{"id":301703,"date":"2018-03-22T07:37:44","date_gmt":"2018-03-22T14:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=301703"},"modified":"2018-03-27T07:14:25","modified_gmt":"2018-03-27T14:14:25","slug":"301703-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/301703-2\/","title":{"rendered":"NCAA Championships: TritonWear Analyzes Division III Men’s 50 Free"},"content":{"rendered":"

2018 NCAA D3 Championships \u2013 Men\u2019s 50 Freestyle – By request<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks to a request from our amazing fans, we decided to analyze the men\u2019s 50y freestyle. It may have been a short and fast race, but was not the least bit disappointing. If there are events you\u2019d like us to analyze, let us know! Twitter @tritonwear or email to info@tritonwear.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

Emory\u2019s two-time defending champion Oliver Smith<\/strong> broke the 2012 NCAA record by a hundredth of a second in the prelims, landing him in the top seed for the final. He defended his title against teammate Trey Kolleck<\/strong>, Loras\u2019 Isaac<\/strong> Casey<\/strong>, Tuft\u2019s Roger Gu<\/strong>, UW Stevens Point\u2019s Jack Englehardt,<\/strong> Denison\u2019s Kymani Senior<\/strong> and Zachary Wagner<\/strong>, and W&L\u2019s Thomas Thetford<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Smith led the race right off the dive, breaking out ahead of the field before charging on to swim at a speed way above average, going at 2.46 m\/s compared to the average of 2.36 m\/s on the first lap.<\/p>\n

One point of interest in this race is that while Smith\u2019s speed was outmatched, he didn\u2019t have the most efficient strokes with his stroke rate falling in the mid-range. It was Casey, who came in 3rd<\/sup>, who had the most efficient strokes, producing the highest DPS and stroke index in both laps, and Kolleck, who placed 5th<\/sup>, who had the fastest stroke rate. So why did neither of them place in the top 2?<\/p>\n

While Casey generated the greatest distance in each of his strokes, he lost ground with his slow stroke rate and turn time. Improving his turn, as well as upping his tempo – perhaps even adding in a stroke or two – while maintaining his stroke power, could have brought him in below the 20-second mark.<\/p>\n

Conversely, Kolleck\u2019s stroke turnovers were too fast. He was rushing to get in his strokes but not gaining as much distance with each pull. He had the lowest DPS on the first lap, and though he was the only one to increase DPS on the second, it still fell on the lower end of the range.<\/p>\n

Takeaways <\/strong><\/p>\n

In sprint events it is crucial to make every stroke count. This means finding the balance between stroke efficiency and turnover speed, maximizing distance in each pull without losing too much time in between.<\/p>\n

Another takeaway is the importance of transitions, especially in short races, where the difference between first and last place isn\u2019t even a full second. While Smith did produce the second highest stroke index (not far behind Casey\u2019s), which definitely reinforced his lead, what gave him an even greater advantage was the way he optimized his walls.<\/p>\n

Smith produced a faster turn time than most of his competitors, and spent the 2nd shortest time underwater on both laps, which by itself isn\u2019t desirable. What makes him stand out is how he was able to break out ahead of everyone else within that shorter timeframe. He has clearly found a sweet spot between his time spent underwater and the speed he can produce there.<\/p>\n

To dive into the numbers of each athlete yourself, use the interactive board below to see exactly how they performed across all metrics.<\/p>\n