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Kim Norton
Ms. Corbett
AP Literature
November 17, 2011
Senior Project Research Paper
Swimming has been around since around the 1800’s. It has evolved from a
rudimentary doggy paddle to an elite art necessitating that only the most dedicated
individuals partake in it. The sport requires hours of hard training in the pool and still
more training outside the pool in the form of what foods swimmers are allowed to eat.
Similar to most other activities, it is far more difficult than it looks. Swimmers train for
months for a race that lasts less than a minute. In the same manner, I plan to swim a one
hundred yard freestyle race in fifty-six seconds.
The one hundred yard freestyle race is one of the shortest races in relation to
distance and time; the only race that is shorter than it is the fifty yard freestyle. Since it is
one of the shorter races, it is popular among swimmers. While “it is considered a sprint, a
good swimmer always keeps technique and strategy in mind” (Satterstrom).The ability to
multitask is a valuable skill in swimming. In all races, swimmers must mind several
aspects of the race in mind. They must concentrate not only on those competing in the
surrounding lanes, but also on time and the very element of swimming. Swimmers must
focus on multiple things at once: their dive, their flip turns, their underwaters, and their
stroke technique. Every swimmer has a slightly different way of swimming. In fact,
“there is no perfect stroke. Even elite-level swimmers have plenty of room to improve
their swimming technique” (Sokolovas). This individualized way of swimming the same

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stroke can influence how fast they can swim. Training is the only way to change stroke
technique in a way that best suits the way the swimmer races. Different freestyle races
will also have different freestyle strokes. At a glance, it would appear as if distance and
sprinter freestylers are doing two strokes that are completely different. In reality, they are
doing the same stroke with just a few adjustments. Distance freestyle swimmers will have
“a more defined catch, some stretching in their stroke to look almost like a catch-up drill”
(Hays). Their arms will not have such a fast turnover. Distance swimmers will rely more
on their legs in these races than on their arms. On the other hand, sprinters will usually
“have a shorter reach and a narrower pull, which helps them keep a higher turnover rate”
(Hays). A narrower pull and shorter reach will give sprinters faster arms. This will propel
them through the water faster. Couple this with a fast kick and sprinters will speed
through the water. Another thing to be mindful of is pacing.
Pacing is how the swimmer is to distribute speed during the race. When racing,
lactic acid builds up in the muscles which is what causes them to hurt. This process is
called acidosis. Swimming “slower in the earlier stages of a race reduces the rate of
anaerobic metabolism so that lactic acid accumulates more slowly and acidosis does not
occur as quickly.” Basically, swimming slower at the start of the race will save your
muscles from getting sore closer to the end of the race. This is known as swimming in a
negative split because your split times will decrease. Swimming fast at the start of the
race can get you a lead in a race, but that lead will diminish as acidosis sets in. Swimmers
who swim slower at the start of a race can compensate for their lack of speed in the
beginning by swimming faster in the second half of the race resulting in a faster time.
Swimmers can practice finding the best way to distribute their speed while they train. The

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best time to find what works for the individual swimmer is during practice, not at a meet.
Doing all of the aforementioned techniques will make a swimmer, but there is a
difference between swimming quickly and swimming efficiently. Being fast in the water
does not always mean that the swimmer is being efficient. A swimmer that is efficient in
the water is “one who is slicing through the water with the smoothest stroke, creating the
least water resistance, and using the water to get the most forward momentum for the
least physical effort possible” (Fox). A burst of speed will only go so far in a race; it will
be over almost after it starts. An efficient race will carry the swimmer further with less
effort and will deliver more constant, peak races. An efficient swimmer is also a fast one.
However, fast swimming does not come solely from a fast pull or a fast kick or even from
perfect stroke technique.
The foundation for swimming quickly starts in practice. If swimmers do not focus
on swimming well in practice, then they cannot hope to swim well in meets. This means
that swimmers have to focus on every set while they are swimming and must not get
caught up in the multiple things surrounding them. Swimmers who want to become the
best that they can be must practice hard. “To train like a champion, [swimmers] must
concentrate like one. [Swimmers] must discipline [themselves] everyday in practice to
stay focused on what’s important, on the quest that [they’re] on…and let everything else
go” (Goldberg). When swimming a set in practice, swimmers must put everything they
have into it. If they hold back or do not take it seriously, it is only going to hurt them
later. Even when the set is challenging, stopping during the middle of it will only hinder
the swimmer’s development. Training through pain is what makes swimmers drop time
and evolve into swimming machines that do not stop for anything. They must learn to

