Michael Phelps and Chris Tompson freestyle stroke

[Cvoong]

Michael phelps seems to be falling in a bit too deep when he takes a breathe, like how most swimmers tend to do so, as What Chris Tompson was doing was actually more effective. But since Phelps have very long arms he can pull water than the guy below.

[ilike2eatt]

@Cvoong what michael phelps is doing is very common among american freestyle swimmers. it's called loping. so sinking a bit during that phase of the freestyle is correct if loping is what the swimmer is going for.

[dafas1992]

hey dude, doesn't mean you swim the same pool as michael phelps you can be as good as him

[3rogi]

if you watch him underwater in the olympics his technique looks litte/nothing like this. He is exaggerating bad technique on purpose!

[scottybike]

I looked at the video again and if that is really an Olympic swimmer he was intentionally swimming wrong to make a point for a training video. I mean, he is doing everything wrong in the book....dropped elbow, now rolling, flat hand/arm entry, unstable head position. It has to be staged. No on with such a crappy stroke makes the Olympics let alone a College team like UM.

[scottybike]

I can't believe Thompson's poor stroke, if indeed that is even him. Man it hurt to watch it. I cringed every time he slapped his arm in the water. I have never seen an Olympic swimmer flail so much in the water as the guy in this video, if it was indeed a former Olympic swimmer.

Stroke technique has not changed radically in the last 10 years in my opinion.  Maybe he was only fast because he had a great cardiovascular system and not because he had great technique.

[jasonth1971]

im so much better than him.

[whatisavailable11]

that guy is pulling air

he wont get anywhere like that haha

[timothyjesus]

what is the difference? I can't read Japanese.

[majidenetai]

@timothyjesus

浮力buoyancy　フェルプスPhelps　トンプソンTompson

[timothyjesus]

which is which

[famousbro1]

i always do the freestyle stroke...sometimes i stroke with my left hand, sometimes i stroke with my right.

[Meowws]

who the fuck is thompson!!!

[donster660]

@Meowws

Its becoming increasingly apparent that you require urgent curative schooling; possibly back as far as year three. May I suggest an old style private school that will assist you with your attitude problem at the same time?

[ewiken5529]

You are comparing swimmers from different eras. Chris Thompson's best years were 2000-2001, Phelps is peaking now 7-8 years later.

Either of these guys can take down any of us and there are very few who swam as good as they do. Given the technique study advances in efficiency, changing in training and this video taken after Chris Thompson's prime this is what we get. Respect there ability. please.

Beidermann beat him with a polyurethane suit. Lets see what happens over the next 2 years.

[martythamoose]

The "S/keyhole" hand stroke doesn't work, and is inefficient.

[EvertonFan28]

I disagree.  Before I was doing the S hand stroke my times were not as good. Doing the S gives me such a good glide and knocked off valuable seconds.

[jamieeatworld182182]

phelps makes hardly a splash compared to tompsons splashing around like hes a little kid! all in all phelps rules!

[taymoore99]

lol look at the split screen. micheal owns him. bottom looks like a 5 year old splashing around.

[erik203]

its sad that michael lost

[ktkill]

how did he lose?

[bkki2]

KHODE KHARESHE

[GlaiveLady]

I am a bit suspicious that the first capped swimmer is even the same as the capped swimmer in the rest of the footage. Does anyone else notice the control the first capped swimmer has in his fingers (with the exception of the right pinky) as compared to the lack of finger control in the capped swimmer during the rest of the footage (maybe minus the zoomed-out side-view comparison shot toward the beginning where you can't really see that part)?

[greethostyn]

every swimmer immidiately recognises Phelps as the one with the cap (and the one without the bubbles!)

[Lazerzp3wp3w]

@greethostyn Odd I recognized Phelps by his stroke form, breathing pattern, and body size.

[kris533d]

shut the fuck up idiot hes the fastetst in the world and then he MUST be the best

and hes technique is the same as biederman uses.

biederman is just having the power to start very fast and hold it for the rest of the run

[Puxeizhen]

wrong...

the fastest are cielo filho, bernard, lezak and those guys from 50 and 100m freestyle.

i dont think that michael could beat filho in 50m or 100m free

[kris533d]

accualy no leveaux and scoemann are the fastest.

but you could also say that its grant hackett cause he can swim a full swim program much faster than the others

[kris533d]

and no bernard lezak and filho are far from the fastest.

[michaeldeng1981]

great! I think I should swim much faster now......

[rs1893]

weed would have only hurt him because it clogs ur lungs

[vietmaste12]

Technically it's against the rules to have that drug in his system. He's lucky he did it AFTER the olympics, would have sucked to be stripped of all those gold medals :(

[ervehcnap]

dude, shut the fuck up! Hes still a fucking kid. And every normal teen does shit like that after some big test or meet or anything! Give him a damn break cause YOU know damn straight that you have done the exact same shit as him!

[revert94]

Marijuana slows you down...

[jslovers]

Which one is Phelps? The one without the cap looks like Phelps but the one with cap swims better...

