Courtesy: Hussein Elzaafarany
Caeleb Dressel, Ranomi Kromowidjojo and Ben Proud. What do they have in common? Yes, they are swimmers, but more than that they’re some of the best sprinters in the world. Their main races range between 18 and 52 seconds; quicker than you can say Kromowidjojo.
Looking at such short sprints, it’s safe to say that everything counts; starts, underwaters, breakout, turns, stroke. All of it. What if you found out that you could make your first 15m 0.15 secs quicker just by changing the position of the wedge on your block: something that Milorad Cavic wishes he would have had in the 2008 Olympics 100 fly final where he lost to Michael Phelps by 0.01 coming 2nd and missing out on the Olympic gold.
Due to the sport’s competitive nature and its high skill cap, improvement has shifted away from new techniques or technologies and has gone back to the small changes that accumulate to make a big impact; dives being one of them. Through the analysis of a study carried out by Loughborough University, it was found that when full-grown males moved the wedges back to position 5 and allowed the angle of their back knee to increase to between 90 and 100 degrees, their horizontal speed off the block was up to 0.1m/s quicker, and their peak force was up to 11.6% higher. Another study showed that swimmers crossed the 15m mark 0.15 secs quicker when they placed the wedge in their preferred position, even though their reaction times were about 6% slower. This went back to muscle memory, which is the brain’s adaptation to make movements more efficient when they are repeated over time.
Photo: Mine Kasapoglu.
This goes to show that there is a statistical relationship between the position of the wedge and the distance traveled off the block. Despite this being an under-researched topic, these findings allow swimmers to benefit from marginal gains and improve their performance. Diving blocks have progressed immensely over the years, starting with flat blocks in the early 1900s to the high-tech Omega OSB-11s we have now, as it’s a crucial component of swimming. It’s no coincidence that top athletes still train to master their dives, as this enables them to assert an advantage over their competition.
To read the full research paper from Hussein, click here.
ABOUT HUSSEIN ELZAAFARANY
An Egyptian swimmer, student and well-rounded athlete living in Dubai, Hussein dedicates his time to digging deeper into the topics that interest him. Research has always been a fascinating area for Hussein as it helps him embody the phrase we’ve all heard many times: work smart, not hard. Hussein is currently in year 12 and aspires to study mechanical engineering in the future, applying physics to areas, like swimming, that has had a great impact on his life.
