Olympic Themes - Fluid Dynamics of Swimming

[blackeye]

Interesting post at FYFD on Olympic swimmers:

http://fuckyeahfluiddynamics.tumblr.com/post/148641901622/strange-as-it-seems-elite-swimmers-are-faster

[Off-Shore]

Here's the vid that goes with that... amazing stuff...

[PonoBill]

Yup, one more reason that hydrofoils are efficient--almost no wave drag, even with surface-piercing foils.

[pdxmike]

I think that realization that the underwater dolphin kick was faster than regular swimming started in backstroke, so they made a rule you had to surface within 15 meters of the end of the pool.  Lately, Ryan Lochte has been working on a new freestyle flip turn where he flips over but stays on his back dolphin kicking, instead of twisting around immediately off the turn, because his back dolphin kick is so powerful, and also because it puts him lower in the water, where it's still, like the article said.


It's one more reason that Travis Grant video showing putting your blade deeper so you catch still water makes sense, versus having it up near the surface with all the turbulence.

[supsurf-tw]

I was living at Pipeline and Patrick Duffy the Man From Atlantis was vacationing next door one summer. He taught me the stroke he was using in the series and it totally changed my perspective on swimming. It's amazing the speed you can get under water.

[PonoBill]

I watched a slo-mo of Lochte's back underwater dolphin kick (not available on youtube--at least I couldn't find it). I think he has that all to himself for a while. Looks almost impossible to learn--his legs look like they flex in places that don't have joints. If you watch closely you can see that the movement starts with his fingers.