Which is recommended: Head high or low? Stroke long or short? Next to shore or in middle?
Right in the middle, short stroke and head high.
Isn’t a river current fastest in the middle?
closer to shore if you are swimming upstream. If there is a current, the current will be ‘slower’ near the shore or there will be ‘less’ current.
In a straight river with depth that is deepest in the middle, yes fastest current in the middle.
However, there are LOTS and lots of exceptions since rivers are rarely dead straight or of uniform depth.
But on the other hand, I picked up three places in 150 yards of a swim once, went from 10th to 7th by swimming at the far left edge of a canal we had to swim into at te finish and the current was against us. The people I passed were all in the middle.
Thought so. Any modification of usual stroke or head position for swimming into current?
Nah, don’t over think it.
yeah, having worked on river ecology, in the bends you’ll find that the flow is fastest on the ‘outside’ of the bend. So, if the river is making a turn, swim on the side that is inside.
If that wasn’t clear (cause it sounds pretty confusing), imagine a magical river that eternally flows in a clockwise circle. If you were swimming counter clockwise, you would be fastest swimming close to the hands, away from the numbers. Not only because it’s the shortest distance for you but because it’s the shortest distance for the water to travel. So, the water has less distance to travel and will travel more slowly.
I don’t know if ANY of that made sense, hopefully it did.
There are many, many factors at play. Largely, speaking, yes, around a bend the outside will have faster water.
Attempting to generalize about middle vs. shore is even more difficult, and simply having a deeper water in the middle does not mean it will be faster there.
Nah, don’t over think it.
You mean like this?
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imagine a magical river that eternally flows
Everyday
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