Guest editorial by David Guthrie
PHOENIX, Arizona, June 3. DAVID Guthrie, one of this year's runners-up for the Swimming World Magazine Top 12 World Masters Swimmers of the Year honor, provided today's guest editorial.
Why the Revolution?
Swimmers are getting faster. Lots of them. A quick review of the 2008 World Rankings boggles the mind, and 2009 is shaping up to be even faster and deeper. Clearly, swimming is in the midst of a revolution. Why the sudden change in the landscape of performance? Why do world records suddenly seem to fall with unprecedented regularity? This current evolutionary leap has many guardians of the sport confused and angry. They point to the new suits as the cause of the upheaval. "These suits are terrible for the sport!" they cry. "It's out of control. These performances are ruining the continuity and the integrity of the sport!"
Times are supposed to get faster, but apparently, only at some preconceived rate established through the sport's own brief history. Whatever that gradual rate is supposed to be, according to whomever it is who gets to decide, the improvements over the past year exceeded it. But is this kind of evolutionary acceleration really unprecedented? Or is it just our misperception of our own history?
It is true that this transformation coincides with the introduction of new suit technologies.
But it is a common human mistake to see two simultaneous events and jump to conclusions about their connectedness, to see cause and effect where it doesn't necessarily exist. In the case of the current record book assault, alarmed coaches and officials have made the assumption that high-tech suits have distorted the playing field. Zeroing in on the suits tends to be self-reinforcing and ignores the many other developments that are, in fact, much more influential in the recent performance leaps.
Too Much Credit (or Blame)
One American Olympic coach (and LZR advocate) recently lashed out at the polyurethane suits saying, "It's totally out of control. Now, we're into speedboat driving!"
But the data says something different: The suits are getting far too much credit (or blame) for the recent leaps in performance. If the suits are ersatz speedboats, physics would say that the longer the race, the greater the advantage. So, why haven't distance records been smashed proportionately? The 1500 records should be at least 30 seconds to 1 minute faster if the boost from the new suits is what the critics claim. But that expectation isn't supported by the data. An inventory of suit choices by male swimmers (almost all females wear full body suits for obvious reasons) in the 2008 Olympics reveals some interesting statistics.
* In the men's 1500 free final, 7 out of 8 finalists wore full body suits, yet the world record was not threatened.
* With the exception of the 50 and 100 freestyle, and 100 fly events, only about 25 percent of the male swimmers who qualified for the semis and finals in Beijing wore full body suits, and far fewer finished on the podium. In each of the men's breaststroke finals, for example, only 2 out of the 8 finalists opted to wear body suits. The vast majority wore leggings.
* Notably, even in the events dominated by full body suits, the gold medalists of the 400 free and 100 fly wore leggings.
* Wearing only leggings, breaststroke champion Kitajima swam within .13 of the WR he set earlier in the summer wearing a full body suit.
* Michael Phelps wore leggings in 15 of his 17 races when he accomplished his historic feat (exceptions: 4x100 free relay and 200 free final).
* Collectively in seven of the men's individual events—100 and 200 backstrokes, 100 and 200 breaststrokes, 200 and 400 IMs, and the 200 fly—the number of medalists who wore full body suits was a grand total of zero.
Another revealing statistic is the sustained rate of improvement by the same swimmers one year after the latest generation of suits was introduced. Many elite swimmers are smashing their own person records set a year ago wearing the same suits. How do the suit critics account for this widespread, sustained improvement?
In fact, at the Beijing Games, some swimmers wore multiple suits, layering them in an attempt to gain an advantage, an ethically questionable practice no longer allowed. Based on this rule change, times should be getting slower, not faster. Furthermore, if the performance boost from these suits is anything approaching what their opponents claim, the fact that several active world record setting swimmers have not set person records in the new high-tech suit era is inexplicable. Apparently, they are not good speedboat drivers.
Drag Coefficient
The new suit fabrics create less drag. That's really the most important thing they do.
Although the suits may make swimmers feel more buoyant, they do not float as many critics claim. It's not the so-called "air-trapping" quality that accounts for the suits' effectiveness. Drag is by far the greatest obstacle in swimming, not gravity.
The fastest swimmers are not the most buoyant. It is far more advantageous to be streamlined than to carry extra body fat. With nearly half of short course races swum underwater, it is hard to see how positive buoyancy would be helpful anyway. The tech suits reduce drag at the expense of feel for the water and range of motion, which is probably why most 2008 Olympic swimmers choose not to wear the full body versions.
