breaststroke swimming essay

Breaststroke: Overview and Swimming Technique

By Author Christophe Keller

Posted on Last updated: March 13, 2021

The breaststroke is swum with the body facing down. The arms perform semicircular movements, and the legs perform a frog kick.

Breaststroke is, without a doubt, the most popular swimming stroke . In fact, for many people, it is the only stroke that they use regularly.

This can be explained by the fact that this style allows you to swim with your head above the water and therefore breathe freely and keep your eyes open. This can be helpful for beginners and more casual swimmers.

A young woman swimming breaststroke in an outdoor pool.

Experienced swimmers, as well as competition swimmers, however, dip their head underwater during the glide phase, which improves their position in the water and reduces drag.

In terms of speed, breaststroke is the slowest swimming stroke. This is due to the fact that during the leg recovery, the thighs are pulled forward into the water against the swimming direction, which creates a lot of drag.

Breaststroke Swimming Technique

In the next section, we will describe the swimming technique of breaststroke.

Body Movement

A breaststroke swimmer in the middle of the arm recovery.

In breaststroke, the body position changes continuously during the stroke cycle. It moves from a horizontal position during the glide phase to an inclined position during the arm pull.

Assume that the starting position is at the end of the glide phase when the body is horizontal and streamlined, the arms extended forward, and the legs straight and held together.

Now, when the arms pull backward in the water, the body moves to an inclined position, with the torso assuming a 45-degree position above the water at the end of the arm pull while the hips and legs remain in the water.

The body returns to a horizontal position when the arms are extended forward during the arm recovery and subsequent glide phase.

The head remains in alignment with the body. During the horizontal glide phase, the head is in a neutral position, facing down.

During the arm pulling phase, the head remains in a neutral position.

After the arm pulling phase, when the body is inclined at 45 degrees, the face is directed downwards and slightly forward, the eyes are fixed at a point about 3-6 feet ahead.

A common mistake is to look towards the end of the lane instead of looking down and slightly forward.

A young man swimming breaststroke in an outdoor pool.

More detailed information about body movement in breaststroke can be found here .

Arm Movement

A breaststroke swimmer in the underwater glide phase.

In breaststroke, the arms perform synchronous semicircular movements .

Let us assume again that the starting position is at the end of the glide phase when the body is horizontal, and the arms are extended forward.

When the arms begin to pull, they first move outwards, backward and downwards until the arms are bent 90 degrees, the elbows are at shoulder level, and the upper arms and hands are in line and pointing downwards.

In the second phase of the arm pull, the arms move further back. The upper arms move to the sides of the body, while the hands move towards each other under the chest.

At the same time, the upper body rises out of the water until it is inclined at 45 degrees.

When the hands meet under the chest, the arms are extended forward in a line to return to the starting position. At the same time, the body returns to a horizontal position.

More detailed information about arm movement in breaststroke can be found here .

Leg Movement — Breaststroke Kick

A breaststroke swimmer at the beginning of the propulsive phase of the kick.

The breaststroke uses a frog kick/whip kick .

Let us assume, again, that the swimmer is in the starting position, i.e., he lies horizontally in the water. The arms are extended forward, and the legs are extended and held together.

The legs remain more or less extended during the pull phase of the arms.

At the end of the arm pull phase, the knees bend, and the feet begin to move towards the buttocks.

As the arms recover forward, the feet move farther towards the buttocks until they are close to the buttocks.

Now, the knees move apart, and the feet begin to move outwards and backward. This is also the beginning of the propulsive phase of the kick.

The feet move further outwards and backward, and then inwards and backward so that the legs come together. We are still in the propulsive phase of the kick.

At the end of the kick, the legs are extended and together again, and now a short glide phase takes place before the stroke cycle starts all over again.

More detailed information about the breaststroke kick can be found here .

A breaststroke swimmer breathing in during the arm recovery.

Breathing in breaststroke is relatively straightforward.

Inhalation begins as soon as the head is above water at the end of the arm pull.

Exhalation begins as soon as the head is submerged in the water again during the arm recovery forward.

Exhalation should continue as long as the head is underwater so that the lungs are empty just before the head emerges.

This is the breathing pattern used by fitness and competitive swimmers. On the other hand, more casual swimmers can keep their heads above water at all times and breathe freely.

More detailed information about breathing in breaststroke can be found here .

Learning to Swim Breaststroke

A female breaststroke swimmer breathing in during the arm recovery.

As explained above, breaststroke is suitable for beginners because you can keep your head above water, which allows you to breathe freely and swim without goggles.

That is why, at least in European countries, breaststroke is often the first swimming stroke that is taught.

In this article, we explain our method for learning breaststroke . Our method is divided into the following steps:

1) In the first step, the arm movements, leg movements, and breathing exercises are practiced individually on land.

2) In the second step, the arm and leg movements are practiced separately in the water, with pull buoys and swimming noodles providing additional buoyancy.

3) In the third step, the arm and leg movements are practiced simultaneously in the water, with the help of pull buoys and swimming noodles, like in the previous step.

4) The last step, which consists of swimming without any aids, is done when the student has gained enough confidence in his swimming skills.

Start learning breaststroke here .

You may also be interested in the following articles that cover the breaststroke’s swimming technique:

Breaststroke Technique: Head and Body Positions
Swimming Breaststroke – Arm Movements and Technique
Breaststroke Kick – Swimming Technique and Tips
Swimming Breaststroke – Breathing Technique and Tips
Learn Swimming Breaststroke: Drills and Exercises
Overview of Common Swimming Strokes / Styles
Enjoy Swimming Home

Thursday 28th of November 2019

Hey, I am also doing a project for school and I was wondering how you would explain how to do the breaststroke step by step. I wrote: "Pull, breathe, kick, glide.

Pull back with your arms to propel yourself forward and up a little. Go up and breathe. Do the whip kick. Glide underwater for 1 seconds.

Whip Kick: Stick your legs together and bring them back to touch your butt. Then, thrust them in opposite directions to make a circle, then bring them back together in front. Repeat."

Is that good enough. I'm going to assume the answer is no, and could you please help me improve it? Thanks a lot.

Sounds mostly good to me. Maybe I'd add some words about the arm recovery.

I know there should be a question mark at the end of the first sentence of the last paragraph. *Is that good enough?

Saturday 13th of April 2019

Hello Christophe,

Again, thank you for this wonderful website. It's now my bible to learn swimming. I don't use any other resource anymore.

I'm learning breaststroke. There is a specific point that appears to be confusing - when does the legs recovery begin in relation to hands movement?

As per this article it seems the legs recovery start as soon as arms' sweep-in starts -> when arms' in-sweep completes the legs' recovery should also be complete -> when my head and shoulders are out of water then my hands are under my chest and legs just above buttocks. Refer to #3 in article above.

However, the second bullet in https://www.enjoy-swimming.com/learn-swimming-breaststroke-2.html suggest the legs recovery should start at the end of arms' insweep. Refer to below:

"Start the recovery of the legs towards the buttocks at the end of the arms’ insweep, then catch and sweep out with your legs during the arms’ recovery forward."

So, two questions:

1. Am I reading the instructions correctly? Or, am I mis-interpreting anything? If I'm reading these instructions correctly then it seems the two instructions are different. Is it correct?

2. If indeed, two instructions are different which one should be followed? I would imagine the one on this article should be followed i.e. the legs should have recovered and be above buttocks when arms' insweep ends.

Please advise.

Good catch. The leg recovery starts at the end of the propulsive phase of the arm stroke, which for most people is at the end of the insweep.

So the article you linked to is correct and I made an error in this article, which I'll correct as soon as possible. So thank you for bringing this to my attention.

However, there's more to this subject as can be covered in this article. If you are curious, I suggest you consult Ernest W. Maglischio's excellent book Swimming Fastest, which covers breaststroke swimming technique in detail.

Friday 12th of April 2019

Hi there I am doing a project at school. I was wondering if how you breath under water

Sunday 14th of April 2019

Your question isn't very clear. Could you clarify it? Thanks.

Saturday 21st of April 2018

I have a problem with step five. I know I have to lift my chest and shoulders, I've also seen many swimmers do it but when I'm in the water I just can't.

Please help

Sunday 22nd of April 2018

At the beginning of the half-circular recovery of the hands to the chest, you push downward with your palms against the water.

This helps to raise your torso.

Wednesday 4th of January 2017

Thanks for these lessons.

At last, I feel as if I am making progress and now feel more comfortable in the water.

Front crawl is next!

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How to Swim the Breaststroke

Dr. GJohn Mullen May 7, 2018 Biomechanics , Blog , Dr. John Mullen , Training 4 Comments

While butterfly is commonly depicted as the hardest stroke, breaststroke is typically the most difficult to master. Even many elite swimmers do not perform breaststroke properly, causing frustration and the use of dolphin kick breaststroke. This is the guide for how to swim the breaststroke, a step-by-step process of “ideal” breaststroke biomechanics.

Ideal biomechanics is an individual term, making this guide simply an outline, as one-on-one coaching and an individualized biomechanical assessment are necessary for each swimmer for the greatest benefit. If you don’t have a coach, you can start checking off each of these items once mastered. If you swim for a team, run these biomechanics by your coach and make an individualized program for improvement in your stroke. For a review of terminology or if you come across any unfamiliar terms in this guide on how to swim the breaststroke, check out our basics page . Also, if you enjoy this, consider purchasing A Swimming Technique Macrocycle by Dr. Brent Rushall .

Body Position

Body position tips in breaststroke, breathing tips in breaststroke.

