Worthwhile Article That Was Lost in "The Fastest Age" Thread/Saga
Former Member
I put up this post in the "The Fastest Age" thread. I should have put it here in the first place so it would not get buried. Here's what I originally posted for those who might be interested.
To digress a bit if I may, the Baltimore Sun has been running a series of articles on Michael Phelps. On March 8, 2004, the paper ran an article The Measure of a Swimmer. You can access it by clicking here.
It's a fascinating story, IMHO, and I thought that I would share it with my friends in the USMS Forum. Unfortunately, the underwater pictures, which were in color, are not included in the article. They were especially great. It was good to see Doc Counsilman mentioned in the article, too. I submit this article only for your reading interest and not for debate.
Kindest regards,
Mark
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by Mark in MD
I 'spose Michael's coach, Bob Bowman, doesn't want to tamper with success and/or believes in "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Goes to prove that each person is unique in what works best for him or her. Nice to hear from someone in Maryland, too. Hope to see a few folks from Maryland at the Colonies Zone Champs next week, too, at George Mason University.
I believe that NBAC does not recommend weight training for swimmers that are teenagers and as you all know by now Phelps is still a teenager.
Re the earlier reference to incorporating the dolphin kick it was Phelps dolphin kick off the wall from *** to free that captivated the spectators in the 400 IM race against Vendt.
Vendt by the way is at least 8 inches shorter than Phelps but is a living demonstration of the "other" body type that works so well, namely the "not big" guy with tremendous flexiblity (read great kick) and a "big" heart. Vendt nearly caught Phelps on that last free leg using a kick that looked like an outboard motor wake. Of course, Phelps is now much harder to catch.
Interesting that they mention Barrowman, another local boy. He was not tall (listed at 6 foot but much closer to 5'10") and same goes for Berkoff (5'9") and finally one of my swimming heros Murry Rose..not tall and reportedly couldn't do more than 2-3 pull-ups and one dip when "measured" by the experts but what a great feel for the water.
Originally posted by Mark in MD
I 'spose Michael's coach, Bob Bowman, doesn't want to tamper with success and/or believes in "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Goes to prove that each person is unique in what works best for him or her. Nice to hear from someone in Maryland, too. Hope to see a few folks from Maryland at the Colonies Zone Champs next week, too, at George Mason University.
I believe that NBAC does not recommend weight training for swimmers that are teenagers and as you all know by now Phelps is still a teenager.
Re the earlier reference to incorporating the dolphin kick it was Phelps dolphin kick off the wall from *** to free that captivated the spectators in the 400 IM race against Vendt.
Vendt by the way is at least 8 inches shorter than Phelps but is a living demonstration of the "other" body type that works so well, namely the "not big" guy with tremendous flexiblity (read great kick) and a "big" heart. Vendt nearly caught Phelps on that last free leg using a kick that looked like an outboard motor wake. Of course, Phelps is now much harder to catch.
Interesting that they mention Barrowman, another local boy. He was not tall (listed at 6 foot but much closer to 5'10") and same goes for Berkoff (5'9") and finally one of my swimming heros Murry Rose..not tall and reportedly couldn't do more than 2-3 pull-ups and one dip when "measured" by the experts but what a great feel for the water.
