This may be opening a can of worms here, but I'm having an argument with someone in my group. If someone is drafting off of you in a pool set (like 4x200 SCY), does it hurt your effort? Does the lead swimmer have to work harder or experience some other negative benefit?
I've read a bit about aerodynamics and it would seem that in car racing, the lead car actually gets a positive benefit, but I'm not sure if that's true in swimming.
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Former Member
Personally I don't compete in the pool anymore and when I did I never drafted. I am strictly an OW swimmer & triathlete. I have found that while drafting at someone's hip can be effective, swimming shoulder to shoulder interferes with my stroke too much. If I found myself swimming shoulder to shoulder with "a big guy" I too would have ended up stopping and letting him go ahead. The only reason swimming side by side could be faster is if it resulted from more intense competition between the swimmers. I've never seen anything that would lead me to believe swimming side by side is more efficient (& thus faster) than drafting at ones feet or hip.
Personally I don't compete in the pool anymore and when I did I never drafted. I am strictly an OW swimmer & triathlete. I have found that while drafting at someone's hip can be effective, swimming shoulder to shoulder interferes with my stroke too much. If I found myself swimming shoulder to shoulder with "a big guy" I too would have ended up stopping and letting him go ahead. The only reason swimming side by side could be faster is if it resulted from more intense competition between the swimmers. I've never seen anything that would lead me to believe swimming side by side is more efficient (& thus faster) than drafting at ones feet or hip.
