I have in the last couple of months taken up swimming again after a 12-14 year break, and one thing I noticed have changed is that you are now allowed to use fly leg when turning in freestyle.
When did this rule change occur? or do I remember wrong and it have always been like that?
in freestyle anything goes
most people use the crawl
when you wrote
"you are now allowed to use fly leg when turning in freestyle"
I think you're referring to swimmers doing streamline dolphin kick (SDK) when they dive off the blocks and push off the wall
swimmers and coaches discovered that SDK is faster for swimmers dome swimmers than flutter kicking or swimming freestyle, back or fly
Some swimmers can SDK super fast
swimmers go off a little deeper to get under the waves and currents
they SDK and add critical distance against competitors who don't use it or aren't as fast
phelps, lochte, crocker and coughlin are some of americas finest
they sometimes call it underwaters
SDK has changed the sport and made swimmers faster
I have in the last couple of months taken up swimming again after a 12-14 year break, and one thing I noticed have changed is that you are now allowed to use fly leg when turning in freestyle.
When did this rule change occur? or do I remember wrong and it have always been like that?
freestyle pretty much means that anything goes.
Kicking fly kicks off the walls (SDK ~ streamline dolphin kick) can be just as fast as freestyle swimming.
You can kick up to 15 meters underwater.
Up to 16 yards in a 25 yard pool.
They call it the 5th stroke. Learn it, master it, and watch your times drop.
Ande on the forum coined the term SDK. He's got it down really well.
It seems to me that this refinement of the SDK is what really has pushed some of the world records in addition to the suits/pants.
Crocker went a :41 second 100 free at the short course championships...with maybe six or seven strokes a lap because his underwater kick is so dominant.
Made the 25 yard pool look like a bathtub.
It's definitely made a difference as far as times dropping...especially for backstrokers.
Funny thing is Jason Lezak still comes off the wall with monstrous flutter kicks, and he's just as quick as anyone out there.