The advantage these suits provide is real, but overstated. The polyurethane suits are not disproportionately faster than the previous generation of suits. Polyurethane is more slippery than lycra and maintains this property far longer because it cannot become waterlogged.
Making suits that are more streamlined and more slippery is a time-honored tradition in our sport. Polyurethane and other hydrophobic materials are the next logical step in a long progression of fabric and suit design. This evolutionary step is arguably no more than the advantage of nylon over wool, and lycra over nylon. Who gets to decide that fabric evolution must stop now? Why should swimmers be required to compete in waterlogged materials? How does that make the sport more "pure"? Is FINA working with a coherent and consistent framework and prepared to handle the nuance of sorting out emerging technologies?
If not the suits, what is it?
World records are falling with uncommon regularity. But why? It's not just the suits (although they certainly play a role) and it's not rampant doping (although there is undoubtedly some drug boosting going on somewhere).
A more rational explanation for the swimming revolution is found in the swimmers themselves—which is ironic because the most vocal critics of advanced suits claim that they want to protect the sport, while refusing to give swimmers the credit they deserve.
Let's look at a few other recent developments that have undeniably played a significant role in reshaping the sport:
The Phelps Effect
One important factor is the Phelps Effect. Michael single-handedly restructured the sport, even before his monumental 2008 Olympic achievement. Several years ago, as he matured physically, his performances literally redefined the sport. He swam times in the 200 IM and 200 fly that put him in a universe of his own. No one was even close, which left a huge vacuum in Phelps' wake. Although he continues to steadily improve, the rest of the world, led by Ryan Lochte and Laszlo Cseh, responded to his challenge and closed the gap. Phelps rarely enjoys the margin of victory he did a few years ago. Chasing Michael makes the whole swimming world faster. Much faster. The Phelps Effect is a continuing series of quantum leaps for the sport.
Stroke Innovation
The evolution of stroke rules and technique plays a major role in the improvements in times throughout the sport's history. Race footage from the Sydney Olympics already looks like a nostalgic, by-gone era. Technique has evolved so rapidly that comparing races from Sydney and Beijing almost looks like two different sports. The two most prominent recent technical innovations are the "straight-arm recovery" for sprint freestyle and "underwater dolphin kick." Together, these developments are nothing short of revolutionary in their effect on swimming training and performance.
Straight Arms
Most of the top male sprinters in the world are using a straight-arm recovery. The swimmers at the top of sprint freestyle are very well established. Their times didn't take one huge drop as soon as they put on a polyurethane body suit. They have steadily improved over the past two years or more. A survey of top performers indicates that the straight-arm recovery is clearly superior to the old-fashioned high-elbow stroke preferred by previous generations and most Americans, still. Faster technique equals faster records. Now that Michael is experimenting with the straight-arm technique, the rest of American swimming is sure to follow.
Underwater Kicks
A large measure of the genius Bob Bowman and Michael Phelps is their willingness to change, to take calculated risks and experiment with technique. To stay ahead of the pack, the two collaborators spent the years between the past two Olympics developing Michael's underwater dolphin kick. When Michael broke his own world records with regularity in Beijing, he didn't do it because he wore a body suit. He did it largely because he dominated the turns.
His underwater dolphin kick gave him a knockout punch in nearly every race. If you take away the improvement in his underwater work, Phelps is pretty much the same swimmer he was in Athens. Although Michael is the best at using this underwater weapon, practically every swimmer at the Olympic level used it to get there.
This dolphin kick epiphany was a long time coming. Back in the early 80s Indiana University flyer, Jim Haliburton, pioneered the underwater dolphin kick as an effective backstroke technique. Misty Hyman took it to another level, culminating in Olympic Gold. But coaches were slow to embrace the strategy and for years it remained an anomaly.
Not so today. Bowman and Phelps may not be the inventors of the technique, but they certainly exploited and popularized it. Before the summer of 2008, most swimmers did not take "underwaters" very seriously. That changed dramatically when Phelps and others proved beyond all doubt what a devastating and essential weapon underwaters has become. Age group coaches everywhere now emphasize mastering underwater dolphin kicking as an essential "5th stroke". In the most successful programs, executing underwaters in training is no longer encouraged, but required.
