A guy on my high school in the mid 60s was a All American in Backstroke and had an amazing dolphin,but a mediocre fly.In the 160 IM(20 yd pool) he'd go the first length and half of the second underwater(breathing at the turn of course.)
I was always a lousy kicker, one of the worst in any group I ever swam with. But my senior year in college ('67) I won a lot of beer money with the following challenge, "I'll race you across the pool (20 yards), I'll swim underwater and you can swim freestyle. Never lost! Our pool edge was about 16 " above the water level, high enough for a good racing start, followed by a double arm pull (like in a breastroke start), then with the arms at my side I wiggle rapidly, (full-body leading with the head), like some drug-crazed fish and set up for a one handed touch at the other side. I was still a rotten kicker with a board or with my hands extended out in front, but I was a demon in the 20 yard dash!