[themanintube]

Nope.. the one with cap is Michael Phelps. Loping is his swimming style.

[angel01103]

how do u kno wat his swimming style is?

[themanintube]

he immerse himself deep into water on the stroke without breathing (0:40). Left hand stroke is faster than another.

[nso784]

ahahaha both are very good bo if u do a simple analys u willse that chris is in panic when he swims he s more u know like panic and lol phelps is the best cause he swims very very calmly and he has a hell of a speed that way so he is the best ever

[bailamechikita]

hijo dee su chingada yo kiero sr komo el

[stinkypillow11]

ive got a question. ive jst learnt this alt breathing during freestyle...so first off ...i start with my right hand...so its right,left right(breathe). i know that when i breathe im supposed to tilt my shoulder more to the side to breathe and also to extend my other hand further. but do i still need to rotate my shoulder during the other strokes.when im not breating?

[nso784]

actually is left and breathe then right leftbreathe and u must make a line imagine a line from chin to chest and all that must rool at once

[timdagzag]

who the hell is chris thompson that guy is crap compared to micheal phelps....

[A7XJMK]

every on looks like crap compared to michael phelps lol

[nso784]

phelps has way more advantage in breathing and he looks forward at his hand chris is lookingdown and phelps has strongeer legs

[njolly99]

And what the hell was that dive that Matey did?

[Ragegirl321]

i love him no matter if his freestyle pull is really bad(my hero!!)

[EnaAngie]

I think that Michael has a good hand pull,but definitly his advatage are his strong legs,expecialy he has good turns and powrfull dolphins kicks.

[jungweizer]

that chris thompson dude makes too much bubbles on his fingers.

[Kembolino]

thompsons head is way too low :/

[taocroatia]

to reason he has a slower stroke is because he glides longer on the stroke he has his breath

When he takes a breath he rotates his whole upper body and that creates a force that pushes him forward more than a breath with no breath. That's why you see people who have mastered that movement breath every two in the 100 free like Jason Lezak.

They don't do it in the 50 free because the tempo just isn't fast enough.

[filoobidoo]

his pull is awful, but whatever makes him win the races is what works for him

[raahr]

His pull is fine..BUT his kick is inhuman.

[filoobidoo]

phelps?? no, his freestyle pull is really bad. i know his kick is amazing. i wish i had it.

[raahr]

I don't think he'd be able to have drop pull arms vertical and get that awsome pull and still have his fish like kick and lower body.

[filoobidoo]

if you look, he enters his hand all wrong and he doesnt extend his arm all the way.

[cirolao94]

i have 1'18" of 100m breaststroke

[BMW345is]

Micheal Phelps is in a league of his own... his stroke is all power... no bubbles... the other guy is a typical swimmer... his stroke needs alot more power an he should turn his body to take full advantage of the stroke... fast swimmers would know what im talking about

[misterstardust88]

i hate to break this to you but the other guy is chris thompson...his NCAA record in the 1650 of 14:26.62 set in 2001 has yet to be broken and has withstood the likes of 2004 1500 bronz medalist Larson Jenson, 1500 american record holder PVK, Sebastien Roualt, and it also withstood current 1500 gold medalist Oussamma Mellouli...its also the American record so it is faster than Phelps has ever gone...I think that qualifies him as a fast swimmer

[deathcabforhottie]

phelps also dosint swim freestyle as his header stroke... so thats not a worry for him,

[Bigmiksears]

1:42.9 200 freestyle?

47.5 100 freestyle?

hmmm

[swimdfree]

Big difference between a mile and a 200 free...

[skopjem]

The biggest diference is in the arms, you can see how much bubles is phelps making and the other guy. I am swimming too and i know that you should have no bubles on your arm while swimming...

[levesque2177]

how do you have no "bubbles" while swimming? that's impossible.

[cambrasmacho]

answering the levesque2177 question: you have to pierce the water surface with your hands, instead of slaping it. When you slap the water, you create resistence, because its area is larger than when you pierce with the point of your fingers. As a consequence of the slap, bubbles will be made.

Check out some of his butterfly stoke videos too. His arm moviment is smooth when he touches the water.

Have no bubbles is impossible, but you can avoid then.

[TehNoobBowl]

If any of you don't understand, the difference is between there arm strokes..

The reason michael phelps uses a slower stroke is to get more power when he sort of wiggles his hands near his torso.

[RSGuides577]

at 50 seconds you can see the difference by looking at the amount of bubbles on each of their hands.

[1rov200]

SWIM SCHOOL

[p4pAguerrido]

Thats why phelps is no good in FS, cause he over extends too much.

[andresrojas22]

actually thats a good thing for the distances he swims wich are medium distances but if hes thinking on becoming a sprinter he will definitly would have to shorten his stroke

[TehNoobBowl]

It's called the crawl. And It's actually good.

[mannnda614]

Phelps has much stronger legs. Like look at 0:47 , his kicks are much wider and more forceful

[MaPhelpsjr]

i just can say that chris tompson swims horrible, he makes to much strokes instead of moving fordward like phelps.

