Recently I watched Denis Pankratov’s finals’ swims (two golds – 100 & 200m fly) at the Atlanta Olympics. His 25m long underwater kick helped him win these events. His underwater speed was obvious as he gained a significant advantage at the breakout point over the 2nd and 3rd place finishers whose times were 52.5 sec - still good ten years later (not wearing full body suit!).
What is interesting – his underwater kick was not streamlined. His hands were 10+ inches apart and they were making a wave-like motion. This technique breaks two main rules of the efficient underwater dolphin kick demonstrated by Ian Crocker in the March issue of The Swimming World magazine:
1. Keep the hands in a streamlined position, and
2. Keep the head hidden within the streamline.
Can anyone comment on why Pankratov’s (arguably wrong?) underwater kick was still fast:dunno:
Dmitri
Parents
Former Member
Can anyone comment on why Pankratov’s (arguably wrong?) underwater kick was still fast:dunno:
This motion with the hands did cause some controversy at the Atlanta Olympics. Some people felt that he was sculling the water, which according to the way people read the rules at the time was illegal.
I don't think his motion was wrong for him. This may not be the best thing for other people, but it was one phase that helped him out. So, it may not be main stream but that doesn't make it wrong.
Can anyone comment on why Pankratov’s (arguably wrong?) underwater kick was still fast:dunno:
This motion with the hands did cause some controversy at the Atlanta Olympics. Some people felt that he was sculling the water, which according to the way people read the rules at the time was illegal.
I don't think his motion was wrong for him. This may not be the best thing for other people, but it was one phase that helped him out. So, it may not be main stream but that doesn't make it wrong.