This breath was delayed and is causing excessive drag during the propulsive kick phase

CATCH PHASE TIPS IN BREASTSTROKE

Late catch tips in breaststroke.

Pulling too far back in the late catch

· The late catch should feel like the fastest phase (like in every stroke). This sensation helps move the arms through the propulsive, but also the position of most drag.

· The elbows should not pull past the line of the shoulders, as this creates excessive drag.

BREASTSTROKE RECOVERY

· Return the head and shoulders to streamline before the arms are maximally stretched forward.

DEFINITIVE FEATURES TO BE ACHIEVED IN BREASTSTROKE KICKING

· The end of the kick cycle should have the legs closed in streamline, as the catch phase initiates.

Rushall, BS. A swimming technique macrocycle. 2013: Spring Valley, CA; Sports Science Associates [Electronic book].

Don’t attempt to raise arms above water in recovery….. fair enough. Then why show a swimmer doing just that in headline photo?

Good point 🙂 It is a what not to do photo.

Interesting that there seems to be an intellectual debate about raising arms above water in recovery, with the desired outcome being not to? When if you look at every world class Breastroke swim in the last 10 yrs probably with exception of Sonny, all athletes do it. So its most likely a bi product of power and natural movement. But all pretty much do it!

If you choose to elevate your head and chest high above the water (better propulsion), your hands will naturally shoot forward at or above the surface of the water. If you choose do not elevate as much (less drag), your hands will naturally shoot forward below the surface of the water. The key is to always shoot your hands *forward* during the strike phase of the stroke.

Avoid lifting your hands out of the water if your chest and head are low. That accomplishes nothing.

The Year that My Life Truly Began

By aaron patton.

The breaststroke is the oldest known swimming stroke and is one of four strokes used in competitive swimming. This stroke is also very popular in leisure swimming because the head can be held up, making vision and breathing easy and because the swimmer can rest between strokes if needed. My best stroke is the Breaststroke, and I naturally have always been a magnificent breaststroker. There are tons of benefits of being able to swim this stroke such as, swimmers can also use the breaststroke in survival swimming and in lifesaving situations. Since the breaststroke has many uses and is easy to learn, it is one of the best strokes to teach a beginning swimmer. When teaching the breaststroke to a beginner, it is very important to explain every aspect of the stroke from head to toe. The head should be positioned so the hairline is at the surface of the water, keeping the body horizontal. The arm motions of the breaststroke are performed simultaneously, moving in opposite directions. The leg motions are performed in the same fashion. Lifting the hips as the hands are extended in front, then lifting the upper body as the hands finish and start to recover creates a rocking action. This rocking action is an automatic movement if the stroke is performed correctly. In the glide, the body is flat, prone, and streamlined, with the legs together and extended straight out. Keeping the palms down, extend the arms in front of the head. Angle the hands slightly downward and turn the palms outward at a 45-degree angle to the surface of the water. With the arms straight, press the palms directly out until the hands are spread wide out and pull them back with as much force as possible. This will pull the swimmer forward and move them in the direction whichever they choose.

The kicking is much easier to attempt and a little more difficult to explain. After each pull, the legs should also be facing downward at a 45-degree angle. When the arms swing back around the swimmer must kick in an outward motion and then bring the legs back to the starting position. This kicking motion takes around three seconds to complete in a beneficial manner. The kick is the strongest part of the stroke and the most important, because it propels you forward the most out of all the parts of the stroke.

The Breaststroke is one of the most beneficial strokes to know in swimming. It is key to survival in water and a very brilliant workout. It is a great benefit that it is one of the easiest strokes to master the basics. The other strokes such as Butterfly, Freestyle, and Backstroke are great to, but they do not compare to the Breaststroke. I understand why other swimmers would prefer these other strokes. However I have always been one of the best breaststrokers in my town, my competitive swim team, and my family.

November 23, 2015

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How to Swim Breaststroke Properly

by Kerry O Brien

January 16, 2020

Improving your efficiency can help you swim breaststroke faster

This article originally appeared in the January-February 2020 issue of SWIMMER.

A coach much wiser than I once said, “It’s only after you have exhausted every effort to reduce drag do you ever begin to think about going fast.”

This idea is especially relevant in breaststroke, because of its inherent up-and-down nature and all stroke mechanics happening below the surface except the breath (and, for some, part of the recovery). All aspects of forward-producing motions must be weighed against the possibility for drag.

Here’s how to build an efficient breaststroke that will have you swimming faster.

Your stroke starts with your hands initiating an out-sweep from the streamlined position just below the surface (see photo). A deep out-sweep makes for a deeper catch, pull, and recovery that has your hands finishing farther away from the surface and leaving your body exposed to more frontal drag for a longer period of time.

Once you begin to move from the catch phase to the pull, or power, phase, you’ll feel the muscles of your upper arms, shoulders, chest, and back engage. Allow your hands to lead the in-sweep, keeping your elbows stationary at the surface until your hands pass inside of them. This helps to keep your elbows and arms from getting caught too far behind your shoulders, which slows the arm recovery.

As your hands in-sweep toward your chin and chest, the engaged larger muscle groups provide the necessary thrust to continue the accelerated hand speed through the power phase of the stroke and into the recovery. What some swimmers lack is a sense of urgency to get back to a streamlined position. Be aggressive to the glide!

Another tendency for some swimmers is to try to accelerate too much during the out-sweep. This usually leads to a deceleration during the in-sweep and often results in a stroke pause under the chin. If this happens to you, your stroke cycle is beginning and ending in your most drag-producing position for a longer period of time.

No stroke sees more evolutionary changes than breaststroke. And to this day, no one way seems to work for everyone. But times continue to drop.

Part of the reason is as stroke tempos have increased, the necessity for a narrower and faster kick to match the hand speed is required to maintain your stroke timing. The concept varies with race distances (faster turnover for a 50 breaststroke, slower for a 200), and you’ll find the proper combination that works best for each of your races.

As your hands anchor in the catch position, slide your hips forward. This plays a major role in reducing drag, because it softens and rounds the angles of your upper legs to oncoming water, allowing water to run down your torso and legs easier.

Your feet and ankles are turned outward to grab as much water as possible with the instep of your feet, and you should draw your feet as close to your butt as your flexibility allows.

With your feet cocked for the kick, your upper body should be in what I call a “narrow arrow” (see photo). This allows you to have the most propulsive part of your kick engaged when your body is creating the least amount of drag.

This explosive thrust of your kick should be more backward (pushing you forward, your goal), not outward. Finish each kick by bringing your feet together, so your feet are in a streamlined position. This is when you should start another stroke cycle.

Head Position

Your body will always follow your head. Fight the urge to have every stroke begin with a lift of your head, because this taking of an early breath creates timing issues later in your stroke cycle. If you can see your hands move from the “I” position to the “Y” position, your head is in the wrong posture. At this juncture, your eyes should still be looking down at the bottom of the pool.

You should begin exhaling during the out-sweep phase of your stroke and continue as your forearms move from the catch phase and start the power phase. The increased hand speed combined with the sliding forward of your hips to set up your kick creates a rocking motion that allows your head to ride this wave above the surface and grab a breath, with your head always moving more forward than up and down. Once you take a breath, snap your head back into alignment with your arms as your hands shoot forward and back into a streamlined position.

Stroke Timing

Mastering the synchronicity of the pull, kick, breath, and glide is what separates really good breaststrokes from the rest of the field. Here are some key points to keep in mind to help with your stroke timing.

Everything starts and stops in a streamlined position.
Your hands move slow to fast in a circular motion.
Always feel yourself moving forward, not up and down.
Breaststroke is an aggressive stroke. Breaststrokers finish their races just as fatigued as those competing in other strokes, if not more.
Efficiency begets speed, but not necessarily the opposite.

Categories:

Technique and Training
Breaststroke

About the Author Kerry O Brien

Walnut Creek Masters Head Coach Kerry O’Brien was the 1987 U.S. Masters Swimming Coach of the Year Award recipient and is the namesake of the USMS Kerry O’Brien Coaches Awards, which are given annually to coaches whose passion and dedication help them build USMS membership in their communities.

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How To Swim Breaststroke With Perfect Technique

Breaststroke requires a level of skill and coordination that’s challenging to master. To swim fast, you have to balance power with ease, gliding through the water in the most streamlined, efficient way possible.

We’re breaking down 6 key elements of breaststroke technique to help you swim faster with less effort, whether you are just learning the stroke or you’re more advanced and want to take a couple tenths off your best time!

Remember: Everyone in the world can improve, even the best swimmers in the world. Adam Peaty and Lilly King keep getting faster, and if they can do it, you can too!

What Makes Breaststroke Different?

Related: How Lilly King Swims a 55.73 100-Yard Breaststroke

When it comes to breaststroke, there’s often a split among swimmers. Some people pick it up very easily, while others struggle with the stroke mechanics. There are three main differences between breaststroke and the other competitive strokes:

Short Axis Stroke: Similar to butterfly, you move more up and down rather than rotating on a long axis like you would in freestyle and backstroke.
Timing: Breaststroke requires perfect coordination of your pull and kick to go fast.
Kick: In breaststroke, you kick with your feet flexed. In the other strokes, your toes are pointed.

6 Elements of Good Breaststroke

1. body position.

The streamline is essential for breaststroke. Each stroke always starts and ends in a streamline position. The more quickly you can get to your streamline position, the more efficient your stroke will be.

Related: Analyzing Adam Peaty’s Breaststroke Technique

A good streamline consists of proper head position (looking straight down) and proper hip position (hips high). It’s important to keep your hips up at all times to reduce drag, especially when you lift your head up to breathe.

