, was recovery sort
of much in the sort ofconversation then, or is it
completely changed and you'redoing something really different
now?
Laura Quilter (29:08):
This is one thing my younger self, I think, won.
Um so recovery, I was I wasreally, really disciplined in my
20s.
Like I had the I had thesupport too.
So like in my 20s, I was inlike high performance and then
in the club program, but Istudied from home.
I got, you know, I didn't work,I was very, very fortunate.
(29:28):
I had a lot of family support,scholarships.
So I had the capacity to actlike a high performance athlete.
I didn't have the funds to beable to access things like
cryotherapy, massage veryfrequently, but I had time.
So in my 20s, I was really,really rigid.
I had a set bed time.
Um, when I first met Alex andyou, you know, like 8 30, like
(29:49):
he's gotta be out because I'm inbed.
Um, so my sleep and my eatingwas actually really, really good
in my 20s.
The only thing that wasn't sogood was I was With being light,
so I suffered from amenorrhea.
I, you know, didn't menstruatefor a long time because I
thought lighter was better.
So my recovery and my nutritionwas good, just not enough food.
(30:11):
Um, fast forward to my 30s,like it's just life, right?
Like, I'm working around shiftwork, I'm working around
friends, like I didn't drink inmy 20s at all during season.
Like, I'm not afraid to have acouple of glasses of wine on the
weekend if I'm with friends orfamily.
Um, eating takeout every nowand again, like the recovery.
I wouldn't consider my recoverygoing into the nationals as a
(30:34):
high performance athlete.
Like, I would expect more froma performance athlete,
particularly around sleep.
I mean, as a nurse, like I justdidn't have control over my bed
times, unfortunately.
But I definitely could haveimproved with um being more
strict on bedtimes and um mynutrition was good, and I think
that I was better at supplementsnow.
(30:55):
I take creatine, protein, Ithink, much more cognizant of
the amount of fuel I need versusin my 20s.
So, yeah, to summarize, I thinkmy 20s, I was actually much
better at the sleep side andbeing really stroked, but in my
30s, a bit more flexible, whichfor my mindset and me as a
person, I'm much better notbeing super rigid and hanging my
(31:17):
performance on this idea ofhaving to have eight hours every
night and weighing 68 kgs.
Yeah.
Danielle Spurling (31:24):
Yes.
Hey, with create creatine, Iknow you just mentioned you you
take that.
What's your what's your dailygrams that you take?
And did that give you a feelingof sort of heaviness in the
muscles?
Because it it holds a lot morewater in the muscles.
Laura Quilter (31:38):
I'm really lucky.
Like I don't feel any differentwith creatine.
Um, yeah, so very, very lucky.
I was taking five a day, andthen I read a couple of articles
about high dose creatine beingquite beneficial in like um
cognition and recovery,particularly for I mean, I'm not
a menopausal woman, but I thinkthey're starting to find some
(32:00):
benefits for um olderpopulations.
I'm not an expert on this, likeI'm not a nutritionist, but I
think I was taking up to 10grams for a week or two just to
trial it, but uh five was thewas the most common.
Because I'm also big, right?
Like I'm I'm six foot one, 75kg, so I think my dose would be
(32:22):
different to a four foot ninewoman.
Danielle Spurling (32:24):
Absolutely.
Now you've got this new eliteswimming career, which I hope
that is gonna continue.
You're you're nursingfull-time, and on top of that,
you have this huge social mediapresence where you're coaching
athletes and then you're sharinga lot of that online and your
strength work as well.
How do you fit it all in?
And are you gonna continuedoing that three-way split?
Laura Quilter (32:47):
Um, it's so it's so funny because I'm I'm a crash
and burn human, like I getenergy from the more that I do,
um, and then it reaches almostthis crisis point, and then like
almost everything drops.
And I've kind of cycled throughthat, it's just part of my
personality.
Um, so yes, I do want to keepdoing it.
That high performance athleteside, like to be honest, you're
(33:08):
probably one of the first peopleI'm talking about this with.
I'm not really sure about thefuture of um competitive
swimming, like long term, I wantto be doing master's swimming
absolutely.
But the open level stuff, likeI've signed up for my first
running event and high rocks,jumped on that bandwagon.
So I'm still training reallyintensely in the gym.
But um, this is probably thelongest I haven't swum for since
(33:30):
when I when I came back fromthe World Champs.
I just had a break and I reallyenjoyed it.
So, um, in terms of thethree-way split, the the
swimming is a big question mark.
Um, the social media coaching,absolutely.
I've got a really cool groupinside my virtual swim squad,
hoping to launch my strengthsquad again soon.
Um, and that's targeted at umyou know improving the
(33:50):
musculature required forswimming, um, and then the
nursing side, absolutely,because I need to pay my
mortgage.
Don't we all?
Yeah, but I think I think I'mso proud of that like Instagram
page because the only reasonthere's so many followers is
it's it was just all my ideasand my concepts of swimming like
(34:10):
out into the internet sphere.
So I think the fact that peoplehave followed it and engaged
with it means that the knowledgeand the ideas I have around
swimming and strength andconditioning resonate, and it's
been quite cool hearing peopleof different demographics.
You know, I've got likecompetitive kids that find it
really interesting, and I've gotmaster swimmers or people
(34:31):
learning to swim.
So it feels very special to bein a position where I can talk
about something I'm sopassionate about and continue to
learn.
Like I documented my whole iceswimming journey on that.
Um, so it's been a ride.
So definitely um continue withthe coaching and the nursing.
Um, and I will compete for therest of my life in what
capacity.
Who knows?
Danielle Spurling (34:52):
Yeah, well, look, master swimming would be
so thrilled to have you becauseand it's it's such a lifelong
sport.
I mean, we we've got in my clubalone, we've got two um
swimmers in their 90s.
Oh and one of them went to thethe Masters Worlds in Singapore
and you know broke three worldrecords and three gold medals
and just a marvel, likecompletely fully switched on,
(35:16):
just still able to get up on theblocks and swim.
And yeah, it's soinspirational.
Laura Quilter (35:20):
That's and you Aussies do master swimming so
well.
Like, I'd love to come over anddo one of the um like the big
meets over there, and havingthose 90-year-olds around you,
like that's why I named mysocial media and my coaching
Aura Move, because Aura is thatyou know, it's the sensation or
the feeling that you get frommovement.
And so the coaching's not justabout like go do 2100's
(35:42):
threshold, it's about thewell-being and experience of how
movement can bring enhancementin different parts of the life
of your life.
So I think it's quite importantthat like, you know, I think
swimming is the most amazingactivity, obviously biased, but
you can do it at 90, likepending any shoulder injuries or
anything, you know.
It's it's a very gentle sportum that you can continue to do
(36:04):
at all ages.
Danielle Spurling (36:05):
And I love the fact that um I read that you
um actually helped your dad getinto his first race.
Tell us, tell us a little bitabout that.
Laura Quilter (36:13):
Yeah, it was like the most exciting 45-second
race of my life.
So my dad, um, we actuallyalmost lost him last year.
Try not to get emotional aboutit because it was a very um, it
was a freak health accident.
Like he was he's very, verylucky to be here.
Um, and he just in passing,after it all, you know, he's
back, um, happy Murray.
(36:34):
Um he said, Oh, imagine if Idid 50 free at the New Zealand
Masters and I just jumped on it,like I was so excited.
