Why the Dive is a Race's Most Important Part
Why the Dive is a Race's Most Important Part
By Mike Gustafson//Contributor
The other day, I was venturing down a rabbit hole of online video-watching and witnessed Caeleb Dressel’s incredible 17.63 50-yard freestyle. If you haven’t seen it, I’ll describe it: Dressel dives in, emerges well beyond the rest of the field — and the race was over by the flip.
Like first impressions in everyday life, the first moments of a race are critically important — not necessarily because they will completely win the race alone (unless you’re Caeleb Dressel), but because those first two strokes create a swimmer’s first impression of a race itself.
Often, after an entire season of training and a few weeks of tapering, I wouldn’t exactly know how a race would go until literally diving in. And, for me, it was immediate — I knew then and there if a race would be good or not. I wouldn’t consciously think, “This race will be great.” But somehow, just diving in and emerging, my body knew.