In breaststroke, you initiate your pull from the streamline position. Pull your hands apart and create a large triangle of space, eventually driving your hands forward and back to the streamline position.

When you initiate your pull, press your hands outward with your pinkies up. When your hands are just wider than your shoulders, begin to pull down with a strong Early Vertical Forearm to catch the water. At this point you’ll lift your head to breathe.

Related: How to Swim Perfect Butterfly

When you drop your head back down, your arms should explode forward. This is the slowest part of the stroke, so it’s important to maximize your power here. Avoid diving down — that’s not as efficient!

Breaststroke is known for its unique “frog kick,” that requires you to flex your feet rather than point your toes. If you’re new to breaststroke, you can break down the kick as follows:

Up: Pull your heel up to your butt. This is the highest point of resistance in your kick, so work on strengthening your hamstrings to get your heel to your butt faster and increase your tempo.

Related: How to Swim World-Class Breaststroke

Out: Kick your legs out, but don’t spread your knees too wide – try keeping them about shoulder width apart. A wide kick creates more resistance.

Around: Sweep your legs around, beginning to pull your feet back together.

Together: Squeeze your legs together, returning to your starting streamline position!

Timing is arguably the most important aspect of breaststroke. At a basic level, there are 3 phases to breaststroke:

Pull: You start with your pull. You take your breath here.

Kick: As you begin to drive your hands forward, kick to enhance your momentum.

Glide: Gliding in a proper streamline helps you maximize distance per stroke. The duration of your glide depends on the event you’re swimming. Longer events can allow for longer glides.

If we compare the 50, 100 and 200 breaststroke, we’ll find differences in tempo and timing. The 50 calls for fast tempo, but you’ll still find elite swimmers holding their glide for a split second. In the 100, tempo is still high, but there’s more opportunity to glide.

The 200 breaststroke is a little different. You’ll see elite swimmers adjusting their tempo throughout the race! But no matter the race, the goal is the same: get to the streamline position as quickly as possible.

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You complete a pullout after your start and off each wall. You’re allowed one pullout per length. We can break the pullout into four steps:

Begin in streamline. Hold it for 2-3 seconds, or until you feel yourself slowing down.
Pull down with your arms, sending your body forward.
You’re allowed one underwater breaststroke kick to bring your hands back to the starting position.
If you’re more advanced, you can also add one small or medium-sized dolphin kick at any point during or after your arms pull down.

In your pullout, it’s important to maintain the integrity of your streamline. A big dolphin kick can cause more drag and requires you to reset your body position before beginning your regular stroke.

6. Training

For short axis strokes, training should heavily focus on race specificity and technique, specifically swimming high in the water.

Related: USRPT Training Plan

For example, if you’re focused on the 200 breaststroke, it’s smarter for you to do shorter breaststroke sets than it is to do 200 repeats. It’s easier to maintain technique for a 25 or a 50 than it is for a 200, and repeatedly fatiguing yourself will train your body to swim in a less advantageous position.

Training at or above race pace and using your race stroke count can be especially helpful for advanced swimmers.

Common Mistakes Beginners Make

Even advanced swimmers make some of these common breaststroke mistakes! Learn how to improve your technique and get a free breaststroke swim workout in this helpful video.

For more drills and technique-focused workouts, download the MySwimPro app on your smartwatch, iPhone or Android.

Short Course vs. Long Course Swimming

Pool length plays a role in how you’ll swim and race breaststroke.

Short Course = 25 yard or 25 meter pool
Long Course = 50 meter (Olympic size) pool

In short course swimming, it’s easier to maintain distance per stroke and tempo. You have more turns, and more pull-outs to maximize your glide.

Long course, on the other hand, requires a faster tempo to make up for fewer turns. Many elite swimmers will increase their tempo over the course of a race to maintain their body position and maximize their distance per stroke.

Drills to Improve Your Breaststroke

Related: 5 More Breaststroke Drills to Try + Free Swim Workout

Check out four of our favorite breaststroke drills to help you hone your form and swim faster!

Streamline Kick on Back

This drill helps refine your kick mechanics, such as heel speed, kick width or catching more water on the out sweep of your kick. Keep your knees under the water for the duration of this drill.

2 Kicks, 1 Pull

Work on your timing with this drill. Begin in streamline and complete 2 full kicks under the surface before doing a pull. Doing this elongates your stroke and encourages you to focus on your glide.

Freestyle Kick, Breaststroke Pull

Try this drill to work on your power, specifically with your hands. Try to accelerate your arms through the catch phase and drive your arms forward, rather than bobbing up and down. We recommend wearing fins for this one!

Breaststroke Countdown

This set challenges your stroke count, timing, distance per stroke and power! More advanced breaststrokers know their typical stroke count for one length of the pool. Complete 8×25, broken down as follows:

1×25 @ your usual stroke count
1×25 @ stroke count -1
1×25 @ stroke count -2
1×25 @ stroke count -3

How often do you swim breaststroke? Let us know below! Download the MySwimPro app and start your Personalized Training Plan. Save $35 on your first year with code SWIM35 >

How to swim breaststroke – the ultimate guide, best swim workout app, swim workout generator.

Love your video. Do you provide private training for teens at a competitive level?

Hi there! You can check out our training plans in the MySwimPro app to find one that works for you! https://myswimpro.com/blog/category/training-plans/

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Great article! I am always looking to improve my breaststroke. A question about the recovery motion. Is it better for an out of water arm motion? Most elite breaststroke swimmers use that, but my coach discouraged it.

Hi John, your recovery in breaststroke shouldn’t be fully out of the water or fully underwater. Your should create a bit of a splash as you explode forward into streamline position.

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Articles and Videos

How to Swim Breaststroke

by Andrew Sheaff

May 3, 2022

Breaking breaststroke into its critical components

The first article in this series, The Three Ways to Swim Faster , outlined the three requirements for fast swimming: increased propulsion, reduced resistance, and great timing. The major components of successful breaststroke are:

Strong catch and propulsive arm action

Strong catch and effective kick action, drive forward, timing of the arms and legs, streamline posture.

Although it might not feel like it, great breaststroke pulling is like freestyle and butterfly pulling. In all three cases, there’s a vertical forearm and direct backward pull. In contrast to those strokes, however, breaststroke does not see the hands go past the chest.

Slide patiently

To set up the pull, slide straight arms out to the sides, with palms out. The key here is patience. If you rush this aspect of the stroke, you’ll get less out of it.

Hook the water

Once your arms are wide, turn the palms in, while bending the elbows and pressing down. You’re hooking the water to initiate the start of the pull. It can also be helpful to think of “wrapping” the water. This too should be initiated with patience. Once you’ve got the water hooked, you can start to accelerate.

This is where most swimmers make mistakes. They slide the hands back in, rather than squeezing the hands and elbows in. If you slide the hands in, you’re just sculling. If you squeeze in the hands and elbows, you’re pulling. Squeeze aggressively—it should feel like you’re trying to pop balloons in your armpits. This is where you start to put some force into it.

A great kick is a difference maker in breaststroke, and you’ll see a wide range of breaststroke kicking styles. Regardless of the style you choose, create as much pressure on your feet and shins as possible, then move that water backward. Here are some tips to help you do this.

Be patient or aggressive

When setting up the kick, be patient when turning out the feet and shins. Rushing this process will cause you to miss out on most of the propulsion. Once you set up the kick, be aggressive. Once the kick is complete, you can be patient again, until it’s time to recover the feet, then be aggressive once again.

Use the whole foot and shin

When kicking, feel pressure on your entire foot, even your shins. The more you turn your feet out, and keep the feet outside the knees, the more you’ll be able to do so. This might require a narrow or wider kick depending on your anatomy. Use a kick width that keeps pressure high for as long as possible.

While a circular aspect to the kick will arise naturally, the intent should be to maximize pressure by kicking straight back. Set it up, then blast it backward.

What goes up must come down, and the same is true of the head while breathing in breaststroke. But great breaststrokers ensure that they use the breathing action to keep everything moving forward. Here are some tips to help you accomplish that.

Drive into line

Drive the arms, the head, and the body forward, aggressively. This drive should be directed toward the other end of the pool, not down. Regardless of distance you’re swimming, get back to a great streamlined position after your breath. In a 50, you might only be there for a fraction of a section, whereas you’ll likely be there for much longer in a 200. Regardless of how fast you’re swimming, it’s essential to re-establish great body alignment after breathing as fast as possible. Make it a priority.

Press and reach

As you’re getting back into alignment it can help to press the chest so that the hips come back up into alignment. As your pressing, make sure you reach forward you’re your arms right beneath the surface, rather than down. This will ensure you’re in alignment from head to toe.

Great breaststroke is about great timing. There are some breaststrokers who have a weak pull and a weak kick, but because they time everything so well, they swim fast. Great timing in breaststroke occurs when the arms move relatively independently of the legs. This allows the arm pull to be performed while the legs are streamlined and vice versa. Great breaststroke is all about alternating between a pull and a kick. You may be recovering the arms and legs at the same time, but the power is applied in an alternate manner. It requires a lot of patience.

Upper body propulsion

When you’re pulling, your lower body should be as long and as streamlined as possible. Delay the recovery of your kick until the arms have finished their pull and are moving forward. Then, recover your legs FAST. If you recover the legs too soon, it’s like putting on the brakes when you’re pulling.

Lower body propulsion

Remember, the legs are getting into position while you’re reaching forward on the arm recovery. Once you get fully extended in the front with your arms, it’s time to blast that kick straight back. Wait until you’re in great line to maximize the impact of the kick.

Better breaststroke is all about superior streamlining. Master these two critical skills to streamline effectively.

