Check
www.youtube.com/watch
Whoa... I'm speechless... well, momentarily anyways...
That is incredible, I've never seen anything quite like
this before!! What a perfect example of a totally unique
stroke, a bizarre phenomena that might not ever become
mainstream swimming philosophy.
I mean, it would be near to impossible to try and mimic
this stroke pattern, not to mention, how could someone
actually describe this appropriately in words...???!!
Attempting the impossible, just for the sheer need of
understanding, how could I let this opportunity "swim"
away?
His mix of technical variables are somewhat shocking,
and trying to describe his kick pattern combined with
his torso and pulling action is a slightly daunting task.
I mean, this appears to be a hybrid swimming stroke,
combining elements of butterfly and freestyle, with very
little semblance of previously accepted principals. This
may be the new "stroke" or just something that works
solely for this man.
Personally, I'm not willing to risk everything by endorsing
this stroke, but I will not disappoint by trying my best to
explain it.
His windmill action above water has been seen before, not
a complete shock, but it is when we look under-water that
I'm completely flabbergasted...
All the concepts I've known about sprint freestyle are almost
completely contrary with Stefan Nystrand.
Where should I start?
1. He bounces through his stroke, a tighter version of
the body dolphin action, during freestyle??!!
2. He swims "uphill", totally bizzare, but this is what I'm seeing.
You can even pause his stroke in the 25 meter under water angle,
and the result is uncanny. It appears that he rotates from side to side,
so fast, that the resistance from his body position is mitigated.
3. His "catch" stays near the surface, and he begins pulling
immediately, he doesn't wait for his forearm to be perpendicular to
the bottom of the pool. ***GASP*** Instead, he almost drops his
elbow, and pulls at 45 degrees, in exchange for faster tempo, and
the body dolphin.
4. His kick, ummmmm, his kick... What is that? A four-beat freestyle/dolphin blend? It's like his legs are assisting with the upper body set-up and over-all body-dolphin action.... ???!!!????!!!!
Okay folks, not sure what else to say, except.... WOW!
Check www.simma.nu for video verification, scroll down to Nov 12 and all the action on Nystrand is there.
3. His "catch" stays near the surface, and he begins pulling
immediately, he doesn't wait for his forearm to be perpendicular to
the bottom of the pool. ***GASP*** Instead, he almost drops his
elbow, and pulls at 45 degrees, in exchange for faster tempo, and
the body dolphin.
Egad. I think this describes my catch in free. I think I'm EVF challenged.
It does seem very common for sprinters to have a straight arm recovery. Is it because it increases stroke rate? On another thread, the wookiee said straight arm free won't hurt your shoulder if you do it right? How do you do it right though?
Nystrand has really taken the straight arm windmill to a new level though ...
What I found interesting ...not only with his swim...but also at the short course yards championships...is how many sprinters are using the straight arm recovery.
Kind of looks like inverted backstroke. Can't argue how fast it is though.
Straight arm recovery has been around for a long time. (Janet Evans, Inrgird DeBruin and Michael Klim all used this style.)
It actually looks very strange on the surface...but underwater it's not too different.
The advantage, they say, is that the arms generate momentum along with a fast turn over.
Evil Smith and I are flabbergasted. For a second or so I thought he was swimming backstroke from the upper camera angle.
His stroke TRULY flies in the face of ALL modern day coaching. It looks like something from a summer league team or the 1960s.
He looks like he's just muscling through the whole race..... absolute and pure upper body power.
Quicksilver...... Inky, Klim and Janet are NO WHERE NEAR this extreme on their straight arm technique...... let alone the VERY high head position and crazy kick.
This guy's from Mars.
John Smith
This guy's from Mars.
I didn't want to say anything...but it sure ain't pretty.
There's going to be lots of people experimenting with this.
www.youtube.com/watchwww.youtube.com/watch
Head up...and hips down...??? ...with a stutter kick!
It actually looks very strange on the surface...but underwater it's not too different.
Not too different under-water? Did you take a look at the straight on video? He catches high and does an in-sweep down the center line starting above his head, and right tight to his body??!! Klim and Janet Evans didn't do anything like that....
I tried this in work-out tonight, and although it actually was a bit faster for me, (it could have been the adrenalin) 24.83 short course meters from a push, I don't think I'll train for this though... It felt like my back and shoulders would be unhappy after a few days...
