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.
Phelps switched back and forth between his regular stroke and the windmill stroke several times during the race. I think he switched back and forth two times. He looked very uncomfortable. Or, maybe he planned to swim like that, I don't know.
It did look uncomfortable. A mix of both styles?
Great quality video by the way.
Bousquet meant business. 48.2 is flying!
Bousquet meant business. 48.2 is flying!
Craig Lord wrote on swimnews that there is "no way" Bousquet can swim as fast as he is doing without a Jaked suit. He said in an FS-Pro suit or any suit before 2007, Bousquet doesn't do these times.
My thought...he is wrong. I think there has to be a lot given to the mental side of an athlete, that once he/she has a major breakthrough, then it becomes much easier to repeat those preformances or even improve upon them.
Bousquet has had those breakthroughs the last 2 years...training under Brett Hawke, swimming the Cielo, Targett, Bovell, and improved suits. I think if the current suits are banned, Bousquet will still be swimming as super fast as he is in an FS Pro or similar suit because he know believes that he can swim long course as well as he does short course.
I did notice Bousquet's Jaked swim suit.
Phelps did seem uncomfortable in the water. His stroke jumped all over the place between strait arm and his regular stroke. It was a great comeback after all of his controversy stuff. It had to play with his head. Terrible dive by the way.
I can only hope with all the stuff that went on he can get his head right back into his swimming. I did see his meeting with somelittle kids and it was a good thing.
May I add a suggestion for him keep your private stuff private.
I think it is important to look at it in its totality...physchology, physiology, central nervous system, technique, and the suits. It seems that we are probably past the point of questioning the efficacy of the suits. (I'm almost afraid to enter an opinion here. But...) A pretty simple statistical analysis leads one to conclude that the suits have played an important role in the recent swimming achievements.
For instance, Joel Stager ran a statistical model (which you can listen to him talk about on floswimming.com) on the time drops which came with the suits. Nothing special happened until the LZR came around. Things were pretty much the same up through the fs pro historically. After the LZR and the suits that have followed, strange things started to happen that were and are out of whack with the long history of speed progression.
So, I have to agree on some level that Fred would probably not be able to accomplish yesterday's swim without the assistance of the newer suits. At the same time, you could have put anybody in Fred's suit and they would not come close to swimming like him. Its amazing.
Now don't get me wrong. I don't have a strong opinion about the suits as it relates to the swimming world at large. I personally have a love/hate relationship with them. They are a pain in the butt, but they feel great. And, that's just for me personally...my own opinion as it relates specifically to me and my swimming. And, as long as they are legal, I'll be sporting one.
Every time I see that clip...I keep expecting to see his face, cause it looks so much like backstroke.
Weirdest stroke ever!
Someone commented about taller swimmers...and how this style might be better suited for those with less reach.
Phelps looked like a giraffe when he had the arms in full swing.
Have you been timed Paul? And do you like they feel of it?
We are going to see a horde of people playing with this staright arm recovery...as Jonty Skinner recently pointed out (and Bowman concurs in todays USA Today) the new suit technology allows swimmers the buoyancy to maintain this far more fatiguing/powerful technique. I've been playing with it for 6 months but have yet to give it a shot in a meet...
Swimming always does this...following trends I mean. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. But, teaching a straight arm recovery to everyone will be a mistake the same as trying to teach everyone to do the high elbow recovery was a mistake.
It will be slow unless you have already have serious speed to make it work.
My guess is many people will focus on what their arms look like above water and unless it is somehow connected to what's going on underneath it won't make any real difference.
Is it the speed that creates the technique or the technique that creates the speed? For instance, put fins on and sprint a 100 free. See what happens to your recovery with the additional speed. I know my arms naturally go a little straighter. Its just the natural result of the increase in speed for me.
What I think is great is it has stopped some coaches from forcing a high elbow recovery on everyone. Now hopefully in time we'll learn that you can't force a straight arm recovery on everyone either.
I know that he had the fastest split in history for a while, and I am almost certain it was a 47.0 I'll dig it up...
Wowsers it was in 2003:
www.omegatiming.com/.../F73_ResByHeat_108_Final_Men_4x100_Free.pdf
In fairness he did finish 6th in the race (I said he didn't final)
Lefty:
This was some kind of swim back in 2003 and I remember watching that 400 Free Relay but don't remember Fred Bousquet doing that :47.03 so this makes Craig Lord's statement even more foolish that I originally thought. He was probably wearing the Arena equivalent of a Speedo Fastskin I. That :47.03 was the second fastest split ever at that time because Pieter VD Hoogenband went a :47.02 in a relay split at the 2001 Worlds in Fukuoka, Japan.
The one thing I do remember at this 2003 World meet in Spain besides Phelps, Popov, and Thorpe having great swims in the meet was on the last day of the meet in the 400 Medley Relay, Pieter VD Hoogenband went a :46.70 free split and that was the fastest split until last years Olympics. Pieter VD Hoogenband came close to this when he split :46.79 in the 400 Free Relay in Athens in running down Jason Lezak and winning a silver medal for Holland in the 400 Free Relay.
Should"nt it be that Phelps tries old not new technique. I am 81 and at the age of 11 I was taught the straight arm recovery and the straight arm pull.
