| The following is an extremely interesting and
valuable article that all swimmers should read very carefully. The
questions were compiled by Niall Ritchie, who is a student at Jordanhill
College of Physical Education - and was writing a paper on breast
stroke. I gave the questions to David Wilkie when he was here for the
swimalong last year.
As I say, the answers are extremely interesting - although I now wish
that I had thought off adding a few questions myself.
One point to note - when David mentions that "in the 100m the
glide is negligable" I assume that the arms stretch forward until
the legs come together and the arm pull would not start until the legs
were together and straight. Remember that when you swim breast stroke
yourself, as starting to pull before the legs have come together will
create extra resistance and will also reduce the amount of propulsion
from the kick.
N.R. Niall Ritchie's
question.
D.W. David Wilkie's reply.
N.R. Why did your coach take your
stroke to pieces prior to the 1976 Montreal Games?
D.W. In fact I changed my stroke
prior to the 1975 World Championships to enable me to get more speed. What
we did was to lengthen the arm stroke to enable the legs to get into a
higher and therefore more powerful position for the kick.
N.R. What were the main differences
between your own technique and that of John Henken?
D.W. John Henken was mainly an arm
powered swimmer and because of his size and quicker turnover of stroke, a
better sprinter.
N.R. What is the strongest component
of your technique?
D.W. My legs.
N.R. What percentage is leg action?
D.W. Roughly about 40% arms and 60%
legs.
N.R. What is your average time for
200m leg kick?
D.W. On a set of 10 x 200m kick, my
average time would be 2min 40 sec.
N.R. What is your average time for
200m arm pull?
D.W. On the same set, on arm pull,
the average time would be 2min 52sec.
N.R. What length of glide, if any,
do you have between arm pull and leg kick?
D.W. With a swimmer with a strong
leg kick you will get a bit of a glide to allow the arms to get into a
fully extended position. However, in the 100m this glide is negligible and
in the 200m, even though the glide is more pronounced it would be hard to
measure.
N.R. In a few lines can you
summarise your art of water training or conditioning programme?
D.W. About 45mins per day broken
down into 15 min yoga, 15min weight training and 15min calisthenics (press
ups, sit ups etc.)
N.R. What are your views on the
technique of Suki Brownston in submerging the head? Do you think this
should be legal?
D.W. Under the rules of
breaststroke, as far as the head submerging under the water and her arms
breaking the surface, the stroke is in fact illegal. There is no doubt that
by submerging the head and therefore extending the "glide" that
the breast stroke swimmer can go faster, especially on the 200m.
N.R. Why do you think breast stroke
is potentially the slowest of the main strokes?
D.W. Because of the very nature of
the stroke and the unnatural movements, breast stroke will always be the
slowest of the four strokes.
David Wilkie 14/11/1981
It should be remembered we are all individuals, note
David's own comments about the difference between himself and John Henken.
What worked so well for David Wilkie may not be right for you. However, I
would like to re-emphasise my point about the leg kick finishing before
the arm pull begins. It should be remembered that the world record David
set in 1976 stood until July 1982
IAN MILNE.
Just for the record & here is the photo to prove it
YES, Scott Milne DID beat David Wilkie in a 50m breaststroke race
|
One of the original club crest's in cloth material used on the
swimmers track suits shown here actual size