I became his um self-appointedcoach.
And the funniest part is he'sone of my like most adherent
clients.
Like my dad is amazing with ifyou, you know, if he wants to do
something and you set him thesesessions, he will do it.
(36:55):
And it was such a funexperience because dad hasn't
ever done a competition, he's65, he's never, you know, he's
been to swimming events hiswhole life because of me.
But he I had to design sessionsthat were purposeful but
weren't more than 600 meterslong.
So, like it was a reallyinteresting coaching experience
(37:15):
for me because I knew dad, Iknew what his goals were, and so
we did, you know, we've justmanaged his fatigue
particularly.
He was getting um, he had theclearance from doctors to work
out again, but it was it was ashock to the system.
So his first 50 time trial, hewas complaining that he couldn't
lift his arms up because hisbody just hadn't done like a
(37:36):
maximal intense, like sorry, amaximally intense activity for
like 20 years.
And he got better and better.
Um, and when he got to thenationals, he did a 15-second PV
and was so nervous watching,like he didn't even know how to
put a cap on.
I made sure he knew to put likethe the goggles under the
goggles under the cap so theydidn't leak.
(37:57):
Um, you know, it was it wassuch a fun experience, and I
really enjoyed coaching coachingdad.
Danielle Spurling (38:03):
That's amazing.
Will he continue on with hismaster swimming?
Laura Quilter (38:06):
That was his, I think, one big show he could
have meant to prove it prove itto himself.
But now I'm joking, mybrother's back from the UK and
New Zealand, so I'm saying weshould get a full quilter relay
there next year.
You know, mum, dad, my brother,and I, yeah, because Ben, my
brother uh swam competitivelyuntil he was about 18, 19 as
well, maybe a bit older.
Yeah.
Danielle Spurling (38:25):
Wow, so there'll be a quilter relay on
the uh the next World Masters inBudapest.
Laura Quilter (38:30):
How good would that be?
Although I might be a low oneby that point.
Danielle Spurling (38:35):
Yeah, exactly.
But you can have slash slashquilter.
Hyphen, hyphenated.
Everyone that comes on thepodcast, and we did this last
time.
I always do the deep dive five,but I wanted to do yours
particularly about the Singaporeworlds.
So I just thought you couldmaybe give us one moment in
Singapore where you felt likeyou really belonged here again.
Laura Quilter (38:57):
I think it was seeing that PB on the board and
winning a heat.
Like I know that's very outcomefocused, but I wasn't expected
to win that heat.
I wasn't seated to win, andthat just felt like a yeah, like
all the work that I had done,it had it was shown in that
2508.
It culminated like so.
(39:18):
I mean, I love the objectivityof it.
So yes, um, we get a lot ofperipheral benefits
subjectively, but seeing thattime was just like, yes, the
work that I've done, the amountof research and training that
I've done myself, like that's Ideserve that.
Danielle Spurling (39:34):
Yeah, absolutely.
And I mean, because you did ityourself, it it means so much
more, I think, as well.
Laura Quilter (39:40):
Yeah, yeah, I did it myself, but with significant
support.
So I'd just definitely say thatI'm not not gonna stand up here
and think that I I managed todo it without, like, you know, a
lot of people in my life, um,technically, sports side, and
also emotionally, just to belike, nah, keep going.
Or think about it like this.
Yeah.
Danielle Spurling (39:58):
And how about one sort of like mantra or uh
motivational thing that you hadin your head when you swam that
55 and 53?
Laura Quilter (40:05):
Be cool.
I'm I'm really, I'm really anervous person, so I just had
this thing being like, be cool,like the fact that you're even
here is amazing.
Like you decided to just likerandomly get back into swimming
and now you're in Singapore.
So be cool was almost on a loopfor me a lot.
And it would push out a lot ofthose, you know, quiet voices
that were saying you shouldn'tbe there, or you know, what
(40:27):
happens if you don't do well,Ryra?
Danielle Spurling (40:30):
Yes, yeah.
And how about one sort of onething about the whole
competition there that surprisedyou?
Laura Quilter (40:37):
Definitely how busy it was.
So I just assumed at the worldchance that you'd have like a
lot of space and you know towarm up and that kind of thing.
Was not expecting it to feellike I was back at like a
10-year-old regional meet, like,you know, fingers to feet.
It was so busy.
So that was yeah, probably notthe most interesting one, but I
was shocked by how many peoplewere in the in the warm-up
(40:58):
pools.
Danielle Spurling (40:59):
In the warm-up pools.
Did did New Zealand have didyou have your own lane or you
just mixed in with everyoneelse?
Laura Quilter (41:05):
No, we would it was like sardines in there.
It was that training, thatwarm-up pool was just absolutely
chocker.
It was it was an experience.
unknown (41:14):
Yeah.
Danielle Spurling (41:15):
And what was one swim that someone else did
that really blew you away?
Laura Quilter (41:21):
I think um the Ladecki 800 with oh my gosh,
what's the Australian's name?
Danielle Spurling (41:29):
Lani, Lani Palestine.
Lani, that's okay, and summerMacintosh that one.
Laura Quilter (41:34):
So I was just, I thought it was such an epic
battle.
Like you've never seen Ladeckiflanked by two people for that
long, right?
Like she's so dominant andshe's such an amazing athlete.
But to see, yeah, to see theAussie really, really pushing
her, like that was such anexciting event.
And it's also an event that Idon't normally, you know, I pay
a bit of attention to it nowbecause we've got Erica
(41:54):
Fairweather.
But prior to that, 800, I waslike, Nama Sprint gal, you know,
through and through.
So I think that that 800women's event was definitely a
highlight.
Danielle Spurling (42:03):
And I I'm so looking forward to seeing what
happens in LA because as Lanidid such a or broke the world
record on the World Cup tour afew weeks ago.
So yeah, she's she's closing infor sure.
Laura Quilter (42:14):
She's an amazing athlete, yeah.
And she's yeah, just a phenomto watch.
Danielle Spurling (42:19):
Yeah.
She's so she's a um got a surflife-saving background as well.
Laura Quilter (42:23):
Which is why I think I I enjoy watching her so
much because I've got a surfbackground as well.
Danielle Spurling (42:27):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Absolutely.
Well, Laura, thank you so muchfor joining us on the podcast
today.
Um, what a what a great storyyou've got.
And and I think everyone that'slistening, and we have so many
master students listen, they'reall going to be so inspired
because they're all trying forthat.
It's for them, it's not aboutwinning either, it's about PB.
Laura Quilter (42:46):
Yeah, no, thank you so much for having me back.
It's always a fun chat.
Danielle Spurling (42:50):
Yeah, thank you so much.
Okay, and take care.
And then next time we chat,we'll hear about the wedding.
Laura Quilter (42:55):
Yeah, beautiful.
unknown (42:57):
Okay.
Danielle Spurling (42:57):
See you, Laura.
Laura Quilter (42:58):
Bye.
Danielle Spurling (42:59):
Bye.
Thanks for tuning in to TorpedoSwim Talk today.
The podcast celebratingswimmers at every stage.
If you'd like to support thework that goes into these
episodes, you can do that with aone-off buy me a coffee or a
small monthly contribution.
Both options are under thesupport tab on the Torpedo Swim
(43:21):
Talk website, and the link is inthe show notes below.