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focus on what is happening at that moment, not on what has already passed or what is
coming. “Allowing [their] focus to leave [their] lane…before or during [their] races will
shorten [their] stroke, fill [them] with self-doubt, and completely distract [their] focus
from where it needs to be” (Goldberg). If swimmers allow their focus to leave the lane,
they will lose their technique and slow down. If they start to concentrate on the swimmers
in the lanes beside them, they have stopped swimming the race for themselves and will
have started racing for other people. While it is beneficial to pace off of other people and
even race them, it is a hindrance to concentrate on how they are swimming. In doing so,
the swimmer will not be thinking on how they are swimming the race. “The ability to
focus- to be in the right place at the right time, mentally- is such a critical aspect of
swimming success” (Wiersma). Swimmers could be concentrating on their goals, on a
particular part of their stroke, or even on a precise part of their body while they are
warming up. Whatever they choose to concentrate on, swimmers must focus on this
aspect and that aspect alone. Shifting focus can have negative effects on races and,
ultimately, final times. Most problems that swimmers encounter are mental: not being
mentally tough and letting their focus shift. There are some problems, however, that are
outside of the realm of mentality.
Practicing as much as swimmers do can have a detrimental effect on their bodies.
Sore muscles are commonplace in the swimming community, but pass with relative ease.
Pulled muscles are harder to be rid of, but will also pass in time. Swimmer’s shoulder is
something seen often; however, it does not go as quickly as it comes. Swimmer’s
shoulder is, in essence, shoulder pain. It can lead “to a spectrum of overuse injuries... the
most common of which is rotator cuff tendonitis” (Young). Unlike most football, soccer,

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and most other sports, swimmers use their upper body and, most importantly, shoulders
for movement. This requires above average shoulder flexibility. Water offers more
resistance than air which is what causes swimmer’s shoulder. Swimmer’s can seek out
physical therapy to increase shoulder strength and tolerance to water. Nevertheless, the
only cure to swimmer’s shoulder is to stop swimming altogether.
When watching Olympians swim in the Olympics, most people are blissfully
ignorant into what goes into it. The training, both physical and mental, eats up the
majority of the swimmer’s day. They must be disciplined in what they consume and how
they train. They must give their all in every aspect of their sport and never hold back.
While racing, their ability to focus on multiple things instantaneously can be the
difference between first and last. Coach Nick Baker sums it all up when he says “An elite
swimmer posses the mental prowess to remain focused, the technical expertise to
maintain near perfect form, and the physical fitness to go the distance.”

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Works Cited
Fox, Martha Capwell. Swimming. N.p.: n.p., 2003. Print.
Goldberg, Alan, Dr. "Getting the Most Out of the Season." Splash Magazine
Sept.-Oct. 2011: 16. NXTBook.com. Web. 13 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/usaswimming/splash_20110910/index.php#/
16>.
- - -. "Swimming at Championships." Splash Magazine July-Aug. 2011: 16.
NXTBook.com. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/
usaswimming/splash_20110708/index.php#/16>.
Hays, Kelsey Savage. "Freestyle." Splash Magazine May-June 2011: 30.
NXTBook.com. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. <http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/
usaswimming/splash_20110506/index.php#/30>.
Maglischo, Ernest W. Swimming Fastest. N.p.: n.p., 2003. Print.
Satterstrom, Meghan Foley. "100m Freestyle." Splash Magazine Sept.-Oct. 2011:
10. NXTBook.com. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/
usaswimming/splash_20110910/index.php#/10>.
Sokolovas, Gendijus. "Changes of Swimming Velocity during the Swim Cycle."
Student Resource Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2011.
<http://web.ebscohost.com/src/
detail?vid=3&hid=122&sid=2411680f-f7c1-4f35-
b1e7-59c122b3e665%40sessionmgr111&bda
ta=JnNpdGU9c3JjLWxpdmU%3d#db=mih&AN=43153917>.
Wiersma, Lenny, Dr. "Focus." Splash Magazine May-June 2011: 16. NXTBook.com.
Web. 17 Oct. 2011. <http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/usaswimming/
splash_20110506/index.php#/16>.
Young, Craig C. "Swimmer's Shoulder." Medscape. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2011.
<http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/93213-overview>.