Michael Phelps and Dolphin Kicking
As a swim coach, I know that races are won in the starts and turns. Olympic champion Michael Phelps is a master of starts and turns. He has taken underwater hydrodynamics in the form of the dolphin kick to a new level. He has trained hard and has used that specialized training to achieve greatness.
When comparing great athletes in any sport, we always attribute their greatness to their form or technique. More often than not, we try to break down the skill underlying greatness, in an effort to duplicate it to the best of our ability. Tiger Woods’ golf swing was analyzed; was he doing something different? The homerun hitters were videotaped, their swings broken down and picked apart as another hitter sought to acquire the same advantage. “Get lift” and “Grab air time” all the basketball coaches encouraged players after observing Michael Jordan: in other words, “Be like Mike.” While sometimes this approach is successful, I have found, as I have coached, that trying to duplicate another athlete’s technique is not always best for an athlete with whom I am working. It can, in fact, create a heavy burden.
As in any other sport, in swimming the fundamentals rule the pool, so to speak. Swim coaches know that positioning the body to be more hydrodynamic makes the swimmer faster. The same goes for starts and turns. Because of hydrodynamics, what works for a 5’5’’ female swimmer may not work for a 6’3” male swimmer. In any sport, body type and size must be fitted into the equation.
In my opinion, an athlete is better served when the athlete and coach seek what will work for the particular athlete given his or her particular body type. Rather than athletes trying to duplicate techniques of elite athletes and record breakers, the athlete and coach should strive to enhance performance with training that works for the athlete’s own body. For example, review of the tape and race data from Phelps’ competition against Pieter Van den Hoogenband. The two swam the same speed while above water and hit the wall together; the difference was the turn and the underwater portion of the swim. This was where Phelps gained the most advantage by coming off the wall and using the dolphin kick.
It really comes down to what works for the athlete. Yes, Phelps has taken the dolphin kick to a new level in the swimming world, and the kick is being used more than ever before. Is it working for swimmers besides Phelps? Maybe. Only study over time will answer the question fully. Do I think the entire swimming world should “Do like Mike” with his dolphin kick? No. Instead, I believe that swimming is an ever-evolving sport (like all sports). As we gain new knowledge of how a body moves through water, we will develop more efficient and thus faster ways of moving, and we will teach those techniques to our swimmers. Phelps will leave his mark as a great athlete, but in time, new and more effective athletes will pass him by. It is inevitable: If there is a record, it will be broken eventually. Henry Aaron knows this to be fact.