Return to your line

You must work to maintain a streamlined posture by returning to a horizontal streamlined position between each stroke cycle. This is key. In short races, you might not stay there for very long, but you still need to get back into line every time.

Minimize undulation

Minimize excessive lifting of the head and shoulders to breathe and diving upon returning the head to the water. Come up high enough to get a breath, then bring the head back into line while avoiding diving down under the water. This will ensure the spine is moving as straight as possible through the surface water.

A key component of breaststroke racing is the execution of the breaststroke pullout. Great pullouts are all about simple skills performed expertly. Expert pullouts consist of:

Great body alignment

Powerful, direct pull, well-timed dolphin kick, gradual surfacing.

Maintenance of body alignment is critical during the pullout, during both the glide and the dolphin kick. It helps to stay stiff when executing the pullout. To minimize undulation, the dolphin kick should be hidden as much as possible within the body line or drag shadow, and undulation should be minimized. Lastly keep the hands tight to the body when recovering after the pullout and move them fast.

Slide the hands out a bit like the breaststroke pull, hook and wrap the water, then pull straight back, building pressure as you go. Be direct and snappy. Keep it simple.

The dolphin kick can be placed at the beginning or the end of the pullout. An early dolphin kick can set the hips up for a more powerful pullout, maintaining momentum while hooking the water. In contrast, executing the dolphin kick as the hands cross the belly button can be useful for slightly increasing the propulsive effect of the pullout. Find out which timing works best for you.

The pullout itself should set you on an upward trajectory so that you can smoothly surface while minimizing drag. Not only will this maintain speed, but it will also allow for you to enter your swimming rhythm from the breakout stroke. Try to achieve an inverted line between leaving the wall and surfacing, with the pullout itself marking the beginning of the return to the surface.

Putting it all together

Although breaststroke swimming can be a formidable challenge for those not naturally drawn to it, great breaststroke is the result of several simple components executed extremely well. When a great pull and a great kick are expertly timed, fast swimming is bound to happen. Throw in an aggressive return to a stellar streamline, and your surface swimming should be ready to go. Superior pullouts follow the same basic principles as great breaststroke swimming.

See all the articles in this series:

Swimming Technique: Breaking swimming into its critical components Butterfly Technique: Breaking butterfly into its critical components Backstroke Technique: Breaking backstroke into its critical components Freestyle Technique: Breaking freestyle into its critical components Underwater Kicking Technique: Breaking underwater kicking into its critical components

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Technique and Training
Breaststroke

About the Author Andrew Sheaff

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The Breaststroke: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know

Here is everything you ever wanted to know about the oldest stroke in competitive swimming, the breaststroke.

The breaststroke is one of the four swimming strokes performed in competitive swimming, and in the author’s opinion, the hardest to master.

Sure, the butterfly stroke is exhausting, but the breaststroke, despite its seemingly simple nature, requires a timing between the pulling and kicking motion is challenging to truly get the hang of.

Here is everything you need to know about the breaststroke, as well as a hefty list of resources for helping you swim a better breaststroke, from improving your kick, your pull, to a list of breaststroke drills that will help you improve your breast.

Let’s get our breaststroke on!

The Breaststroke: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know

The History of the Breaststroke

The breaststroke is the grand-daddy of the swimming strokes, with its origins going back as far as the Stone Age.

Drawings in an Egyptian cave, appropriately called the Cave of Swimmers, depict swimmers in various poses, with the leg whipping motion believed to having been inspired by frogs. Similar illustrations were found in Babylonian and Assyrian wall drawings.

The first manual on swimming instruction was written by Nicolas Wynman, back in 1538. Back then swimming wasn’t so much about getting to the other end of the pool fast, but more about the whole not drowning and dying thing. In his book, Colymbetes , the German professor outlined instruction for a breaststrokish type stroke.

“Introducing the Finalists for the 440 Yard Breaststroke…”

The first time the breaststroke was raced at the Olympics was in 1904.

Those Games, based in St. Louis, were remarkable for the fact it was the first time the breaststroke was raced, but it was also the only Olympics that was held in yards.

That first breaststroke race was held over a distance of 440 yards.

By the 1930’s swimmers doing breaststroke found that it was possible to speed up their recovery by bringing their arms out of the water. This was the beginning of the fork of the road that would lead to two separate strokes, the breaststroke and the butterfly stroke .

The Underwater Shenanigans of ‘56

During the 1950’s, foreshadowing problems that would emerge for the backstroke and butterfly during the 1980’s and 1990’s, swimmers sneakily figured they could swim faster under the surface of the water.

Masaru Furukawa of Japan, at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne stayed under the water off the start, and over the first 150m swam the first 45m of each length, on his way to winning the gold medal in the 200m breaststroke in 2:34.7.

Predictably, this new technique led to problems, with swimmers passing out from oxygen deprivation.

Two big rule changes emerged from this period:

Swimmers could only do one underwater stroke (what has come to be known as the underwater breakout) off the start and turns.
And swimmers had to have their head break the surface of the water during each stroke cycle.

Kitajima and the Dolphin Kicks Heard Around the World

The underwater dolphin kick is the little problem child of our sport, instigating rule changes across all strokes.

It was only a matter of time before it caused problems in the breaststroke, and this happened in 2004.

That summer at the Athens Olympics Kosuke Kitajima of Japan performed a single dolphin kick off of the start and turn, powering him to edge out Brendan Hansen in the final of the 100m breaststroke. Because the kicks were not visible from above the water the officials were unable to disqualify Kitajima, resulting in controversy.

Since then FINA has amended the rules to allow a single dolphin kick on the breakout. The swimmer can perform this kick at any point during the push off and pull-out.

Who are the top breaststrokers of all time?

Victor Davis (CAN). The man, the myth, the temper! With several Olympics gold medals and world records to his credit, Victor Davis’ life was cut tragically short at the age of 25. His impact on Canadian swimming has lasted to this day, with a memorial fund that has helped support over 100 swimmers in their pursuit of their own Olympic dreams.
Adam Peaty (GBR). Peaty utterly demolished the competition and the world record in the 100m breaststroke at the Rio Olympics. His swim was one of the highlights of the meet, and made him one of the top male swimmers in the world. On the final night in Rio he became the first man to ever swim a :56 split in the 100m breaststroke during the medley relay, powering GBR to a silver medal behind the USA.
Mike Barrowman (USA). His world record in the 200m breaststroke stood for nearly 10 years. Barrowman took the “wave” technique of breaststroke and mastered it, shaving nearly 3 seconds off of the 200 WR mark in the span of 3 years. He won the Olympic gold in Barcelona in the distance.
Kosuke Kitajima (JPN). A 4-time Olympian Kitajima swept the gold medals in the 100 and 200m breaststroke at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. He would break the world marks in both distances, the final time in 2008 when he shaved a second off of Brendan Hansen’s (USA) record, swimming a 2:07.51.
Rebecca Soni (USA). Another two-time Olympic champion, Soni dominated the field twice in the 200m events in Beijing and in London, both times in world record time. Soni closed off a successful international career with over twenty medals, including 14 silver.
Penelope Heyns (RSA). Heyns became the first woman to sweep both breaststrokes in Olympic competition at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. More noteworthy, perhaps, is that she was also the first athlete from South Africa to win gold following the country’s reinstatement to the Olympic following apartheid. She closed off a long, consistent career with another bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke at the 2000 Sydney Games.

The Different Styles of Breaststroke

Through much of the 20 th century it was thought that the fastest way to perform the stroke was to swim as flat as possible.

But during the 1970s the stroke began to evolve, with swimmers adopting a more undulating style that more closely resembles how today’s breaststrokers perform the stroke.

This new type of breaststroke, more commonly known as the “wave” breaststroke, was popularized by ISHOF-inductee Joszef Nagy, who coached Mike Barrowman (USA), Sergio Lopez-Miro (SPA), and Annamay Pierse (CAN) to world records and Olympic gold.

Adam Peaty of Great Britain has since revolutionized the way sprint breaststroke is performed. With a stroke rate that is out of this world Peaty powered his way to a 57.13 at the Rio Olympics. No one has swum within a second of this mark in history.

How to Swim Breaststroke

The breaststroke is the slowest of the four strokes. The reason for this is the large fluctuations in speed between sections of the stroke.

Although breaststrokers can generate great power and speed through the pulling motion, and even when kicking through the arm recovery, the leg recovery causes a near complete arrest in propulsion.

It’s like each time the legs recover the swimmer is throwing the hand-break on while trying to speed across the pool.

See also: What is the Best Tech Suit for Breaststrokers?

As a result, although it might look like an easy stroke, breaststroke requires great strength and stamina in order to get back up to speed with each stroke cycle.

Here are some tips for how to swim breaststroke from Sergio Lopez-Miro, Olympian and associate head coach at Auburn University:

1. The breaststroke pull.

There are two different ways to do the pulling motion:

Turning-pressing out motion (your hands and arms form a Y at the beginning of the pull);
A pressing down pulling motion.

The pressing down pull is more efficient for short course sprint events, while the turning-pressing out pull is best for longer short course breaststroke events (the 200, plus 200-400 IM) and long course swimming.

2. Breathing.

When breathing during the stroke cycle hold your breath until you are about to break the surface of the water, exhaling all at once right before you pick your head up. Holding your breath for those extra few moments will help give you more buoyancy in the water.

3. Shoulder position.

When breathing squeeze your shoulders and bring them up to your ears. To insure that you are throwing your body forward through the water imagine yourself rotating your shoulders over your ears.

4. The arm recovery.

Use your hands to aim for where you want to lunge your head. Your hips will follow your head, so aim to “jump forward”, bringing your hands just below the surface of the water.

