Does being tall give you an advantage?

Whereas many of the world-class swimmers are well over 6 foot, being under that height does not mean you can not swim fast. Former Olympian Mike Barrowman is about 5' 10". His world record in the 200 m LC breaststroke stood from 1992 to 2002. When I heard him speak at a clinic in 1993, he made a point to tell all the kids to work hard (smart) and not to be intimidated by taller opponents.

Janet Evans, Napoleon Bonaparte, Mel (you know who you are), Anthony Nesty, etc, etc, etc. Size of heart is the most vital !!

Bert hit the nail on the head...YES, size does make a huge difference...BUT, the great Don Sholander and many other world class swimmers are NOT huge...HUGE in HEART is ALWAYS a winner....Janet Evan was not the tallest swimmer of her time...but let's face the facts....her records still stand....YEARS later...She had more grit then most ten people I know. I'll take grit, hard work and heart over size ANYDAY! Size helps, but it is NOT the most important factor in winning.... Kindest regards, Tom Ellison

I think Ed Moses is barely under the 6 foot mark too. Jeez...can't wait for my next growth spurt...I only have a couple of more years of growing left. I ONLY need 5 more inches to make the 6 feet. :o POWER TO THE SHORT PEOPLE!:D

I agree, height is WAY overated! :)

Janet has some company with other ladies. Diana Munz is even shorter. Her parents were figure skaters and told her to do a sport where there is no judging. As Ion stated, Angel Marino. Misty Hyman only 5'6" and breastroker Alexi Spann only about 5'4". Breastrokers tend to have people different sizes. Eric Vengt sorry for misspelling is a top distance freestyler and a very good breastroker and a 400 meter Imer, I think only 5'10". Mark Spitz was slilghtly below 6 foot which is on the short size for today 's swimmers. But like the rest of you I think that height has its advantages as well.

Also, I remember all the top 9 and 10 year old boys and girls that could out swim me at 15 years old that were under 5 feet. Many girls at 12 years old can almost qualify for senior nationals and many 12 year old girls are under 5'5"

No I dont think height matters we have 5 girls on my team that are 12 and dont exced the height of 4'7 but they can out swim me a 12 year old 5'41/2! fast!:) That's the truth guy's:D

Sure height is good for sprinters, but who wants to be a sprinter. Go the distance. Endurance rules! Barry 5'8"

well, I think height matter ONLY when you get up to a certain speed... Below that speed, the "boat" is not travelling fast enough for height to be of concern... I am a casual swimmer, and I usually swim a lot faster than ppl who are taller than me, simply because they have horrible technique... I am suspecting that height has less of an effect in *** stroke than in say freestyle... maybe it's that speed issue... maybe it's the whole streamline issue... However, there are other things that "comes" with height... feet/hand sizes are usually one of them, all can affect the speed of swimming...