Drafting

has someone draft off you slows you down-notice that in the Olympics the swimmer who is being drafted off of moves over in the lane. You want smooth water in front and behind you.

I am sure it slows you down, two 200lb guys one on each side drafting off you, means you are pulling 600lbs??? Time to get the stop watches out and see, not to guess. George www.swimdownhill.com

Tom, it must have made you crazy to have two guys drafting you while Mr Moose and Ralph rode on your back:p .

I was at the International Swimming Hall of Fame the night Abdel Latif Abou Heif was inducted. In my humble opinion, he is one of the most incredible swimmers the world has ever known. Some of his swims are beyond belief and comprehension.

Originally posted by 2go+h20 Is drafting permitted in Fina Sanctioned swims? It's a been a few years since I've done open water swims. But last I knew, drafting was usually illegal in open water swims. But it seemed to be dependant on the race. Most races would try to keep to drafting to a minimum, while a couple had no specific rule agaisnt it.

The FINA rules - at least the online ones - have no prohibitions about drafting. Certainly, there was drafting at the 10k for the USA this year, which was a FINA event. Individual races do vary, however.

First, you need to understand why drafting works. If you kick off from the side of the pool and streamline without stroking or kicking, you will eventually stop. The reason is drag, a process by which your momentum gets transferred to the water around you. This moving water surrounds you as you swim and fans out behind you, so a swimmer who is near you can grab onto that moving water and steal some of its momentum. But drafting will not slow you down, because the momentum the drafter is stealing is momentum you have already lost to the water. You would not be able to get that momentum back even if the drafter hadn't stolen it.

Originally posted by Guvnah Tom -- Tell me more about this. How do you give a guy a warning? How do you execute that "serious lesson in manners" out on the course? A kick to the face? May I answer this, I have stood on people who try to draft on me, the odd elbow in the jaw and sometimes a kick in the face. The threat of the other person not finishing the race, you name it. Anything goes when you are racing for money. George Park www.swimdownhill.com

Paul, it is funny you mention that.....Mr. Moose was really upset because he always swims on my left and Ralph on my right and they were really mad these guys were in their space....Mr. Moose ate the guys goggles when we finished the race....Ralph was still out on the lake attempting to finish and missed the action.....Was not, yes you were, was not, I finished before you, did not, to...

Whoa. Let's slow down here. Kicking someone in the face intentionally in an open water swim? Intentionally elbowing someone in the head? If I was a race organizer and I heard someone admitting to that type of conduct, I would ban the offender from the race forever. In fact, I think the swim organizer would almost be required to do so. Open water swimming has a lot of unavoidable contact. It also has some basic assumed courtesies. Those include not hitting other people on purpose. Accidents happen. Contact happens. Deal with it. Be mature and civil. People do draft in open water. Its pretty much unavoidable. If you have some courtesy, you can actually rotate who is doing the drafting and who is doing the pulling along. If that doesn't work and you are the leader, try varying your pace or your line. Slow down for 400 yards, speed up for 400. Try accelerating from a turn buoy when a sharp turn will usuallty give you a gap to take advantage of. There are lots of tricks, and tactics. If you are swimming, you may want to tuck in behind someone else for some period of time. I have a pretty good line in most races and I often find people using me to pull them along. Not the end of the world--I try to lose them by the end of the race if possible, or in the surf if not. Sometimes I draft off other people. When I do, its my responsibility not to have any physical contact with the person I am trailing and I will always make an effort to swim up and take a turn at leading. Sometimes the lead swimmer refuses to take advantage of my offer. That's OK too. Foolish but OK. I did a race in Oregon once where there was an organized peloton of swimmers who planned a rotation pattern--it was a great idea. I've done that with less prior planning in swims where I have seen friends in the water. I have done races where a swimmer drafting off me has hit me every stroke in the feet for a mile--annoying yes. I actually know the guy and he is a friend of mine. I try to lose him and whine afterwards but don't try to hurt him. I don't like it but I've never taken a cheap shot like was described here. I'm pretty competitive but you have to keep some sense of perspective.