The underwater revolution is even more pronounced at short course events like the NCAAs, where the best swimmers from just a few years ago would have trouble competing with today's crop, regardless of the type of suits they wear. Swimmers who have not mastered the underwater dolphin technique cannot compete with swimmers who have, especially in short course competition.
Amaury Leveaux's :44.9 SCM 100 free world record has more to do with his "straight-arm recovery" freestyle technique and his underwaters than whatever suit he was wearing. When he set that record, everyone in that elite field used pretty much the same equipment and arm recovery. The difference was Leveaux's underwater advantage on the start and turns. He simply devoured the pool and everything in it with his powerful dolphin kick.
For some inexplicable reason, the suit critics do not seem to recognize just how revolutionary this underwater tactic is and how thoroughly it has transformed the sport. If these guardians of swimming's historic continuity really want to control the progression of times and return them to pre-2008 levels, they should outlaw the underwater dolphin kick, not the suits.
Strength Training
In the early 90s, Mike Barrowman trained like few swimmers before or since. His legendary dryland workouts focused on developing core strength using a variety of tools, including a medicine ball. Conventional swimming routines neglect this key aspect of strength development.
Dara Torres has redefined age and performance through a similar approach to strength training. A comparison of photos of Dara Torres from each of the past three decades clearly shows her physical transformation. Although she always maintained a high level of conditioning, the photos from 2007 onward show a markedly different and superior physique.
Before her latest comeback, Dara started training with methods adapted from a high-speed, contact sport: pro hockey. Her intense dryland workouts allowed her to develop a new source of strength and power based on core stability and muscular integration. The traditional swimming workout by itself won't do that. Water simply cannot offer the same kind of resistance as weight training.
And unlike the typical blunt tool approach to weight training used by most swimmers, the strength developed through a highly specific dryland program is 100 percent usable.
The intelligent strength derived from "unconventional" dryland training also allows changes in the approach to pool training. It is far more effective to train neuromuscular and cardiovascular systems in the gym. For sprinters in particular, it makes sense to use pool time to concentrate on speed and technique, to simulate racing as much as possible, and allow plenty of recovery time.
A similar age-defying example is 38 year-old Mark Foster's remarkable performances in the 50 freestyle in 2008. Foster's personal record times are the result of a similar approach to strength training. His time in the pool is focused on quality and technique, while he develops his strength and cardio endurance outside of the pool in the weight room and on a road bike.
Now, many programs around the world have switched to quality-oriented training instead of hammering out mega-yardage the old-fashioned way. As a result, swimmer bodies look very different than they did just a few years ago. Female swimmers are leaner and stronger than ever, and male sprinters have morphed into superheroes. Their power is undeniable.
Core Strength
Interestingly, straight-arm freestyle and underwater dolphin kick have something in common: core strength. The training required to develop each of these techniques has created an unexpected and under-appreciated by-product, the core swimming revolution.
One reason that straight-arm freestyle is effective is the mechanical advantage generated by throwing the arms with core rotation. The windmill motion creates maximum hand speed and momentum with no effort from the arm muscles. The core drives the stroke, just like a powerful golf swing generates club speed by uncoiling the body. The fastest backstrokers know how to use the mechanical advantage of throwing their arms, so freestyle is learning from backstroke.
One difference between straight-arm freestyle and underwater dolphin kick with regard to core strength is that one uses it and the other develops it. Sprint freestylers are developing their strength in the weight room, then applying their power in the pool. Traditional swimming workouts cannot effectively develop maximum core strength and stability, but training for a fast, underwater dolphin kick can.
Swimmers are almost accidentally developing enormous core strength and muscular integration as a by-product of the new emphasis on underwater dolphin kick. This core stability improves every aspect of their performance, regardless of whether or not an event involves dolphin kicking. Technique has altered training methods and transformed the swimmers themselves. Swimmers are far stronger than they were just a few years ago, and better equipped to use their power effectively.
Diversity
The entire landscape of swimming is changing. Not just suit technology. Not just training methods and technique. Everything has changed. Today, world record holders emerge from a wide array of countries on every populated continent. The competitive field is no longer owned by one race from two or three national super powers. Geographic, cultural, and racial diversity now define the sport at the highest levels. Only a devout chauvinist or cynic would argue that the recent worldwide emergence of elite swimmers is due to magic swimsuits or some other nefarious or illegitimate means. The power structure of the sport is shifting. The elite levels of swimming reflect more inclusiveness and diversity than ever, which is something to embrace and celebrate, not stifle.
