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Photo t~l Stephen Dural, AIIsl~rt

By Ron Johnson Demonstration photos by

Michael Aron

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The single most obvious difference between the

strokes of the great contemporary Australian

freest~ers and today's top American male swimmm

is the incorporation of the shoulder shift into the

stroke. By using the "new Australian crawl," the

Australians are swimming with technically more effi-

cient strokes.

Ron Johnson SWIMMING WORLD AND JUNIOR SWIMMER JANUARY 2000 2 S

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Fairly Good Sequence Illustrating the "New Australian Crawl" We have not received permission to illus- trate the underwater strokes of Kieren Perkins, Grant Hackett or Ian Thorpe, which are all very similar with regard to the stabilizing shoulder shift and the exceptionally high upper arm and elbow throughout the entire propulsive phase. The fallowing photos, using farmer short course world champion Francisco Sanchez of Venezuela, are a fairly good approxima- tion of the Australian stroke.

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For years I believed, incorrectly, that freestylers should roll a great deal with the shoulders along the central axis of the body. But as I watch and ana lyze the great c o n t e m p o r a r y Australian freestylers and the best of the rest of the world, I have become convinced that the roll that occurs in freestyle is not so much in the shoul- ders as it is in the lower torso, hips and legs. The shoulders should roll only slightly, and the roll actually is more of a shift--first forward and then back- ward. When the arm is recovering, the shoulder is lifted slightly to eliminate drag as it is extended forward.

Observation and trial are the ways that we learn to perform better. The dearer the observation and the more aware and focused the trials, the high- er y o u r level of u n d e r s t a n d i n g becomes. Fine performances result from this process.

Many of our "exper ts" have advised us to swim "like fish." A more useful model would be to swim like

The body is lying very level in the water as a result of a low head position and a good shoulder shift forward with the lead arm. The frontal profile is narrow. The recovery is closed (with the hand passing dose to the shoulder), which helps ensure better adign- ment, and the arm is relaxed, as seen by the lack of tension in the wrist and hand.

Notice that there is considerable overlap in the stroke ("catch-up"). The catch in the stroke is begun with shoulder and upper arm on that side remaining high, and the fore- arm and hand breaking clown or pivoting sharply downward (not illustrated enough here). V'm~xn is downward, and the head is carried low in the water with full reach for- ward with the recovering ann.

The top Australians mentioned would have their forearm and hands almost perpendicular to the surface at this point in the pull, with the upper arm and shoulder in a higher and more stable position in relation to the surface. More catch-up is seen than is illustrated here with the strokes of the world's best mid~istance freestyle~ The pull is quite shak low as a result of the high upper ann and shoulder position. The pull is also wider than is gener~/advocated m recent p u W k ~ m .

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The stroke is wider throughout and more on the shoulder line. The hand is very relaxed at this point, and there is no visible tension in the wrist. It has been allowed to relax, or soften, so that the palm is facing backward through the remainder of the stroke. The fin- kh of the stroke isa sweep upward and backward with even more relaxation in the wrist than we have been able to show.

2 6 SWIMMING WORLD MiD JUNIOR SWIMMER JANUARY

The shoulder has been dropped rather than shifted forward. The head is too high, result- ing in a great deal of resistance on the side of the face. In addition, water is being trapped between the face and shoulder, increasing resistance.

The head is too high, creating a wide frontal profile. The elbow is relatively high, but the stroke is being initiated with the whole ann rather than (as the Australians are doing) with the shoulder and upper ann remaining high in relation to the surface of the water, and the forearm and hand being rotated downward. The thumb is almost tucked under the palm.

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At this point, the stroke is too vertical. The upper arm is almost perpendicular in relation to the surface of the water. The hand is too deep and is crossing the center line of the body. The hand appears to be very tense and dosed, trnion is forward, and the face is taking on maxinmm frontal resistance.

The lead shoulder is dropped instead of being shifted forward. Rotation has occurred too late in the lower torso, hips and legs. The hand and wrist should be totally relaxed with the fingers angled downward. They are not. The hand and wrist are thrusting water par- ~ upward.

IllusSradons of a Typical "Old Style" Freestyle Stroke

the fastest humans. The plain truth is that, physiologically, we don't resem- ble fish---or any other aquatic animal. We're not built like fish, and we can- not emulate the movements of fish. Fishlike swimming is an impossible--- and misleading---goal.

The shou lde r shift is the single most obvious difference between the s t rokes of the great c o n t e m p o r a r y Australian freestylers and today's top A m e r i c a n ma le s w i m m e r s . The Australians swim with a comparative- ly high shoulder position throughout the catch and pull sequence, while we have taught our swimmers, incorrect- ly in m y opinion, to roll too much with the shoulders. The more stable shoulder position allows the swimmer to elevate the elbows much earlier in the stroke and allows the rotation to occur in the lower torso, hips and legs.

Shoulder shift is the movement for- ward and backward that takes place in the s h o u l d e r g i rd le d u r i n g the sequence of all competi t ive strokes. Once a swimmer has reached forward to full arm extension, a few additional inches of reach can be achieved by not only extending the arm, but also by shifting or advancing the shoulder. It also refers to the m o v e m e n t of the shoulder backward from the point of the catch through the pull and push phase of the cycle.

One of the p r i m a r y differences be tween the novice s w i m m e r and m a n y of A m e r i c a ' s bes t d i s tance swimmers, when compared with the Australian distance swimmers, is the lack of a shoulder shift in the former. I believe that if the shoulder stays fixed in a cons tant posi t ion, p ropu l s ion occurs with a restricted overall arm and body action.

SWIMMING WORLD AND JUNIOR SWIMMER JANUARY 2000 2 7

With the Aussies , the s t roke is unrestricted and has a definite flow and drive due in part to this significant shoulder shift both forward and back- ward. The result is the most elusive of all swimming goals: easy speed.

