End of Controversy - No catch-up or straight arm catch

Former Member
Former Member
I know everyone has been watching the Olympics and if anyone sees someone (in any stroke and at any distance) not showing an Early Vertical Forearm (EVF) stroke please point it out to me. In the men’s 400 Fr Relay, Lezak’s better EVF stroke helped him touch the wall before Bernard who dropped his elbows in the last few strokes. These Olympic Games should put to rest the controversy of the catch-up stroke (never once performed by any freestyler in these Olympics). So what you see someone do in a drill (catch-up) is not done in competitive swims when it counts!! The high elbow at the front quadrant of every stroke is so pronounced that every lay-on-a-straight-arm proponent has to become a convert (I know it’s not ever going to happen). I’m anxious to hear the rationalizations and support from the opposition. If you’re watching with your eyes open, there’s no catch-up and no straight-arm catch - PERIOD!!! If you want to make significant gains in your swimming focus on improving your Early Vertical Forearm technique. Improving your EVF should take about 6 to 8 weeks and when that becomes better you should focus on improving a good streamlined position by spending as much time as possible on your side while making sure that your catch begins early. Of course athleticism goes hand in hand with improvement. But you get my drift. Nuff-said.
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  • Former Member
    Former Member
    There seems to be a bit of an implication here that Bernard's stroke is bad and Lezak's is good because they split 46.73 and 46.06 in this race. It seems to me that the primary flaw in Bernard's swim was that he swam on the lane line giving Lezak the draft of his life. Also, finish your race before looking at the scoreboard. How bad can a stroke be that gets you a 46.73 split? It seems to me that if anything this shows how variable individual strokes can be at the very highest level. not a question of good and bad but rather bernard-good and lezak-gooder. if lezak would have spun his arms at the same rate as bernard, he would have sacrificed critical distance per stroke.
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  • Former Member
    Former Member
    There seems to be a bit of an implication here that Bernard's stroke is bad and Lezak's is good because they split 46.73 and 46.06 in this race. It seems to me that the primary flaw in Bernard's swim was that he swam on the lane line giving Lezak the draft of his life. Also, finish your race before looking at the scoreboard. How bad can a stroke be that gets you a 46.73 split? It seems to me that if anything this shows how variable individual strokes can be at the very highest level. not a question of good and bad but rather bernard-good and lezak-gooder. if lezak would have spun his arms at the same rate as bernard, he would have sacrificed critical distance per stroke.
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