Nehra is happier about his 15:14.88 over the 1,500m, another national record, where his splits at the opening laps were relatively faster.

“I can always want more than 7:59 at 800, but I won’t be too picky. I was super happy to see a 7,” he said. Chasing down a personal best for 3 years and being able to push himself – swim fast by himself given the thin competition – gives Nehra satisfaction.

A lot of changes came about when Nehra moved to Antibes, France to train under Fred Vergnoux last October under a scholarship of the World Aquatics Swim Development Programme.

Coach Vergnoux brought in what Nehra calls ‘aggressive swimming’ into his training, after he self-admittedly “did not live up to my expectations last couple of seasons.”

Vergnoux has a different take on swim-coaching, and doesn’t quite believe in the conservative formula of “settling into a comfortable pace” over the 16 laps for the 800 or 1500. “He can be pretty firm on the yardage we train,” Nehra says. “So you try not to dip below a particular (split) mark. Every metre is measured,” he adds.

Aggressive swimming

Every stroke is calibrated.

Targets for certain points in the season (when to peak / specific competition) are set, and the Frenchman doesn’t relent.

“Sometimes it can be a lot for us. But every metre is planned. Nothing is incidental,” he explains. The mileage targets have kept Nehra on his toes, and eventually brought him the coveted times under 8 minutes.

Vergnoux was clear he wanted Nehra at a certain weight.

“He felt I needed to work on my weight. And be aggressive. This involves swimming faster for a longer time rather than be conservative.”

Nehra would see the difference in the splits: he opened faster and held the acceleration for longer.

“So, not like swim with something left in the tank,” he says, a decision that 800-1,500 swimmers need to make consciously instead of preserving energy.

This obviously needs plenty of work out of water. “Lot of aerobic training. Fair amount of cardio outside water. People say you get enough cardio in water. But you don’t,” he says categorically.

Nehra has been cutting 6 seconds in the first half of his 800 of the 1,500 race (8:11 to 8:05) after his 2023 PB exploits when he improved upon Page’s 8:09.13 to 8:00.76. The turns tend to be a crucial area of improvement in 800, but Nehra says his faster splashes have automatically improved his turns. “Higher stroke rate means I’ve hurried through my turns – hurried in a good way,” he explains.

Did he see the sub-8 coming? “Honestly had no idea. I knew I was super close to going 7, so would’ve hated to miss it by tiny margin. So I pushed at the end,” he says, just to be sure.

Why the 800m got paused over 3 full seasons when a good crop of swimmers was pushing each other back then to do well, remains a mystery. At college in Florida, from where Nehra graduated, the 22-year-old recalls a not-so-happy first tilt at swimming in France. “2023-24 there was a lot of pressure for Paris Olympics. I tried to overdo some things. I didn’t like it,” he says.

The tiny splash – a psychological gain from 8:00 to 7:59 might mean very little internationally, as Nehra readies for a hectic CWG – Asiad double. Aussie Samuel Short is one of the fastest in the world and expected to be at Glasgow, while the Chinese (Zhang Lin, Asian record 7:32.12), Japanese dominate Asian 800/1500s. “A couple of us were close in India to go under 8,” he puts it into perspective. “I’m hopeful of the Asian Games,” he says.