5. The kicking motion.

The breaststroke kick is an unnatural movement, requiring athletes to have significant flexibility in their ankles and hips in order to turn the feet in a dorsi-flexed position at a 90-degree angle in order to create thrust.

At the end of your kick your feet should be together.
Speed your heels towards your butt.
Knees should be approximately shoulder-width, and resist the urge to bring the knees up.
Kick straight backwards and make sure that your feet are pointing backwards and not down.

6. Timing the pull and kick motions.

The kicking motion begins just after the swimmer has completed the pull. The kick accelerates and powers the lunge of the arms and the head into the next stroke cycle.

Breaststroke Resources

Over the past couple years we have put together a fair amount of awesome content for breaststrokers, including drills, workouts and sets from Olympians and head coaches from across the United States.

Here are our top resources for helping you swim better breaststroke:

How to Improve Your Breaststroke Kick . Two-time Olympian Mike Alexandrov shares a set of breaststroke kicking drills (including video demonstrations) that will help you improve your kicking technique.

How to Fix and Prevent Breaststroker’s Knee . Along with swimmer’s shoulder the breaststroker’s knee is a common injury among competitive swimmers, and also not just limited to breaststroker’s. Here is Michael Phelps’ long-time trainer and USA Swimming high performance manager Keenan Robinson to help you avoid and deal with this specific injury.

1-Arm, 1-Leg Breaststroke: A Drill to Develop Race Tempo Breaststroke. Quicksilver Swimming coach and former PAC-10 champion in the 100 breaststroke Andre Salles-Cunha drops an advanced breaststroke drill to help you set up race tempo.

How to Improve Your Breaststroke Pull . Here is a breaststroke drill progression that will help you improve your breaststroke pull from top to bottom.

How to Fix the Timing in Your Breaststroke . The timing in breaststroke is a toughie–fortunately we got Jeff Julian, head coach of Rose Bowl Aquatics, to stop by with his favorite drill for improving it.

Olympic Breaststroker Mike Alexandrov’s Favorite Breaststroke Set . More good stuff from Mike–here’s a set that covers all your bases, from power to endurance to speed.

Olivier Poirier-Leroy

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Olivier Poirier-Leroy Olivier Poirier-Leroy is the founder of YourSwimLog.com. He is an author, former national level swimmer, two-time Olympic Trials qualifier, and swim coach.

How to Improve Your Breaststroke Kick with 2-Time Olympian Mike Alexandrov

Want a faster breaststroke kick? Don’t know where to start? Here is how to improve your breaststroke kick with the help of two-time Olympic breaststroker Mike Alexandrov.

The Evolution of Breaststroke

By Meaghan Raab, Swimming World College Intern.

There was time when I used to teach swimming through a program with my club team. Breaststroke was always the hardest stroke to teach the kids because of the differences in the stroke from the other three strokes. Freestyle and backstroke are essentially the same stroke, with the exception of freestyle swum on the stomach and backstroke swum on the back. The simple description of butterfly is both arms and legs at the same time. Breaststroke is completely different.

Breaststroke has been around for a long time with the origin tracing back to the Stone Age. There was even an Egyptian cave found, affectionately known as “The Cave of Swimmers”, which has paintings on the wall with people that are swimming breaststroke.

Breaststroke is the slowest of the four strokes due to the timing of the stroke. However, it is still quite competitive and fun to watch with big names like Lilly King , Adam Peaty , and the newest member of the elite breaststroke group Caeleb Dressel . It does however requires strength and stamina in order to get back up to speed with each stroke cycle.

The arm motion of the stroke is simple enough to master. I used to tell my swimmers to “scoop the Hershey’s kisses, eat the kisses, and spit the wrappers out” in order to get them to understand the concept. You skull your hands out forming a “Y”, then sweep your hands back in toward your body, and then shoot your hands forward.

The challenging part is the kick, because it is unnatural and requires flexibility in the hips and ankles. Lift your feet up towards your butt with feet turned outwards, then sweep outward and bring them back together behind your body with feet together and toes pointed.

There is a sort of finesse or rhythm to breaststroke where each swimmer is a little bit different when swimming the stroke. This timing can be challenging to master as a young swimmer, but watching the experienced and elite swimmers showcases the different ways of swimming the stroke. Some people choose a more “wave-like” technique with undulation like Molly Hannis , or movement of the body similar to that of butterfly. Others choose a more straight and forward motion, like Katie Meili .

Photo Courtesy: SIPA USA

The first breaststroke race was in the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis. There was only one race, the 440-yard breaststroke for men. Four years later, the men’s 200-meter breaststroke was contested. It wasn’t until 1924 at the Olympics in Paris that the women were able to swim a breaststroke event. Since the 1968 Games in Mexico City, the 100-meter and 200-meter have been contested for men and women.

David Armbruster did a study in 1928 where he found that performing the recovery part of the stroke is faster over the top of the water than underneath the surface. In the 1930s, swimmers used this technique in competition. They started swimming a breaststroke kick and what would be known as normal butterfly arms. In 1952, the combined stroke split into butterfly and breaststroke because the combination violated the rules created.

There would be more rule changes in the coming years. FINA created a rule in the 1960s making sure that the swimmers’ arms did not go past the hips, except for the first stroke out of the start, the turns and in the pullout.

The year 1987 brought a rule that swimmers no longer needed to keep their heads above the water. The swimmers must break the surface of the water on each stroke cycle, but put their head back into streamline for a faster forward motion. The former rule about keeping your head above the water affected the shape and size of people who could swim breaststroke. These swimmers either needed to be light so they could float and stay above the water or strong enough to push themselves forward in the race.

In the 1990s the swimmers began to throw their hands over the surface of the water as they recovered. This was determined to be allowable as long as the elbows didn’t break the surface of the water.

It wasn’t until 2004-2005 that FINA decided to rule in favor of doing one dolphin kick at the start and off of each wall in the pullout. This came after the controversy that arose after Kosuke Kitajima did a single dolphin kick off the start and turn in the final of the 100-meter breaststroke in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. The kicks were not visible above the water which meant that the officials could not disqualify him, as the benefit of the doubt goes to the swimmer in instances of uncertainty.

The dolphin kick rule has not been without controversy as there was underwater video footage that showed Cameron Van Der Burgh of South Africa doing three dolphin kicks off the start in his gold-medal race of the 100 breast in London. He even admitted to doing so in an interview after the race.

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA - APRIL 13: Cameron van den Burgh qualifies in the 200m breaststroke for men during the finals session on day 5 of the SA National Aquatic Championships and Olympic Trials on April 13 , 2016 at the Kings Park Aquatic Center pool in Durban, South Africa. Photo Credit / Anesh Debiky/Swim SA

Photo Courtesy: Anesh Debiky/Swimming South Africa

Ten years later the dolphin kick rule was tweaked. This change would allow for the dolphin kick to happen at any point before the breaststroke kick. The old rule mandated the hands to separate before the dolphin kick. There is no rule that states that a pullout is necessary. Some coaches may have their swimmers skip the pullout in longer events like the 400 IM, particularly if they are not breaststrokers.

Breaststroke may have a lot of strict rules about the technique and completion of the stroke in the races, such as two-hand touch, but it is the only stroke that does not require the swimmer to break the surface at the 15-meter marker.

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

Interesting article. In supervising swim instruction for thousands Of first and fourth graders over twenty years and coaching age group swimmers for over ten years it became apparent that young children with learning disabilities frequently swam, with no instruction, a natural breast stroke kick, even adapting it modified Breast stroke kick into their freestyle. It would be interesting to know if others encountered this. The old ARC materials claimed the paired movement simpler—no proof that I know of.

Good write up but I totally disagree with comparison of freestyle being the same as backstroke.

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The temporal analysis of elite breaststroke swimming during competition

Affiliations.

1 Queensland Academy of Sport, Brisbane, Australia.
2 Griffith Sports Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia.
3 Victorian Institute of Sport, Melbourne, Australia.
4 Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
PMID: 34547991
DOI: 10.1080/14763141.2021.1975810

Breaststroke is the only competitive stroke characterised by propulsive discontinuity. It is consequently paramount that swimmers optimally coordinate limb movements in order to maintain the highest average velocity possible. The present study aimed to investigate the temporal patterns of elite breaststroke swimmers. 50 m long-course competition footage of (1) 20 male 100 m races, (2) 24 female 100 m races, (3) 15 male 200 m races, and (4) 27 female 200 m races from 2018 to 2020 were digitised and analysed. Six points within each stroke cycle were identified and used to calculate 15 temporal parameters. Analyses revealed multiple temporal pattern differences between groups based on sex and race distance. It is recommended that coaches individualise swimmers' breaststroke temporal patterns based on individual needs, strengths, and morphological characteristics.

Keywords: Coordination; breaststroke; stroke cycle; timing.

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Table Of Contents

The earliest strokes to be used were the sidestroke and the breaststroke . The sidestroke was originally used with both arms submerged. That practice was modified toward the end of the 19th century by bringing forward first one arm above the water, then the other, and then each in turn. The sidestroke was supplanted in competitive swimming by the crawl ( see below ) but is still used in lifesaving and recreational swimming. The body stays on its side and the arms propel alternately. The leg motion used in sidestroke is called the scissors kick, in which the legs open slowly, under leg backward, upper leg forward, both knees slightly bent, and toes pointed. The scissoring action of the legs coming smartly together after opening creates the forward propulsion of the kick.

