HOW CHAMPIONS DO IT

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

PENELOPE HEYNES AT 80 m OF HER WORLD-RECORD 100 m RACE AT THE 1999 PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SYDNEY

Each frame is .1 seconds apart. The reader should review the other detailed analyses of Penny Heynes' stroke included in this section of the Swimming Science Journal. The time for this 100-m heat race was 1:06.52, a new world record. Her semi-final and final times were slower.

The discussion of Penny Heynes' stroke in this analysis will be presented in general terms, rather than a frame-by-frame analysis. Reviewing other analyses of her stroke will provide details of each action phase.

• Penny Heynes demonstrates marvelous streamlining. Her hips and thighs are normally close to horizontal except when preparing to kick. Even when she breathes, she hyperextends her lower back so that her head and shoulders can be above the water surface but her lower body and thighs continue to remain streamlined.
• As with most top breaststrokers, the path of the feet in her kick is directly backward. There is no "frog kick," "wedge kick," or circular sweeping movement. Frames #1 and #2 show that her feet remain wide as they complete kicking directly backward. The feet do not start to come together until propulsion from the legs is complete (frame #3).
• Penny Heynes' arm stroke appears to have changed from that which she exhibited in the Goodwill Games in 1998 (when she swam 1:08+). On the outward scull, she begins to bend at the elbows (between frames #4 and #5) earlier than in her past techniques. That initiation allows for the possibility of direct backward propulsion to be developed much in the manner of Kristy Kowal and Agnes Kovacs' strokes. In frames #6 and #7, the pitch of the forearms/hands continually increases. In these frames, the movements of the arms are backward at first and then inward and backward. This contrasts to her previous stroke where her arms move inward with only a little forearm/hand verticality. It is possible that the introduction of this more direct and larger drag force component in the arm pull is one of the contributing factors that has led to Penny Heynes' remarkable performance improvements over the past 12 months.
• For 100-m sprinting, the timing of the initiation of the arm stroke and the finish of the leg kick seems important. In this example, Penny Heynes' kick is completed, but with the legs apart, and at the same time the arms start their outward press (frame #2).
• By the time the legs begin to kick (frame #12), the body and recovering arms are almost flat. At this stage the legs are positively accelerating and the body and arms are negatively accelerating (they are near the desirable flat position that is displayed in frame #13). This action is similar to that displayed by Mike Barrowman.

One of the important factors associated with breaststroke swimming is the breathing action. Particularly with female swimmers, it is not uncommon to see virtually the head, whole torso, and upper arms lifted at the end of the inward arm movement. That action produces a very large demand for a vertical force and would also contribute to a detrimental dropping of the hips and thighs. The sequence below shows Penny Heynes' head and shoulder action. The first frame is when the head is at its highest point above the water surface. From there the shoulders and head are driven forward and down in unison. There is only a small initial alteration in the orientation of the neck in relation to both the head and shoulders. This movement is also reminiscent of Mike Barrowman's breathing action. It minimizes vertical and rotary movements in the total swimmer and is unlike an excessive lifting movement. It epitomizes "breathing low."

This action appears to be different to that displayed by Penny Heynes at the Atlanta Olympic Games. There, she "ducked" her head on returning it after breathing. Her head moved to a much greater extent than her shoulders. That produced a slight rocker action, which is not exhibited in this stroke. One could propose that the shortest, lowest breathing action that employs a unified head and torso return to streamline is a desirable action worthy of emulation. In this case, it could also be a factor that has contributed to Penny Heynes' improvements in performance.

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