Olympic Gold Medalist Brendan Hansen: We Can’t Mold The Rules for Cheaters

AUSTIN, Texas, October 9. THIS morning, new Lost Creek Aquatics’ coach Brendan Hansen proved to be a bit feisty when the subject of rule changes came up as part of the Morning Swim Show’s Final 5.

In each episode, host Jeff Commings asks a standard Final 5 questions as inspired by Inside the Actor’s Studio. One of the questions is what rule would you add or get rid of in the swimming rule book. Typically, the bulk of our responders want to get rid of the 15-meter underwater rule. Hansen, however, was so prepared for the question that he immediately responded to get rid of the dolphin kick on the pullout.

Here’s a transcript of his exchange with Commings.

“I just have a hard time, Jeff, believing that for so many years we were okay with not having a dolphin kick, and then now all of a sudden it is a problem. It is almost like we are molding these rules for the cheaters out there. It is getting out of hand.

The people that are making the decisions are the wrong people. It’s becoming not-breaststroke anymore in my opinion.

I grew up watching guys like Mike Barrowman and Jeremy Linn swim breaststroke, and they were just works of art and beautiful to watch. It is a shame because I feel like their performances are tainted by us changing these rules just because officials don’t want to make the challenging call. If someone breaks the rule, you have to call it. You can’t just change the rule.”

This past summer, FINA nearly made unlimited dolphin kicking on the pullout a part of the breaststroke, but kept the current rule allowing just one dolphin kick. Hansen, who has suffered potentially the most due to breaststrokers breaking the rules without getting caught with Kosuke Kitajima and Cameron van der Burgh both having gotten away with more kicks than were allowed at the time of their Olympic swims, definitely believes the dolphin kick shouldn’t even be part of the stroke to begin with.

Full Morning Swim Show Appearance

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