From New Scientist: "... Records have been tumbling in other sports too, but none at this rate. What's going on? Have the swimmers found some new technique to propel them more efficiently through the water? Are they training more intensively? Or is it down to sheer competitiveness? The answer is more prosaic.The Beijing pool is 3 metres deep, a metre deeper than standard competitive pools. The extra depth helps dissipate the turbulence caused by the swimmer's movement, causing less resistance. In other words, they are being helped by the architecture. ..." [Link]
Too simple: Blame it on lane lines, goggles, caps, nutrition, technique, blah, blah, blah, or more accurately, science and natural selection!
1 comment:
You're right. That is too simple.
The pools, suits, and nutrition all contribute. And someone, somewhere out there is doping, but in the end its innovative coaching and competitiveness that are responsible for these huge time drops.
Coaches like Bowman and stars like Phelps have raised the bar to this level. The others are now catching up. That is why swimming has gotten so fast and so exciting. This is a good time to be a swimmer.
The technology gets too much credit.
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