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June 3, 2009 Actually, Kitajima wore only leggings when he set the WR at the Japan Open (I've seen the video). Phelps wore full-body in 3 finals (200 Free, both free relays), as well as the 200 prelims.
I agree with yor statement, but these new 100 buoyant 100 rubber suits just don't belong - not talking about LZR/Tracer Rise/Arena R-evolution! Submitted by: SwimDER94
June 3, 2009 I largely disagree. The reason we are seeing so many world records and faster people in the world rankings in shorter events is most definitely because of the suit. In the longer events, overall speed requires more technique (as lesser swimmers can't maintain their power and extra glide and compression the suits provide). Submitted by: JeffyFit
June 3, 2009 David -- Excellent article. You've intelligently and thoroughly outlined the reasons for much of the improvement, and everything you've said about the changes in training, stroke technique, and underwaters is true. But still, why not get rid of the new suits and give ALL of the credit to the swimmers and their improved training and techniques? Submitted by: halfbreed
June 3, 2009 I would just like to see everyone race in an FS Pro just for one meet and see how the results turn out. Then we can go back to LZR's and Tracers etc.
Has anyone noticed that the entire NBAC team at their All Star Meet wore Fs Pro's. Elizabeth Pelton went 155.1 in 200 im and 152.8 in her 200back and Felicia Lee was 53 in 100 fly and posted a pretty good 200 fly. Pretty good results and that is a sign of true talent and training Submitted by: Backkick1221
June 3, 2009 ALL of the NBAC except Thoman wore FS-Pros only in Charlotte also. He was the only one with either a LZR or a full body. A lot of big swimmers do that in-season so they can get a bigger drop at the end. Submitted by: SwimDER94
June 3, 2009 This David Guthrie must work for Speedo or another suit maker. Submitted by: WEK5000
June 3, 2009 This David Guthrie must work for Speedo or another suit maker. Submitted by: WEK5000
June 3, 2009 Excellent article. Matches exactly what I have felt all along. (Dolphin kick first, better trained stronger swimmers, larger pool of swimmers around the world to draw from, instead of the 3 or 4 countries we used to have, and then the suits ). My guess: Even with the current break and reversal on suit technology, the World Records will still keep coming, maybe at a slightly slower rate. If the hypothesis that "it is just the suits" is true, we should see a complete drought in WR for a couple of years... I don't think so. We are going to see. Submitted by: flamin
June 3, 2009 About Leveaux's 44.94, I think he was wearing three suits there, a problem which is gone, so that may have also added to the time. I'm not saying his techniques were not impressive, but still...
Another dolphin kick pioneer - David Berkoff! Submitted by: SwimDER94
June 3, 2009 Good article! I agree with a lot of what David says......however the fact that the new generation of suits causes great doubt as to the true validity of the current crop of fast times is a good enough reason to question their place in the sport. Remove the pro suit aspect of David's article and much of what he says is true with regards to improved training. However by removing the suit aspect from the sport the performances will be laid bare (pun intended!) performances will then also be true ie we will then know, is it the suit or not, simple really. Keep the suits and the validity of the performances will always be suspect.
Not everyone wearing a fast suit has undergone a mega shift in training emphasis in the last year, however most note their times have improved, this is not only at the world class level.
If the suits don't have so much impact on the times as David suggests then surely this is as good a reason as any to stop this madness with expensive suits. Not much reason to wear one now is there? Submitted by: scotswim
June 3, 2009 gah this is SO BRILLIANT! i've been waiting to hear somebody articulate this side of the argument for a long time! give credit where credit is due: the SWIMMERS who work their butts off to get faster! Submitted by: lightbulb12
June 3, 2009 Hey Dave....are you serious..this article is totally bogus.
Let deal with the breastroke....
The main reason that times are dropping is that FINA has allowed the addition of the dolphin kick that was introduced by Kitajima at the 2004 Games....illegal at the time but the ondeck officials didn't have the [vulgarity deleted] to call the DQ...so what better way to validate it by making it legal. Now we have the breastrokers doing multiple dolphins kicks to lower their times....yet "they" still won't call a DQ. This in addition to the suits has been the main reason for times being dropped....it has little to do with training....blah...blah..blah...! Breastrokers have been the hardest trainers for a LONG TIME but come along the suits and dolphin kicks and times are dropping...come on..you can't be that naive.
