HOW CHAMPIONS DO IT

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

Each frame is .1 seconds apart. This turn is similar to that executed at the 150-m mark. After a complete stroke upon approaching the wall, Penelope Heynes executes a quick arm pull without kick.

• Frames #1 and #2: As the turn approaches, the rate of stroking is increased. The arms-only stroke that is to follow starts immediately upon completion of the kick of the last full stroke.
• Frames #3 through #7: An arm stroke is performed with the legs and hips trailing high in a streamlined position. Hyperextension of the back allows the head and shoulders to be lifted, the vertical forces they create being counterbalanced by forces developed in the arm pull (note how deep are the hands in frame #6). Thus, there is no cause to change the streamline of the hips and legs.
• Frames #8 and #9: Both hands touch the wall level. Elbow bend is exhibited in frame #9 preparatory to pushing-off from the wall with both arms.
• Frames #10 through #12: The legs tuck to produce fast rotation. As the knees and hips flex, the arms push the swimmer away from the wall. While tucking occurs, the swimmer begins to turn onto her side. That turn should be completed by the time the full tuck is attained. It should be noted that in teaching a tuck, both flexion actions should occur simultaneously, not one after the other, and those flexes should be as fast as possible. The velocity of those movements in this sequence of Penelope Heynes' stroke is possibly too slow.
• Frames #13 through #16: The swimmer rotates as a result of the arm-push off. The right arm recovers deep underwater, its forces causing the part of the swimmer below the center of buoyancy to move toward the wall. The left arm recovers over the water causing the part of the swimmer above the center of buoyancy to move away from the wall. These opposing forces assist in producing fast angular rotation. The faster they are done, particularly the movement of the arm under the water, the faster will be the rotation. Frames #14 and #15 show that the swimmer has turned past being on her side, a degree of rotation that is probably unnecessary. Over-rotation can be corrected by better positioning of the arms after the wall push.
• Frames #17 through #19: The swimmer pushes off the wall. In frame #17 she is on her side and begins to twist on to her front. If she had not rotated so much in the previous set of frames, the range of twisting would have been less, which would be beneficial because twisting movements in water slow down a swimmer. Frame #18 shows that the right leg is driving while the left leg has left the wall prematurely to facilitate a flutter kick that is shown in frames #18 and #19. The single leg drive off the wall would not be as effective as a full two-leg push.
• Frames #20 through #25: After leaving the wall, a streamlined position, with one hand on top of the other, is maintained while the remaining rotation to a flat orientation is completed.
• Frame #26: The underwater arm pull commences. Straight arms are opened sideways.
• Frame #27: The outward scull reaches its limit. Here the arms have been spread to a width that makes it possible to commence producing significant forward propulsion.
• Frames #28 through #30: Powered by strong adduction of the upper arms, the arm pull consists of applying pressure with the hand/forearm surfaces. Since the upper arms rotate in the shoulder joint and the elbows flex and then extend in the total action, the path the hands follow is more of a direct push backward with hands coming closer together the further back they go. This pattern of movement is vastly different to a "keyhole" or "hour-glass" pull. Some of the features of a butterfly stroke pull are exhibited in the early stage of this pulling action.
• Frames #31 and #32: The swimmer glides after the acceleration produced by the arm pull. Recent research has shown that it is best to err on the side of holding this position for too short a time than doing it for too long. There is a possibility that Penelope Heynes in this case is holding this position slightly longer than would be desirable.
• Frames #33 through #35: The arms are recovered directly forward while keeping the hands very close to the body.
• Frames #36 through #41: As the hands recover forward, they attain a position under the shoulder line similar to that of a normal full stroking action. From there on, the preparation for and kicking of the legs in time with the arm-thrust forward is executed in the same manner as a normal full stroke.
• Frames #42 through #44: As soon as the top of the swimmer's head breaks the surface, the arm pull of a full stroke commences. The swimmer does not wait until a breath is taken to initiate full stroking.

Return to Table of Contents for this section.