As a math guy, this is something I've been pondering for a while. Is there a limit to how fast we can swim. For instance, I remember a discussion point a while back was that there was no physical way a human could run the 100m in less than 9 seconds, that the forces you would create within your body in order to run that fast would cause you muscles to tear and bones to shatter.
In swimming we're seeing a HUGE leap forward in technology as it pertains both to how we train and what we put on our bodies. For instance, how fast could Matt Biondi swum a 50 or 100 if he had access to the wealth of information we have now just 15 years later in regards to training, nutrition and suits.
Could he possibly 20 47 low in the 100 if he were in his 20's/early 30's right now?
And to my point, imagine the 50 free. How fast is "impossible"? We just say Bousquet take 1/4 second of the 50 free WR. What's the limit? You'd think at some point someone's going to set a WR that will never be broken.
Former Member
Interesting subject -- I don't think the "there is no limit" answers make a lot of sense. Of course there is a limit - we are not there yet, but we are getting closer. The rate of progress has slowed down - so, outside of suit improvments, we will probably reach a limit rather soon.
Look at track and field -- they seem to have reached a limit in many events and only PED are able to reach them -- I don't think a human can jump over 2.40 meters -- I don;t think a woman can legally run under 10.8 sec in the 100 dash -- I don't think men can jump over 9 meters at sea level. I think we are getting closer to track and field. Biondi swam 48.4 more than 20 years (2008) ago -- without the suits, they are probably only about .6-.8 faster - the record in 1968 was 52+ - so yes we are getting closer to the limit.
I had the good fortune of training with Biondi in the summer of 1987 and we played basketball sometimes before workouts.
He was an awesome sprinter and would have owned the 100 fly too had he actually trained for it. Height definitely helps.
Guys like Jon Sieben and Ricardo Prado (400 IM world champ and WR in 1982?) don't come around too often.
Alright, maybe the breaststrokers can get away with being shorter. But look at Damir Dugonjic. He's 6'7" and went 50.86 in the 100br. He could go 49 before he's done. Go Bears!
There are human limits for each race. I'm not sure what they are anymore.
Maybe we're close, maybe not. Maybe there's more breakthroughs to come.
I'd say many of recent records are suit driven & it would be interesting to see how fast men would swim in briefs & women in traditional suits.
We will definitely see Masters Records drop for years to come. Better faster swimmers are training at elite levels into their mid 30's, Dara Torres just blew the door open and should it's now possible for athletes to race at elite levels in their 40's.
How fast you are now depends on:
How fast were you at your peak?
How many years are you away from your peak training?
How's your body now? (what degree of body drift do you have?)
any injuries
What kind of & how much training have you done lately?
I just ask those who are older than me to leave a few soft records on the books in each age group.
Guys like Jon Sieben and Ricardo Prado (400 IM world champ and WR in 1982?) don't come around too often.
I had the pleasure of swimming next to Richardo Prado in the prelims of the 400IM at conference my junior year. I am not sure how tall he was, but I am 6'2" and I am pretty sure he was close to a foot shorter. Anyway, I had never seen him up close until we got on the blocks and I remember thinking "that guy is really short are they sure he is the world record holder" and then once we hit the water for the fly all I remember thinking was "damn, that guy has the longest strokes I have ever seen in my life". His stroke was a thing of beauty.
I can't imagine guys like that come along too often and it would be interesting to understand how he was able to be so efficient for his size.
Tim
Tallest swimmer I can think of is Amaury Leveaux... who is 6'8... anyone know someone who is 6'9?
Wikipedia says Matt Grevers is also 6'8".
Former Member
Not trying to say that height is an advantage...but it's certainly an ingredient in those who know how to put it all together.
Biondi, for example, in today's era with dolphin kicks and a speed suit...who knows what he could have done.
Heck yeah, he was awesome. He also ran around a 2:30 marathon.
The video should have included his 200 fly encounter with The Shrimp.
en.wikipedia.org/.../Jon_Sieben(a foot shorter?) beat Gross for Olympic gold and stole his WR.
When a sport (swimming, t&f, whatever) approaches these limits and the pace of record-breaking slows dramatically, will it become irrelevant, at least as a spectator sport?
Former Member
Wow! Great swimming video/story.
Thanks Quicksilver
Flipper
Former Member
Wow! Great swimming video/story.
Thanks Quicksilver
Flipper
You're welcome.
It was a really neat mini-movie.
Former Member
Sooner or later, some 7 foot tall kid with a gift, who likes swimming better than B-ball, is going to do some serious record breaking.
At the moment some of the fastest 100 meter times are recorded by guys much taller than 6 feet. Alain Bernard is 6'-5"
Not many 7 foot tall swimmers out there, yet there are tons of them on the courts.
Remember The Albatross? YouTube - 16 days of glory - albatross
