In swimming, how is it that one can excel in both sprints and long distance? Is it because the distance games in swimming are only "relatively" distance games but are not really distance games from a physiologic perspective?
In the world of tracks, for example, an athlete cannot excel at both sprints and distance. Even the athletes from the two areas look different - much leaner for the distance runners and muscular for the sprinters.
I am wondering about this because whether I should focus on either the sprint or the distance as I plan to participate in the masters meet, or whether I don't have to sacrifice one for the other.
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In swimming, how is it that one can excel in both sprints and long distance? Is it because the distance games in swimming only "relatively" distance games but not really distant games from a physiologic perspective?
In the world of track, an athlete cannot excel at both sprints and distance. Even the athletes from the two areas look different - much leaner for the distance runners and muscular for the sprinters.
I am wondering about this because whether I should focus on either the sprint or the distance as I plan to participate in the masters meet, or whether I don't have to sacrifice one for the other.
At the elite, non-Masters level, I can't think of anyone that excels at both sprint and distance. Popov wasn't good at the 200. Thorpe was a middle distance guy. Janet Evans wasn't a sprinter. So why do you think someone DOES excel in both?
In Masters I think that at the Zones-level there are many swimmers good at a variety of distances. At the higher age groups I think some, like Graham Johnston, can own records at nearly every distance. But in general at the level of Nationals or Worlds the best sprinters are sprinters. The best distance swimmers are distance swimmers.
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Former Member
In swimming, how is it that one can excel in both sprints and long distance? Is it because the distance games in swimming only "relatively" distance games but not really distant games from a physiologic perspective?
In the world of track, an athlete cannot excel at both sprints and distance. Even the athletes from the two areas look different - much leaner for the distance runners and muscular for the sprinters.
I am wondering about this because whether I should focus on either the sprint or the distance as I plan to participate in the masters meet, or whether I don't have to sacrifice one for the other.
At the elite, non-Masters level, I can't think of anyone that excels at both sprint and distance. Popov wasn't good at the 200. Thorpe was a middle distance guy. Janet Evans wasn't a sprinter. So why do you think someone DOES excel in both?
In Masters I think that at the Zones-level there are many swimmers good at a variety of distances. At the higher age groups I think some, like Graham Johnston, can own records at nearly every distance. But in general at the level of Nationals or Worlds the best sprinters are sprinters. The best distance swimmers are distance swimmers.