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The breaststroke is believed to be the oldest of strokes and is much used in lifesaving and recreational swimming as well as in competitive swimming. The stroke is especially effective in rough water. As early as the end of the 17th century, the stroke was described as consisting of a wide pull of the arms combined with a symmetrical action of the legs and as simulating the movement of a swimming frog , hence the usual term frog kick . The stroke is performed lying face down in the water, the arms always remaining underwater. The early breaststroke featured a momentary glide at the completion of the frog kick. Later the competitive breaststroke eliminated the glide. In the old breaststroke, breath was taken in at the beginning of the arm stroke, but in the later style, breath was taken in near the end of the arm pull.

The butterfly stroke , used only in competition, differs from the breaststroke in arm action. In the butterfly the arms are brought forward above the water. The stroke was brought to the attention of U.S. officials in 1933 during a race involving Henry Myers, who used the stroke. He insisted that his stroke conformed to the rules of breaststroke as then defined. After a period of controversy, the butterfly was recognized as a distinct competitive stroke in 1953. The frog kick originally used was abandoned for a fishtail (dolphin) kick, depending only on up-and-down movement of the legs. Later swimmers used two dolphin kicks to one arm pull. Breathing is done in sprint competition by raising the head every second or third stroke.

The backstroke began to develop early in the 20th century. In that stroke, the swimmer’s body position is supine, the body being held as flat and streamlined as possible. The arms reach alternately above the head and enter the water directly in line with the shoulders, palm outward with the little finger entering the water first. The arm is pulled back to the thigh. There is a slight body roll. The kick was originally the frog kick, but it subsequently involved up-and-down leg movements as in the crawl. The backstroke is a competition stroke, but it is also used in recreational swimming as a rest from other strokes, frequently with minimum arm motion and only enough kick to maintain forward motion.

The crawl , the stroke used in competitive freestyle swimming, has become the fastest of all strokes. It is also the almost unanimous choice of stroke for covering any considerable distance. The stroke was in use in the Pacific at the end of the 19th century and was taken up by the Australian swimmer Henry Wickham about 1893. The brothers Syd and Charles Cavill of Australia popularized the stroke in Europe in 1902 and in the United States in 1903. The crawl was like the old sidestroke in its arm action, but it had a fluttering up-and-down leg action performed twice for each arm stroke. Early American imitators added an extra pair of leg actions, and later as many as six kicks were used. The kicks also varied in kind. In the crawl, the body lies prone , flat on the surface of the water, with the legs kept slightly under the water. The arms move alternately, timed so that one will start pulling just before the other has finished its pull, thus making propulsion continuous. Breathing is done by turning the head to either side during recovery of the arm from that side. Since 1896 the crawl has been used in more races than any other stroke.

In competition there are freestyle races at distances of 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1,500 meters; backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly races at 100 meters and 200 meters; individual medley (a combination of freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly) races at 200 meters and 400 meters; the freestyle relays , 4 × 100 meters and 4 × 200 meters; and the medley relay, 4 × 100 meters.

Here is a list of the four strokes, ranked from fastest to slowest.

breaststroke

Starts are all (with the exception of the backstroke) from a standing or forward-leaning position, the object being to get the longest possible glide before the stroke begins. All races are in multiples of the pool length, so that the touch before turning, which is varied for different stroke races, is important for success. In relay races, swimmers finish their leg of the relay by touching the starting edge of the pool, upon which their next teammates dive into the water to begin their leg.

Any swimming competition longer than 1,500 meters (1,640 yards) is considered distance swimming. Most long-distance races are in the 24- to 59-km (15- to 37-mile) range, though some, such as the Lake George marathon (67 km [41.5 miles]) and the Lake Michigan Endurance Swim (80 km [50 miles]), both in the United States, have been longer. World Aquatics governs distance swimming for 5-km, 10-km, and 25-km (3.1-mile, 6.2-mile, and 15.5-mile) races. In 1954 a group of amateur and professional marathon swimmers formed the Fédération Internationale de Natation Longue Distance, and in 1963, after dissension between amateur and professional swimmers, the World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation was founded. From the 1960s through the 1980s the latter group sanctioned about eight professional marathons annually, the countries most frequently involved being Canada, Egypt, Italy, Argentina, and the United States. The British Long Distance Swimming Association has sponsored races on inland waters of from 16.5 to 35.4 km (10.25 to 22 miles).

The first type of distance swimming to be regulated by FINA was English Channel swimming, which captured the popular imagination in the second half of the 19th century. Captain Matthew Webb of Great Britain was the first to make the crossing from Dover , England, to Calais , France , in 1875; his time was 21 hours 45 minutes. The map distance was 17.75 nautical miles (33 km), but the actual distance of a Channel swim is frequently lengthened by tides and winds. No one matched Webb’s feat until 1911, when another Briton, T.W. Burgess, made the crossing. In 1926 the American swimmer Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the Channel, crossing from Cap Gris-Nez, France, to Dover in a record-setting time for man or woman of 14 hours 31 minutes. Since then, except for the World War II years, crossing swims have been made annually. Several swimmers have made 10 or more crossings. The Channel Swimming Association was formed in 1927 to control swims and verify times. In 2012 the record was lowered to 6 hours 55 minutes by Trent Grimsey of Australia, and by the 2010s successful crossings had been made by swimmers as young as 11 and as old as 73. Various swimmers have crossed both ways with only brief rests between the swims. Open-water distance swimming events of 10 km (for men and women) were added to the Olympic program in 2008 .

Other notable distance swimming achievements include Diana Nyad ’s 2013 swim from Cuba to Florida without the protection of a shark cage.

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7 Tips for Awesome Breaststroke Technique

Master the breaststroke with these seven tips for improving breaststroke technique from some of the best breaststrokers on the planet. Current photo via Mike Lewis/ Ola Vista Photography

by Olivier Poirier-Leroy 5

December 17th, 2020 Olivier Leroy , Training , Training Intel

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In this guide to swimming faster breaststroke, some of the best breaststrokers on the planet stop by to share their favorite tips for better breaststroke technique.

Things we are going to look at include:

Where your knees should be when kicking
The importance of strong forearms in the pull
Where your feet “catch” the water in the kick
Why you should always be focused on “shooting” into your line
A drill to help you master the catch

Let’s dive right into this list of tips for improving your breaststroke.

1. Use a narrow and powerful kick

Unlike the other swimming strokes, the breaststroke gets most of its propulsion from the leg action.

Adam Peaty, the fastest breaststroker on the planet , figures the kick is 70% of the speed he generates in the water. He focuses on keeping his legs and the kick narrow to reduce drag as much as possible.

“Most people have a wide, slow kick, but mine is narrow and fast,” says Peaty. “If you can keep the top half of your legs, your quads, quite narrow and whip your lower legs back, you’re more streamlined, so I can generate more power without exposing myself to drag.”

How narrow should your kick be?

Nort Thornton, legendary Cal coach who has worked with countless elite breaststrokers over the years, has these positioning cues for a killer breaststroke kick:

“Keep the knees no wider than the hips.”
“Keep the foot catch position just outside the width of the hips.”

2. Don’t pull too wide

In the same way that novice breaststrokers can kick too wide, creating extra drag, the same thing happens with the breaststroke pulling motion.

An extra wide pull results in the elbows coming back behind the shoulders during the recovery, causing the body to become upright in the water.

“The number one mistake that I see young breaststrokers make is their tendency to pull too deep and wide,” says Mike Barrowman, Olympic gold medalist and former 200-meter breaststroke world record holder. “They are getting their elbows all the way back against the body, which creates massive resistance in the recovery phase.”

3. Swim in a straight line

In breaststroke, you really get a sense of how much of a battle you are engaged in with the water. Slight adjustments—raise your hips a little here, recover your arms a little faster there—can create exceptional improvements in your efficiency.

Sergio Lopez, an Olympic bronze medalist in the 200-meter breaststroke, notes that swimming in a straight line “is what breaststroke is all about.”

And one way to do this is to hold your breath during the glide to provide buoyancy.

Lopez suggests exhaling right before you pick up your head to take a breath, keeping your body position high and your line “straight” in the water.

“Hold your breath until the last moment,” says Lopez. “This will keep the center of gravity closer to the surface and will keep speed constant.”

4. Attack your turns

The turns are an important part of your breaststroke swimming. The momentum you take with you into the wall, the speed with which you turn, and the power you unleash on your push-off, all combine to help you swim faster, or slower.

Josh Prenot, NCAA champion and silver medalist in the 200-meter breaststroke, advises that swimmers focus on going in and out of the walls quickly.

Related : 6 Best Tech Suits for Breaststrokers

“I think the actual act of just the turn, just hand-touch to foot-leave, is overlooked by swimmers,” says Prenot. “I think it’s something that really isn’t that hard to get better at, and it can help you make up a lot of ground really quickly. It’s a really easy way to drop a lot of time.”

Prenot recommends swiveling the hips with your abs to get your feet to the wall. If you can do this before breathing, “you can get off the wall much faster.”

When executing the turn, avoid the urge to pull yourself up, instead of going in and out of wall, as flat as possible.

“You want to get in there and out as fast as possible, so keep a low profile in the water and resist the urge to pull up!” says Anita Nall-Richesson, an Olympic gold, silver, and bronze medalist (and former world record holder in the 200-meter breaststroke).

5. Find the dead spots in your pull-outs

The start and the push-offs are the fastest you will ever go in the water. Unlike the other strokes, which feature a lot of underwater dolphin kicking, breaststrokers can perform a single-arm pull-out and one dolphin kick per dive/turn. Maximizing speed and power through this part of your race is essential.

