What is the ideal body shape/type for a great swimmer?

I have always been tall and very skinny. rigfht now, I'm no longer a very good swimmer. I can float in almost any depth of water in any position. This I'm always told is very rare for a man. then I see others float just as well. My long arms used to help also.

On ad of one of the top US females remain be of Shirley Babashoff when she was a swimmer back in the 1970's. Shirley was tall but not as tall as some of the women swimmers today, and slim then. How some swimmers have a lot more natural talent than others I don't know.

I sink like a rock. But I managed to get pretty far in the swimming world. But yes, I think I have to work harder than most to stay on top of the water. So buoyancy helps, but it's not a requirement.

Originally posted by swiminton what if you fail to hold it in?? Well then you get that turbo-jet effect... Of course, if you're in a wetsuit, maybe you still retain the buoyancy.

I just added this picture to my website, If you want to know what a swimmer looks like check this out it is from the book Swim Waves and Sunburn swimdownhill.com/.../page11.html

Perhaps this photo of Geek will be helpful:

Wow, Geek has quite a physique!