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Pic of the Week - August 25, 2006

Posted by Glenn Mills on Aug 25, 2006 06:59AM (3,808 views)

This week's pic is of US Olympian Gabe Woodward. Let us know what you think.

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[url=http://www.goswim.tv/potw/082506gabe.1200.jpg]Download or view larger image. 1200 pix.[/url]
[url=http://www.goswim.tv/potw/082506gabe.800.jpg]Download or view larger image. 800 pix.[/url]

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sprinter	Responded Aug 25, 2006 08:53AM nice back muscles ;o), eyes down, great rotation, high elbow, great style :o)fingers too far apart?!
Fred	Responded Aug 25, 2006 11:39AM Fingers apart? I recall reading that there is some debate about whether a closed hand is most efficient, or if a slightly open hand provides more lift. I've seen swimmers apply this to the thumb, opening it form the rest of the hand to where it acts as a foil for the rest of the fingers, but this appears to test the theory to its limit.
iswim	Responded Aug 25, 2006 12:03PM I swim with this open-handed style- for me it is the most natural and effective (but i'm not a record-holder).i l love what glenn wrote a few weeks ago about "the stroke within". we are all individuals. love the wake at his head- his nice back isnt bad to look at either!
sprinter	Responded Aug 26, 2006 03:51AM I do it too but not that much. It just looks like a drill for me, where he overdoes it. something like the playing with backstoke hand entry drill, but here playing with hand opening for freestyle. ;o)
Tomás	Responded Aug 30, 2006 11:31AM Well, it is difficult to comment on an olympian without getting into some trouble. I think he is a bit of balance but that can be a cam effect. He is gliding with very open fingers but I am sure that is not the way he will pull. To bulky for a freestyler. Tomas
Glenn Mills	Responded Aug 30, 2006 11:40AM "Too bulky for a freestyler" Huh? You said it in your first sentance... "difficult to comment on an Olympian without getting into some trouble". If you post comments like that it is. Geez.
Tomás	Responded Aug 31, 2006 01:05PM Hey Glenn... Haven't you seen a photograph of lets say Grant Hachett...he looks like a long "fettuccine"...no bulk whatsoever, only long, lean and stronf flexible muscles!!! Tomas
Glenn Mills	Responded Aug 31, 2006 04:17PM Hey Tomas, So what? Swimmers come in all different shapes and sizes. Grant's also 6'6" tall, and couldn't carry that mass. Gabe is about 6'2" and is extremely flexible for his mass. Grant is a middle distance to distance swimmer. Gabe is a sprinter. Grant is like fettuccine, and Gabe is like concrete. While Grant is one of the most beautiful swimmers on the planet, watching Gabe swim is also a beatiful thing. I'd also hazard a guess, that Gabe creates MORE velocity than Grant. He just can't hold it as long. Different strokes for different folks.
Tomás	Responded Sep 01, 2006 11:19AM Glenn... I knew it...I knew it from the bottom of my heart...he has to be a SPRINTER!!! but not again NEVER again...so ltes leave it here. Sprinting has to have some beauty also. Tomas
Grant Hanson	Responded Sep 07, 2006 02:08PM Clearly the confusion continues to reign over the concept of "lift" versus "drag" in swimming propulsion. It is amazing to me as a scientist who has developed computer simulations of missile and aircraft aerodynamics that people get so passionate about something they clearly do not understand at all. We even have a recent article by Brian Counsilman trying to redefine what the word lift actually means to defend what looked like the losing side of the argument. Is the process he really backed up what the drag proponents were saying but used a different definition of the word lift. Lift in aerodynamic circles refers to the force which is perpendicular to the airfoil surface. In reality planes stay up in the air using a combination of two forces. The lift perpendicular to the wing and drag caused by air striking the wing at an angle of attack. You can't honestly call this second component lift! There are aircraft with "supercritical" wings, where the top and bottom surfaces are almost identical in shape and the things fly almost purely using angle of attack (drag). The same is true of the human hand. It is not shaped like an aircraft wing. It only produces significant propulsion if it strikes the water at an angle or attack. Try sculling with hands purely perpendicular to the desired direction of motion, with no turning of the wrist. An amoeba swims faster. The nonsense about hand exiting the water ahead of the entry point in elite swimmers is so stupid it's incredible. Try making this happen swimming single arm with no kicking and no streamlined glide! That said: A human hand will generate more force with fingers spread some amount because even the water slipping through the fingers experiences some friction. How much to spread the fingers is open to experimentation. Grant
Grant Hanson	Responded Sep 07, 2006 02:17PM P.S. Gabe swam for our club (Bakersfield Swim Club) this summer and it's awesome to watch him. I also spread my fingers, but I don't go fast like Gabe. I must be missing something else, like incredible strength, power, flexibility, control, mental focus, youth, good looks, etc. Grant

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Pic of the Week - August 25, 2006

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