At the 2023 Men’s NCAA Championship, Leon Marchand continued his dominance. After breaking the 400 IM and 200 Breast NCAA records earlier this season, we knew it was a matter of time before we broke the 200 IM record that he set in 2022. Using the FINA point projection system, this swim was the highest of the men’s meet with …
200 Yard IM NCAA Record Kate Douglass 1:48.37 Analysis
As the 2023 Women’s NCAA Championship concludes, reflecting on the swim of the meet is common. Although this is often subjective, it is hard to argue an event where three swimmers broke the NCAA record and more than 1.5 seconds were taken from the record isn’t the swim of the meet. If you aren’t aware, I’m talking about Kate Douglass’ …
Maggie Mac Neil 20.79 50 Yard Free NCAA Record Analysis
The 2023 Women’s NCAA Swimming Championships is off to a bang! On the second night of the meet, two NCAA records were established, Kate Douglass in the 200 IM and Maggie Mac Neil in the 50 free. In the future, an analysis will be performed on the 200 IM, but since the 50 free is the ‘splash and dash’ it …
Kaylee McKeown 2:03.14 200 Back WR Analysis
It is only March 2023 and we have seen numerous fast times this year. Most of the time, these fast times are isolated to the US collegiate SCY scene, but we have had great LCM times, now being led by the recent Kaylee McKeown 2:03.14 200 back WR. Although the time of year was shocking, the athlete was not, as …
David Popovici 47.30 100 Free WJR Analysis
The 2021 [2020] Tokyo Olympics are fast approaching and no one is approaching them as fast as 16-year-old David Popovici. He went from a deep swim nerd name to a gold medal contender to expectations of breaking 46 seconds (from some, not this author) in less than 6 months. However, will we see Popovici break a 100 free WR in …
What is the Best Swimming Relay Start Technique?
The relay exchange is a critical component of relays. Subjectively, you can watch a great relay exchange and watch the superior relay start make a significant improvement over their competitors. Yet, the ideal swimming relay start technique has garnered minimal research. Like most aspects of swimming, research is often behind the elite swimmers. Coaches and swimmers are creative and can …
Dressel’s Start Sucked and He Still Broke the 50 Free WR
Caeleb Dressel’s 20.16 scm 50 free WR gave him now both short course records in the events (SCY and SCM). Mr. Dressel broke Manaudou’s WR last year and he was able to re-break the record on November 21st 2020 in the ISL bubble. For those who haven’t followed one of our analyses, these analyses are for fun and to spark …
Foam Rolling for Swimmers
Research investigating foam rollers, roller massagers, and other similar devices have generally reported increased range of motion (ROM), diminished perceived pain, accelerated recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage and augmented performance. This makes foam rolling for swimmers a pertinent topic for all swimmers and coaches. The mechanisms underpinning these significant ROM increases with rolling may be quite diverse. Muscle, fascia, and …
Smoke and Mirrors: When a Swimmer Has False Expectations
A young swimmer is over the moon with joy. He has managed to set his first three qualifying times in just a single weekend. He will compete in his category at the next nationals and do so in style. His coach showers him with praise. Buzzing, he walks over to the spectator seating where he is enthusiastically congratulated by colleagues …
Five Evidence-Based Swim Tests
Take home points1) Races and time trials are valid measurements of fitness, comparable to physiological testing protocols2) A combination of different swim tests is desirable as swimmers have different strengths and weaknesses3) Testing conditions should always be repeatable to ensure reliability Many swim tests are commonly used to assess fitness, whether to set a baseline, measure progress, or establish training …