In the IM, I know you're supposed to touch the wall before you do your turn but after going over some videos, I saw that most swimmers turned to their side to touch the wall and flip ? Then what's the difference between turning around after a little bit after the flags, touching and then flippinG? I hear THAT'S illegal?
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I don't have a rule book handy at the moment but the rule states something along the lines of 'your body can't pass the vertical during the back to *** turn'.
Think of your body laying flat on your back in the water. If you drew a line from the bottom of the pool to the sky that went straight through your body, this would represent the vertical line. Basically, neither one of your shoulders can pass this vertical line before you touch the wall. If you want to think of it mathematically, your shoulders can't go farther than 90 degrees from where they are if you are flat on your back.
Once you touch the wall with your hand, you may flip backwards, frontwards, sideways - basically anyway you want. The only catch is that when you push off the wall for breastroke, you must not be past vertical on your stomach. Basically it's the same rule as coming into the wall on backstroke except for being on your stomach. Not something you will see too often in the 400 IM.
In high school I was taught how to do the cross-over turn. Coming in on backstroke you touch the wall while almost on your side, flip your legs over the top to the wall, and push off again almost on your side. It's a tough turn to do legally, not to mention the risk of oxygen debt because you don't get a breath on the wall.
As you may be able to tell by my user name, I don't care to much for IM. If I had to race IM today, I would probably just use the old fashioned spin turn.
I don't have a rule book handy at the moment but the rule states something along the lines of 'your body can't pass the vertical during the back to *** turn'.
Think of your body laying flat on your back in the water. If you drew a line from the bottom of the pool to the sky that went straight through your body, this would represent the vertical line. Basically, neither one of your shoulders can pass this vertical line before you touch the wall. If you want to think of it mathematically, your shoulders can't go farther than 90 degrees from where they are if you are flat on your back.
Once you touch the wall with your hand, you may flip backwards, frontwards, sideways - basically anyway you want. The only catch is that when you push off the wall for breastroke, you must not be past vertical on your stomach. Basically it's the same rule as coming into the wall on backstroke except for being on your stomach. Not something you will see too often in the 400 IM.
In high school I was taught how to do the cross-over turn. Coming in on backstroke you touch the wall while almost on your side, flip your legs over the top to the wall, and push off again almost on your side. It's a tough turn to do legally, not to mention the risk of oxygen debt because you don't get a breath on the wall.
As you may be able to tell by my user name, I don't care to much for IM. If I had to race IM today, I would probably just use the old fashioned spin turn.
