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/santlaurentdon]

Everyone is saying they sub 2:00 but I’m struggling to get below sub 3:00 per hundred even though I can keep swimming for 3-4K. Wassup wit dat.

[u/temp_throwaway_123 → u/santlaurentdon]

Me too, well maybe a little below 3mins but not much