Olympic Swimming

[Sophoife]

I have been watching Olympic swimming so long that I actually remember Mark Spitz and Shane Gould (1972) from when I was six (he won so much and she was Australian).

 

I have never heard a swimming crowd like that! 

 

French swimmer Léon Marchand, the world record holder in the 400m individual medley, had what sounded like the entire crowd roaring "Léon ! Léon" throughout the race.

 

During the breaststroke they were roaring in sync with his breathing - every time his head popped out of the water, "Léon !"

 

He did win, in an Olympic record time. He is coached by the man who coached Michael Phelps, and it was Phelps' Olympic record he broke.

 

I stayed up to watch it.

[Emeralds]

I just saw this one! Bravo Leon! (I now have two Marchands - Hugo and Leon - on my radar and must be careful not to mix them up!) I see Leon is taking over from Phelps as the multi event all rounder - the one to beat!

 

I saw him swim the second half way ahead of everyone else and his speed was incredible. 

 

Must admit that I will be watching the breaststroke evwnts closely to see how much competition Leon will be to our favourite Adam Peaty, who specialises in breaststroke and whom we are all hoping will win a third time.

 

Peaty, paradoxically, was afraid of the water when he first went to the pool as a small child but overcame his aversion with encouragement from a good swim coach and from his mother, to become Olympic and world champion, and is am inspiration for many, especially parents who worry that their child might never learn to swim. 

 

Looking forward to seeing Marchand, Peaty and other talented swimmers show what they can do this week and next! 

Edited July 28 by Emeralds

[alison]

Not wanting to start a new thread just for this, but some of the men's swimming trunks had to be seen to be believed!  Especially the ones which, when wet, looked as though the guy was wearing a posing pouch and little else!

[LinMM]

I’ve obviously missed something here! 

I mostly don’t see swimming trunks at all any more but those strange body stocking thingies that sort of  look like mini wet suits. Most unflattering unless you are an Olympic swimmer of course lol! 

 

[Emeralds]

 

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

I’ve obviously missed something here! 

I mostly don’t see swimming trunks at all any more but those strange body stocking thingies that sort of  look like mini wet suits. Most unflattering unless you are an Olympic swimmer of course lol! 

 

I think @alison is referring to the men participating in the diving events? 

 

You're right, @LinMM, swimming trunks are not used for swimming much nowadays (paradoxically) as the wetsuit type jammers that extend to just above the knee are much better at helping to reduce drag in the water, so it gives the swimmer a slight advantage of about half a second which in the sprint races makes a lot of difference between winning a medal or missing out on one. 

Edited August 5 by Emeralds

[Sophoife]

48 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

the wetsuit type jammers that extend to just above the knee are much better at helping to reduce drag in the water, so it gives the swimmer a slight advantage of about half a second which in the sprint races makes a lot of difference between winning a medal or missing out on one. 

 

In many 50m races half a second covers the entire field of eight, particularly in the men's races!

 

This year's Olympic 50m men's freestyle winner, Aussie Cameron McEvoy, touched the wall in 21.25 seconds. Eighth was the Caymans' Jordan Crooks in 21.64, just 0.39 seconds behind. In the women's equivalent, there was 0.50 seconds between first (Swede Sarah Sjöström) and fourth (American Gretchen Walsh).

 

The other strokes do not have Olympic 50m races, but at the most recent world championships, there were 50m races in backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. and in the men's 50m freestyle the spread was 0.40 seconds, 0.50 seconds in the men's 50m fly, and 0.75 seconds in the men's 50m breaststroke.

 

I did laugh though at those "transparent" legs with what I called codpieces, and @alison referred to above as posing pouches!

 

To drag this thread kicking and screaming back on topic, there is so much more diversity in gymnastics these days than there used to be, therefore so many different natural hair styles and types, which I would think be one reason for the hairstyles on display being less plastic-looking. One of the Aussie girls was wearing the Boginskaya/Khorkina-style ponytail this year (no fringe though).

 

There's also a terrific piece by dance writer and gymnastics aficionado Laura Cappelle in today's Links on the declining importance of dance in modern gymnastics at Female Gymnasts Have to Dance: What if the Sport Actually Valued It?: Laura Cappelle, The New York Times

[Emeralds]

25 minutes ago, Sophoife said:

 

In many 50m races half a second covers the entire field of eight, particularly in the men's races!

 

This year's Olympic 50m men's freestyle winner, Aussie Cameron McEvoy, touched the wall in 21.25 seconds. Eighth was the Caymans' Jordan Crooks in 21.64, just 0.39 seconds behind. In the women's equivalent, there was 0.50 seconds between first (Swede Sarah Sjöström) and fourth (American Gretchen Walsh).

 

The other strokes do not have Olympic 50m races, but at the most recent world championships, there were 50m races in backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. and in the men's 50m freestyle the spread was 0.40 seconds, 0.50 seconds in the men's 50m fly, and 0.75 seconds in the men's 50m breaststroke.

Haha....I was debating whether to post that in 50m and 100m freestyle the difference in times caused by drag would make you last while in 800m and 1500m it wouldn't be that crucial, and post the winning times to show what I mean but I guess you've saved me the time and extra typing, @Sophoife  😉.

 

( I think maybe this topic could go under the Olympic swimming/Leon Marchand thread perhaps? ) 

Edited August 5 by Emeralds

[alison]

Oops, I hadn't spotted this thread. I'll move my comments about trunks when I get onto a computer (which is connected to the internet - I hope!)