I was wondering if being tall gives you an advantage in swimming because alot of the olympic male swimmers today are over 6 feet.
What do you guys think?
:D
Anyone who thinks being tall doesn't give you a general advantage hasn't been to any sports event lately. There's only one major sport I can think of where the vast majority of competitors aren't tall and that's golf, although Woods is 6'1" and Mickelson 6'2", and NASCAR (for you gull). There are obvious exceptions (Megget is a good one) but, by and large, today's athletes are taller, bigger, faster and stronger. Average NFL height is 6'2", NHL is 6'1", NBA is 6'7", MLB is 6'1" (although I'm not certain on that source).
Phelps - 6'4"
Pierson - 6'4"
Lochte - 6'2"
Beard - 5'9"
I think Randy Newman said it best and all you midgets know what he said.
The question wasn’t about absolutes it was Does being tall give you an advantage? At the elite level it appears that the answer is YES. Looking at the USA men’s national team, only Eric Vendt (1500 Free) is under 6 feet, 5’11”, and the men’s team has an average height around 6’4”. FYI 6’4” is tall by most standards
“Even if it was true, it's obnoxious to believe it makes you better..” ??? Who said anything about height making you better? Height, flexibility, strength, buoyancy, (dare I say VO2max), as well as other factors provide physical advantages and disadvantages for an athlete. Physical attributes play a part in what we can and can not do, they aren’t paramount, as some may suggest, but they are a factor. However I believe the human spirit and personal determination are also factors It is what we do with these that determines our performance.
Ian Crocker – 6’5”
Brendon (Lil'B) Hanson – 6’0”
Cullen Jones – 6’5”
Klete Keller – 6’6”
Randall Bal – 6’3”
Jason Lezack – 6’4”
Ryan Lochte – 6’2”
Michael Phelps – 6’4”
Ben Wildman-Tobriner – 6’4”
Darn, Geek beat me to the post.
Who says I'm not laughing? Besides Dumbledore (you can read that however you want) I already admitted to being a power dwarf, which means you should have used Gimli.
I'm not that big of a geek, no idea what you are talking about. Go back to your afternoon session of Dungeons and Dragons.
I'm not that big of a geek, no idea what you are talking about. Go back to your afternoon session of Dungeons and Dragons.
Ever the antagonist. You needn't be tall for elite gymnastics or diving or running. Probably not NASCAR either.
Unquestionably, height gives you an advantage in swimming. Being somewhat height challenged myself, I find you just gotta use what you got. :thhbbb::thhbbb:
Streamline benefits should be present throughout a swim - not just off of walls. Better body position, less drag from the water itself, etc. should be possible with a slender, taller body since the primary water resistance occurs in front of the body - which is about the same size for tall or less tall people.
I can't prove it - but I think taller people have larger hands and feet - which is goodness in swimming.
Streamline benefits should be present throughout a swim - not just off of walls. Better body position, less drag from the water itself, etc. should be possible with a slender, taller body since the primary water resistance occurs in front of the body - which is about the same size for tall or less tall people.
I can't prove it - but I think taller people have larger hands and feet - which is goodness in swimming.
Dan, "should" and "in general" are not absolutes. I just don't want to see height = good/better swimmer being purported as an absolute. I'm sure even at my average height, I've beaten larger opponents and shorter opponents alike.
A) It insults anyone who isn't of a certain height as being inferior (worrying).
B) It insults those taller swimmers who have trained just as hard as anyone else to get where they are, and hollows their victories over shorter opponents.
What next USMS age and height groups?
Asterisks if you're under 5'10" or over 6'1"?
I would agree that height/slenderness may help more in free and back (or starts and turns as noted) but be of less significance in the cross axis strokes that us "power dwarves" do better in. Sadly though, to put one phsyical attribute up as a paramount attribute is bunk, and flatly insulting to many hardworking athletes. Many things go into a race and I don't see the NBA rosters emptying out to take up spots in the olympic swimming team if height is the big advantage.
To me it's along the lines of like white men can't jump and black people can't swim. Utter twaddle.
It seems a lot of narrowminded crap is being dredged up from the past of late...
I just protested the uses of a generalisation to build the case for an absolute. That's OK though. SO the determining factor is height. Tall folks, feel free to not train so hard.
This is what happens when old flamey material gets dredged up for the sake of it. My point on that has been proven. Thank you all for playing.
:D
(Horrors I used a z where an s should be)
