Comments on: How to Swim Faster – The Little Known Secret Used by Successful Swimmers

By: Lucy

Lucy — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:29:38 +0000

I noticed it too, that Thorp’s left arm doesn’t hold as high an elbow as his right arm. Question: Is it a common practice or is it acceptable to have a bit of a lower elbow on your lead arm as you breath? I always find it harder to keep a high elbow of my forward arm at catch when I breath.

By: swarve_man

swarve_man — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 22:05:26 +0000

You’re correct Paul, one arm pulls through straighter than the other. This is because he rotates more to one side than the other which a lot of distance swimmers do.

By: Craig

Craig — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:10:51 +0000

Hey Peter ,you say Thorpy”s stroke is not ideal for a sprinter. You must have a short memory.Maybe you should ask Gary Hall Jnr where Thorpy’s stroke went wrong after Thorp passed Hall ,supposedly the fastest man in the world at the time,to win gold for the boys at Sydney 2000 ,a race the USA had NEVER lost.

By: dr meera bora

dr meera bora — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 13:05:24 +0000

veryuseful

By: paul

paul — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 06:33:51 +0000

Ian Thorpe’s right arm has high elbow catch but his left arm seems to pull straight down with little bend in the elbow. Is this just the angle that i’m viewing…..or is that what he is doing?

By: TAPAN KUMAR PANIGRAHI

TAPAN KUMAR PANIGRAHI — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 04:03:12 +0000

breathing technique in freeslyle competitive swimming is the key to be successded in any competition as well as every days varied training load. hence a Very effective technique to be developed very carefully as stated . I had started incorporating this on my swimmers and found swimmers use less strokes to go farther and faster then earlier they use to go. and they also do not get as tired as quickly as before when every one of them powering through with quick arm strokes. so its a Great tip!!
An excellent hint…swimmer felt a good acceleration when “snap” catch back as body roll. and flick’ fingers at the back of the stroke as swimmer begin the recovery. I direct all my freestyler to follow this pretty useful technique in exiting the water cleanly.

Thanks
Tapan Kumar Panigrahi

By: mahindra kharat

mahindra kharat — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 02:49:27 +0000

A very good technique ever seen how to swim faster ,wish to learn more.thank u !!!!!!!!!!!!!! please send any swim technique .

By: swarve_man

swarve_man — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:55:56 +0000

@Trever – Great to hear it’s helped! Sometimes swimmers need to work on getting more distance each stroke which this helps with.

@Peter – I can’t pick anything Thorpe didn’t do well, he was (in my opinion) the greatest 400m freestyler ever. His stroke isn’t ideal for a sprinter, as they need to sit higher in the water but for his event it was perfect.

Do you mean you ‘flick’ your fingers at the back of your stroke as you begin the recovery? I’ve found that to be a pretty useful technique in exiting the water cleanly.

By: Peter Elliott

Peter Elliott — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:53:33 +0000

Is there anything Ian Thorpe doesn’t do well in the water?

Those size 12′s at the back tend to help a bit, too.

A good hint…I’ve felt a good acceleration when I “snap” my catch back as I roll.

Thanks

By: Trever

Trever — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:50:06 +0000

Very effective technique. I started incorporating this and found I use less strokes to go farther and faster then i use to go. I also do not get as tired as quickly as before when I was powering through with quick arm strokes. Great tip!!