What makes the swimmer faster over a short course? Is it the kick off the wall?
2007-03-27 00:30:29 · 12 answers · asked by Mark D 1 in Sports ➔ Swimming & Diving
Just to clear things up short course swimming = over 25m pool, and long course swimming = over 50m pool. So why is it that in the the same event, say the 200m freestyle, the one over the short course pool has a faster world record than over the long course pool - its like that for every world record be it for the 200m breast or the 1500m free.
2007-03-27 01:06:42 · update #1
Very simple...when swimming short course there is a turn and a push off the wall. Although it may be hard to imagine, the turn and kick off the wall is much faster then swimming straight through the mid line of a 50 meter pool. In short course there are many more turns than long course.
2007-03-27 13:40:21 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Short course swimming records are faster than long course ones because there are less turn opportunities. Long course pools are 50 meters long compared to the short course pool of 25 meters. The fastest part of a swim besides the start is the turns because swimmers get a powerful push off the wall and keep that momentum through kicking underwater. In breaststroke especially swimmers get a powerful pullout.
2007-03-28 14:05:25 · answer #2 · answered by Gatorfan 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well when you tumble turn you get to push off the wall with all your might and then streamline under water.... you can streamline under water with a good push off the wall faster than you can swim... also, when you tumble turn you don't swim all the way to the wall, you actually, flip your legs over before you get there ......
therefore with these two effects taking place, the more tumble-turns there are the less time it takes to swim the same distance. That is why short course records are faster.
Some years ago, swimmers were spending a whole lot of time under water... one swimmer (can't think of name) used to swim the whole lap under water until the practice was banned.
2007-03-27 16:09:15 · answer #3 · answered by Icy Gazpacho 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe it is because the swimmers kick off the wall twice as often. The same swimmers that complete in long course events compete in short course events so if the times are quicker in short course, the major difference is the number of times they kick off the wall. Remember too that the events swimmers want to win are worlds and olympics which are long course so you would think that they are better prepared for those than they would be for short course events.
2007-03-27 01:14:16 · answer #4 · answered by stumped 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
in short course there are more walls and besides the dive they are the fastest part of the race because you get a push off a wall to go faster in the opposite direction. also as you go a longer length in the 50 meters your speed decreases so when you get to the other end you wont be as fast but in short course you have a short distance so you dont lose as much speed and gain more because of the walls.
2007-03-27 16:22:01 · answer #5 · answered by ced 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
well one reason short course records are faster is because there are more flipturn in short course pools, and as you know a swimmer is at their fastest when they are in a streamline after diving or pushing off a wall so this can improve a time.
2007-03-28 21:30:28 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In short course for example if you were doing a 50 freestyle.
A 50 in long course is one lap, in short course its two laps. In short course you do flip turns, which give you an extra boost in the 50. Long course in the 50 there is no flip turn!
2007-03-29 13:46:35 · answer #7 · answered by swimmy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It probably has something to do with more pushes off the wall, which help to get you farther without wasting a lot of energy, but it's probably also because of having to go for a longer period of time until you get to the wall and I think it gets you tired faster than when doing short course. That's depending on your edurance and how you pace yourself though.
2007-03-29 13:11:56 · answer #8 · answered by behindblueyez129 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yea, I suppose kick off the wall for one, but also specialization
of the swimmers; namely, short distance swimmers specialize in short term performance, which in my opinion is logically more intense than the long term one, simply because in long course swimming muscles get exhausted and they cannot withstand the rhythm of short course swimming...
2007-03-27 00:41:44 · answer #9 · answered by javornik1270 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is because you get half the turns in a long course pool and besides the start, the turn is the fastest part of the race.
2007-03-27 04:06:55 · answer #10 · answered by cowsvils 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