Has swimming changed since 1933

Most of the younger swimmers I know, and I don’t know that many, have no understanding of the history of their sport. They also don’t seem to care. Sure, they know people like Phelps, but anything beyond ten years and they don’t know what you’re talking about. Part of this is due to the publicity that swimming receives in the U.S., which is basically zero (outside of an Olympic year). Think about the traditions of baseball, basketball, and football that are always available to the public before a game or even on their own designated TV channels. I enjoyed watching this video. Maybe I’m just getting old and can’t relate to the whippersnappers anymore, but they’re clueless regarding the traditions of their own sport.

The backstroke from the 30's looks like it was from a retirement pool in Del Boca Vista Fla. I thought the same thing. Looked like the country club decided to have a meet or something. We could of taken them. :) Heck you could have... and you're not even a backstroker.

I have tried to find the 100 m record for the 100 backstroke in 1932 - 1933. I think you will find that it is about 1:10. I know the record for the 100 breaststroke was about 1:24. The 400m free was 4:56.

History, where would we be now if it was not for the past. Jack Nelson a friend and the Butterfly stroke www.readingswimclub.org/.../ButterFly.htm

Clarke Scholes swam for the same college as I did: Michigan State. He's our only Olympic gold medalist, I believe. What about Magic Johnson? Wasn't he part of the original "Dream Team"?

Actually you are correct however I believe Kirk was referring to swimming That's correct. And I probably shouldn't have discounted Ken Walsh and Gary Dilley who won golds in relays. Those guys were certainly both great swimmers in their own right. Thanks for that link, Skip. I hadn't seen that before.

And in this era of "technical" suits, don't forget that these guys and gals in the early years were often wearing suits of wool or other highly resistant materials! Go see what you could do now with a pound and a half of wet wool around your butt! Leo

52 Helsinki looked a bit "weak", from the swimming right down to the plywood blocks with black spray paint numbers. It looks very serious from 56 on. The backstroke from the 30's looks like it was from a retirement pool in Del Boca Vista Fla. Bahahahah That was so funny! And yes they did look like they were from a retirement home.

Thanks Frank you are a great souce of info. I wonder about the guys who ridicule the styles of the 1933 backstroke swimmers are they much faster then the times you have mentioned in 1928. That backstroke race was surely in a very rough swimming pool. It looked like a race in very choppy open water. Did you notice the markers for the turn on the bottom of the pool were not in a straight line???

Judging historical vs. modern sports is always tough. If you brought Mark Spitz (from the 70's) in a time machine to today, with training (plus goggles, suit, and cap) could he give Phelps a run for his money? We know that Spitz was able to go actually faster in the 90's then he did when he swam at the Olympics - but time and younger swimmers had passed him by. Could a 23 y/o Mark Spitz beat a 23 y/o Michael Phelps, giving everything else equal?