Any support is hugelyappreciated.
And I'd like to give a bigshout out to two people who've
come on as supporters this week,to Jared and Christina.
Thank you so much.
Your support means a lot to me.
Until next time.
(43:42):
Happy swimming and bye for now.
Hello, swimmers, and welcome to Torpedo
Swim Talk, the podcastcelebrating swimmers at every
stage, from Masters Legends toOlympic champions.
I'm your host, DanielleSpurling, and each week we dive
into inspiring conversationsfrom around the world about
performance, resilience, and thepure love of swimming.
(00:27):
Today's guest is New Zealandsprinter Laura Quilter, a former
Commonwealth Games athlete whostepped away from the sport for
eight years, only to return inher 30s swimming lifetime best.
What started as a casualmasters meet with friends turned
into a full-blown comeback,powered by a completely
(00:47):
reimagined training model.
Fewer swims, heavier gym work,smarter technique, and a mindset
shift that's made her fasterthan ever.
This year, that comeback tookher all the way to the World
Aquatics Championships inSingapore, where she lined up
against swimmers more than adecade younger and threw down a
PB in the 53.
Laura's story is one ofreinvention, resilience, and
(01:11):
proving that speed doesn't havean expiry date.
Let's hear from Laura now.
Hi Laura, welcome to thepodcast.
Laura Quilter (01:22):
Thank you.
It's nice to be back.
Danielle Spurling (01:24):
Yeah, it's so good to be back talking to you.
I know last time we talked was2023, I think, and you were just
dipping your toes back intomaster swimming and getting and
doing a bit of ice swimming aswell after eight years out of
the pool.
And then things have reallyescalated very quickly.
So let's pick up right where weleft off and tell me back to
(01:44):
that very first masters meetthat you got back in the water
and how that accidentally kickedoff this huge comeback.
Laura Quilter (01:52):
Yeah, it feels quite surreal being here in like
2025.
I'm back on the New Zealandnational team.
I competed at my first everWorld Aquatics Champs as a
33-year-old, and I set thefourth fastest time um in
history for the New Zealandwoman.
So like it started literallyjust from jumping in for a
master's event, and it's um it'sbeen a couple of years.
(02:13):
I also got engaged, so that'slike a big big milestone.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Yeah, it's it's been um it'shonestly been such an enjoyable.
I feel like it's been a secondlife in Swimming because my
entire approach to the sport, myunderstanding of it, and my
motivations are much, muchdifferent.
And um, we can definitely talkabout those key differences, but
(02:34):
yeah, what a couple of yearsit's been.
Danielle Spurling (02:37):
I know, I know, absolutely.
I mean, when you got back intomasters, I remember you sort of
saying, Oh, I sort of I Ithought I'd give it a go because
I wanted to um actually swim ina decent 20 a decent 50-meter
pool for a change.
What what sort of change wereyou there?
How did you sort of come acrossthat I'm swimming better than I
expected?
Laura Quilter (02:56):
Well, at that meet, so it was the brand new
50-meter pool that they'd builtin the Hawke's Bay, and I was
just jealous that I never got toswim in it.
Uh, at those champs, I wentdown with a couple of mates, we
took our bikes, we were cyclingand um, you know, doing big
rides and then rocking up to thepool, very little prep.
So it was that in itself wasdifferent.
But what sparked the properreturn was um I did a 50
(03:18):
freestyle on one of the relaysand split a 25.9, and I could
not believe it because my bestever time was a 25.8 and I was a
sprinter.
Um, it was from a flying start,so it probably would have been
a 26 low, but just to feel thatkind of speed and for it to hit
me so unexpectedly uh going in,I was training once a week with
(03:40):
the triathlon squad, but I wasway, way stronger.
So that kind of you knowsparked that curiosity and the
experiment of first, like, can Iset a PB in my 30s with a new
style of training?
And that included, you know,around full-time work now.
I'm a registered nurse, soshift work uh is a bit hectic,
but it's also a big positivebecause it means that I can
(04:02):
train at the pool duringoff-peak hours.
So that's been a bit of ahidden asset, to be honest,
because even though I'm up lateand I'm doing different shift
patterns and my circadian rhythmis, you know, doesn't exist,
uh, it also had great benefitsin terms of training.
And we can not to jump forwardand back, but it was actually
really interesting at the NewZealand Nationals.
(04:24):
The 50 Freestyle for the firsttime this year in 2025 was on
the first day, and I hadrequested the day before the
Nationals off work, but I'dactually come off a run of PM
shifts, which means I wasfinishing at midnight, and it it
was really interesting becauseI was a bit disappointed with my
50 freestyle at the Nationals.
I was tracking the splits I wasdoing in training were looking
(04:45):
like I could do that 24 second,which is what I was hunting
after I set the PB.
No woman at that time had beenunder 25 seconds in New Zealand.
It's since been broken by um animpressive athlete who had
Chelsea Edwards.
But to cut a long story short,I um I swam horribly in the heat
and I was just kind of shocked.
I came home and I slept duringthe break.
But it's that kind of sleepwhere you feel really heavy.
(05:07):
And I woke up and went back anddid swim a PB in the night, but
I couldn't nap for the rest ofthe days during the week.
And I wonder whether if I'dasked for morning shifts,
whether my central nervoussystem had been more rested, or
or whether I'm making it all upand it had nothing to do with
it.
But it was quite interestingcoming off evenings, less
quality sleep, um disruptedtraining patterns, and going
(05:30):
into the nationals.
Maybe I could have planned thatbetter because when I finally
got to the world aquatics, itwas a much better swim.
Danielle Spurling (05:37):
Yeah, and you would have had you would have
been resting more, obviously.
And recovery at this age is isso important.
Laura Quilter (05:44):
It was such a funny experience because we we
were there two weeks before theyare the world champs in
Singapore.
So I'm trying to balance, youknow, I'm I'm doing 50 metres.
I'd actually qualified in the50 metre butterfly and got a
bonus of the 50 freestylebecause I'd set the FENA B.
Um, so it was a mix of yes, Iwant to be resting up, I want to
be in bed and not doing toomuch, but also I don't want to,
(06:07):
you know, dampen down mysprinting, I don't know what you
call it, like yeah, like thecentral nervous system.
So I was tracking my steps andI was still walking around,
sightseeing Singapore, andkeeping a lot of my strength
training, like I kept themaximal effort body weight power
work.
So still doing a lot of plyo,but much less reps and much less
(06:28):
sets.
So it was um interestingwatching also my garment, my HIV
skyrocketed and then normalizedwhen I first got over to
Singapore.
Danielle Spurling (06:37):
That is really interesting.
And I'm I'm really interestedto talk more about the strength
and what you did there.
So you kept your maximumweights, obviously, the the
poundage or the the kilos, butyou just did less reps.
Laura Quilter (06:51):
Oh, sorry, no.
So I the the pound so theweight came off.
I should have looked at thisbefore I came.
Um I think it was two weeksout.
I dropped the heavy weights andwent into more bodyweight plyo
work.
So there's actually I posted avideo on my Instagram.
Our uh we had a uh a campaccommodation with a great gym,
but our racing accommodation,the gym was almost comical, it
(07:15):
was so small.
So I was like, well, this isall I've got access to right
now.
