Dara Torres gets silver by 0.01 secs. I don’t get it!!! Putting your goggle straps UNDER your swim cap has to be worth 0.01 secs. So WHY OH WHY does Dara keep the straps OUTSIDE the cap? I don’t get it!
goggles under the cap doesnt equate to .01.
the lzr suits are overrated.
goggles under the cap doesnt equate to .01.
the lzr suits are overrated.
You don’t think so? I don’t know. For 0.01 secs, I’m not taking any chances.
the lzr suits are overrated.
Amen
.
Goggle under/over the cap has no time advantage…it’s really just a matter of preference. Some triathletes prefer under the cap because it’s less likely the goggles will get knocked off, but that’s not an issue for pool swimming. I’ve never known any swimmers who wear the goggle under the cap.
Goggle under/over the cap has no time advantage…it’s really just a matter of preference. Some triathletes prefer under the cap because it’s less likely the goggles will get knocked off, but that’s not an issue for pool swimming. I’ve never known any swimmers who wear the goggle under the cap.
Ok. I’m no expert, so, I will defer. But, I cannot recall any of the Olympic guys who have their straps over their caps.
Oh I forget, go Germany, go Adidas. 
“straps OUTSIDE the cap? I don’t get it!”
That’s just old school-style. Can’t imagine what difference it really makes.
for some people googles under cap means they will leak. that was my experience from memory.
Dude, she just should of farted, that would of gotten the .001.
goggles under the cap doesnt equate to .01.
the lzr suits are overrated.
Overrated? Are you watching the same Olympics I’m watching? Dude, there are not only world records being broken on just about every swim, but the times are dropping faster than any time since the 80’s drug era.
So WHY OH WHY does Dara keep the straps OUTSIDE the cap? I don’t get it!
Obviously you don’t get the concept that she & the entire US Oly team has spent CONSIDERABLE time in a water flume, the equivalent of a wind tunnel for cyclists, to optimize their everything.
From the USOC website:
International Center for Aquatic Research
U.S. Swimming’s International Center for Aquatic Research is a showcase facility attached to Sports Center I, which features a swimming flume used for training and testing. The flume is a swimming treadmill that contains 50,000 gallons of water with a current that can be adjusted from zero to three meter per second. A unique feature of the flume is that it is built in a hyperbaric chamber and can adjust the altitude from sea level to 8,000 feet above sea level.
I’m quite sure they looked at the whole ‘over the cap/under the cap’ strap issue.
Dara’s problem seems to be that she shouldn’t have trimmed her fingernails. I hope she fires her manicurist. 
Hope this helps you sleep better tonight.
Later!
Brian
she should have trained harder.
Lots of should haves…
I doubt the strap being over or under makes any difference at all in drag.
Here’s the real answer. It does not involve the flume, hydrodynamics or the cutting edge of spots science. Some swimmers just prefer not to put their goggles on until the last minute.
There are several reasons for this, none of which have anything to do with drag or speed. If you go with the strap under your cap, you have to have the goggles on your head first (duh). Since you have to put your cap on several minutes before the race, you’re then stuck with a rubber band around your head. If you like a really tight goggle strap, this can be annoying. You can’t fiddle with the strap placement on your head once the cap is on. You can’t dip your goggles in the pool to get them wet right before the race (which Torres does by the way). You have no choice but to have the goggles up on your forehead and they press in and leave ugly marks (look at any clips of Katie Hoff on the blocks - she looks like she got shot with 2 suction cup tipped arrows).
Many people don’t mind having the goggle strap under their cap, but it drives other people nuts. Being nuts right before a race will cost you way more than .01.
goggles under the cap doesnt equate to .01.
the lzr suits are overrated.
Overrated? Are you watching the same Olympics I’m watching? Dude, there are not only world records being broken on just about every swim, but the times are dropping faster than any time since the 80’s drug era.
There could be other reasons. For example, the pool was newly built, and is apparently incredibly well designed to reduce turbulence. And there have been advances which have affected every sport in terms of scientific knowledge of physiology and training. For example, I heard a report saying that after each race, Phelps’s coach would take a tiny blood sample to measure lactate acid buildup, and then wouldn’t let him out of the cooldown pool until the levels have dropped to an acceptable level. The new suits are a factor, but not the only one. Keep in mind that records have been falling in swimming constantly over the past few years - even before Speedo introduced the new suit.
Goggle under/over the cap has no time advantage…it’s really just a matter of preference. Some triathletes prefer under the cap because it’s less likely the goggles will get knocked off, but that’s not an issue for pool swimming. I’ve never known any swimmers who wear the goggle under the cap.
Ok. I’m no expert, so, I will defer. But, I cannot recall any of the Olympic guys who have their straps over their caps.
I always swam races with the goggles over my cap because the one time I swam with them under the cap, I had a problem with them, and I could not flip them off to get rid of them. I seem to recall that in the early 80s, pretty much everyone else swam with them over the cap, but not the trend is to swim with them under the cap.
goggles under the cap doesnt equate to .01.
the lzr suits are overrated.
Overrated? Are you watching the same Olympics I’m watching? Dude, there are not only world records being broken on just about every swim, but the times are dropping faster than any time since the 80’s drug era.
There could be other reasons. For example, the pool was newly built, and is apparently incredibly well designed to reduce turbulence. And there have been advances which have affected every sport in terms of scientific knowledge of physiology and training. For example, I heard a report saying that after each race, Phelps’s coach would take a tiny blood sample to measure lactate acid buildup, and then wouldn’t let him out of the cooldown pool until the levels have dropped to an acceptable level. The new suits are a factor, but not the only one. Keep in mind that records have been falling in swimming constantly over the past few years - even before Speedo introduced the new suit.
Michael Phelps getting lactate tested after every swim is nothing new. His coach was constantly monitoring his levels at the Athens Games.
Classic Slowtwitch thread.
Seriously though, I noticed many of the US swimmers were wearing the new wrinkle-free swim caps. That’s gotta have some hydrodynamic benefit, right?
Imagine the time savings of a wrinke-free dimpled swim cap…