Please tell me that this kind of thing doesn't happen in the States!
This morning, before coming into work, I trained at the local pool in Kenilworth, England, - 25 metres, four lanes. Not brilliant facilities, but acceptable.
At the end of each lane there is a sign: lane 1- slow, lane 2 - slow, lane 3 -medium, lane 4 - fast. Why do some swimmers, who clearly have difficulty in keeping up, always want to swim in the fast lane? This morning one elderly man, joined the fast lane. He swam breaststroke (I think it was!) with his face out of the water, which was a feat in itself because he was swimming so slowly. There were six of us in the lane and three left the pool (myself included).
When on the deck I decided to time him. He was consistent. Every length of the 25m pool was swum in 2 mins 15 seconds!
Please tell me this kind of 'swimming etiquette' wouldn't be seen in your pool.
So that I can continue with my swimming I need to be reassured that this was a one-off. I'm still in shock.
Originally posted by Zirconium
I would never understand the reason why a slow swimmer chooses the faster lane. It is so frequent that now I get used to it. The fast lane "magnet" effect can be sometimes so powerful that the better lane is actually the medium lane (less crowded).
The magnet effect is very simple to explain. A swimmer walks up to the pool and has three lanes to choose from. They are labeled but there is no recourse for choosing the wrong lane. If the swimmer goes to the lane with people slower than he is then HE has to pass people making it harder on him. If he picks the lane with people faster than he is, then YOU are the one doing the passing, making it harder on YOU. I think this clears it up.
I swim at two different pools, one of them is meadowbrook where the NBAC, Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff train(ed). Even there the lap swimmers are mostly insanely slow, I like to watch the stroke technique. Some of them are best described as doing "The Humpty Hump" (You've got it down when you appear to be insane.)
What I'm getting at in a roundabout way is i have never been to a pool and the other people in the lane were the same speed as me. They are usually slower, sometimes faster but never the same.
Originally posted by Zirconium
I would never understand the reason why a slow swimmer chooses the faster lane. It is so frequent that now I get used to it. The fast lane "magnet" effect can be sometimes so powerful that the better lane is actually the medium lane (less crowded).
The magnet effect is very simple to explain. A swimmer walks up to the pool and has three lanes to choose from. They are labeled but there is no recourse for choosing the wrong lane. If the swimmer goes to the lane with people slower than he is then HE has to pass people making it harder on him. If he picks the lane with people faster than he is, then YOU are the one doing the passing, making it harder on YOU. I think this clears it up.
I swim at two different pools, one of them is meadowbrook where the NBAC, Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff train(ed). Even there the lap swimmers are mostly insanely slow, I like to watch the stroke technique. Some of them are best described as doing "The Humpty Hump" (You've got it down when you appear to be insane.)
What I'm getting at in a roundabout way is i have never been to a pool and the other people in the lane were the same speed as me. They are usually slower, sometimes faster but never the same.