So I still managed to do thisum body weight set of say jump
split squats, still doing theplyo push-up, so really trying
to get the claps in, and um, sothe max effort was intensity,
but not weight.
Danielle Spurling (07:32):
Right, yeah.
And I I know like I I want totalk all about the races first
in Singapore.
So you had the 50 fly and youhad the 53 53.
Talk us through how the heatswent and then what happened
after that in both of thoseraces.
Laura Quilter (07:49):
Yeah, so the the 50 fly was first, and it's it
was really disappointing interms of the time.
Like this was the biggest eventI'd done, and I I felt really
relaxed going in.
Like, even in the ready room,before the nationals, before any
event, I do a lot ofvisualization at night.
It's almost like the way I getto sleep.
I basically just rerun andrerun parts of an event.
(08:11):
So going into World Champs, Iknew that part of my challenge
would be controlling nerves.
Um, you know, I had thoughts ofmaybe I'd suffer from imposter
syndrome and things, which Iluckily didn't feel, but I I had
anticipated that would be a bitof a mental uh barrier.
Um so, like the week beforethat 50 fly, I was imagining
what it would feel like to be inthat ready room, to be, you
(08:34):
know, next to some of thosereally amazing top women in the
world.
And I did feel quite relaxed inthe ready room, but um it
didn't it didn't transpire.
I went out like half a secondfaster to 25 metres than I did
at the Nationals and finishedover half a second slower.
So the back end really hurt,but in hindsight, I had actually
(08:54):
um chatted with uh I'mself-coach, but my um club
coach, I I worked really closelywith Michael, and you know, you
don't change anything on gameday, but I wondered whether I
should have taken a breathbecause the 50 freestyle was my
main event going into thenationals, and I had played with
breathing patterns, and itturns out I'm actually faster if
I take one breath.
Whereas the 50 fly was always afun race, so I had um copied,
(09:18):
you know, Sierra the best in theworld, and just challenged
myself no breathing, but hadn'tactually tested breathing versus
no breathing, and because therewas only eight weeks between
the nationals and the worldchamps, I didn't really have
maybe I would have had time.
Um, yeah.
So to summarize, I felt like Iwas relaxed, but the splits show
that potentially I went far tooquickly, and my second 25, my
(09:43):
stroke rate and that time was alot slower than the nationals.
Um, so it it was about my fifthfastest all time.
Still faster than theCommonwealth Games, which was
the last time I represented NewZealand back in like 2014.
So that was a silver lining.
Danielle Spurling (09:56):
That that's a big silver lining.
It must have been oxygen debt,that's why you dropped off a
little bit.
Laura Quilter (10:02):
I think that was part of it because I felt really
good to 25 and I needed tobreathe, and um, I could feel
myself shortening, but I I chosenot to take that breath.
Butterfly, particularly, you'reat risk because you're
breathing forward, you mightswallow water, freestyle, really
low risk.
So I didn't change my plan,even though who knows, who
knows?
So, like to be completelyhonest, I was I was really angry
(10:23):
after that event.
Um, I felt like I'd preparedreally well, and it was just
definitely frustration atmyself.
Like I felt like there was morethere, but I think being a bit
more mature, I think being ableto ride those feelings a bit
more like surfing, surfing theemotion is a bit uh better.
When I was younger, I'd kind ofsit in those feelings, I would
(10:44):
let that you know,disappointment and frustration
really just keep me down.
Um, so I let myself feel angry,frustrated, whatever I needed
to for about an hour, and thenit was more of a like an active
exercise to say, well, you'vegot a 53 now, like there's no
pressure on this, like you know,it's a bonus event.
Um, and I breathed twice inthat because I was like, you
(11:07):
know what, I'm just gonna goexactly by feel.
I was super chill going in, andthat was a massive PV, and the
most frustrating thing, Ifinished in 2508, so I missed my
goal of 24 by like under 0.1 ofa second.
So like that, yeah, such a highcut, yeah, can't be mad about
(11:28):
the PB, but it was tantalizinglyclose to that 24.
Danielle Spurling (11:32):
Don't you hate it when you set yourself
for some kind of PB in yourmind?
And it's always I always set itlike say you know, 25, 0, 0.
I want to go under that.
And then I'm always just like0-1 over it or zero two.
I can never just get thatlittle tiny bit underneath.
I wonder if it's psychologicaland I should set it a little bit
further under, and then I'lljust be under.
Laura Quilter (11:54):
Yeah, that's actually not a bad, not a bad um
strategy.
I think I think for me theother frustrating part was like
reaching world champs was justan absolute pinnacle.
I've done, you know, I'vereturned to the pool for two
years.
I didn't know whether I wantedto keep swimming, so like to
know that my times keptdropping.
So technically I haven'treached my ceiling, which is
like that that was a hard pillto swallow.
(12:17):
Yes, I definitely wanted a PB,but it was quite interesting
psychologically to be like, youknow, what do I do moving
forward?
Do I do another cycle into thenationals?
Do I go for Comwife Games nextyear?
Um, but man, did it set me upfor a great holiday with my
family, my fiance over in umSoutheast Asia after that.
I was just buzzing after that50 freestyle.
Danielle Spurling (12:37):
That's exciting.
So they all came over to watchyou race.
Laura Quilter (12:40):
They did, they did.
And the other thing I forgot tomention was it was such a like
sport is such a psychologicalwhiplash, isn't it?
Because in that 50 fly, I wasone of the center-ish lanes, but
I finished last in the heat,and like seeing that 10 next to
your name is just you know, it'sa bit gut-wrenching, but then
conversely, like oh sorry, I'min opposition in that 50
(13:02):
freestyle.
I got first in my heat, andthat felt so cool.
Danielle Spurling (13:06):
That's amazing.
How how far were you outside ofthe the semis for that?
Laura Quilter (13:11):
Um I think it was a 20, I want to say like a 24-7
or a 24-8.
So still in a 50, yeah, close,but not not a fingernail away.
Danielle Spurling (13:22):
Yeah, but still, if if you think if you're
thinking of continuing on tonext year, that's that's a
really a great goal to have toget through to that next one
because now we've got the 50sand 50 form.
Laura Quilter (13:35):
I know that is so exciting.
I definitely messaged a few oldbuddies when uh the 50s got
announced at the Olympics about,you know, get back in the
water, let's have an old girlscrew.
Danielle Spurling (13:46):
Well, I mean, LA's only a few, it's only
three years.
You could definitely hang on tothat.
Laura Quilter (13:51):
I know.
The hard thing being a womanthough, right, is I'm 33, so
there's other big prioritiesthat are swirling around in my
brain at the moment.
So in terms of like life goals,there's um some bigger, bigger
goals.
Danielle Spurling (14:02):
Yeah, understood.
What was it like?
Well, you just talked aboutbeing in the call room and being
a little bit more um able tomanage your nerves.
What was it like sort of beingin there with you know kids?
I suppose, you know, some lateteenagers and early 20s, much,
much younger.
Or how did you how did youfeel?
Did you sort of communicatewith them or were you in your
own space?
Laura Quilter (14:24):
Definitely in my own space.
Like it's interesting.
At that level, everyone isthey're not there to make
friends, they're there tocompete.
So the vibe is um it'sinteresting because obviously
those girls that are really atthe top of their game, they've
got friends in the core roomwith them.
Um, me and my I was actuallyreally lucky.
