Thorpe/Hackett stroke length?

I read in www.swimnews.com two years ago, that in the 800 meters (Long Course) freestyle, in the final swam at the World Championships in Fukoaka (Jpn) on July 24, when Ian Thorpe (Aus) set a world record in 7:39.16, and Grant Hackett (Aus) came in second -with a second fastest 800 in history by anyone- in 7:40.34, per 50 meter, Thorpe at 6'5", was taking 30 strokes, and Hackett at 6'6", was taking 33 strokes. Cecil Colwin describes that race in Swimming Technique from April/June 2003 in page 16, as: "At speed, however, when meeting a challenge, as in Thorpe's classic race with Grant Hackett in the 800 meter freestyle in Fukoaka 2001, both swimmers switched to a rotary stroke in the epic closing stages, with more noticeable continuity of movement. Many of today's swimmers make this switch from overlapping to rotary action when greater speed is needed." and "...has been called a rotary stroke because the arms rotate continuously at almost the same speed. (i.e.: the arms never overlap, they are always at least 120 degrees apart). The rotary action is the main feature of the stroke, and it was brought to a high point of development by Alexander Popov,..." So, per 25 meters, Thorpe is taking 15 strokes, and Hackett is taking 16 or 17. In recent Olympic news, unrelated to this question: .) Popov (Rus) -now 31, and of F.I.N.A. age 32- swam in Monte Carlo a world-leading 50 meter freestyle in 22.09 (according to www.swiminfo.com) or 22.11 (according to www.swimnews.com); this competitor who is based now in Switzerland after leaving Australia recently, is in the top three worldwide each ear since 1992, in 50 meter free and in 100 meter free; he wasn't winning age-group races up until 17, but since starting to win, he sure isn't a flash in the pan, with the longest stretch of high rankings in men; .) A Russian breaststroker broke the 200 meter world record from a Japanese, in 2:09.5x; Ed Moses (U.S.), the Japanese, this Russian, another Russian and an Ukrainian, are pushing the breaststroke into the unthinkable.

Ion, breaststroke has dropped in the past 30 years more than any other stroke in time. In 1972, John Hencken swam a 200 meter *** in 2:21 and now this Russian swimmer has swam a 2:09 something. Back in 1972, Mark Spitz swam a 2:00 200 meter butterfly and Mr Phelps did a 1:54 something. The breaststroke time is almost 11 seconds faster while the fly time is only 6 seconds faster. Maybe, the wave style used more by 200 meter breaststrokers today, makes it possible to hold the speed longer than in the past with the older flat style.