Six Steps to Swimming Greatness

Successful swimming is a combination of several factors: Fitness, speed, strength, technique, motivation, skills, good nutrition, positive attitude, self confidence and flexibility, are all important to swim fast.

However, there are six specific factors that have been identified as being essential for peak swimming performance.

Over the past five years, the factors that contribute to swimming successfully at top national and international competitions have been systemically and scientifically analysed using a technique called “The Competition Analysis”. Developed by Australian Institute of Sport Biomechanist Dr Bruce Mason, the Competition Analysis is a process that breaks down racing into it’s various components.

• Start time – the first 15 metres, (from the starting signal to the time the swimmer’s head crosses the 15-metre mark from the starting wall).
• Turn time – a distance of 7.5 metres in and out of the wall, (taken from the point where the swimmer’s head passes through a point 7.5 metres from the wall into a turn and continues until the swimmer’s head passes through the same point 7.5 metres from the wall on the way out of the turn).
• Finish time – the final 5 metres, (from the time the swimmer’s head passes the 5 metre mark from the finish wall to the actual hand touch on the wall).
• Stroke Length- the distance the swimmer’s head moves during a complete arm cycle, (i.e., from right hand entry to the next right hand entry).
• Stroke rate (or stroke frequency)- the number of stroke cycles per minute
• Swimming speed (or velocity)
• Split times (each 25 / 50 metre segment of the race)

Looking closely at the Competition Analysis it appears that six factors are crucial to swimming successfully. These Six Steps to Greatness are:

1. Long strokes
2. Fast strokes
3. Great skills
4. Excellent technique
5. Maintain all the above when fatigued
6. Maintain all the above when under pressure

Step One: Long Strokes

At maximum speed, world class male and female freestyle swimmers are able to cover a distance of approximately 2 metres per stroke cycle. In other words, they can cover two metres per stroke cycle at a speed of 2 metres per second. The tables below show the stroke length of placegetters in the 1998 FINA World Swimming Championships male and female 100 metres freestyle.

Table 1

Table 1 showing stroke lengths for the first three swimmers in the final of the men’s 100 metres freestyle at the 1998 World Swimming Championships

Table 2

Table 2 showing stroke lengths for the first three swimmers in the final of the women’s 100 metres freestyle at the 1998 World Swimming Championships

Step Two: Long strokes and fast strokes

Great swimmers are possessed with great speed. The ability to move fast through water is what the sport is all about. The top freestyle swimmers in the world are able to complete around 50 stroke cycles per minute at top speed, WHILST maintaining approximately 2 metres per stroke cycle.

Table 3

Table 3 shows the average stroke frequency for the first three swimmers in the finals of the men’s and women’s 100 metres freestyle at the 1998 World Swimming Championships

Step Three: Long strokes and fast strokes and great skills

In top level swimming, events are won or lost on competitive skills like dives, starts, turns and finishes. Explosive starts, tight turns and powerful finishes are often the difference between finishing first and third in international sprint swimming.

Table 4

Table 4 shows start times, turn times and finish times for the first three swimmers in the finals of the men’s and women’s 100 metres freestyle at the 1998 World Swimming Championships

Step Four: Long strokes and fast strokes, great skills and excellent technique

Technique is a difficult thing to measure. Coaches can identify what constitutes a good technique and what needs improving through years of coaching education and experience. It is generally agreed however, that excellence in technique is a prerequisite for fast swimming and much of what we know about technical excellence we have learned from studying the movements of champion swimmers.

Step Five: Swim with long strokes and fast strokes, great skills and excellent technique when fatigued

Swimming fast is not the problem. Swimming fast when it really starts to hurt, that’s the problem!! Swimmers competing in major competitions are able to keep swimming fast when it gets tough in those last 25 metres and their bodies are screaming at them to slow down or stop.

Table 5

Table 5 shows times for the final 25 metres and finish times for the first three swimmers in the finals of the men’s and women’s 100 metres freestyle at the 1998 World Swimming Championships

Step Six: Swim with long strokes and fast strokes, great skills and excellent technique when fatigued and under pressure (in a race situation)

Think about the great Susie O’Neill at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. Last night of competition, she was tired from a week of tough racing, a tough event (200 metres fly) ahead of her and all of Australia watching in to see her break the long standing record for the number of Commonwealth Games gold medals won by an individual swimmer: in other words she was under great pressure.

Not only did she win the race, do a personal best, almost break the world record and break the Commonwealth gold medal statistic, she swam with technical excellence and control throughout the race despite the enormous pressure of the situation.

Now that we know what they are, how do you take the six steps to greatness?

• Work on keeping strokes long and strong at training. In every effort ask yourself “Could I do this with fewer strokes?” When doing skills work like drills aim for technical perfection, then technical perfection with the minimum number of strokes.
• Develop real speed by working hard during your speed work training and getting the best out of every effort. Train fast to Race fast.
• Every turn in training is a race turn, every dive is a race dive. Every finish should be completed on the wall with power and controlled aggression. Train as you would like to race.
• Drills should be completed with precision and with 100% concentration. Think technique first at all times.
• Challenge yourself to swim fast when tired. In training challenge yourself to jump up at the end of the session and swim fast. When racing, challenge yourself to swim fast when tired, to swim fast heats in the morning then faster finals at night, to swim as fast on the last day of the meet as you did on the first day etc.
• Learn to enjoy pressure situations. Being nervous is a sign that something great is about to happen. Your body is getting ready to do something brilliant. Learn to enjoy the pressure of competition.

We can’t all be Alex Popov or Michael Klim, but we can learn a lot about them by studying the way the race. Great swimmers are great for many reasons. The six steps to greatness are ones every swimmer, of any level and any age can take to help them achieve their swimming goals.

As the proverb says, “the longest journey begins with the first step”.

Take your next step towards being the best you can be right now.

Keep your strokes long and strong,
Move them fast, Keep them long.
To help you through the swimming test,
Make sure that your skills are the best.
Work on your stroke and swimming technique,
Every day, every month, every year, every week.
When things get tough and you get weary,
Keep fighting on and never fear.
When the pressure’s on you will pass the test,
If you’ve done it in training and believe you’re the best

I would like to acknowledge the work of Dr Bruce Mason and his highly skilled team at the Australian Institute of Sport Biomechanics Unit. Dr Mason and his staff have worked tirelessly over the past 5 years analysing swimming races and gathering information at major Australian and International competitions. They have made this information readily available to coaches, swimmers and sports scientists across Australia and contributed significantly to the winning performances of many of Australia’s top swimmers.

Wayne Goldsmith