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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Does the lead swimmer do more work?
I would say no. The lead swimmer does the necessary work it takes to swim, for example, effort X. The drafter does X - Y, where Y in this case is a positive number, used to show that his/her effort is less than that of the lead swimmer. So it is the drafter who is doing less.
Question for you all. In practice, say there are several swimmers in a lane. What interval distance apart is best to reduce, if not eliminate, the drag effect?
I would say 5 seconds is incorrect. What about 10? 15? Can it be eliminated in a pool where there are several swimmers in a lane?
Does the lead swimmer do more work?
I would say no. The lead swimmer does the necessary work it takes to swim, for example, effort X. The drafter does X - Y, where Y in this case is a positive number, used to show that his/her effort is less than that of the lead swimmer. So it is the drafter who is doing less.
Question for you all. In practice, say there are several swimmers in a lane. What interval distance apart is best to reduce, if not eliminate, the drag effect?
I would say 5 seconds is incorrect. What about 10? 15? Can it be eliminated in a pool where there are several swimmers in a lane?
