Disclaimer: BlueSeventy Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The BlueSeventy Swim is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets.
A national age group record-breaker and one of the fastest 200 breast prospects in history, Andrew Seliskar spent the first two years of his NCAA career swimming 200 fly instead.
In some ways, that’s a testament to his great versatility, as Seliskar was an All-American in the fly both years, as well as in the 200 and 400 IMs. In another way, it speaks to his Cal team’s strength in the breaststroke that didn’t require his services, as well as the presence of other superstar breaststrokers in the NCAA – namely Will Licon and Josh Prenot.
But with the NCAA cleared out of elite-tier breaststrokers this season, it appears Seliskar could be set to make a triumphant entry back into the race. And a key swim at this weekend’s Cal-Stanford Triple Distance meet sets it up nicely.
The meet forces each team to enter swimmers into a specific discipline (fly, breast, back, IM, etc) and swim three distances in that discipline. (Get it? Triple Distance?). Seliskar tellingly swam the breaststrokes, taking 3rd in the 50 and 100, but winning the 200 by a good second and a half.
His 1:56.83 ranks as one of the fastest swims in the nation this year, providing an early look at what could be a postseason event shakeup for Seliskar, whose Cal team are the chief challengers to three-time defending NCAA Champions Texas – a team notoriously strong across the board, but also notoriously weak in breaststroke with the graduation of Licon.
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Seliskar’s versatility is incredible. I remember when he signed with Cal some people were saying he could be the first swimmer since Ryan Lochte to win three individual NCAA titles in one year. Hopefully this is the year we see him become an NCAA champion!
Sounds good to me! 😀
Do it!
Breaststroke is harder than butterfly if you do it right. Do it anyway!
The 200 fly requires the swimmer to ration their energy carefully because of the demands on the upper body. When the muscles fatigue and tighten up, then the swimmer sinks lower, which creates even more resistance. This creates the dreaded “piano” effect commonly seen in the last 50 of the 200 fly.
For more information on the topic, consult Mr. Tom Shields.
The 200 is similar with the legs, since the kick generates the most propulsion if you lose your legs the last 50 you’ll end up mostly going up and down without the kick to drive you forward.
For more information, consult ms. Rebecca Soni wrt 2009 Rome
*200 Breast