I'm looking to gain more knowledge about sprint freestyle swimming. As an long retired distance freestyler I don't have a great deal of personal knowledge of how to swim the 50 or 100 freestyle. I've coached many sprint freestylers and I know that many of the best sprinters have what I would say an amazing strategy to their sprint swims. I am currently giving private lessons to many age groupers and high school swimmers and I've been explaining to them that some of the best sprinters in the world swim their 50 or 100 with more strategy than just the plain old thought of swimming "FAST".
I would very much appreciate any of you sprinters out there who would like to share your strategies for swimming these two events. I would love to be able to pass on some of this information, but I think many of us in the masters community could learn from some of you as well. I look forward to seeing some of the responses. Maybe I will try sprinting one day (LOL):rofl: .
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Former Member
One thing that has not been mentioned is start reaction time. You don’t want to be thinking about race strategy at the start – you can go to sleep on the starting block if there is too much thinking going on.
The difference in reaction times (whatever that is what they measure and report), even at the international levels, varies quite a lot – 0.20 lost here to the rest of the field can be race over.
You should only be listening for the gun/horn on the blocks, that’s all. When it goes, you gotta go - immediately. Everything else in a 50 should be hardwired after that.
John is right, your best times will be when you make no mistakes (and don’t get the gutter lane)
The 100 is a whole other game and requires a strategy no matter how good you are.
Ian.
One thing that has not been mentioned is start reaction time. You don’t want to be thinking about race strategy at the start – you can go to sleep on the starting block if there is too much thinking going on.
The difference in reaction times (whatever that is what they measure and report), even at the international levels, varies quite a lot – 0.20 lost here to the rest of the field can be race over.
You should only be listening for the gun/horn on the blocks, that’s all. When it goes, you gotta go - immediately. Everything else in a 50 should be hardwired after that.
John is right, your best times will be when you make no mistakes (and don’t get the gutter lane)
The 100 is a whole other game and requires a strategy no matter how good you are.
Ian.
