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?
I agree with Jeff and John. The really elite swimmers aren't that much faster. But I think in general there are more swimmers competing at a higher level. I don't think it's all technique though. Where I live, a lot of kids are swimming 5-6x a week at age 10. (That's way too much, I think.) So it might be obsessive yardage or obsessive parenting that makes more kids fasters. Although I will say that my daughter really loves shaving down and putting on her fastskin...
I agree with Jeff and John. The really elite swimmers aren't that much faster. But I think in general there are more swimmers competing at a higher level. I don't think it's all technique though. Where I live, a lot of kids are swimming 5-6x a week at age 10. (That's way too much, I think.) So it might be obsessive yardage or obsessive parenting that makes more kids fasters. Although I will say that my daughter really loves shaving down and putting on her fastskin...
