Christina’s started a new blog, Saturday Morning Swim, in addition to her New York Harbor Sketchbook. It’s for her swim students at NYU but also for all of us :D You’ll find swim technique written in whimsical prose and lovely illustrations like the one you see here! Check it out, folks!
Some interesting quotes from the NYTimes regarding the principles of swimming fast that are very much in line with Igor’s main mantra: “Speed is not the goal, it’s the result” :D
“A lot of people think you’re just thrashing in the 50,” Weber-Gale said. “But there’s a lot more to it than that. You’re trying to go as fast as you possibly can without trying.”
Once the starting beep sounds, the trick is to hit the water sprinting but not all-out. “You’ve got to be able to dive in,” Jones said, “pop up and go and be able to get that tempo exactly right.”
“The more effort I put into it, the more I slipped in my stroke.” (Biondi)
The Zen of the 50 goes beyond slowing down to swim faster. The rule of thumb on breathing, said Ben Wildman-Tobriner, the reigning world champion, is that, “If you take a breath when you need it, it’s too late.”
The 50 is not a thinking person’s race. It is for swimmers whose minds turn off so all they hear is their inner metronome. “People who tend to be cerebral, who are thinking: ‘Don’t forget to breathe; remember to kick; am I ahead?’ are not going to excel in the 50,” Biondi said. “The more people hold onto those thoughts the slower they’ll end up going.”
The shorter the race, the longer it takes to master. “The only way you’re going to be able to get super fast,” Weber-Gale said, “is to be as efficient as you possibly can and perfecting your stroke takes a long time.”
I was having a hard time finding a place that listed out the full Olympic event schedule in a detailed but user-friendly format and that would allow for customization based on the sports I was most interested in. I think the one that the NYTimes has created is pretty nifty and the best interactive tool I’ve encountered so far. If anyone knows of other useful and fun sources, let me know!
So, one of the last swimming tidbits Igor shared with us (which was pretty novel to me) was: in the fly, don’t let your arms follow your head down or shoot them deeper/downwards as you would in breast, but keep your arms slightly above the head. You’re still leading with the head in terms of making the undulating motion, and as Igor used to say “pulling with your head”. And, you’re still making the second kick stronger than the first to “kick your arms forward”. But, by not letting your arms follow your head down, your second kick becomes a lot better and isn’t unnecessarily huge.
Since that was not that eloquent of an explanation, here’s an underwater video of Phelps doing it, which demonstrates it a lot better!
Introducing the blog of one of our very own swimmers: Bowsprite. I think it's safe to say that Christina prefers the open water to chlorinated pool water and it definitely shows in her lovely New York Harbor Sketchbook. Check it out, folks!
A great article on a school that teaches confidence and leadership by connecting students to the water around them. The New York Harbor School’s maritime focus includes basic swimming lessons, hands-on sailing and navigation training on the Lettie G. Howard, “a 125-foot schooner that was used as a New England fishing boat 100 years ago,” and rowing trips on the East river.
A nice, handy guide to beaches and lakes close to the city. It also mentions a few public and private pools at the end and points to a guide for pools by personality type. Fun, if not necessarily comprehensive.
Found this really fun site created by Steven Munatones that has animations of all four strokes and a very basic start. You can choose how you’d like to view the stroke, be it in slow motion, at race pace, from the front, side, rear, etc. Found this via 10kswimmer, which I found through the SCAQ blog.
Congrats again to Fall on her amazing swims at Nationals. She won the 100 back in a blazing 1.00.98! Not all of the races were filmed, but you can see her in the following races:
There is additional option for the team name: Vandy and an additional one for the logo: Other (vs. bear or no bear)
Since polling has already started on the other two, I had to add a separate poll (we'll just tally the counts later). Look forward to finding out which names and logos will win.
Introducing the blog of one of our very own swimmers: Bowsprite. I think it's safe to say that Christina prefers the open water to chlorinated pool water and it definitely shows in her lovely New York Harbor Sketchbook. Check it out, folks!
An extended feature in this weekend’s NYTimes Magazine on Dara Torres’ journey to make Olympic history.
Check out this article on Olympic favorite, Natalie Coughlin, and her overcoming her fear of the 200 IM.
Found this really fun site created by Steven Munatones that has animations of all four strokes and a very basic start. You can choose how you’d like to view the stroke, be it in slow motion, at race pace, from the front, side, rear, etc. Found this via 10kswimmer, which I found through the SCAQ blog.
Congrats again to Fall on her amazing swims at Nationals. She won the 100 back in a blazing 1.00.98! Not all of the races were filmed, but you can see her in the following races: 
