I submit that swimming is one of the worst sports in terms of following fad techniques simply because someone has been successful using that technique.
I submit that talent or genetics, aerobic capacity, workout intensity as well as mental toughness play a far greater roll than mere stroke technique in the end.
Seems like the US latches on to the winner's stroke techniques all too often as the way explain success and teach kids. Front quadrant swimming like Ian Thorpe..... head down sprinting like Popoff..... these guys would be successful in their events with or without these techniques in my opinion.
Except for the latest cheating techniques...... i.e. flip turns on backstroke, underwater dolphin kick on backstroke, head under on breastroke, full body suits, and the soon to be dolphin kick on breastroke pull outs, the sport has not improved a whole lot in the last 25 years.... especially when you compare it to 25 years previous to 1980..... (1955)
Thought for the day...... :-)
John Smith
Parents
Former Member
Uh...
Ian Thorpe's WRs in the 200 free, matched by Hoogie.
In 1980 only one person had EVER been under 50 in the 100m free, and it was such an unusual event that some people speculated the pool was 6 inches too short. Now, we expect anyone in the hunt for the Olympic Finals to be under 49.
The women's butterfly races.
AND, while we're on the subject of women's swimming, the steroid slammin' East Germans kinda fouled up the results for the 70s. Consider that women today are clean and now equaling or surpassing the time of roid-monsters, and suddenly the last 25 years starts to look better.
I toss out all these examples because I believe these races are free of the "cheating technique" issue you previously cited.
There is another whole in your hypothesis. If it was all talent and workout intensity, you would expect today's world-class swimmers to be doing more intensity and more volume than in the 70s. Actually, they are doing less.
Finally, I think that we're kidding ourselves if we think we can separate out the effects of "technique" and of "training." Anyone who has been in the sport knows you need both to have real improvement, and they are not independent of each other but in fact they interact (as anyone who has worked on fly technique while out of shape can tell you). We could go around in circles trying to figure out whether Dara Torres' successful comeback (arguably more successful than Jenny Thompson sticking with the sport during the same time) was due more to technique or training. Fact is stroke technique is different, training methods are different, and what works for one person's body and psyche may be a complete disaster for someone else.
And don't get me started on the "Like Mike" training fallacy.
Matt
Uh...
Ian Thorpe's WRs in the 200 free, matched by Hoogie.
In 1980 only one person had EVER been under 50 in the 100m free, and it was such an unusual event that some people speculated the pool was 6 inches too short. Now, we expect anyone in the hunt for the Olympic Finals to be under 49.
The women's butterfly races.
AND, while we're on the subject of women's swimming, the steroid slammin' East Germans kinda fouled up the results for the 70s. Consider that women today are clean and now equaling or surpassing the time of roid-monsters, and suddenly the last 25 years starts to look better.
I toss out all these examples because I believe these races are free of the "cheating technique" issue you previously cited.
There is another whole in your hypothesis. If it was all talent and workout intensity, you would expect today's world-class swimmers to be doing more intensity and more volume than in the 70s. Actually, they are doing less.
Finally, I think that we're kidding ourselves if we think we can separate out the effects of "technique" and of "training." Anyone who has been in the sport knows you need both to have real improvement, and they are not independent of each other but in fact they interact (as anyone who has worked on fly technique while out of shape can tell you). We could go around in circles trying to figure out whether Dara Torres' successful comeback (arguably more successful than Jenny Thompson sticking with the sport during the same time) was due more to technique or training. Fact is stroke technique is different, training methods are different, and what works for one person's body and psyche may be a complete disaster for someone else.
And don't get me started on the "Like Mike" training fallacy.
Matt
