10 Reasons to Love the 200 Butterfly
10 Reasons to Love the 200 Butterfly
By Mike Gustafson//Contributor
Every swim event tells a story: Some tell a story of flash-and-dash. Others tell a story of pacing and strategy.
And, if every story is a love story, as the saying goes, then every length of the 200 butterfly is an epic saga of tragic, painful, and ultimately triumphant adventure. Each length of the 200 butterfly tells a story-within-a-story, with its own beginning, middle, and end. Some stories begin with smooth waters, calm seas, and a successful voyage. Others begin with a naive age grouper sprinting the first 50 yards, then end with coughing, gagging, blacking out, being hauled out of the water by a concerned official (See: Me, Age 14, 200 Long Course Butterfly, YMCA National Championships.)
But there is love within that 200 butterfly story. Its own kind of love. A special kind of love.
For the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday, I decided to figure out what — if anything — there is to love about the 200 butterfly. I found ten reasons. (There are probably more, but if you find more, you are one of those weirdos who actually enjoy the 200 butterfly.) There they are…
