I like to post video clips every once in a while for my tri-club to watch. Thought you all might like to see this one as well. The camera angles are very cool and they really allow you to see some of the finer details of his stroke.
Any observations/comments are always welcome. Enjoy.
Oh, the file is kinda big, so it’ll take a few moments to download. It’s worth the wait, though.
great clip, thanks for sharing.
The first thing I noticed is how high his elbow is during the recovery and how he keeps it in front of his hand until his elbow is past his shoulder. When his elbow is at the highest point, his torso is nearly vertical in the water.
EDIT: one other thing…No slipping at all with his catch. If you compare his entry point to the white bars on the lane lines, his hand is exiting the water nearly exactly where he puts it in. Amazing.
Isn’t Popov the one that Terry Laughlin points to as a pro that most exhibits TI techniques (at least while swimming slowly)? From my most-definitely non-expert eyes i would say it looked like he was not using TI techniques, at least as far as stroke timing and FQS.
Isn’t Popov the one that Terry Laughlin points to as a pro that most exhibits TI techniques (at least while swimming slowly)? From my most-definitely non-expert eyes i would say it looked like he was not using TI techniques, at least as far as stroke timing and FQS.
Hey, who taped me when I wasn’t looking???
Note also that his timing is asymmetrical. When his left had hits the water, his right arm is already under his chest. When his right hand hits the water, his left arm is just starting to pull (much more FQS). This is actually what I do, and have been trying to correct (getting the right pull to wait more, like the left). I’ll stop bothering with that now!!!
Note also that his timing is asymmetrical.
You, he definitely seems to swim with a limp, which is very common amongst distance freestylers. You don’t see it as much with the sprinters like Popov.
Also notice, people, there is no glide in his stroke. he starts the press down as soon as his hand is in the water, with a nice high elbow to set up a pull that goes straight back through the water.
I have been watching videos of him swim for 15+ years now… and it never gets old. That guy’s stroke is gorgeous… the ONLY thing that is better than that is watching M. Phelps swim butterfly
You aren’t the dude who was talking about a straight arm pull being correct, are you? I forget who it was, but your “straight back” wording makes me think that might’ve been the confusion the other week on that topic.
And agreed, ain’t no glide there. One arm or the other is catching/pulling at all times.
About not resting before the pull, gotta remember that he is a sprinter, and that he is swimming decently quick in the video. I’d rahter pattern my distance stroke after the likes of Larson Jenson, Davies and Hackett swimming the mile that we saw in that video posted not to long ago - and they rested at the start of every stroke.
Excellent link, thanks.
-Colin
Nope, wasn’t me, but it does look like the hand goes pretty much straight back relative to the bottom of the pool. relative to the torso, its another matter.
Thank you.
Swimming at this level is a beautiful thing to watch.
Fleck
Straight back with respect to the bottom of pool, but not so with respect to the body.
Excellent footage. What surprises me the most is his hand entry, it’s way out there. What’s up with all the coaches and swim studs saying you have to enter your hand parallell with the opposite elbow??? He’s entering really far out in front of him.
Just about every top level swimmer has some kind of an oddity with their stroke, and they still swim fast. I’m dating myself here, but Anders Holmertz (former WR holder for the 400 free) used to swim with a wicked limp. Janet Evans had the windmill thing going. That doesn’t mean you should try to emulate the oddity.
Same thing as in sprinting, Ben Johnson (yes that Ben) would pop upright much quicker than others, and Dave Winfield had a hitch in his swing. No Little League coach will try to get a kid to have a hitch in his swing, but if it is there, you might work with it.
Does anyone have or know of a video that shows “good” swimmers from all three directions concurrently? I.E. Show teh swimmer from top, side and front on the screen at once adn with the stroke at the same position in all three views.
Everytime I see another one of these videos soemthing else looks different and I think alot has to do with teh view(s).
~Matt
thank you for the link
sorry to hijack this - but looking back to the Hackett video from last week, did it seem like his head goes below the water with his stroke. I’m not going to question speed but, I would this this would be more drag with more area submerged? correct/teach me if I’m wrong
thanks
Barry
dropping the head can result in less frontal area, if it helps to keep the hips up.
Yep, and what’s up with the TI book instructing you to “slice your hand in as close as possible to your head”. I have stopped using that “tip” a while ago after watching video of fast swimmers. Sliding your hand through the water “as if you were putting it in a sleeve” accomplishes two improtant things–it slows down your momentum and your speed!!
As a sprinter he is getting into his stroke a bit sooner than a distance swimmer. His hand is still moving forward once it enters the water.
I have personally watched Gary Hall, whose hand enters and move forward and Anthony Ervin, whose hand enters and almost immediately gets into his catch.
DougStern
About not resting before the pull, gotta remember that he is a sprinter, and that he is swimming decently quick in the video. I’d rahter pattern my distance stroke after the likes of Larson Jenson, Davies and Hackett swimming the mile that we saw in that video posted not to long ago - and they rested at the start of every stroke.
Davies doesn’t rest at all, he’s always churning…that is what makes the video http://www.kurtz.se/swim/index.html so interesting; they all do something differently…and the Popov is different yet again, though maybe a bit more like Hackett’s lunging…