The otter is cute, the dugong looks Barney

Unrelated to dolphin kicks: how cute are the world aquatics mascots? They’re the only championships/Olympic mascots in recent memory that are actually cute and compelling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it illegal-but-allowed - or illegal-but-not-detected? Genuine question.

I thought some swimmers were putting some downward dolphin kick action into their last breast kick before surfacing, which is not legal. Is that what we’re talking about?

Yes that's what we're talking about. It's illegal but I'm calling it "allowed" because it's challenging to detect, so it happens without consequence.

Stokes and techniques have evolved over the years - fairly (?) recently the submerged backstroke finish.

Maybe just make it legal to do a downward dolphin kick motion on the last breaststroke kick before finishing the pullout. Then everyone can do it.

Or is it happening more often than only the last breastroke kick in pullout? Are swimmers adding that dolphin kick motion all the way down the lane? That would be a pretty substantial change to make to breast.

Before VAR, there were a lot of swimmers doing two dolphins off the start, downward kicks at the end of each stroke cycle, or a dolphin kick into the wall, but it was hard to see. Check out YouTube for Cameron van de burgh, an Olympic gold medalist who was notorious for taking extra kicks after each turn, and Kosuke Kitajima, who won an Olympic gold with multiple kicks during the pullout.

The other infraction that is hard to see from the deck and is easier to see on video was dolphin kicking past vertical after turning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What have you seen / noticed / enjoyed / wondered about? I've seen a comparatively generous number of DQs in the prelims today and thought, I'd really like to understand what happened. But they never give the reason or replay the critical moment(s), or even talk about it. The result of the pace of live coverage, or some other reason?

If you are t cheating your are trying.

Thanks, Russian judge.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is it illegal-but-allowed - or illegal-but-not-detected? Genuine question.

I thought some swimmers were putting some downward dolphin kick action into their last breast kick before surfacing, which is not legal. Is that what we’re talking about?

Yes that's what we're talking about. It's illegal but I'm calling it "allowed" because it's challenging to detect, so it happens without consequence.

Stokes and techniques have evolved over the years - fairly (?) recently the submerged backstroke finish.

Maybe just make it legal to do a downward dolphin kick motion on the last breaststroke kick before finishing the pullout. Then everyone can do it.

Or is it happening more often than only the last breastroke kick in pullout? Are swimmers adding that dolphin kick motion all the way down the lane? That would be a pretty substantial change to make to breast.

Anonymous wrote:What have you seen / noticed / enjoyed / wondered about? I've seen a comparatively generous number of DQs in the prelims today and thought, I'd really like to understand what happened. But they never give the reason or replay the critical moment(s), or even talk about it. The result of the pace of live coverage, or some other reason?

If you are t cheating your are trying.

Anonymous wrote:Is it illegal-but-allowed - or illegal-but-not-detected? Genuine question.

I thought some swimmers were putting some downward dolphin kick action into their last breast kick before surfacing, which is not legal. Is that what we’re talking about?

Yes that's what we're talking about. It's illegal but I'm calling it "allowed" because it's challenging to detect, so it happens without consequence.

Is it illegal-but-allowed - or illegal-but-not-detected? Genuine question.

I thought some swimmers were putting some downward dolphin kick action into their last breast kick before surfacing, which is not legal. Is that what we’re talking about?

Thanks for explaining! The evolution and pervasiveness of illegal-but-allowed dolphin kick in breast really bothers me so it’s great that they are trying to roll it back. If they could implement the same tech all the way down to copy age group swimmers, I would sleep better at night.

They DQ’d a lot of breast - dolphin kick on the finish is a common one. With VAR, all the breastrokers who were taking 2 dolphins off the start, or an extra one at the wall can’t hide it under the white water. I wish they would show the var review like they do in soccer, so that spectators could learn. Erica fairweather was DQ’d for false start/movement on the block.

The prelim announcers have been better than the final announcers. They have given more insight into technique, like discussing hip driven vs arm driven freestyle. They are more focused on the British and Aussie swimmers, which I appreciate, but since I’m American,
I also want to hear about the American swimmers.

Finally, the U.S. swimmers haven’t had the best starts in prelims. Luke Hobson had a bad start in the prelims and Reagan smith as well.

And regarding training camp, I wish they would do training camp in a boring place in the U.S. where they can get mentally dialed in, and then go earlier to Singapore. They could train on a schedule that gradually adjusts them for the time zone change at camp. Seems too risky to go to Thailand and get all distracted by being in a resort setting before competing. Not to mention the food poisoning/gastroenteritis.

Anonymous wrote:What have you seen / noticed / enjoyed / wondered about? I've seen a comparatively generous number of DQs in the prelims today and thought, I'd really like to understand what happened. But they never give the reason or replay the critical moment(s), or even talk about it. The result of the pace of live coverage, or some other reason?

Also my pet peeve. I watch a lot of international sports where sometimes you get just a silent feed and one camera perspective. It makes me grateful for any announcer, but it would be nice to have a bit more color and depth.

What events had DQs? I'm on west coast time this week and somehow I just keep watching diving, and am way behind on swimming replays.

What have you seen / noticed / enjoyed / wondered about? I've seen a comparatively generous number of DQs in the prelims today and thought, I'd really like to understand what happened. But they never give the reason or replay the critical moment(s), or even talk about it. The result of the pace of live coverage, or some other reason?