“You’re never as fast on top of the water as you are when you’re underwater,” notes Emma Reaney, NCAA champion in the 200-yard breaststroke. “Make sure you have as strong of a pull and kick as you can while maintaining the speed from your push off.”

Poor breaststroke pullout technique creates a ton of unnecessary drag and can stop you dead in your tracks. Most often, swimmers stall between the time they are recovering their arms and kicking themselves into the breakout.

One way to over-emphasize the dead spots in your pullout is by using resistance bands or a swim parachute. The added resistance will highlight the gaps in speed during your pullout.

6. Use windshield wiper drill to help power the catch

One of the preferred breaststroke drills for a stronger breaststroke pull is the windshield wiper drill.

The drill is simple enough—float on your belly, and out-sweep your hands to teach a better feel for the water and a “fuller” catch.

“As far as breaststroke technique, windshield wiper scull has really helped my catch,” says Reaney. “Scull on your stomach, bend your elbows at an almost 90-degree angle, and sweep your forearms back and forth to simulate the breaststroke catch.”

Mike Alexandrov, a two-time Olympian, and US Open record holder, also references the windshield wiper drill as his favorite.

“Try to work on balance and keeping the feet up by tightening the body’s back core muscles,” notes Alexandrov. “The main part of the drill is to work on the out-sweep of the forearms, and then float the forearms back together in front of you.”

7. Work your stroke count

It’s no secret that the fastest swimmers in the pool are also the most efficient swimmers.

Russian breaststroker Anton Chupkov is a prime example of this. At the 2019 World Championships in South Korea, Chupkov broke the world record in the 200-meter breaststroke in a time of 2:06.12.

He took just ten strokes over the first 50-meters (!!!).

Simply moving your arms faster doesn’t always make you a faster swimmer. When you hit the water, count your strokes and work on maintaining distance per stroke under fatigue.

Being mindful of keeping your stroke long will help you prevent spinning out towards the end of your races and hard sets.

“It’s not uncommon for swimmers to start ‘spinning’ or feeling like they aren’t pulling any water when they get tired. Maintaining good distance per stroke can prevent this,” says US National teamer Gunnar Bentz.

Get into the habit of counting your strokes at your next swim workout . It will put you into a mindset of taking engaged, efficient strokes, helping you swim more efficiently, and helping you keep your stroke together when things get tough.

ABOUT OLIVIER POIRIER-LEROY

Olivier Poirier-Leroy is a former national-level swimmer, author, swim coach, and certified personal trainer. He’s the author of YourSwimBook , a ten-month logbook for competitive swimmers.

Conquer the Pool Mental Training Book for Swimmers

It combines sport psychology research, worksheets, anecdotes, and examples of Olympians past and present to give swimmers everything they need to conquer the mental side of the sport.

Ready to take your mindset to the next level in the pool?

Click here to learn more about Conquer the Pool .

5 Leave a Reply

Great article, as usual, Olivier. I will add 3 that I find very important to make it 10:

Delay head lift. Lot of swimmers lift head and upper body too early that results in greater resistance (longer in upper position) and weaker pull as elbows drop.
Tempo, tempo, tempo – modern breaststroke is all about tempo and stroke turnover – gliding is “optional.”
Stay high for maximum benefit from arm and upper body push forward on recovery. To avoid hip drop, bend lower spine. Basic physics.

#2… there was an analysis on here that showed peaty has the longest glide of his sprint competitors, and chupkov glides so much it looks like he’s doing a drill his first 100-150

Pretty sure it is as a percentage he spends the largest proportion of his stroke gliding.

He still glides less than his competitors who are doing significantly less strokes at a slower speed in terms of time within each stroke, just not proportionally.

Gliding is optional, however – “You’re never as fast on top of the water as you are when you’re underwater,” notes Emma Reaney, NCAA champion in the 200-yard breaststroke.

I think I’ll stick to freestyle!

About Olivier Poirier-Leroy

Olivier Poirier-Leroy is a former national-level swimmer, swim coach, and best-selling author. His writing has been featured on USA Swimming, US Masters Swimming, NBC Sports Universal, the Olympic Channel, and much more. He has been involved in competitive swimming for most of his life. Starting off at the age of 6 …

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breaststroke swimming

Breathing When Swimming Breaststroke

Do you struggle with breathing when swimming breaststroke? Can't work out when to inhale and when to exhale? Maybe you breathe at the right time but become exhausted sooner than you would like.

Sound familiar? Read on.

HOW TO SWIM BREASTSTROKE EBOOK: everything you need to master breaststroke swimming stroke. 22 easy drills that focus on each part of breaststroke technique. From body position to breathing and timing. Decades of teaching experience all packaged into 1 easy file. Download to your device and master breaststroke TODAY! (click here for a preview) .

Don't miss out! Click here for more details on how to get your copy.

Breaststroke For Beginners: Breathing

In the video demonstration below, you can see how the breaststroke breathing technique fits seamlessly into the swimming stroke cycle. The arms pull the head up, and the legs kick the head down. Breathe in - breathe out. All without interrupting the flow of the movements.

Breaststroke breathing usually occurs naturally as the overall breaststroke technique has a natural body lift, giving the ideal breathing point with each stroke.

Inhalation occurs at the end of the in-sweep as the body allows the head to lift clear of the water. The head raises enough for the mouth to clear the surface and inhale, but not excessively, to keep the frontal resistance created by this movement to a minimum.

The head returns to the water to exhale as the arms stretch forward to begin their recovery phase.

Breaststroke breathing timing for beginners

FREE EBOOK: all technique tips here can be found in my ' Breaststroke Technique ' book, along with a couple of bonus drills to help you perfect some essential parts of the stroke.

Don't miss out! Click here to grab a FREE copy of my book.

Explosive or Trickle Breathing?

Correct breathing technique is essential to maintain a smooth swimming stroke, and trickle breathing is generally easier and less energy-consuming. The trickle breathing technique is breathing in and then exhaling in a slow and controlled way as if blowing gently through a straw.

Breathing in and out as you swim is more comfortable than holding your breath. Therefore, explosive breathing (performing inhaling and exhaling explosively quickly) can be very exhausting.

Some swimmers perform the stroke with the head raised to keep the mouth and nose clear of the water at all times, simplifying the overall breathing technique.

To help keep your breaststroke smooth and as effortless as possible, breathing in time with your arm pull and leg kick actions is crucial. Inhalation occurs as the arms pull around and the head lifts. Exhalation happens when the legs kick back and around, and the face or mouth submerges to blow out. Click here for more about breaststroke timing and coordination.

Breathing When Swimming Breaststroke Just Got Easier

Now you know how and when to breathe, use the drills in my book ' How To Swim Breaststroke ' and get your breathing in time with your arm pulls and leg kicks.

Click below to download to your computer, tablet or mobile device, or click here for more information .

How To Swim Breaststroke with ease and confidence.

I am a member of the Amazon Associates Program and I will earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Do You Make These Common Breaststroke Breathing Mistakes?

Some beginners experience difficulty breathing during breaststroke. The two main reasons are:

Not lifting the head enough to clear the water surface and inhale
Holding the breath and therefore failing to breathe out into the water

This swimming stroke needs a powerful leg kick , and it is this leg kick that gives a natural body lift.

Together with breaststroke arm action , enough lift should enable the mouth to clear the water surface to inhale.

The most common mistake with breathing when swimming breaststroke is failing to exhale during the glide phase, making it impossible to inhale again or forcing the swimmer to use an explosive breathing technique.

Although explosive breathing is a valid technique for this swimming stroke, it is usually only used competitively.

When swum recreationally, exhaling during the glide phase of the stroke is more efficient and uses less energy.

Using a woggle or swim noodle under the arms provides support. It allows the swimmer to swim in slow motion while practising the breathing technique. Extending the body into a long glide as exhalation occurs ensures that breathing happens seamlessly with the whole stroke cycle, keeping the stroke most efficient.

For more breaststroke drills for beginners, click here.

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New Jersey's Nic Fink misses gold by two-hundredths of a second, ties for silver in 100m breaststroke

Fink was raised in morristown, new jersey and now will be an olympic silver medalist, by nbc new york staff , nbcdfw staff and associated press • published july 28, 2024 • updated on july 29, 2024 at 8:57 am.

Nic Fink , was the reigning world champion in the 100 breast at the World Aquatics Championships, now the former Morristown, N.J. resident, has the first Olympic medal of his late-blooming career.

The men's 100 breaststroke promised to be a close race, and proved to be just that Sunday in Paris.

Great Britain's Adam Peaty was the gold medalist in both Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo, but took a long layoff to deal with mental health issues. Upon his return, he worked his way back up to speed and came into the final as the top qualifier.

24/7 New York news stream: Watch NBC 4 free wherever you are

Several swimmers traded the lead throughout the race, but in the end Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi in lane seven was the winner, touching in 59.03. Fink walked away with a silver medal in a ridiculously close race.

Fink, 31, shared the silver medal with Peaty, both finished just two-hundredths behind the winner in 59.05.

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“Yeah, age is just a number in some sense,” Fink said. “But in another sense, it means more at this time, especially because there was definitely windows to close my career earlier and I kind of kept going for the love of the sport. To have this much success this late has been icing on the cake and a lot of fun.”

Gold Medalist Nicolo Martinenghi of Team Italy (C) and Silver Medalists Adam Peaty of Team Great Britain (L) and Nic Fink of Team United States (R)

A FULL-TIME ENGINEER, FINK WILL BE A FATHER THIS FALL

Paris 2024 summer olympics and paralympics.

