HOW CHAMPIONS DO IT

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

MARIA PELAEZ AT 135 m OF HER WINNING 200 m RACE AT THE 1998 GOODWILL GAMES IN NEW YORK (MISTY HYMAN IS IN THE NEXT LANE)

The time between each frame in this series is .1 seconds. The observations occur at 135 m into the race. This is a special set of images for it contrasts Maria Pelaez (Spain) with Misty Hyman (USA). Maria Pelaez won the race in 2:12.72. Misty Hyman went out very fast in her usual manner splitting at the 100 m with a time of 1:02.54. From there, she began to tire noticeably particularly in the fourth lap. Her final time was 2:15.26 giving her a second 100-m split of 1:12.72. The comparison then is of Pelaez who was not tiring and Hyman who was tiring in a dramatic fashion. Generally, when skilled athletes fatigue their movement errors become exaggerated. By looking at Misty Hyman, it is possible to observe points of technique that should be avoided when swimming butterfly.

Notable Features

Observations of Misty Hyman in Extreme Fatigue

Both these butterfly swimmers exhibit a fundamental flaw in their underwater arm movements. Instead of maximizing horizontal force production, the V movement accentuates vertical movements. Both swimmers demonstrate excessive vertical oscillations of the shoulders, hips, and knees, the fatigued Misty Hyman exhibiting these features in an exaggerated manner. In addition, both swimmers do not employ the early part of the arm pull to produce propulsion after repositioning. The press outward in a manner reminiscent of breaststroke is a particularly weak movement for generating propulsion.

The absence of streamlining in both swimmers is noteworthy. Any time the shoulders drop lower in the water than the hands, mechanical efficiency is sacrificed. Misty Hyman in Frame #9 demonstrates a position that should be avoided at all costs.

There is a myth that has been perpetuated around the swimming world that "wave-like movements increase propulsion." Unfortunately, there is no such principle in fluid mechanics and that proposition must be treated with disdain. It has been proposed as being beneficial for both breaststroke and butterfly. Unfortunately, swimmers coached to perform a wave motion, similar to the exaggerated pattern of Misty Hyman, will not perform optimally nor excel in the sport. There is a fluid mechanics principle that emphasizes an increasing and accelerating wave that moves down a body that does produce propulsion but that effect depends upon the leading edge of the body being stationary. The leading edge has to be exactly opposite that displayed by both these swimmers with the vertical movements of their heads and upper bodies.

There is not much good that can be said about these two swimmers' strokes. At best, this series of frames can be used as examples of "what not to do" in butterfly stroke.

Pelaez and Hyman

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