JusticHop

21/01/2022

Explainer: what makes a winning swimmer?
The Olympics are the pinnacle for world swimming. With 34 events in all, it’s where every young swimmer strives to be. What is it, then, that sets a winning swimmer apart?

Olympic events take place in a 50-metre pool with eight lanes and races can range from as little as 21 seconds to 16 minutes.

At the Rio Games, 906 swimmers from 172 different nations are competing to be the best in their discipline or stroke (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and individual medley).

The right combination
Some argue that good swimmers are born – with extremely long limbs, flippers for feet, large hands and lungs that border on superhuman capacity. All these help, but swimming actually requires the right balance between physiological fitness, technique and mental toughness.

The aim, of course, is to complete the set distance in the shortest time possible. While this may sound simple, races at the international level are often decided by as little as 0.01 of a second.

That’s literally a fingernail separating gold from silver; separating Olympic glory and the agonising feeling of defeat.

Indeed, the margin for error at the elite level is so slim that swimmers must execute a near-flawless race plan on the day to claim victory. Even before the race has begun, the thought and pressure of this can be too much for some.

Unlike team sports, there are no opponents or external factors such as wind or rain to contend with. Once the swimmers take their place behind the blocks, they’re in control of their own destiny.

The right start
When the start signal sounds, swimmers typically enter the water with a dive off their block (or perform an in-water dive for backstroke). The start contributes anywhere between 1% and 26% of total race time.

An elite swimmer can complete the start of the race in between 5.4 and 8 seconds.
Typically defined as the time from the start signal to when the swimmer’s head reaches 15m, an elite swimmer can complete the start of the race in between 5.4 and 8 seconds, depending on stroke. This is the part of the race when the swimmer is travelling fastest.

The importance of the start is, of course, greater in shorter races.

Swimmers then surface or break out into what’s known as free swimming. In this section of the race, swimmers must aim to travel as fast as possible while trying to be as efficient as possible to preserve energy.

Taking too many strokes will mean the swimmer expends too much energy to travel the same distance. It’s very similar to selecting a gear on a bicycle; selecting the wrong gear can result in wasted energy. The same can be said of swimming, and this becomes particularly important for long-distance races.

Not alone
In races over 50m (that’s all but one race in the Olympics), the swimmer must turn at the end of each lap. The goal is to change direction as quickly as possible because turns can contribute up to 33% of total race time.

Measured as the time it takes a swimmer who is 5m from the wall to swim 10m out from the wall after turning, an elite-level swimmer can turn in between 6.5 and 10 seconds.

Swimmers spend hours perfecting this movement in training as a good turner can make up valuable time; a swimmer who is proficient at turning can compensate for a slightly slower free swimming speed.

Many pieces of the puzzle must come together to produce a winning performance in swimming. What crowds at the Olympic Aquatic Stadium and the millions of viewers worldwide witness during competition is the product of months, years and sometimes decades of hard work – in and out of the pool.

And swimmers don’t do it all alone; behind almost every successful swimmer is a support network of coaches, sport scientists (biomechanists and physiologists), physiotherapists, medical staff, psychologists and, of course, family and friends. Each person in that team plays an important role in helping the swimmer win gold.

Ultimately, athletes must execute their individualised race plan to the best of their ability to win. They need to make every turn and every stroke count. Every little bit is important to the result of the race.

21/01/2022

Women athletes are still put in second place at the Olympics – it’s time to sprint towards equality
Rio 2016 is a celebration of the biggest and best achievements of men and women athletes from all parts of the globe. The Olympics have been particularly useful for showcasing the sporting prowess of women to the world. There have been a multitude of firsts for women over the past 120 years of Olympic history. But a closer look at the games shows that gender inequalities persist today: women are still playing a very long game of catch up with the men.

For example, women first played football in the 1996 Olympics: a remarkable 96 years after it was introduced for men. Athletics – a sport from the ancient Olympics – was included in the first modern Olympics in 1896, but only introduced for women in 1928. And even then, the women’s first marathon was not run until 1984. Each celebrated first represents years (if not decades) of struggle, on a seemingly never-ending trudge toward equality.

More recently, London 2012 was lauded as a major triumph, as all sports were open to women. But you needed to read the small print to realise that “all sports” does not equate to “all events”. Men continue to compete in more events, and receive more medals, than women. This year, in Rio, athletes will compete in 306 events: 161 events for men, 136 events for women and nine mixed events.

A slow start
Some sports still ban women from particular events: canoe-kayak remains one of the most unequal sports in the Olympics. Women have been excluded from canoe since 1936. In Rio, women will compete in five kayak events – compared with the six kayak and five canoe events provided for men across the slalom and sprint categories.

Hopefully, this may change in 2020, as the International Canoeing Federation has proposed a more equitable programme to the IOC. Years of activism by supporters of women’s canoeing have led to this change and the fight for equality continues with a petition on Facebook encouraging supporters to “Vote YES for Women’s Canoe”.

I canoe, can you canoe? Teneale Hatton wins the 5,000m final at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, 2013. Roland Weirauch/EPA
Likewise, men still have one more event in athletics than women, as women are banned from the 50km race walk. Recently, the IAAF has ruled that women can compete in the event as part of the men’s race, so it is possible that change is on the cards for the Olympics as well.

In its plan for future games, Agenda 2020, the IOC stated that it is working towards the goal of having an equal number of men and women competitors. Part of this will be encouraging international federations and organisations to create equal sports provision for women.

A sluggish pace
As this brief history shows, the battle for equality has been waged sport by sport and event by event – so it’s hardly surprising that progress has been slow. That’s why it’s time to move away from these localised battles, and refuse to tolerate inequality in any sport.

