{"id":568440,"date":"2023-08-29T04:44:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T11:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=568440"},"modified":"2023-08-29T07:10:22","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T14:10:22","slug":"tech-tuesday-new-starting-block-tested-at-world-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/tech-tuesday-new-starting-block-tested-at-world-championships\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech Tuesday: New Starting Block Tested at World Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tech Tuesday: New Starting Block Tested at World Championships<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fans watching major swimming competitions over the years have become accustomed to a similar starting block, typically blue with white on the side and metallic silver backstroke handles. This block, part of the Omega Timing system, is in use at all global-level competitions (with the blue base turning red for the Tokyo Olympics and this summer’s World Championships) plus national-level and college championship meets in the United States. The block has five different settings for the track-start ledge, and the backstroke wedge is designed to fit into this block.<\/p>\n

However, the design could be getting an update soon. At the previous two editions of the World Championships, last year in Budapest and again last month in Fukuoka<\/a>, athletes had a chance to test out the new prototype in the warmup pool. Dutch sprinter Nyls Korstanje<\/strong>, the fifth-place finisher in the 100 butterfly at this year’s Worlds and a standout at North Carolina State University, posted a short video to Instagram of his test run of this block from last year.<\/p>\n

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View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A post shared by Nyls Korstanje (@nylskorstanje)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n