Zoe and I were both in the 50fly, so I had another Kiwi
there, but we both tend to keepto ourselves in that call room.
(14:45):
So I think I helped um someoneput their cap on, but otherwise
I was just just chilling out.
I didn't take any music in, soit was just you know, tapping
the feet away and hoping Iwasn't gonna get too nervous.
Danielle Spurling (14:58):
Yeah, and what did you think of the pool?
Laura Quilter (15:00):
Beautiful, gorgeous, right?
I only swam in it three times,so I got in once before the comp
and then I did my two events init because my events were so
far down in the program that Ihad to do all my warm-ups and
prep in the uh training pool.
Danielle Spurling (15:13):
Yep, yeah.
But that actually that trainingpool was pretty nice as well
and really well, really well setup.
Laura Quilter (15:19):
Yeah, no, I was such a cool location, like the
the whole experience was prettyamazing and the the strictness
of it, like it's been so longsince I've had to wear
accreditation and you know, eventrying to trying to get into
the facility and stuff andmaking sure that you've got that
cred on you the whole time.
Danielle Spurling (15:36):
Yeah, I mean it was that I thought they
managed it really well.
Obviously, I didn't go to thepart you went to, I went to the
masters later, but um it it wasrun so beautifully and just no
no problems along the way atall.
Laura Quilter (15:48):
Oh, that is awesome.
Yeah, it's the the same for ourone.
It was very, a very amazingevent.
Danielle Spurling (15:54):
Yeah.
Now I just wanted to think backto your early career and you
were probably you know swimming10, 11, 12 sessions a week.
Now you and you were coached,now you're self-coached, you're
swimming sort of three, three,four sessions a week and doing a
lot of weights.
What was that big change foryou and how did you how did you
structure that?
(16:14):
What what sort of research didyou do to make that sort of be
such a a great sort of win foryou in the end?
Laura Quilter (16:23):
I think when I first decided to set the
challenge of trying to beat mypersonal best after the masters
in 23, I wanted to likechallenge my entire narrative of
swimming and be like, I want tobe at dual PB, but almost like
how little can I swim to dothat?
And I'd seen some excitingstrategies coming out of you
know, Cam McAvoy is the king ofthis um specific sprint
(16:44):
training, and I had the benefitof going all the way down to the
50.
I didn't have to worry aboutany other event except one lap
of freestyle.
So from there, I definitely umI followed Cam stuff a lot
because he was the world lead inthat in that space, and then I
was very lucky.
I actually did a personaltraining certificate a few years
ago, and so my understanding ofum, you know, the principles of
(17:07):
strength training and overloadand how to build power was
pretty rudimentary.
So, from taking that basicunderstanding, I started to look
into the literature about howto better structure programs,
and um, while I'm self-coached,like I had so much help that in
2024 I did have a personaltrainer who taught me a lot
about the Olympic liftingbecause I've always had a bit of
(17:28):
a fear of fast heavy weights.
So when I started doing thingslike power cleans, um I really
wanted my technique to be good.
Like that's the that's thereason I'm here.
Like, technically, I I find itreally fascinating to get into
how our bodies move.
Um, and I also relied on myfiance heavily because he's a
physiotherapist, he's been on afew trips with the New Zealand
(17:49):
team.
He is like the expert in thespace.
So, how it looked is I wouldget these ideas, I would
structure my week, and I'd getall the key sessions, and I'd
like show Alex and he'd be like,Why are you doing heavy weights
and then doing a speed set?
Like switch these round and youknow, helped me to better
program in not only the keysessions but also fatigue
(18:09):
management.
So, um, what my week lookedlike this year, if we just take
it down to 25 when I was trulyself-coached, so I wasn't um
training with the swim club orthe PT.
Um I was swimming three times aweek Monday, Wednesday,
Saturday, and I was liftingMonday, Tuesday, Thursday,
(18:31):
Sunday was fully off, but then Iwas doing some mobility.
So I was six times a week,which like a lot of recreational
people are doing way more thanthat.
So I think it was um it waschallenging psychologically to
be like, I don't need to bedoing more.
You know, I'm a nurse, so Ihave this philosophy of minimal
effective dose.
Um, you basically need to giveyour body the least amount of
(18:54):
stimulus for your goal becauseanything over that is
superfluous to need andpotentially going to actually do
damage.
So um that that was quiteinteresting, and there were a
few times where I had toquestion my own um programming.
So I think our bodies lie to usa lot.
So I think I've got a goodunderstanding of my energy
(19:14):
systems and whether I'm preparedto do, say, a heavy weight
session.
But often I would be sofatigued after, particularly
after a really stressful day atwork if we'd had a lot of um
acute patients or something.
I'd just say go to the pool orgo go into the weights room, do
your warm-up and begin the firstset and see how you feel.
Honestly, nine times out often, I would end up doing like
(19:37):
PVs, or I'd feel amazing.
And I was like, I don'tunderstand how an hour ago my
whole mind was like, no, youneed to have a hot chocolate and
a nap.
And then I'd get to the pooland be like swimming amazing.
So I think it was also such afun experience and being like
suspicious of my mindset and howI thought my body felt.
Um, but you know, that one outof 10 time felt terrible.
(19:59):
I'd come home and have a napand be like, oh, that that was
the right call.
So I think that minimaleffective dose and being um
suspicious of your own uhpsychological state were quite
good learnings.
Danielle Spurling (20:11):
Yes, yeah, exactly.
What did what did you change inthe water?
Like, have you been doing a lotof work with parachutes and um
power stacks and things likethat?
Laura Quilter (20:20):
Yeah, so I got a couple of sessions on power
stacks.
Obviously, they are um linkedwith a lot of the clubs, so they
were awesome for a couple ofsessions, but my primary
weighted sessions were with theparachute, the socks and
paddles.
One of my favorite sets was umfive times broken 50 freestyle.
So I'd do the first set wouldbe maximum weight, so I'd use
(20:41):
the big blue, heavy parachute,and big paddles, and I'd do 13
strokes with the best techniqueI could at maximum intensity.
So 13 strokes, heavy chute, bigpaddles.
I'd rest for 30 seconds andrepeat that three times because
that would roughly be 50 meters.
So 13 strokes three times.
I'd do that exact process fortwo sets, then I'd drop it and
(21:04):
become slightly lighter.
So I'd take the paddles off.
Oh sorry, that first set I hadfins, so it was heavy shoot, big
paddles and fins.
The second set I would go downto fins and a red chute.
So two heavy, one moderate,then I'd go lighter for the
fourth set.
So I'd take the fins off, butwith the red chute, and then the
last set in the early season,I'd stay with the parachute,
(21:27):
coming near the end, I'd startto do body weight, so that last
set would be just um swimming,trying to maintain that
technique.
And it's um, you know, thatsession, what is it, five broken
50s?
It'd take me two hours.
Danielle Spurling (21:39):
It's amazing.
Laura Quilter (21:40):
Yeah, because I'd do really easy swimming or just
chill out.
Like I it's quite funny.
The pool that I love trainingat here is um AUT Millennium,
and there's the National AquaticCentre, it's got the big 50
where I used to do all mytraining 10 years ago, and
there's this like learn to swimpool that's at like 33 degrees,
but it's 25 metres long.
Like 90% of my training was inthis like warm learn to swim
(22:01):
pool.
