Does being tall give you an advantage?

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Muppet — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 11:38:21 GMT

The study SwimmieAvsFan referenced is very interesting if y'all get a chance to look through it. I went through one day and took all my measurements and put them against the findings. Since we're talking about height, my 6'0" height hit the Freestyle distance swimmer right on the bullseye. I'd say that was pretty accurate. Armspan-wise, 74 inches (6'2"), at the bottom of most armspans, but good for warm hugs in cold weather :bighug: Thighs, calfs and vert lead me to fly. Again, pretty accurate.

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Former Member — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:23:48 GMT

Pretty much cultural, the motor racing. Here in Brazil no one knows about Nascar. They only know about Indy and the similar because of some brazilians who FAIL the Formula One circuit, going there and winning all. We particularly like Formula One, which is far better and more elegant than the ovals. Myself and Amanda Beard like the Moto GP, with Valentino Rossi and the likes. But then, Amanda Beard and I, we ride motorcycles, although my breaststroke is for resting from fast fly or free intervals, while hers is the speed type....hehehe...billy (Suzuki V-Strom 1000) fanstone

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Former Member — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:24:20 GMT

I didn't read the other replies but this 5' 2 3/4" swimmer says, "yes!" Unfortunately, yes. Each start, each turn, a taller person has a big advantage. I believe there has not ever been a woman shorter than Janet Evans in the Olympics. She was 5'4" (an inch and a quarter taller than me.) I don't think this is coincidental that other shorter women haven't been in the Olympics. I think more than overall height, body height is very important (I have a very long torso which might be why I did well in swimming even though I am shorter) and also arm length. There are other physical traits that count a lot--lung capacity, flexibility, and muhc more all give big advantages. I had a lot of these others, just not the height.

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Former Member — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 06:13:43 GMT

OMG, too funny! I'm 6'4 with a 78" wing span, but I measured it myself so I might be off by an inch or two. :angel:

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

swimr4life — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:04:15 GMT

I'll give it up for Smith, comedy gold there. I'm gonna take Georgia with us also, love them dawgs. Here fishy fishy. Chomp, chomp.:rolleyes:

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Michael Heather — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 01:28:00 GMT

NASCAR racing is a sport. Winners are the first to finish a race. It just isn't very athletic. Although I am not a huge fan (and do not particularly understand those with 3 and 8 on the back window of their truck), I only wish USMS had the kind of following and sponsor support the door slammers get. I am 6'2" and have a wingspan of 28". I look like a windup toy in the water with my arms spinning around. :drown:

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Rob Copeland — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 01:19:27 GMT

I am 6'2" and have a wingspan of 28". I look like a windup toy in the water with my arms spinning around. :drown:Artist’s rendering...

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Former Member — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:17:11 GMT

II have a massive armspan... This will also be a great asset when you have kids...

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Former Member — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:11:23 GMT

I have really narrow feet, so that may explain my crappy kicking. I have a massive armspan, so that would explain my sprinting and awesome pullingskills. A while back someone linked to a statistical study of elite swimmers that concluded close to what Allan said. (These conclusions are what I remember and might not be complete or perfectly accurate. Sorry don't have time to find the link.) - Height helps, particularly among male sprinters. - Wingspan really helps, particularly among sprinters. - Height makes less of a difference in breaststroke and IM. - I think there was something about short legs helping in backstroke. (That said, I'm 6'2" with a 75 inch wingspan and just about everybody who posts could beat me, because I'm lacking in just about everything else - flexibility, upper body strength, technique, etc.) Now I've always thought that your kick was helped by wide feet - though I've never seen it studied. That would help me rationalize having a lousy kick with a 12B foot.

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Rob Copeland — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:44:37 GMT

- Height helps, particularly among male sprinters. - Wingspan really helps, particularly among sprinters. I guess it depends in your definition of a sprinter. Being 6’3” with an 84” arm span should give me sprinting advantages, but unless sprinting extends up to around 10-15K (any swim that doesn’t require feeding stops should be classified as a sprint) I think other generic and training factors come into play. At least they do for me. This will also be a great asset when you have kids...It’s also an asset in painting ceilings and changing lightbulbs.

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Former Member — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:03:33 GMT

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Former Member — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:38:13 GMT

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Former Member — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:34:50 GMT

And I think you're being rude, no matter what size you are. People are as tall or short as they are and have to swim with what they've got. Period. Hasn't this been discussed to death now?:dedhorse::dedhorse::dedhorse: No offense intended. The title of this thread is "Does being tall give you an advantage." I think there is general consensus that the answer is yes. I'm 5'8" and am doing the the best I can with my height as is. Not considering HGH or height increasing surgery. But I'm pretty sure I'd be a faster swimmer if I were 6'0".