Why do you think that FINA hasn't allowed underwater cameras until this coming World Champs....only because they wanted times to be faster....
Suits or no suits...we (all of us) have ruined the breastroke..so stopped trying to justify the times drops.....you messed up.....my only question to you...have you really watch the races? Have you seen the cheating? Well, I have at Athens & Bejing and suits are a small part of it but definitely part of it.
Submitted by: BZEB
June 3, 2009 BZEB - Kitajima was not the only breaststroker ever to do a butterfly kick before 2004, far from. If anything, the fly kick became legalized because every breaststroker ever was doing it and the DQs were very inconsistent. I'm a breaststroker, and it's pretty natural to do a small kick there...
And besides, the impact of a single half-fly kick on breaststroke pales in comparison to the impact of a flipturn in backstroke...
David - I'm glad someone finally pointed out the fact that this buoyancy / "air trapping" business is really stupid. It isn't enough to measure drag however, have to also somehow measure the effects of compression on performance... it's certainly possible that the suit has no measurable impact on drag, but its other features might help you to have that extra little bit of energy left 95m into your 100m free. And THAT could be substantial. Submitted by: Sphere
June 3, 2009 Horrible, horrible reasoning. This all needs to be fixed with a simple lifetime ban for any doping offense. Strictly Liability needs to be upheld and if they test positive, done. Simple. If athlete's are dumb enough to take supplements out of a GNC, that's their risk. But it's too easy for a lawyer to spike a bottle of something, get it tested, and say, "OH look, see, it was the supplement!" Too many legal loopholes that way. Too much arbitration, too much "human element" to it.
Positive test = Lifetime ban. The only answer. Submitted by: JeffyFit
June 3, 2009 I think these forums need some work, it's a pretty common occurrence to see posts on one article that are very clearly intended to be on another one. I could fix it up for you guys. Submitted by: Sphere
June 3, 2009 The impact of the suits, at least the worst of them, is not just at the record setting level. In fact it is worse the further down you go. The best swimmers don't need (or probably want) a suit that floats them to the top, they already do that by training and good technique. But the age grouper, the high schooler, the barely hanging on college swimmer - that is a different story. Anyone who has spent any time around swimming at the under 18 level has seen what these suits do, and the short cut the provide.
An analogy: I'm pretty much of a duffer when it comes to golf. I've got a set of clubs that are set up to "overcorrect" the slice of a right hander. For me they are a big help. For a Tiger Woods, they would be in the way. That's exactly how it is with so many of the rubber floatation suits. Phelps doesn't need them. On the other hand, they are teaching the new generation of swimmers bad habits, bad technique and a bad attitude: That you can buy faster times, rather than work for them. Submitted by: prhjd
June 3, 2009 You expect us to believe that times suddenly dropping by .3 seconds-per-50 across the board right when the newest suits are released is due to training? Please. You're basically saying that every coach and swimmer magically unleashed their new technique, core strength, and strength training all at once. Talk about naive... Submitted by: morelemonpledge
June 4, 2009 Let's face it there are indeed many reasons why swimmers could be swimming faster.
However, if the suit is only a part of it then that is enough reason to remove them from the sport. Any assistance from the suits for whatever reason whether drag reduction, squeezing the fat in, correcting technique, increasing buoyancy etc all are outside the spirit of the sport and are reasons they should be banned from the pool.
Keeping the suits for faster times discredits the performance and is not good for the sport.
Some argue that if the suits go then an asterisk will have to be placed beside current records to show they were achieved in fast suits. Well I would argue that is indeed preferable to the current situation where all performances are called into question and very often it almost seems that the name of the swimmer is lost in the name of whatever suit is used. Any fast time is greeted with such comments such as "what suit was used"? Would they have achieved it in briefs? etc etc. This is not good for the credibility of the sport.
Move forward and remove these abominations and let's get back to marvelling at remarkable performances and thus save the legacy of the current athletes for the future to savour.
Submitted by: scotswim
June 4, 2009 Not a bad article, but I think you missed a few things. From Wikipedia with sources: The Beijing Olympics proved to be an unprecedented success for the LZR Racer, with 94% of all swimming races won in the suit.[7] In total 23 out of the 25 world records broken, were achieved by swimmers competing in the LZR suit [8] And that was before all these really crazy suits came on the market. The world records were fast, but not crazy fast like they are getting now. Think about it... Submitted by: onebigdog
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