I need some theories on why this could be true: Assuming that both swimmers are kicking/pulling/swimming freestyle for the same distance with the same effort and without fins and paddles, swimmer A consistently kicks slower than swimmer B and swimmer A consistently pulls slower than swimmer B but swimmer A consistently swims full stroke faster than swimmer B.
The only thing I can think of that might make this true is that swimmer A's body positioning in the water and/or body rotation changes somehow when swimming full stroke and that that change reduces drag but I can't think of what that "somehow" could be. Maybe the rotation that occurs when pulling is making the kick more effective than when only kicking..?
Speed = Distance Per Stroke X Stroke Rate. Swimmer A has a greater distance per stroke, enough so to outweigh swimmer B's higher stroke rate. The "how" behind why distance per stroke is greater for swimmer A is what you get into in your second paragraph (technique).
How does swimmer B's pull and swim times compare? If the pull is faster maybe they can improve their body position while swimming full stroke. Swimmer B might also not have proper timing between their kick and pull.
I never even considered that the problem may be with swimmer B's swim but now that you mention it, that makes sense. On a 100m, swimmer B's pull is about 10 seconds faster than A's pull and swimmer A's swim is about 5 seconds faster than swimmer B's swim.
possibly an earlier catch, not dropping the elbow or longer stroke finish.
Yeah, but that would show up in the pulling speed, however swimmer B is the faster puller.
I think arthur is correct and it's the sum of the parts. Swimmer A has better body position and less drag when swimming full stroke.
How does swimmer B's pull and swim times compare? If the pull is faster maybe they can improve their body position while swimming full stroke. Swimmer B might also not have proper timing between their kick and pull.
I agree, B must be doing something to slow himself down in full stroke.
I agree.
It occurred to me when using a pull buoy this morning that swimmer B may be benefiting from better body position and more speed from the pull buoy's floatation. When B is swimming full stroke (without a buoy's floatation), the back end is sinking and creating more drag, even though kicking. If B's times for 100m pulling and full stroke are pretty close, you might conclude it's the buoy creating the better body position when B pulls. You could time both A and B and count strokes (pulling and full stroke) and then compare the data in a excel table to see if it tells a story. Maybe even take time and stroke count splits and compare.
I think there was a USMS article on the web or in Swimmer (or someone like swimspire posted an article) about finding one's balance point when swimming, maybe a year or so back. If that's the problem, it might help B to get "balanced" as when using the buoy.
I need some theories on why this could be true: Assuming that both swimmers are kicking/pulling/swimming freestyle for the same distance with the same effort and without fins and paddles, swimmer A consistently kicks slower than swimmer B and swimmer A consistently pulls slower than swimmer B but swimmer A consistently swims full stroke faster than swimmer B.
The only thing I can think of that might make this true is that swimmer A's body positioning in the water and/or body rotation changes somehow when swimming full stroke and that that change reduces drag but I can't think of what that "somehow" could be. Maybe the rotation that occurs when pulling is making the kick more effective than when only kicking..?
Hi
I live in Martindale and drive through San Marcos every day.
I need to watch swimmers A & B swim to tell you why.
1) first there's the push off, streamline, & glide. Some swimmers push off better than others, streamline better than others and glide further and faster.
2) next there's how each swimmer moves their arms to pull and their legs to kick, some people have better feel for the water than others.
They get more DPS distance per stroke and DPK distance per kick
3) also each swimmer has to drag their torsos through the water, some swimmers are shaped better than others.
4) what kind of suits are swimmers A & B wearing, some suits make us more aquadynamic than others.