I believe the incorporation of the shoulder shift into the crawl stroke constitutes nothing less than a new, more efficient paradigm for the crawl. I call it the "new Australian crawl."

Carefully look at the great swim- mers in all the strokes, and you will see that they achieve extraordinary distance per stroke. Physical height of the athlete has something to do with this. But even the shorter champions who have excelled in the course of the history of our sport have displayed formidable stroke length and have had the a d v a n t a g e , wi th thei r sho r t e r levers, of being able to interface the stroke at faster tempos while maintain- ing their best stroke length.

This has practically neutralized the advantage of their taller challengers. We all know that champions in our sport come in various sizes from short to tall (Janet Evans, Mike Barrowman and David Berkoff vs. Claudia Poll, Alex P o p o v and Gran t Hacket t ) . However, excellent distance per stroke (DPS) is an almost universal common factor among the world's best.

It is possible to swim fast for short blasts with a pure strength-oriented stroke and very high revolutions or t empo . Our inclusion of the shor t relays in high school and collegiate programs almost encourages swim- mers to learn to swim with this type of stroke. Gearing a swimmer to this type of stroke will surely preclude any suc- cess he or she might at tain in long course compet i t ion~the realm of the true top-flight swimmer.

Too m a n y of our s w i m m e r s are geared to short course yards competi- tion: nine months each year in a course used by no other country in the world. The high schoolers know where the payoff is in scholarships. Until this ridiculous overemphasis on sprinting and shor t course c o m p e t i t i o n is reversed, the United States is going to remain stuck on a long downhill slide in c o m p e t i n g wi th the res t of the world.

U i s t m ~ p ~ S m ~ k ~ ~ j Distance per stroke is the major

key to increased velocity and efficien- cy. The "shoulder shift" maximizes DPS in several beneficial ways:

* It helps balance, and it helps body position in the water by transferring weight forward, helping the swim- mer achieve a more level flotation.

• In freestyle and backstroke, it helps central line rotation in the lower body. It is the stabilizing movement in the stroke that helps us start cen- tral axis roll.

• It helps eliminate frontal resistance and drag by trimming up and com- pressing the frontal profile---one of the principal factors in achieving better DPS.

• It is an i m p o r t a n t m o v e m e n t in establishing stroke rhythm. When "shoulder shift" is lost at the end of a race, as a result of fatigue or an at tempt to increase tempo (stroke

legs. A n a l y z e the s t roke of Lenny

Krayzelburg, who has had stunning success in the last two years. You will see something totally different than the drills that are being advocated to develop a prototype backstroke, such as the 6 and 6 kick/stroke drill illus- trated in m a n y swimming publica- tions, where the swimmer rotates the en t i re b o d y a lmos t 180 degrees . Krayzelburg does not drop his shoul- der. Ins tead , he shif ts it f o rwa rd , which puts the body in a nar rower frontal profile and also allows him to ac t iva te the pul l w i th far g r ea t e r mechanical advantage.

At this writing, the United States would have difficulty placing even one man on the Australian 800 meter freestyle relay, and we're barely with- in shouting distance of the Aussie men in the 400 metelq~eestyle and the 1500 meter freestyle. Som~e~thing is definitely wrong here.

rate) too much, rhythm is lost, the . ~ h e Australians are not training stroke flattens out in the hips a n ~ , ~ o r e than we are, but they definitely lower torso and stroke efficienCy are training smarter. Just as signifi- collapses. In fact, loss of "shoulder cantly, by using the new Australian shift" generally is the first ind~ation crawl, they are swimming with techni- of a swimmer tying-up or ~ n d e r - caUy more efficient strokes. inginarace . ~ S w i m m i n g wi th ~ the new

Austra l ian c r a ~ / ' i s not difficult to ~ Used by ~ l e a r n . Many ~ r~y Masters swimmers

Swinmmh~s ~ ~ i~d~i~ave p i c k e d ~ p t h e change in just a In te res t ing ly , Aus t ra l i an Susie ~ v weeks. I, myself, have done so as

O'Neill, the great 200 meter fiver, has - - ~ ' e l l , and in so doing, t ransformed gone to the "new Australian crawl" and recorded the fastest t ime in the wor ld last yea r in the 200 m e t e r freestyle. There are several American women who swim with this m o r e pro- nounced shoulder shift as well, most notably Jenny Thompson and Brooke Bennett.

The shoulder shift is one of the most impor tant factors involved in faster swimming in all strokes, and is deafly and easily observed in world- class b r e a s t s t r o k e and bu t te r f ly . However, even the greatest of contem- porary backstrokers have mastered this notable pronounced shift, swim- ming with greater shoulder extension, but with a much flatter and stable upper torso than we have formerly thought ideal, while still achieving sig- nificant rotation in the lower torso and

what was m y weakest stroke through- out my long swimming career into one of my best.

I t ' s a m a t t e r of u n d e r s t a n d i n g deafly the differences between the old and new styles. Once the picture is dear in your mind, bringing it to phys- ical rea l i ty comes qui te quickly . Believe me, the rewards more than jus- tify the effort.

If you have comments on this article,

please contact the editor by e-mail

(SwimPhii@aol.com) or fax (480-874- 9365), or contact Coach Johnson directly

by phone at 480-946-5830.

Ron Johnson, former coach of the Arizona State University Sun Devils, now coaches the Sun Devils Masters Swim Club in Phoenix. He is the only coach ever to have been honored as NCAA Coach of the Year and U.S. Masters Swimming Coach of the Year.

2 8 SWIMMING WORLD AND JUNIOR SWIMMER JAHUARY 2000