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Former Member — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:25:03 GMT

We need to cut lose the Carolinas, Mississippi and Alabama and set them a drift in the Atlantic. They can compete as individual nations for the NASCAR world championships. John Smith

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Former Member — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:09:32 GMT

If one more person mentions NASCAR in reference to a "sport", I think I'm going to puke. I would categorize synchronized swimming as having more true elements of a "sport" than NASCAR. John Smith

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

swimmieAvsFan — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 09:52:17 GMT

A while back someone linked to a statistical study of elite swimmers that concluded close to what Allan said. (These conclusions are what I remember and might not be complete or perfectly accurate. Sorry don't have time to find the link.) - Height helps, particularly among male sprinters. - Wingspan really helps, particularly among sprinters. - Height makes less of a difference in breaststroke and IM. - I think there was something about short legs helping in backstroke. (That said, I'm 6'2" with a 75 inch wingspan and just about everybody who posts could beat me, because I'm lacking in just about everything else - flexibility, upper body strength, technique, etc.) Now I've always thought that your kick was helped by wide feet - though I've never seen it studied. That would help me rationalize having a lousy kick with a 12B foot. not short legs, per se. that comment was in relation to IMers. backstrokers tended to have a longer torso compared to IMers, but we're talking about an average of 5cm for women. for men, it's 13cm. the only reason that backstroke is mentioned is because, when compared to IM, the difference is statistically significant... comparing backstroke to the other strokes, the difference is not significant... this study was done on 2000 OT qualifiers. who knows what kind of data would show up with more recent qualifiers, or for masters... but here's the link, if anyone is interested... www.usaswimming.org/.../DesktopDefault.aspx

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Former Member — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 08:09:08 GMT

Not a typo, 7 foot arm span. Buying shirts and suits off-the-rack is not an option. My arm span is 6ft...for a girl that's crazy. I was thrilled when the extra long sleeves was in fashion for girls. Things actually fit me. I feel your pain for not finding things that fit. My inseam is 35", too bad it's hard to find any pants that are long enough. When I find some, I buy in bulk. I'm also convinced my legs are too long for me to kick well. They're always getting tangled up with each other.

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

aquageek — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 07:36:23 GMT

We need to cut lose the Carolinas, Mississippi and Alabama and set them a drift in the Atlantic. They can compete as individual nations for the NASCAR world championships. John Smith I'll give it up for Smith, comedy gold there. I'm gonna take Georgia with us also, love them dawgs.

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Former Member — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 06:41:57 GMT

Those of you that are tall, but say you are slow..... ...I think you would be even slower if you were short. And I think you're being rude, no matter what size you are. People are as tall or short as they are and have to swim with what they've got. Period. Hasn't this been discussed to death now?:dedhorse::dedhorse::dedhorse:

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Former Member — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 06:20:41 GMT

Those of you that are tall, but say you are slow..... ...I think you would be even slower if you were short. Powerdwarves: It's about strong glutes and a mean disposition... :lmao:

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Former Member — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 06:17:55 GMT

Those of you that are tall, but say you are slow..... ...I think you would be even slower if you were short.

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

FlyQueen — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 06:16:39 GMT

My arm span is 6ft...for a girl that's crazy. I was thrilled when the extra long sleeves was in fashion for girls. Things actually fit me. I feel your pain for not finding things that fit. My inseam is 35", too bad it's hard to find any pants that are long enough. When I find some, I buy in bulk. I'm also convinced my legs are too long for me to kick well. They're always getting tangled up with each other. I'm 5'2" with a 5'6" wingspan ... also VERY fun finding clothes.

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

aquageek — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 06:13:30 GMT

If one more person mentions NASCAR in reference to a "sport", I think I'm going to puke. You catch the Martinsville race last weekend?

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

The Fortress — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 06:13:27 GMT

If one more person mentions NASCAR in reference to a "sport", I think I'm going to puke. I would categorize synchronized swimming as having more true elements of a "sport" than NASCAR. John Smith I wasn't meaning to refer to it as a sport. I was responding tongue in cheek to a Geek post. He likes his NASCAR, as you'll soon see. So no need to puke. Uh, syncronized swimming is pretty hard though.

RE: Does being tall give you an advantage?

Former Member — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 05:09:29 GMT

I Being 6’3” with an 84” arm span should give me sprinting advantages. Wow - is that a typo? 84" is seven feet.