HOW CHAMPIONS DO IT

Researched, produced, and prepared by Brent S. Rushall, Ph.D., R.Psy.

KATE ZIEGLER AT 1175 m OF HER GOLD MEDAL 1500 m RACE AT THE 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN MELBOURNE

The quality of the original recording used in this analysis was particularly poor. The grayscale contrast provided here is the best depiction that could be developed of Kate Ziegler's championship swim. The full stroke cycle depicted here took 1.2 seconds (i.e., a rating of 50+ strokes per minute). The time for this event was 15:53.05, the second fastest time ever recorded.

On June 17, 2007 at the TYR Meet of Champions in Mission Viejo, California, Kate Ziegler lowered the world record with a remarkable swim of 15:42.54, breaking Jane Evans' 18 year-old record of 15:52.10.

This stroke analysis includes a moving sequence in real time, a moving sequence where each frame is displayed for .5 of a second, and still frames.

The following image sequence is in real time. It will play through 10 times and then stop. To repeat the sequence, click the browser's "refresh" or "reload" button.

The following image sequence shows each frame for half a second. It will play through 10 times and then stop. To repeat the sequence, click the browser's "refresh" or "reload" button.

At the end of the following narrative, each frame is illustrated in detail in a sequential collage.

Notable Features

Kate Ziegler is a worthy model for emulating distance swimming for persons of relatively short stature (i.e., less that six feet tall). Taller male swimmers might need to modify this demonstrated stroke by alternating two- and four-beat kicks in distance races.

Kate Ziegler

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