Because I'm a sprinter, I'vebeen just hanging out doing not
much for long periods.
I found that warm pool really,really helpful.
If I tried to do that in thebig pool, I got too cold and
actually had to get out, shower,that kind of stuff.
So that was quite a funny.
Um, I was very lucky that I hadaccess to that facility.
Danielle Spurling (22:18):
And did you change anything technically with
your stroke?
Laura Quilter (22:22):
Yes, I did.
Again, getting a lot ofinspiration from sprinters
around the world.
Um trying, I know this soundsreally weird, but rather than
like rotating forward and back,like this is something that you
can really see underwater umfrom Cam, again, bringing up him
so many times.
But he's got the most uniquestroke where he looks like he
moves side to side.
(22:42):
And when I talked about thiswith Alex, uh, he's um a
Fitwater, he does canoe polo,which is a crazy sport in
itself.
But he said, yeah, it makessense because when you when you
paddle a kayak, I can't rememberthe terminology he used, but
basically it makes sense to movethe body laterally rather than
tipping it, you know, shoulderup, shoulder down, thinking
(23:03):
about shoulder just forward.
So you're kind of moving, yeah.
So to think about that, I wasyou know, floating my scapula
forward and really trying tolike get like get that rib cage
out.
And um, I felt like when I didthat, so rather than focusing on
moving the shoulders forwardand back and and went side to
side, I could activate my latmore.
(23:25):
And I think a lot of swimmersstruggle to feel the activation
of the lat.
They often complain aboutfatigue and like the triceps or
the shoulders.
So learning how to position thearm to get that lat engaged is
really helpful.
Um, and then the other thingthat I really focused on was the
kick timing because that islike the key.
If you can align thosepropulsive forces, that's where
(23:47):
your power comes from.
So I think yeah, those werekind of the key things that I
changed.
And also the um breathing.
I decided to start breathingthis year because I'd done a few
timed efforts and whittle downthe kicks underwater.
So I got really specific.
I ended up with six kicksunderwater.
Danielle Spurling (24:05):
Did you did you work on your dive much at
all?
Laura Quilter (24:08):
Yeah, and it was so frustrating.
I mean I have really, reallyworked for my power.
Like I'm not a naturally fastperson, like it's all been
driven from gym work.
Um so I touched the shoulder ofa lot of top New Zealand
sprinters.
Um, Carter Swift is phenomenaloff the blocks, he's just got
this ability to get his bodyflying through the air really
(24:30):
well.
So he gave me a few tipsbecause I found it because the
dive happens so quickly, right?
It is really hard to practicedifferent aspects, and because
I'm 33, my back flares up if Ido too much diving.
Danielle Spurling (24:43):
Oh, okay, yes.
Laura Quilter (24:44):
Yeah, so I've got this like every now and again,
it's not not huge, but I get aniggle in my like lower right
back, and I found with excessivedive practice, like it would
flare up.
So I had to be, I didn't knowexactly what I was working on.
So one of the most useful cuesthat um Carter mentioned was to
basically zip up.
So almost think about thumbs toarmpits, because one of my
biggest issues is like when Idived and I watched it on video,
(25:06):
I looked like this rainbow, soI'd like just like fall into the
water no matter how powerful itfelt.
So to try to get that chest up,no other cue worked until he
said that thumbs to armpits, andthat really made me lift my
stern and get an open chest andget a better flight angle.
Um, so that really helped.
I also went from a front footdominant stance to a back foot.
(25:28):
So you see, Roland Stuarman'sreally um, I hope I said that
name right.
He's really famous for that.
He would pull back quite hardon the block and then fire
forward.
And he had a world-class divein his time.
So yeah, from front footdominant to leaning slightly
back, trying to load thathamstring.
That was uh quite aninteresting learning point.
Danielle Spurling (25:47):
Yeah, I think you've got a you've made a good
point there because you you canget a lot more power from that
bent leg on the kicker than youcan off the front leg.
Laura Quilter (25:55):
Yeah, yeah, but I saw so many.
It looked like a lot of thosetop women were preferably, you
know, putting weight into thefront leg, which is why I had
started doing that.
As soon as I started getting abit of tension on the hamstring,
and I have to shout out MitchNien from Club 37 in New Zealand
because he really helped me atone of the mates feel this.
He basically got me to likelean back as far as I could, and
(26:17):
so I could it felt like myhammy was gonna rip that back
leg.
And then he said, All right, gofrom that point there.
So I could feel the tension inmy hamstring of the back leg, so
it was ready to go like a coil.
Whereas prior to that, I wouldget this like my weight was on
my front foot, I would almostdip down and then go forward.
And I think leaning, not hugelyback, leaning slightly back,
(26:38):
trying to get tension in thehamstring really helped get more
power.
I'm also I'm super tall, right?
So like I don't necessarily paytoo much um attention to the
reaction times.
Because you see, Gretchen Wolf,she's not the fastest off the
blocks.
She is by far the one of thebest in the world to 15.
So whatever she's doingunderwater and her entry angle,
(27:01):
there's a lot more to a divethan just the reaction speed.
You've got power off theblocks, you've got your flight
angle, you've got your entryangle, you've got the position
under the water, whether youcome up steep or whether you
kind of come out a little bitflatter, like a lot of the
endurance guys do.
Some of the sprinters are quitesteep.
Danielle Spurling (27:19):
No, that's a good point.
Kate Kate Campbell was verymuch like that as well, being
tall like yourself.
She her reaction time wasalways a little bit slower off
the blocks.
Laura Quilter (27:27):
So that's why like I think for taller people,
you definitely want to, youdon't want to have 0.8 reaction
speed, but I think getting downto those real quick reaction
speeds um when you've got abigger form can be hard.
It's not impossible, but it'sit's very challenging.
Danielle Spurling (27:42):
But I think also what you say about what
happens underwater after you'veafter you've dived in, and even
your obviously your entry intothe water makes a big difference
because if you mistime that, aswe know, you start um dragging
against the water.
Laura Quilter (27:55):
And actually, one of my good friends, she was the
former national record holderbefore Chelsea uh got it in
2025.
She was watching one of my umjust my regional swimmates, and
she said you need to startbreaking out earlier because she
said I was reaching the top andthen starting to stroke, and
she goes, You almost want half astroke underwater so that by
the time you're coming out,you're like launching yourself
(28:17):
out.
And I think that actuallyreally helped, but it took a
long time to get used to becauseyou know, I have broken out of
a dive or out of a turn how manytimes over the last 20 years to
like try and even make thatmicro change for it to be
slightly earlier.
Sometimes I'll break up and belike underwater, like it felt
like I had a piano on my back.
Um, and then other times it wasum it was spot on.
(28:40):
So that was quite a good tipfrom her about a slightly
earlier stroke, so that when I'mcoming out, it's not I'm not at
the surface and starting tostroke, it's happening slightly
earlier.
Danielle Spurling (28:52):
I love that.
I think that's great advice.
How about how about yourrecovery?
Like when you were swimmingback in 2014, was recovery sort
of much in the sort ofconversation then, or is it
completely changed and you'redoing something really different
now?
Laura Quilter (29:08):
This is one thing my younger self, I think, won.
Um so recovery, I was I wasreally, really disciplined in my
20s.
Like I had the I had thesupport too.
