As quoted in the AP article:
"You'll all have to see. I'm not saying anything until we unveil it," Phelps said with a grin when asked how he's tweaked the stroke. "It's a significant change. You'll be able to tell exactly what I did as soon as I take my first stroke."
He's on tap to swim the 100- and 200-meter free and the 100 butterfly at the Charlotte UltraSwim in NC. Should be interesting to see.
Former Member
The recovery of Phelps stroke will have an insignificant impact compared to what he might change when his hands are in the water. He can change many things but only two options will make a significant positive change, and both have to do with stroke pattern changes. He can move his stroke more towards Bernard's or move it more toward Adlington's. That's about it.
Loping ~ ???? What the heck??? EVF is and Early Vertical Forearm or a more precise way of describing what a catch is. SDK is a submerged Dolphin Kick or underwater dolphin kick, DPS is Distance per stroke, Rotory Breathing is breathing to the side, Loping ~ teach loping! Do you tell swimmers to stop intertia that is vital for speed then glide? Is loping a lazy stroke? Is loping a recovery that waits for the other arm/hand to catch-up to the other. Is it like Mohammad Ali's Rope a Dope but Lope a Dope. If you teach someone to stop a propulsive mechanism and hope that gliding will make them faster, you're kidding yourself. Read the "Science of Swimming" by Dr. James Counsilman and tell me where gliding or the loss of inertia makes any sense at all. I swear if Phelps picked his nose while swimming, you'd have some coach or swimmer calling it flicking and encourage everyone to start picking their noses. Come on people!!! No more loping talk. To talk about the lope is to admit to being a dope!!!
I was going to start an Apathy Anonymous group, but why bother.
punstir - NYC
The best kick in the world can only slow down the loss of inertia when neither arm of the swimmer is working. Until a kick becomes more propulsive than pulling, loping or gliding will not make a swimmer faster ( maybe less tried).
Maybe you're overlooking a basic fact: if Bowman and Phelps use that style of freestyle, that style must be the best for Phelps.
Do you think that bowman would work years to make phelps swimming a freestyle that is a "joke" ?
maybe only Phelps can swim like Phelps, but even Lezark swim in a very similar way.
Maybe the key to view it is that the asymetric stroke can produce more high top speed when the arms are in power phase back.to-back and with a superb gliding and a outstanding kick you can minimize the loss of speed and keep your average speed higher that using the classic symetric styles.
Maybe the focal point is: is the "looping" styles really legal ? Phelps completely submerge for few moments gliding, against the rules, the feet can or can't break the surface, it's hard to see.
Come on people!!! No more loping talk. To talk about the lope is to admit to being a dope!!!
I find that when I have a bit of a lope in my stroke, that swimming freestyle is a bit easier. If I try to swim smooth and with symmetry(sp?) that I go almost no where fast.
I doubt any of us can have as big a lope as Phelps and be effective but then again, none of us have his kick that goes along with his lope either.
His lope makes reminds me of skippin rocks on the water. He just bounces fast down the pool.
The lope is all in the timing to be effective, which I think we would all agree on.
Tom I have never commented on the lopeing style wrongly called looping which means continous.
When I make comments some get rilled up and defend their beliefs even when they are wrong.
We had a hockey player in Canada who seemed to lope when he played. Everytime I saw him skate his lopeing style I would laugh but even lopeing he did get it done. On ice he looked like a horse cantering. I would sooner see him gallop.
Maybe the loper type swimmers should call it a canter and high elbow fast swimming should be called a gallop.
Phelps ready to try out new freestyle technique.
He has tried many things, some did not work out to well. He should be on that old show, I think it was called the Bong show.
Do you tell swimmers to stop intertia that is vital for speed then glide?
Good points about loping though you miss the one advantage and that is when you are gliding with your stroke you are kicking your tail off. It is a trade off. You have to have a strong kick to even consider it.
The best kick in the world can only slow down the loss of inertia when neither arm of the swimmer is working. Until a kick becomes more propulsive than pulling, loping or gliding will not make a swimmer faster ( maybe less tried). The term lope bothered me a moment ago but now I know it's simply silly and funny. Sorry for the weird vent. Lope all you want ~ Go for it!! To lope is to glide.
