I read an interesting quote from Darian Townsend about the difference between LC and SC swimming: “Short course swimming is for athletes. Long course swimming is for swimmers."**
Ryan is often referred to as a brilliant SC swimmer. He's had some huge successes in LC, particularly the WR in the 200m back, but not as much success as he's had in SC races, where he's arguably the best in the world. Does this mean Ryan is more of an athlete than a swimmer? Is this something Ryan can change to become more successful in LC? Would he even want to change this?
It seems to me that the most successful LC swimmer, Michael Phelps, is both a gifted swimmer and a great athlete. I don't know anything about the technical aspects of swimming, and have heard that Ryan's strokes are already excellent if not perfect, but am wondering if he concentrated his efforts on improving his swimming technique, then maybe he could surpass Phelps in some LC events. I mean if Ryan is a better athlete than MP, as evidenced by his greater SC success, then couldn't he do better in LC if he improved his swimming technique?
My analysis is probably overly simplistic, and may not apply across the board to all LC events, but I thought it was interesting to think about.
**Source for quote by Darian Townsend, made on 12/21/08 (or 21/12/08 if you're outside the U.S.) at http://www.floswimming.org/blogs/blogger/dtrain/5416-finishing-up-2008-with-a-bang
Darian is from South Africa and swam at Florida and Arizona during his college career. He swims some of the same events as Ryan, i.e. 200 free and 200 IM, but is also a 100 free sprinter.
No comments:
Post a Comment