tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post1474742577460876928..comments2024-02-17T04:06:00.805-05:00Comments on Just Not Said: Olympics, Part III: SwansJohn Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-36220472522086053392016-08-14T21:11:34.366-04:002016-08-14T21:11:34.366-04:00Jokah --
Good to hear from you, it's been a wh...Jokah --<br />Good to hear from you, it's been a while. I was about to say you shoulda been a swimmer, until I finished your second sentence. Not sure what sport your build would have been ideal for. John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-45796068771724350292016-08-14T21:06:49.451-04:002016-08-14T21:06:49.451-04:00If there is a correlation between neck and torso l...If there is a correlation between neck and torso length and the length of limbs, then I am definitely an outlier. I have a long torso and a neck like the ones in the pictures but my arm span is 3 inches shorter than my height. So I definitely underperform my height in sports like basketball, although I have a vague impression that people with long necks "look" taller than they actually are.Jokah Macphersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04185675633464395897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-70181891767845855712016-08-13T16:05:52.444-04:002016-08-13T16:05:52.444-04:00Luke --
Yes, 40 years ago a regularly proportioned...Luke --<br />Yes, 40 years ago a regularly proportioned guy could still make it based on hard work and dedication. But in recent years, swimming has become more a sport of freaks, not quite like track and field, where you can identify a guy's event just by looking at him, but in the sense of height being pretty much a necessity for some events. Breaststrokers and distance freestylers can sometimes get away with being normalized guys, but otherwise you pretty much have to be tall. An exception would be Joseph Schooling, who just won the 100 fly, I'd guess he's around 5' 11", but if you look at him closely, you can see that he has abnormally long arms for his height, and long arms are basically 90% of the advantage of being tall. John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-46328492507450110832016-08-13T15:43:57.256-04:002016-08-13T15:43:57.256-04:00I agree. The relationship probably is that the bo...I agree. The relationship probably is that the body type which is suited for swimming well is also tied to the genetics for long necks.<br /><br />But the proportions do look a little odd in some cases.<br /><br />This seems to be a bit of a recent development. Glancing back at older (20+ years) photos of swimmers, they don't seem to have the torso proportions of modern Olympic swimmers. The rather broad shoulders were present in some cases but you would expect that with years of training in a sport that emphasized the deltoid, pectoral, and generally shoulder muscle groups (especially in developmental years).<br /><br />Interesting.<br /><br />LukeLucian Lafayettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00911874470258949777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-81858216558273460142016-08-13T10:51:51.912-04:002016-08-13T10:51:51.912-04:00Anon --
That's a good point, the correlation w...Anon --<br />That's a good point, the correlation with long arms and torsos, hadn't thought of that. John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-71364224250041119302016-08-13T09:59:28.446-04:002016-08-13T09:59:28.446-04:00Those are some seriously long necks. Extremes of b...Those are some seriously long necks. Extremes of body type seem to dominate certain sports. I would guess that long necks are pretty closely correlated with wingspan and torso length, two things we know are highly advantageous to swimmers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com