Sometimes, when swimmers watch my stroke and try to imitate what I do, they lose sight of the main goal, which it to send your body forward. They see how high I come out of the water…or how big my kick is…but they sometimes don’t see how I put it all together to move forward.

As you can see from these clips, I do come very high out of the water, but notice how everything is angled forward – my back, my neck and head, my eyes, and my momentum.

From under water, you can see that I dive forward -- not down -- on every stroke. As I glide…or ride…between strokes, I try to stay long and horizontal. And I keep everything moving forward.

My hands are relaxed, with fingertips pointed forward.

My arms are narrow and skinny and extended forward.

My head is between the arms, with eyes looking down, and I’m riding just under the surface – everything moving forward.

Everything that I do with my stroke is designed to help me reduce drag and move forward...to get to the other end of the pool.