So lets start a discussion here, how much do you think the type of goggles affect speed?
Speedo has that new 3 piece system where the new goggles, some call them "space goggles", are incorporated in improving the swimmer's speed. www.goggleblog.com/.../Speedo-Fastskin-3-event.jpg
Most swimmers in my area have the vanquishers. As the years progress and older swimmers give new swimmers advise, I have heard things like: cut the bands of your racing set of goggles really short (to get rid of the extra weight and drag), and always put the goggles on before your swim cap (its supposedly more aerodynamic).
I've also heard that you want to get the most low profile goggles possible.
So what do you think? Do you have any preferences with your goggles that have given you perhaps a .05 second cut? Or do you think this all may be a placebo affect?
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Former Member
Does anyone remember the 1989 Tour de France? In the last 24.5 km stage, Greg LeMond cycled 54.545 km/hr to erase a 50 second deficit and defeat Laurent Fignon by 8 seconds. It was reported that calculations showed that the drag from Fignon's ponytail had been enough to cost him the race.
Now that ponytail was pretty egregious, and was a "drag" in more than one sense of the word, but let's make the wild (ridiculous) assumption that bad googles would have the same effect, then...hmmm...
54.545 km/hr x 8 sec = 121 m, then 0.121 km/24.5 km = 0.00495
Image two equivalent swimmers capable of going 0:25.00 in 50 lcm while wearing good goggles. If one is made to wear good goggles while the other is forced to wear bad goggles, then the one wearing bad goggles would finish at 0:25.12 or 0.12 seconds behind the swimmer wearing good goggles.
Now personally I have always doubted the ponytail calculation, and I am even more dubious of it being remotely applicable to swimming, but there you go...
This might make a nice research project for someone. Until then, I wonder how many sprinters will stay up at night wondering about 0.12 seconds?! Thank goodness I am now a distance swimmer.
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Former Member
Does anyone remember the 1989 Tour de France? In the last 24.5 km stage, Greg LeMond cycled 54.545 km/hr to erase a 50 second deficit and defeat Laurent Fignon by 8 seconds. It was reported that calculations showed that the drag from Fignon's ponytail had been enough to cost him the race.
Now that ponytail was pretty egregious, and was a "drag" in more than one sense of the word, but let's make the wild (ridiculous) assumption that bad googles would have the same effect, then...hmmm...
54.545 km/hr x 8 sec = 121 m, then 0.121 km/24.5 km = 0.00495
Image two equivalent swimmers capable of going 0:25.00 in 50 lcm while wearing good goggles. If one is made to wear good goggles while the other is forced to wear bad goggles, then the one wearing bad goggles would finish at 0:25.12 or 0.12 seconds behind the swimmer wearing good goggles.
Now personally I have always doubted the ponytail calculation, and I am even more dubious of it being remotely applicable to swimming, but there you go...
This might make a nice research project for someone. Until then, I wonder how many sprinters will stay up at night wondering about 0.12 seconds?! Thank goodness I am now a distance swimmer.