Watch all the action from the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games live on Peacock

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Joe Biden welcomes US Olympians and Paralympians at White House following Paris success

Fink, who beat Peaty and Martinenghi at the World Aquatics Championship , works for Quanta Utility Engineering Services , clocking in remotely from his home when he's not at the pool.

Some major multitasking skills are required, but Fink and those around him make it work.

“It’s kind of a group effort in the pool,” said Fink. “And then obviously in work, they know that I’ll get my stuff done, and my hours may be a little different than other people’s. I’ve definitely answered texts like, ‘Hey, can I get this back to you in like an hour or so?’ And they are like, ‘No rush, you do you.’ They let me know when things need to get done by and I work around that schedule.”

Fink grew up in Morristown and attended the Pingry School in the Class of 2011.

Nic Fink ties for SILVER in the men's 100m breaststroke! 🇺🇸🥈 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/BLFbMQ6scQ — NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 28, 2024

Fink and his wife, Melanie Margalis-Fink, are expecting their first child.

Fink celebrated his pending fatherhood from the pool at the Olympic Trials by acting like he was rocking a baby .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Team USA (@teamusa)

Fink told reporters that the baby boy is expected to arrive in September .

The growing family now has two Olympic medals. Margalis-Fink won the gold medal with the the 4x200m freestyle relay team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

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How To Swim Breaststroke The Easy Way For Adult Beginners
7 Tips for Awesome Breaststroke Technique
Breaststroke: Overview and Swimming Technique
Learn Swimming Breaststroke
Breaststroke Technique
How To Ace The Breaststroke In Swimming

VIDEO

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Breaststroke swimming

COMMENTS

Essay about How To Swim The Breaststroke
The kick for the breaststroke uses a continuous whipping action. Press the feet outward and backward until the feet and ankles touch, extending the ankles, lifting the legs and feet slightly. Forward movement results from the pressure of water against the soles and the insides of the feet and lower legs.
Breaststroke: Overview and Swimming Technique
Breaststroke: Overview and Swimming Technique. The breaststroke is swum with the body facing down. The arms perform semicircular movements, and the legs perform a frog kick. Breaststroke is, without a doubt, the most popular swimming stroke. In fact, for many people, it is the only stroke that they use regularly.
How to Swim the Breaststroke
BREASTSTROKE RECOVERY. · Move the arms as quickly as possible to the body position. Move your arms in a direct line, strictly parallel to the water, don't attempt to raise the arms above water. Recovering the arms above water creates excess wave drag, likely slowing the swimmer. · Return the head and shoulders to streamline before the arms ...
Essay 3
Essay 3. The breaststroke is the oldest known swimming stroke and is one of four strokes used in competitive swimming. This stroke is also very popular in leisure swimming because the head can be held up, making vision and breathing easy and because the swimmer can rest between strokes if needed. My best stroke is the Breaststroke, and I ...
Breaststroke
Breaststroke is the slowest of the four official styles in competitive swimming.The fastest breaststrokers can swim about 1.70 meters (~5.6 feet) per second. It is sometimes the hardest to teach to rising swimmers after butterfly due to the importance of timing and the coordination required to move the legs properly. [3]In the breaststroke, the swimmer leans on the chest, arms breaking the ...
How to Swim Breaststroke Properly
Here's how to build an efficient breaststroke that will have you swimming faster. The Stroke. Your stroke starts with your hands initiating an out-sweep from the streamlined position just below the surface (see photo). A deep out-sweep makes for a deeper catch, pull, and recovery that has your hands finishing farther away from the surface and ...
Comparing and Contrasting: The Four Main Swimming Strokes
Swimming obviously has its four main strokes: Butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. Some are swum moving both arms together. Some are swum moving each arm separately. But there are ...
How To Swim Breaststroke With Perfect Technique
2. Pull. In breaststroke, you initiate your pull from the streamline position. Pull your hands apart and create a large triangle of space, eventually driving your hands forward and back to the streamline position. When you initiate your pull, press your hands outward with your pinkies up.
How to Swim Breaststroke
Once your arms are wide, turn the palms in, while bending the elbows and pressing down. You're hooking the water to initiate the start of the pull. It can also be helpful to think of "wrapping" the water. This too should be initiated with patience. Once you've got the water hooked, you can start to accelerate.
Learning Breaststroke in Swimming
Learning The Breaststroke. When learning the correct swim strokes, mastering a breaststroke is typically considered the hardest. It's often the stroke students struggle with most, due to movement of the arms and legs at the same time. The stroke requires both dorsiflexion of the foot, while also simultaneously using plantarflexion of the arms.
The temporal analysis of elite breaststroke swimming during competition
The temporal analysis of elite breaststroke swimming during competition E. Nicol a Queensland Academy of Sport, Brisbane, Australia;b Griffith Sports Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia Correspondence [email protected]
The Breaststroke: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know
The breaststroke is one of the four swimming strokes performed in competitive swimming, and in the author's opinion, the hardest to master. Sure, the butterfly stroke is exhausting, but the breaststroke, despite its seemingly simple nature, requires a timing between the pulling and kicking motion is challenging to truly get the hang of.
The Evolution of Breaststroke
The first breaststroke race was in the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis. There was only one race, the 440-yard breaststroke for men. Four years later, the men's 200-meter breaststroke was contested.
Original Article Towards a Safe Aquatic Literacy: teaching the
Problem Statement: Technical swimming skills, the breaststroke in particular, are basic for a safe aquatic literacy and drowning prevention. Learn-to-swim programs cope to several teaching ...
The temporal analysis of elite breaststroke swimming during ...
The present study aimed to investigate the temporal patterns of elite breaststroke swimmers. 50 m long-course competition footage of (1) 20 male 100 m races, (2) 24 female 100 m races, (3) 15 male 200 m races, and (4) 27 female 200 m races from 2018 to 2020 were digitised and analysed. Six points within each stroke cycle were identified and ...
Swimming
Swimming - Freestyle, Breaststroke, Butterfly: The earliest strokes to be used were the sidestroke and the breaststroke. The sidestroke was originally used with both arms submerged. That practice was modified toward the end of the 19th century by bringing forward first one arm above the water, then the other, and then each in turn. The sidestroke was supplanted in competitive swimming by the ...
7 Tips for Awesome Breaststroke Technique
Where your knees should be when kicking. The importance of strong forearms in the pull. Where your feet "catch" the water in the kick. Why you should always be focused on "shooting" into ...
How To Swim Breaststroke
Breaststroke might just be the hardest swimming stroke to master, but if you can get the swimming technique right then it could be a great alternative for yo...
Breathing When Swimming Breaststroke
Not lifting the head enough to clear the water surface and inhale. Holding the breath and therefore failing to breathe out into the water. This swimming stroke needs a powerful leg kick, and it is this leg kick that gives a natural body lift. Together with breaststroke arm action, enough lift should enable the mouth to clear the water surface ...
Eugene Novak|200 Breaststroke|Saint Petersburg Aquatics
NCAA College Swimming Comparison If you would like to see a comparison of Eugene Novak's 200 Yard Breaststroke time with the fastest 200 Yard Breaststroke times for NCAA college swimmers from each Conference and team, please click on one of the NCAA divisions below. Note: The NCAA college comparisons are provided for entertainment purposes only.
NY's Kate Douglass wins gold in 200m breaststroke final
New York's Kate Douglass won the women's 200m breaststroke, setting an American record en route to her first-ever gold medal.. The 22-year-old Douglass won Thursday's race with a time of 2:19.24 ...
Fink misses 100m breaststroke gold by two-hundredths of a second
Swimming New Jersey's Nic Fink misses gold by two-hundredths of a second, ties for silver in 100m breaststroke Fink was raised in Morristown, New Jersey and now will be an Olympic silver medalist
Alan Perri|200 Breaststroke|Saint Petersburg Aquatics
NCAA College Swimming Comparison If you would like to see a comparison of Alan Perri's 200 Yard Breaststroke time with the fastest 200 Yard Breaststroke times for NCAA college swimmers from each Conference and team, please click on one of the NCAA divisions below. Note: The NCAA college comparisons are provided for entertainment purposes only.
Eugene Novak|100 Breaststroke|Saint Petersburg Aquatics
NCAA College Swimming Comparison If you would like to see a comparison of Eugene Novak's 100 Yard Breaststroke time with the fastest 100 Yard Breaststroke times for NCAA college swimmers from each Conference and team, please click on one of the NCAA divisions below. Note: The NCAA college comparisons are provided for entertainment purposes only.
Brinkleigh Hansen|100 Breaststroke|Saint Petersburg Aquatics
NCAA College Swimming Comparison If you would like to see a comparison of Brinkleigh Hansen's 100 Yard Breaststroke time with the fastest 100 Yard Breaststroke times for NCAA college swimmers from each Conference and team, please click on one of the NCAA divisions below. Note: The NCAA college comparisons are provided for entertainment purposes ...

Breaststroke Swimming Technique

Body Movement

Arm Movement

Leg Movement — Breaststroke Kick

Learning to Swim Breaststroke

Related Pages

How to Swim the Breaststroke

Body Position

CATCH PHASE TIPS IN BREASTSTROKE

BREASTSTROKE RECOVERY

DEFINITIVE FEATURES TO BE ACHIEVED IN BREASTSTROKE KICKING

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How to Swim Breaststroke Properly

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Breaking breaststroke into its critical components

Strong catch and propulsive arm action

Slide patiently

Hook the water

Be patient or aggressive

Use the whole foot and shin

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Press and reach

Upper body propulsion

Lower body propulsion

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See all the articles in this series:

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7 Tips for Awesome Breaststroke Technique

by Olivier Poirier-Leroy 5

1. Use a narrow and powerful kick

2. Don’t pull too wide