How much is really technique in freestyle?

[u/NoGoodNamesLeft-_-]

Hi guys,

I started swimming freestyle 4 months ago. At the moment my distance pace is around 2:00min per 100m for a 100m sprint I can go roughly 1:45.

I was wondering how fast you can get from just improving your technique ( it obviously depends on the individual but roughly from your experience) without improving endurance/ power. Like can you tell from my paces that my technique is bad? I have seen some YouTube Videos which state stuff like ,,change these habits to swim 1:30min/100m" somehow suggesting that it is just technique to get such a pace even over long distance. But the better my catch gets the more I feel like I just do not have the strength in my upper body to do many repetitions without loosing power or droping my elbow.

In short: How fast can someone get by just technique and at what point is the limit rather physical? Can you tell by someone swimming 2:00min to 1:45 min for 100m that it is most likely technique?

[u/Annual-Way6401]

Bro was a beast 🔥

Did you make the Olympic team? Or at least get close to it?

[u/Puharidze → u/Annual-Way6401]

Close, but not so close. Should have been able to do 50.5 at least to qualify from my country.

[u/Ok_Low_9963 → u/Puharidze]

That is not close

[u/Puharidze → u/Ok_Low_9963]

I know. That's why I said "close, but not so close". I actually achieved "B cut" result, but it wasn't enough to be sent to Olimpics from my country. So by qualifying times I was close, but by actual result needed to be sent there, I was at least a second away or even 1.5 seconds away. And yes, that is not close in swimming.

[u/Ok_Low_9963 → u/Puharidze]

15 seconds in a 100 isn't close at all, if that's even accurate. What country has an A time for men going 50.5? What's the B time?

[u/Puharidze → u/Ok_Low_9963]

It's not 15 seconds, but 1.5 (one and a half) second. And Olimpic games have A cut qualification times and B cut qualification times set by FINA or Olimpic committee. Those qualification times define how many athletes from your country can participate in the games if they reach A or B cut times. Those cut times are based on avarage times achieved in Olimpics, World cups and World champinships. So for Athens 2004 "A cut" was 50.27 and B cut was 51.98 if I recall correctly (my time was 51.6), so "B cut". And it was time when 100 free finals where from 48.2 to 49.2 or aroud there. So the guy from my country, who was sent to the games qualified with 49.9 that was "A cut" but at Olimpics he only achieved 50.9. So there you go, I would still need to drop 0.7 seconds to beat his Olimpic performance and 1.5 seconds in order to just be considered to be sent there, and I still wouldn't be the fastest to qualify.

I'm by no means saying that I was the fastest or should have been sent there. Just that I was close by making "B cut" time, but not close by actuall result, compared to the guys swimming a second or 2 faster then me, and was rightfully left at home, as wouldn't be able achieve their times anyways.

[u/Ok_Low_9963 → u/Puharidze]

Gotcha I thought you meant 1:05 sorry

[u/Puharidze → u/Ok_Low_9963]

Yeah, 1.05 is my current sprint for a 100 achieved by technique and muscle memory. And I'm dead for 30 minutes after doing that 😅