Originally Posted by
Quel
Real high school or college swimmers always kind of impress me. It's so technique based, and it seems like there is so little improvement to be had (for triathletes) by just going to the pool more. For tri, I'd have to work hard all year to gain a minute on a 1500 swim, but the same amount of effort into run or bike could save me 2-3 minutes.
I swam when I was a kid, mostly just through elementary school and the start of middle school. And I kind of sucked. My stroke is awesome compared to triathletes who started at an older age, but doesn't come close to the college kids.
When I was on swim team in HS there were 2 types of people. The scrubs like me who were there for the pratice and to finish DFL in the occasional race. And the studs. We were a top 5 team in NJ. One guy on our team was offered D1 scholarships but turned them down because of burnout. At one point he was the #3 breaststroker in the country. (now he is a doc) When I lifeguarded, I worked with a guy from another local school who ended up an olympian (3 or 4 medals) at Seoul. He was a monster. Just training with those guys was good for my form. Now close to 30 years later, I am trying to visualize their strokes when I am swimming to improve my form.