[undderroathhh]

woow, phelps swims so naturally, his strokes look smoother and he moves faster than that thompson guy who seems like hes doing a greater effort, phelps does not pulls up much water ohhhhhh he is my idol T_T :D

[cmcrae1989]

who is chris tompson anyways?

[LucyGenevive]

With every arm stroke, it looks as if Phelps could actualy feel the water and it's current..

Trully great swimmer!!

[sscreamingeagle]

I realize it's stupid of me to ask on here, but I'm a beginning coach in South Carolina, yet have been swimming for 14 years. In that time, I was taught one style of each stroke, and those have carried into my teaching. So, honestly, IF YOU KNOW. IF NOT, Don't waste my time...Why, the hell is it more efficient for some swimmers to have a 2-beat rise/fall freestyle, instead of a constant cycle?

[kristianelim]

i guess it comes with their breathing patter.. a middle distance freestyler such as phelps or lets say ian thorpe, needs air so they beat by count of 2 in order to maintain oxygen.. thats why they make a 2 beat rise fall.. i hope i answered ur question..

[mikegoldstein318]

Actually, according to Michael Phelps' book, a rise fall--or galloping stroke--is less efficient than a constant stroke. He says in his book that his coach has tried to get him to stop doing that for years.

[mannnda614]

So, what u're saying here is that what he's doing now is what he's trying to stop??

[mikegoldstein318]

According to his book, the up and down gallop is something he's been trying to stop. If you watch other swimmers, they sometimes do that and then smooth it out.

[enyqus]

he's slim enough to gallop ... just look at him thrust forward... more time spent underwater by galloping is actually more efficient than smooth girly stroke, if you're slim or muscular enough to thrust forward.

[mikegoldstein318]

Ian Thorpe used that girly stroke to beat Michael Phelps in Athens, so it can't be too bad.

[andresrojas22]

whats that gallop thing?

[GlaiveLady]

The answer lies in looking at it from a different approach -- one that I myself did not come up with. =P Think of an over-arm sidestroke. What is the advantage of this stroke? We are taught that sidestroke is a survival stroke -- one that is more restful because of the GLIDE. Thus for a tired swimmer or a middle to long-distance swimmer, this stroke seems very effective but it is true that the rhythm is too slow for sprinters who try not to take many breaths at all. Hope that helped!

[ironchopsticks]

in those closeups of phelps did u see the snot coming out his nose?

[setsetset3]

wait so wats it better to do... extend arms all the way before you enter the water, so there is no bubbles or have high elbows and make more bubbles ?

[theannoyingdogpoo]

propulsive powerfarting, that's the key to success, chap

[Kembolino]

why is his head so deep

[supersimpson2001]

was wondering about the same thing about phelps. ian thorpe keeps his head much higher

[byecricketboy]

Chris Thompson is just grabbing a bunch of air. Phelps gets nothing but water, you dont see any bubbles.

[genewizejerald]

This is Great visual teaching! Imigine what it feels like to swim like MP! Then do it and start over! Video, Imagine, Do!

Jerald Powell

GeneWise Life Science

[showylee1980]

how are the bubbles underneath their arms formed? and waht effect would they have on swimming itself? thanks.

[nobrainer7000]

the bubbles are created when your arms slap the water. If extend your arms all the way then hit the water it will cause the air to get traped under the water. So when you pull your pulling aginst ir which makes you alot slower. You are supposed to have high elbows and extend your arms undernieth the water so tht you are pulling more water and you go extreamly faster.

[grudgemas]

why is it so dark...

[dancan67]

is the chris thoopmson your talking about the 1500m freestyler?

[dancan67]

chris thompson was my coach at cw but he moved to illinois

[johnnysacco]

Less cavitaion by Phelps stroke actually makes him faster in the water. Cavitation is the air bubbles you see.:)

[andresrojas22]

excuse me, but i know what cavitation is

[ciaconne]

great slow motion cuts. very helpful. Thanks.

[mateusgiroldo]

muito bom!

[swim4ever34]

pretty sweet but i wonder why they breath every 2 strokes....

[ozlouw]

for rhythm, and for oxygenation in between big turns, i think.

[feuervogel1984]

unbelieveble how little air is underneath his hands in comparison

[abspritzgefahr]

awesome, do u know the date of recording

[yuzik]

Maybe 2007 autum.

[MVPacMan23]

assuming this isn't the chris tompson of the 14:26.62 1650 yard freestyle?

[Jimbomac70]

@MVPacMan23 Yeah, its the same Chris Tompson. I asked him about the vid, and he was one year out of swimming when they asked him to do this filming. He said 'he felt terrible in the water' , so, I guess that can explain the no so great technique.

[MVPacMan23]

Yeah, that sucks. If I were him, I'd probably have turned the deal down. Still, he was really good. You know if the 1650 record is on the net anywhere?

[Jimbomac70]

@MVPacMan23 I couldnt find the record time, but you can wiki him. Just google Chris Thompson and it should be the first link, cheers.

[MVPacMan23]

clearly not, never mind.