HOW CHAMPIONS DO IT

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

PIETER VAN DEN HOOGENBOND AT 35m OF HIS 200m GOLD MEDAL RACE AT THE 2000 OLYMPIC GAMES IN SYDNEY

Each frame is .1 second apart. In this race, Pieter van den Hoogenbond equaled the world record he had established in the semi-final with a time of 1:45.35. In claiming the gold medal, he beat Ian Thorpe of Australia. In this first lap of the race, when fatigue is not high, Pieter van den Hoogenbond's stroke frequency was 51.1 strokes per minute, a stroke being from a hand entry until its next entry, and the time for the first 50m was 24.44 seconds.

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

Several features of Pieter van den Hoogenbond's swimming are worth noting.

The directness of pulls with the full hand/forearm surface is amongst the best displayed on this web site. Not only are they more direct, and therefore, exhibit close to the least vertical movement component during propulsion, the length of the effective pull is also close to the most extensive witnessed. The left arm pull approaches perfection. Despite the right arm starting less efficiently, the latter part, the extension phase, of both pulls remains deep and direct. Neither arm extends fully at the end of the pull, however the round-out that is displayed is minimal but still beneficial and technically correct.

The shallowness of the kicks is another outstanding feature. Anytime a crawl stroke kick drops below horizontal, it creates drag resistance. Pieter van den Hoogenbond spends little time with either leg below streamline. This leads to an hypothesis that bigger kicks exhibited by most other swimmers are excessive. That excess is usually required to counterbalance excessive vertical movements in the early phases of the arm actions. By limiting vertical movements after entry, this swimmer does not require large kicks.

The amount of time that Pieter van den Hoogenbond is in good streamline is possibly the most exhibited on this web site. Given his accomplishments at the 2000 Olympic Games, this feature must be a significant contributor to his successes. It should serve as an excellent model.

Pieter van den Hoogenbond equaled his own world record in this race while defeating Ian Thorpe. Previously, this analyst had proposed that Ian Thorpe's stroke pattern was a very worthy model. However, because of Thorpe's regression in technique from the 1999 Pan Pacific Championships to the Australian Olympic Trials, it now is apparent that Pieter van den Hoogenbond is a better model for crawl stroke emulation.

Pieter van den Hoogenbond

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