| 779 | Saturday, April 13, 2002 |
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| 8:45 AM-10:00 AM | San Diego Convention Center:Room 10 |
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| Southwest District Scholar Lecture: On the Nature of Propulsion in Swimming: Is it Lift, Drag, or Something Else? |
| There has been a debate within the swimming community in recent years over the nature of propulsion in swimming. Prior to 1970, the prevailing explanation of propulsion was to use the hands as paddles and push straight back against the water (drag theory). While still acknowledging the contribution of drag, James "Doc" Counsilman revolutionized the sport with his December 1969 article in Swimming World Magazine in which he proposed that the hands actually work like propeller blades and provide diagonal movements through the water in order to propel the swimmer forward (lift theory). Within the last five or so years, however, there has been a vocal group of critics of the lift theory of propulsion. They have provided mounting evidence that propulsion may not be a simple as Counsilman suggested in 1969. They claim that the recent success of Australian distance freestylers is a direct reflection of a new "drag-dominated" technique of swimming (at least for freestyle). This talk will discuss the current debate, analyze the evidence, and propose that the truth probably falls somewhere in between. |
Keyword(s): . NA
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| Speaker: Richard N. Hinrichs, Arizona State University, AZ |