HOW CHAMPIONS DO IT

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

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

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The following image sequence shows each frame for half a second. It will play through 5 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.

The Australian media broadcast Coach Gennadi Touretski's plan to introduce butterfly kicking to crawl stroke for use in finishing bursts in freestyle races. Initially, it was reported only Michael Klim would perform this way, and Alex Popov would not use this "technique". It was with some surprise that this action was observed in Popov's swim in the 50 m freestyle at the Sydney Olympic Games.

In the late 1950s, coach Harry Gallagher and swimmer Jan Andrew attempted to combine "dolphin kicking" with crawl stroke arms. After experimenting with two and three kicks per complete arm cycle, it was jettisoned as being a "bad idea." Occasionally, coaches unfamiliar with the history of swimming have tried this idea always concluding with a similar realization.

Michael Klim used this technique at the 1999 Pan Pacific Championships in Sydney in the 100 m freestyle final, when he recorded a time that was slower than his semi-final performance at that meet.

There is no justifiable biomechanical principle for mixing dolphin kicking with crawl stroke arms. The alternating arms of crawl stroke require alternating kicks to counterbalance their alternating force production. A dolphin kick does not produce counterbalancing forces in concert with alternating arms. The result is that powerful double-leg kicks elevate the hips and force the shoulders down, dramatically slowing the progress of the swimmer. In this analysis, Alex Popov commences the sequence in medal contention but over the space of the final two meters drops to sixth place.

In the summer of 2000, Alex Popov set a new world record in the 50-m freestyle with a time of 21.64. In this competition, Popov recorded 22.15 seconds in the heat, 22.17 in the semi-final, and 22.24 in the final where he finished sixth. From the following analysis, it is obvious as to what was one of the reasons why his final was so slow. In the biomechanical analysis that was conducted during the Olympic Games, a measure of the finish phase (5 m to the wall touch) showed Popov to be the slowest of the eight finalists taking 2.29 s compared to the best by Lorenzo Vismara of Italy of 2.13 s.

This analysis attempts to explain the kinematic features that justify NOT combining double-leg kicking with crawl stroke arms in swimming.

• Frame #1: Alex Popov is the second swimmer from the left in each frame. In this frame, the right leg is about to kick to counterbalance the entering left arm.
• Frame #2: As the left arm presses down and back, the right leg kicks.
• Frame #3: The left arm continues to pull. The right leg has completed its kick.
• Frame #4: The swimmer begins to draw the legs together preparatory to executing a dolphin kick as the left arm is in its latter phase of propulsion.
• Frame #5: As the right arm approaches entry, the knees begin to bend in order to execute a dolphin kick.
• Frame #6: As the right arm enters, the dolphin kick begins.
• Frame #7: The powerful double-leg kick has no large vertical arm movement to counterbalance on the other side of the center of buoyancy. Consequently, the hips rise and the shoulders dive. There is very little forward propulsion from the kick.
• Frame #8: As the kick is executed, it is readily apparent that the kick is downward -- no backward thrust is generated because no position is attained by the feet to generate thrust in that direction. The hips have risen to be higher than the head, the feet are very deep -- much deeper than any alternating kick would have ever been. Relative to the swimmers on either side of Alex Popov, he has almost stopped in the water.
• Frame #9: Possibly as a desperate move, the swimmer pulls his hips down which cause both his feet and head to react by rising upward. Very little progression has occurred in the last few frames.
• Frame #10: Now the hips are low and the feet and head are high. It should be obvious to the observer that a dolphin kick without "butterfly arms" causes the hips and head to react vertically.
• Frame #11: Probably as a desperation move, Popov starts to roll onto his right side, raises his head, and extends the right shoulder to assist the reach to the touch-pad.
• Frame #12: The swimmer's streamline is lost further as his back arches and his legs begin to bend at the knees. It is interesting to contrast this "hopeless" position with the streamlined positions of the other swimmers, several of whom have passed Popov in this last meter of the race.
• Frames #13 and #14: Alex Popov slowly drifts to the wall with a most undesirable form.

The introduction of a dolphin kick at the very end of this race served to slow the swimmer dramatically. The reactions to the kick were vertical hip and head movements, rather than horizontal propulsion. This "crazy" action cost Alex Popov any chance of a medal in this race. It was less than a fitting finale for his great Olympic career.

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