I've never done much competitive/team swimming, but in all my years being around pools for my own fitness swimming, and lifeguarding...I had never seen nor even heard of this m.youtube.com/watch (it's a video I found on the internet). But while lifeguarding today I saw two women doing this during the lap swim session. They did a 800 tandem medley. Each would swim 100 in front, all four strokes. Interesting.
Dan
The video looks like the trailing swimmer is holding the feet of the lead swimmer. Talk about active drowning! The trailing swimmer cannot use their arms, so they push down on the leader's feet to get a breath, but that only serves to bury the lead swimmer's feet because they cannot kick. Maybe if they held a pull buoy between the leader's ankles they could get some flotation.
A better tandem swim is to draft close to the leader's feet. Switch leads each lap. Ramp it up with a train of 10 swimmers goinig 800yds. Change the lead every 50, with the leader dropping to the caboose. Good open-water training.
Another alternative is to use a loop around each swimmer's waist and an 8' stretch cord connecting them. This takes equipment and setup time, but a slower swimmer can swim with a faster swimmer, even doing flip turns.
Another tandem alternative is to swim side-by-side. The faster swimmer slows to the slower swimmer's pace and swims their best technique. The slower swimmer tries to mimic the faster swimmer's technique.
The video looks like the trailing swimmer is holding the feet of the lead swimmer. Talk about active drowning! The trailing swimmer cannot use their arms, so they push down on the leader's feet to get a breath, but that only serves to bury the lead swimmer's feet because they cannot kick. Maybe if they held a pull buoy between the leader's ankles they could get some flotation.
A better tandem swim is to draft close to the leader's feet. Switch leads each lap. Ramp it up with a train of 10 swimmers goinig 800yds. Change the lead every 50, with the leader dropping to the caboose. Good open-water training.
Another alternative is to use a loop around each swimmer's waist and an 8' stretch cord connecting them. This takes equipment and setup time, but a slower swimmer can swim with a faster swimmer, even doing flip turns.
Another tandem alternative is to swim side-by-side. The faster swimmer slows to the slower swimmer's pace and swims their best technique. The slower swimmer tries to mimic the faster swimmer's technique.
