![]() Since 1962, all five world records dropped at between 0.26 and 0.36 percent per year, which I treated as the baseline rate at which all swimming times improve, due to average advances in technique, athletic development, pool design, etc. The rate at which the world record times fell was remarkably consistent across the five events. As an example, here’s the world record progression for the last 20 years of the 200m, which is pretty typical of the general trend. I focused on the freestyle, a stroke that has remained mostly consistent stylistically over this time span, in five different distances: the 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m. To start, I examined the progression of world record times in men’s swimming from the last 50 years-a more modern era of swimming, which includes the introduction of the flip turn and half body suits for men-and looked at how frequently, and by how much, world records fell over time. So just how much did they contribute to the swimmers’ successes over this two-year period? I set out to find the answer by isolating the effects of the suit and analyzing the distortions they created on record swimming times. The results of the suits still stand, however, in the world records they produced. Finally, in January 2010, the international swimming federation FINA prohibited the wearing of non-textile suits like the LZR and its successor, the Arena X-Glide, in competition. A combined 140 world records fell at the hands of swimmers wearing the new suits between February 2008 and July 2009. With a life span of only a dozen races and a small army of assistants needed to even put it on, the suit certainly didn’t seem like just a piece of clothing, and the performance it generated in the pool reinforced that impression. The space-age, NASA wind tunnel-tested garment increased buoyancy and allowed its wearer to glide through the water with significantly diminished drag. Of course, the asterisk with which those events will be tagged by history was the technology: the polyurethane Speedo LZR Racer suit. Who could forget Michael Phelps out-touching Mil orad Cavic by 0.01 seconds in the 100m butterfly, or Jason Lezak’s heroic charge in the 4x100m freestyle relay to overtake France’s Alain Bernard and keep Phelps’ pursuit of eight gold medals alive? The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were remarkable for many reasons-the opening ceremonies, the human rights controversies, the Redeem Team-but the signature moments many Americans will remember came in the Water Cube, during the swimming events. On the men’s side, Leon Marchand was swimmer of the meet for his three record-breaking wins while Dave Durden was coach of the meet after leading the Cal men to the national title.This post can also be seen on here. This year in women’s Division I competition, Kate Douglass was the CSCAA Women’s Swimmer of the Meet after winning three individual events, all in NCAA-record time, while Todd DeSorbo was named women’s swim coach of the year after leading Virginia to a third consecutive national crown. ![]() ![]() These student-athletes have set themselves apart from their peers by excelling in both areas, showing their exceptional abilities and drive for excellence.”ĭuring the year, the CSCAA releases monthly coaches’ polls ranking women’s and men’s dual-meet abilities in all three divisions, and the organization also releases awards honoring top coaches and swimmers after the NCAA Championships. Furthermore, competing at the national level is a testament to their talent, dedication, and perseverance in the water. In a statement released by the CSCAA, Executive Director Samantha Barany said, “More from Executive Director Barany: “Earning a 3.5 GPA or higher is a remarkable accomplishment requiring dedication, discipline, and a commitment to academic excellence. The full Scholar All-America list can be viewed here. ![]()
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