So like in my 20s, I was inlike high performance and then
in the club program, but Istudied from home.
I got, you know, I didn't work,I was very, very fortunate.
(29:28):
I had a lot of family support,scholarships.
So I had the capacity to actlike a high performance athlete.
I didn't have the funds to beable to access things like
cryotherapy, massage veryfrequently, but I had time.
So in my 20s, I was really,really rigid.
I had a set bed time.
Um, when I first met Alex andyou, you know, like 8 30, like
(29:49):
he's gotta be out because I'm inbed.
Um, so my sleep and my eatingwas actually really, really good
in my 20s.
The only thing that wasn't sogood was I was With being light,
so I suffered from amenorrhea.
I, you know, didn't menstruatefor a long time because I
thought lighter was better.
So my recovery and my nutritionwas good, just not enough food.
(30:11):
Um, fast forward to my 30s,like it's just life, right?
Like, I'm working around shiftwork, I'm working around
friends, like I didn't drink inmy 20s at all during season.
Like, I'm not afraid to have acouple of glasses of wine on the
weekend if I'm with friends orfamily.
Um, eating takeout every nowand again, like the recovery.
I wouldn't consider my recoverygoing into the nationals as a
(30:34):
high performance athlete.
Like, I would expect more froma performance athlete,
particularly around sleep.
I mean, as a nurse, like I justdidn't have control over my bed
times, unfortunately.
But I definitely could haveimproved with um being more
strict on bedtimes and um mynutrition was good, and I think
that I was better at supplementsnow.
(30:55):
I take creatine, protein, Ithink, much more cognizant of
the amount of fuel I need versusin my 20s.
So, yeah, to summarize, I thinkmy 20s, I was actually much
better at the sleep side andbeing really stroked, but in my
30s, a bit more flexible, whichfor my mindset and me as a
person, I'm much better notbeing super rigid and hanging my
(31:17):
performance on this idea ofhaving to have eight hours every
night and weighing 68 kgs.
Yeah.
Danielle Spurling (31:24):
Yes.
Hey, with create creatine, Iknow you just mentioned you you
take that.
What's your what's your dailygrams that you take?
And did that give you a feelingof sort of heaviness in the
muscles?
Because it it holds a lot morewater in the muscles.
Laura Quilter (31:38):
I'm really lucky.
Like I don't feel any differentwith creatine.
Um, yeah, so very, very lucky.
I was taking five a day, andthen I read a couple of articles
about high dose creatine beingquite beneficial in like um
cognition and recovery,particularly for I mean, I'm not
a menopausal woman, but I thinkthey're starting to find some
(32:00):
benefits for um olderpopulations.
I'm not an expert on this, likeI'm not a nutritionist, but I
think I was taking up to 10grams for a week or two just to
trial it, but uh five was thewas the most common.
Because I'm also big, right?
Like I'm I'm six foot one, 75kg, so I think my dose would be
(32:22):
different to a four foot ninewoman.
Danielle Spurling (32:24):
Absolutely.
Now you've got this new eliteswimming career, which I hope
that is gonna continue.
You're you're nursingfull-time, and on top of that,
you have this huge social mediapresence where you're coaching
athletes and then you're sharinga lot of that online and your
strength work as well.
How do you fit it all in?
And are you gonna continuedoing that three-way split?
Laura Quilter (32:47):
Um, it's so it's so funny because I'm I'm a crash
and burn human, like I getenergy from the more that I do,
um, and then it reaches almostthis crisis point, and then like
almost everything drops.
And I've kind of cycled throughthat, it's just part of my
personality.
Um, so yes, I do want to keepdoing it.
That high performance athleteside, like to be honest, you're
(33:08):
probably one of the first peopleI'm talking about this with.
I'm not really sure about thefuture of um competitive
swimming, like long term, I wantto be doing master's swimming
absolutely.
But the open level stuff, likeI've signed up for my first
running event and high rocks,jumped on that bandwagon.
So I'm still training reallyintensely in the gym.
But um, this is probably thelongest I haven't swum for since
(33:30):
when I when I came back fromthe World Champs.
I just had a break and I reallyenjoyed it.
So, um, in terms of thethree-way split, the the
swimming is a big question mark.
Um, the social media coaching,absolutely.
I've got a really cool groupinside my virtual swim squad,
hoping to launch my strengthsquad again soon.
Um, and that's targeted at umyou know improving the
(33:50):
musculature required forswimming, um, and then the
nursing side, absolutely,because I need to pay my
mortgage.
Don't we all?
Yeah, but I think I think I'mso proud of that like Instagram
page because the only reasonthere's so many followers is
it's it was just all my ideasand my concepts of swimming like
(34:10):
out into the internet sphere.
So I think the fact that peoplehave followed it and engaged
with it means that the knowledgeand the ideas I have around
swimming and strength andconditioning resonate, and it's
been quite cool hearing peopleof different demographics.
You know, I've got likecompetitive kids that find it
really interesting, and I've gotmaster swimmers or people
(34:31):
learning to swim.
So it feels very special to bein a position where I can talk
about something I'm sopassionate about and continue to
learn.
Like I documented my whole iceswimming journey on that.
Um, so it's been a ride.
So definitely um continue withthe coaching and the nursing.
Um, and I will compete for therest of my life in what
capacity.
Who knows?
Danielle Spurling (34:52):
Yeah, well, look, master swimming would be
so thrilled to have you becauseand it's it's such a lifelong
sport.
I mean, we we've got in my clubalone, we've got two um
swimmers in their 90s.
Oh and one of them went to thethe Masters Worlds in Singapore
and you know broke three worldrecords and three gold medals
and just a marvel, likecompletely fully switched on,
(35:16):
just still able to get up on theblocks and swim.
And yeah, it's soinspirational.
Laura Quilter (35:20):
That's and you Aussies do master swimming so
well.
Like, I'd love to come over anddo one of the um like the big
meets over there, and havingthose 90-year-olds around you,
like that's why I named mysocial media and my coaching
Aura Move, because Aura is thatyou know, it's the sensation or
the feeling that you get frommovement.
And so the coaching's not justabout like go do 2100's
(35:42):
threshold, it's about thewell-being and experience of how
movement can bring enhancementin different parts of the life
of your life.
So I think it's quite importantthat like, you know, I think
swimming is the most amazingactivity, obviously biased, but
you can do it at 90, likepending any shoulder injuries or
anything, you know.
It's it's a very gentle sportum that you can continue to do
(36:04):
at all ages.
Danielle Spurling (36:05):
And I love the fact that um I read that you
um actually helped your dad getinto his first race.
Tell us, tell us a little bitabout that.
Laura Quilter (36:13):
Yeah, it was like the most exciting 45-second
race of my life.
So my dad, um, we actuallyalmost lost him last year.
Try not to get emotional aboutit because it was a very um, it
was a freak health accident.
Like he was he's very, verylucky to be here.
Um, and he just in passing,after it all, you know, he's
back, um, happy Murray.
(36:34):
Um he said, Oh, imagine if Idid 50 free at the New Zealand
Masters and I just jumped on it,like I was so excited.
I became his um self-appointedcoach.
And the funniest part is he'sone of my like most adherent
clients.
Like my dad is amazing with ifyou, you know, if he wants to do
something and you set him thesesessions, he will do it.
