Am I alone in pursuing freestyle only?
I never understood/appreciated anything other than "swim as fast as you can from A to B".
I was a long time hard-core runner, and the different swimstrokes seems to me to be akin to running backwards or sideways. (Or....heaven forbid......Racewalking!!)
Why shouldn't swimming follow the same path as running? Ie No stroke rules. Just go from A to B in the water anyway you wish? As fast as you can.
School me! Kick my ass! In my newbieness I cannot understand anything other than "A to B in the water as fast as you can."
Why do we have these 4 different strokes? It seems like a beauty contest. (I expect to be crucified for such blasphemy.)
Educate me, USMS people. Help me understand why you would want to find a way to swim slower!! :)
I know that swimmer. It's a....challenge.....swimming at meets with them. Why do they like those long events??
That's a really good question, and I haven't a clue! She has been "competing" in USMS for longer than I have, and I have been competing for nine years. During that entire time, she has not made any effort that I know of to improve her technique at all. I don't think she has ever taken a lesson, watched a video, or done anything else to attempt to become a better swimmer. You would think after all of those years at meets, she would have learned something from watching the other swimmers or even asked for help.
At one of the meets, my husband offered (for free) to shoot video of any swimmer who wanted their races recorded, so she took him up on it. We were hoping that, finally, she would see how she looked in her 400 IM and see how much all four strokes were in desperate need of help. You know what? I don't think she ever watched it! If she did, it sure didn't make an impact!
One side of me (the nicer, empathetic side) thinks, good on her for participating and doing what she enjoys! At least she is here rather than sitting home and watching TV! The other (more annoyed!) side of me thinks, HAVE SOME CONSIDERATION for the rest of us who want to get on with our races! This gal delays a long course meet by 20-30 minutes, when you take into account all of the extra time she is "racing" all of her long events when everybody else is finished! (Now, I know that I, too, race the 400 IM, and my 200 Butterfly is really slow; however, an official at my last meet told my husband that "she has a beautiful fly." :bliss: I have been working on it relentlessly...)
I don't feel this way at all about any other slow swimmer that tries to use decent stroke technique and tries to get better. We have a very slow 75-59 freestyler on our team who at least keeps her body horizontal and does ok. She tries hard! I also have a teammate who is now 102 and doesn't race anymore; however, she was the first woman in the country to race the 200 LCM freestyle in the 100-104 age group. She rocked the pool and looked pretty darn good! :applaud:Shetried much harder and looked much better in the pool at 100 than my teammate did at more than 35 years younger! Delaying the meet to watch Anne Dunivin swim was so worth it and a memory I will never forget. The heart she showed in that race was my favorite Masters memory EVER. I want to grow up to be just like her. :agree:
:rantonoff:
We have a 93 year old in our LMSC that loves the long events. Kudos to him for still going for it, but a 10:00 400 IM is... not enjoyable to watch.
10:00? That's would be a sprint for this gal who is in the 65-69 age group. Her short course 400 IM is more than 4 minutes longer. :bed:
Yep--that's how they've handled this swimmer too. It's a bit startling at first--when they start a heat with someone still swimming, but everyone realizes the time saved. :-)
I have only seen the officials do this at a developmental meet. I WISH they would do this at all of the meets, especially LCM when she does, in fact, take more than 16 minutes for a 400 IM. (It used to be 18...)
There is a USA Swimmer - NOT Masters - in her late 60's that participates in meets at one of the nicer pools my kids' team attends. She does 400IM's and 200 Fly in most meets. Takes her a while, right at 8 minutes on the IM, but I love it. Very nice lady. Several years ago, I got a picture with one of my kids with her.
8 minutes? That's not bad for a 400 IM in her age group. That's an AA on the motivational charts. This gal is more than 4 minutes OFF the chart! She literally swims her fly and freestyle vertical, not horizontal. She has long hair that she doesn't put in a cap or tie back, it's in her face as she swims, and she looks like she is drowning. Really. :drowning:
Prepare for your ass to be kicked. You did ask for it. The answer to your question is simple. Medals. Why swim 200 freestyle where 1 medal is up for grabs? Add the 200 fly, 200 back, 200 ***, and 200 IM you now have 4 more medals up for grabs for a total of 5. It also makes for longer swim meets where we get better opportunities for socializing and stay away from home.
Prepare for your ass to be kicked. You did ask for it. The answer to your question is simple. Medals. Why swim 200 freestyle where 1 medal is up for grabs? Add the 200 fly, 200 back, 200 ***, and 200 IM you now have 4 more medals up for grabs for a total of 5. It also makes for longer swim meets where we get better opportunities for socializing and stay away from home.
Yeah, you have a good point. There were no medals or ribbons in the last meet we both swim at each year; however, it counts for our Grand Prix series. I'm sure she is after that trophy at the end of the year.
I can relate; been there, done that! When I swam at Nationals in Mission Viejo (2013), I really wanted to win a medal, because they were so cool! It was the best design EVER: A palm tree on one side, and a surfboard on the other, with water in between. Being a Long Beach native myself, I just had to win one of those medals. I ended up with two, and they are displayed in my home office.:D
Evidently, this lady is willing to swim the scariest looking vertical fly EVER (with all of her long hair hanging in her face) just to (possibly) win that trophy at the end of the year.
Having said that, one of the Forum moderators knows exactly who I am talking about, and I'm guessing he will either:
A.) Warn me not to say another word about her. :censor:
or
B.) He is sitting there laughing, because he can visualize exactly what I'm describing above! :lmao:
Having said that, one of the Forum moderators knows exactly who I am talking about, and I'm guessing he will either:
A.) Warn me not to say another word about her. :censor:
or
B.) He is sitting there laughing, because he can visualize exactly what I'm describing above! :lmao:
A little bit of both.:shakeshead::agree:.:shakeshead:
