When I swam in HS 27yrs ago, girls my age were swimming 100yd free in just under 59.0. Now I look at HS times and I'm blown away on how fast they are swimming and at younger ages.
What has changed?
Parents
Former Member
I beg to differ with the premise of this thread. As I look back to my own age group and highschool experience in the late 1970's in Ohio and compare for example the winning state championship times to the winning times from last year, many of the events seem to have improved very little or none at all. Certainly, stroke changes in back, *** and fly have allowed times to fall in comparison to times back then, but freestyle has had no major changes and appears to be similar when compared to times a quarter of a century ago. Certainly Phelps and others have lowered the mark, but age groupers don't seem that much faster to me now..... many seem slower.
John Smith
I beg to differ with the premise of this thread. As I look back to my own age group and highschool experience in the late 1970's in Ohio and compare for example the winning state championship times to the winning times from last year, many of the events seem to have improved very little or none at all. Certainly, stroke changes in back, *** and fly have allowed times to fall in comparison to times back then, but freestyle has had no major changes and appears to be similar when compared to times a quarter of a century ago. Certainly Phelps and others have lowered the mark, but age groupers don't seem that much faster to me now..... many seem slower.
John Smith
