Honestly, although those points are all super valid, I think you're overestimating how special one is to do the bolded above.

I'd say that the majority of AG triathletes, of which pretty much the vast majority are actively trying to improve their swim despite limited pool time, do all of the bolded above if they've been doing triathlon for more than a year.

There's nothing special about watching a lot of youtube videos and articles and forums for the best tips, or focusing on every stroke in practice (what else are you going to focus on??) - it's what most AGers do, even the slow ones who are trying to improve.

I would actually argue pretty forcefully that most BOP-BOMOP AG swimmers who have been trying to improve their swim for years, do both of the above wayyyy more than the fast guys here. Many of these BOPers are with masters programs for years, and have paid for coaching and videos in far in excess of the good AOS swimmers here, and often have a lot more experience in pools and OWS given how long they've been at it.

Of course, studying and focusing on swimming does not in itself translate to speed. That's why clueless elementary school and junior high school kids who literally have no stroke instruction and just hammer it every time they're in the pool, can often crush these over-analyzing AOS swimmers who don't put in the hammerfest hard work.


Technique is important, but the reality is that it's a lot easier for someone born with good swim ability (?klehner?!) to attribute their success to technique. I think it's pretty fair to ask - if you can beat a fellow swimmer in the pool very clearly while you have to pop your head clear out of the water on EVERY stroke, or even beat them readily while swimming with only one arm stroking, whereas they can swim normally, your fitness difference is so big that almost no technical fix that they can do to beat/match you without a big jump in their fitness.