(36:55):
And it was such a funexperience because dad hasn't
ever done a competition, he's65, he's never, you know, he's
been to swimming events hiswhole life because of me.
But he I had to design sessionsthat were purposeful but
weren't more than 600 meterslong.
So, like it was a reallyinteresting coaching experience
(37:15):
for me because I knew dad, Iknew what his goals were, and so
we did, you know, we've justmanaged his fatigue
particularly.
He was getting um, he had theclearance from doctors to work
out again, but it was it was ashock to the system.
So his first 50 time trial, hewas complaining that he couldn't
lift his arms up because hisbody just hadn't done like a
(37:36):
maximal intense, like sorry, amaximally intense activity for
like 20 years.
And he got better and better.
Um, and when he got to thenationals, he did a 15-second PV
and was so nervous watching,like he didn't even know how to
put a cap on.
I made sure he knew to put likethe the goggles under the
goggles under the cap so theydidn't leak.
(37:57):
Um, you know, it was it wassuch a fun experience, and I
really enjoyed coaching coachingdad.
Danielle Spurling (38:03):
That's amazing.
Will he continue on with hismaster swimming?
Laura Quilter (38:06):
That was his, I think, one big show he could
have meant to prove it prove itto himself.
But now I'm joking, mybrother's back from the UK and
New Zealand, so I'm saying weshould get a full quilter relay
there next year.
You know, mum, dad, my brother,and I, yeah, because Ben, my
brother uh swam competitivelyuntil he was about 18, 19 as
well, maybe a bit older.
Yeah.
Danielle Spurling (38:25):
Wow, so there'll be a quilter relay on
the uh the next World Masters inBudapest.
Laura Quilter (38:30):
How good would that be?
Although I might be a low oneby that point.
Danielle Spurling (38:35):
Yeah, exactly.
But you can have slash slashquilter.
Hyphen, hyphenated.
Everyone that comes on thepodcast, and we did this last
time.
I always do the deep dive five,but I wanted to do yours
particularly about the Singaporeworlds.
So I just thought you couldmaybe give us one moment in
Singapore where you felt likeyou really belonged here again.
Laura Quilter (38:57):
I think it was seeing that PB on the board and
winning a heat.
Like I know that's very outcomefocused, but I wasn't expected
to win that heat.
I wasn't seated to win, andthat just felt like a yeah, like
all the work that I had done,it had it was shown in that
2508.
It culminated like so.
(39:18):
I mean, I love the objectivityof it.
So yes, um, we get a lot ofperipheral benefits
subjectively, but seeing thattime was just like, yes, the
work that I've done, the amountof research and training that
I've done myself, like that's Ideserve that.
Danielle Spurling (39:34):
Yeah, absolutely.
And I mean, because you did ityourself, it it means so much
more, I think, as well.
Laura Quilter (39:40):
Yeah, yeah, I did it myself, but with significant
support.
So I'd just definitely say thatI'm not not gonna stand up here
and think that I I managed todo it without, like, you know, a
lot of people in my life, um,technically, sports side, and
also emotionally, just to belike, nah, keep going.
Or think about it like this.
Yeah.
Danielle Spurling (39:58):
And how about one sort of like mantra or uh
motivational thing that you hadin your head when you swam that
55 and 53?
Laura Quilter (40:05):
Be cool.
I'm I'm really, I'm really anervous person, so I just had
this thing being like, be cool,like the fact that you're even
here is amazing.
Like you decided to just likerandomly get back into swimming
and now you're in Singapore.
So be cool was almost on a loopfor me a lot.
And it would push out a lot ofthose, you know, quiet voices
that were saying you shouldn'tbe there, or you know, what
(40:27):
happens if you don't do well,Ryra?
Danielle Spurling (40:30):
Yes, yeah.
And how about one sort of onething about the whole
competition there that surprisedyou?
Laura Quilter (40:37):
Definitely how busy it was.
So I just assumed at the worldchance that you'd have like a
lot of space and you know towarm up and that kind of thing.
Was not expecting it to feellike I was back at like a
10-year-old regional meet, like,you know, fingers to feet.
It was so busy.
So that was yeah, probably notthe most interesting one, but I
was shocked by how many peoplewere in the in the warm-up
(40:58):
pools.
Danielle Spurling (40:59):
In the warm-up pools.
Did did New Zealand have didyou have your own lane or you
just mixed in with everyoneelse?
Laura Quilter (41:05):
No, we would it was like sardines in there.
It was that training, thatwarm-up pool was just absolutely
chocker.
It was it was an experience.
unknown (41:14):
Yeah.
Danielle Spurling (41:15):
And what was one swim that someone else did
that really blew you away?
Laura Quilter (41:21):
I think um the Ladecki 800 with oh my gosh,
what's the Australian's name?
Danielle Spurling (41:29):
Lani, Lani Palestine.
Lani, that's okay, and summerMacintosh that one.
Laura Quilter (41:34):
So I was just, I thought it was such an epic
battle.
Like you've never seen Ladeckiflanked by two people for that
long, right?
Like she's so dominant andshe's such an amazing athlete.
But to see, yeah, to see theAussie really, really pushing
her, like that was such anexciting event.
And it's also an event that Idon't normally, you know, I pay
a bit of attention to it nowbecause we've got Erica
(41:54):
Fairweather.
But prior to that, 800, I waslike, Nama Sprint gal, you know,
through and through.
So I think that that 800women's event was definitely a
highlight.
Danielle Spurling (42:03):
And I I'm so looking forward to seeing what
happens in LA because as Lanidid such a or broke the world
record on the World Cup tour afew weeks ago.
So yeah, she's she's closing infor sure.
Laura Quilter (42:14):
She's an amazing athlete, yeah.
And she's yeah, just a phenomto watch.
Danielle Spurling (42:19):
Yeah.
She's so she's a um got a surflife-saving background as well.
Laura Quilter (42:23):
Which is why I think I I enjoy watching her so
much because I've got a surfbackground as well.
Danielle Spurling (42:27):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Absolutely.
Well, Laura, thank you so muchfor joining us on the podcast
today.
Um, what a what a great storyyou've got.
And and I think everyone that'slistening, and we have so many
master students listen, they'reall going to be so inspired
because they're all trying forthat.
It's for them, it's not aboutwinning either, it's about PB.
Laura Quilter (42:46):
Yeah, no, thank you so much for having me back.
It's always a fun chat.
Danielle Spurling (42:50):
Yeah, thank you so much.
Okay, and take care.
And then next time we chat,we'll hear about the wedding.
Laura Quilter (42:55):
Yeah, beautiful.
unknown (42:57):
Okay.
Danielle Spurling (42:57):
See you, Laura.
Laura Quilter (42:58):
Bye.
Danielle Spurling (42:59):
Bye.
Thanks for tuning in to TorpedoSwim Talk today.
The podcast celebratingswimmers at every stage.
If you'd like to support thework that goes into these
episodes, you can do that with aone-off buy me a coffee or a
small monthly contribution.
Both options are under thesupport tab on the Torpedo Swim
(43:21):
Talk website, and the link is inthe show notes below.
Any support is hugelyappreciated.
And I'd like to give a bigshout out to two people who've
come on as supporters this week,to Jared and Christina.
Thank you so much.
Your support means a lot to me.
Until next time.
(43:42):
Happy swimming and bye for now.
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