It’s not going to be easy. Sports are often limited to a particular number of medals and participants by the IOC. Giving women more events may mean taking away events from the men’s programme, or changing events for both men and women.

When the IOC refused to increase the number of medals awarded in the track cycling programme, the UCI made the tough decision to remove some events and decrease the number of medals awarded to men in order to offer men and women the same number of medals in the same five events.

Sporting traditions also play a role, and can be difficult to change. This can, perhaps, be seen most clearly in male-dominated combat sports. For example, wrestling has been on the men’s programme since 1896, but was only added to the women’s in 2004. Prior to Rio 2016, the IOC pressured the sport to modernise or face being removed from the Olympic programme. One of the changes included making the freestyle programme more equitable by increasing the number of women’s events from four to six, and reducing the men’s from eight to six.

The increasing move towards offering an equitable programme of events for men and women can mean that women from all countries are finding the door to sports opening – even those which are not viewed as traditional for women.

The Greco-Roman form of wrestling remains entrenched as a men-only sport with six categories and no concrete plans to change. This again may be challenging as the IOC only allows 18 medals for freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling combined, so adding women’s events would mean reducing the number of categories for men.

A sprint to the finish
The gendered organisation of sport was traditionally based on beliefs about women’s inferior physical capabilities, and a sense of propriety. The structure of sports today still implies that women are less capable – though often in more subtle ways.

Women compete in the eight-event heptathlon, rather than the ten-event decathlon. In swimming, the men’s longest race is 1,500 metres, while women’s is 800 metres – a fact which has not escaped fans of US swimming superstar Katy Ledecky. And even if canoeing changes its programme for 2020, the 1,000 metre “blue ribbon” event will likely be reserved for men.

These discrepancies are better explained by sociology than physiology. We have evidence that women are capable of race-walking 50km, canoeing 100, 200 and 5,000 metres, and swimming 1,500 metres. But when women compete in the same events as men, it begins to blur the boundaries between men’s and women’s capabilities – and some people don’t like that.

Women have been second-class citizens in sport for so long that one small step can feel like a giant leap forward. But the time has come to stop being patient; to stop accepting incremental changes; and to start sprinting towards equality at the Olympic Games.

21/01/2022

When is the right time for children to learn to swim?
Each year in Australia, an average of 23 children under five die from unintentional drowning, usually due to factors such as a lack of adult supervision, unrestricted access to water and not having the skills to stay safe in water.

Teaching children to swim is crucial to prevent drowning; it’s also good for fun and fitness, and sets kids up for a lifetime of water enjoyment.

But when is the best age to enrol children in swimming?

Read more: Why going for a swim in the ocean can be good for you, and for nature

Babies and mothers play in a pool.
Many learn-to-swim schools offer lessons for children as young as six months. Shutterstock
Age four is a good time to start
Many learn-to-swim schools offer lessons for children as young as six months, and parents often feel under pressure to get kids started as early as possible.

These lessons can help a child get used to water, learn to put their face under and learn to close their mouths. They can also be a great opportunity for parent and child to bond, as the caregiver is in the water with the child. Research has even suggested swimming in the early years can benefit physical, cognitive and language skills among three to five year olds.

But while it may be possible to teach young infants basic motor skills in water, infants cannot, and should not, be expected to know how to swim or to be able to react appropriately in emergencies.

There’s not a lot of research available on what age is the “best” time to start swim lessons. But studies from Australia suggest children start being able to master water confidence and basic aquatic locomotive skills at around four years of age, regardless of the age they are when lessons begin.

The same researchers also reported that regardless of whether lessons began at two, three or four years of age, children achieved the skills necessary to perform freestyle at five and a half years of age.

Some evidence suggests swimming lessons improve swimming ability and behaviour around the pool in younger children (between two and four years of age).

But the jury is out on how well these skills are maintained in the long term.

You may have also seen videos circulating on social media showing infants being tossed into pools and rolling over to float on their back unassisted.

But Austswim, Australia’s national organisation for the teaching of swimming and water safety, has advised against forced back float and submersion in favour of more developmentally appropriate strategies.

Research I led also showed a negative prior aquatic experience, which can occur during formal learn-to-swim lessons, can negatively impact a child’s achievement level.

Children kick in a pool.
Learning to swim sets kids up for a lifetime of water enjoyment. Shutterstock
Consistency is key
Parents sometimes enrol their children in swimming lessons at a young age and then pull them out before minimum competencies are achieved, frustrated by the cost of lessons and the seemingly slow progress.

COVID has also interrupted swimming lessons and water safety education for many children.

Some will return to lessons and catch up, but some may never return – perhaps due to the cost of lessons or because the child is now focused on a different sport or activity.

So when considering whether to enrol your child in swimming lessons, consider sticking with it over the long term until your child truly has the skills to stay safe in the water.

Consider your child’s maturity level and how ready they are to learn to swim. Factor in the long-term costs associated with lessons and when that investment may provide the greatest benefit.

Once enrolled, what’s the best way to learn?
You might be wondering what’s better: a short weekly lesson or school holiday intensives, where the child does a swim lesson every day for a week or two.

The answer may depend on your family’s schedule and what’s available in your area but even if you opt for holiday intensives, try to provide opportunities for your child to regularly practise the skills learned in the pool.

Research I co-authored found the more often a child swims (formally or informally) in a pool, at the beach or at the river, the better they will do at swimming lessons. My coauthors and I recommended children swim at least once a fortnight.

It has been a tragic summer for drowning so far, with several factors increasing the risk at this time of year. Therefore, water safety is vital.

For children, in addition to learning to swim, that means active adult supervision of children at all times around the water, checking the pool fence and gate are in good working order and learning CPR so you have the skills to respond in an emergency.

21/01/2022

21/01/2022