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wasoxygen  ·  3191 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Is the fish kick the fastest stroke yet?

    Harvard University coach Joe Bernal realized that some of his swimmers were faster if they stayed underwater and dolphin kicked. This is essentially identical to the fish kick, except that the swimmer is flat on his stomach, rather than turned on his side. Some especially strong underwater swimmers stayed submerged almost the entire length of the pool, since there was no rule against it. That all changed in 1998, when FINA, the world governing body of competitive swimming, ruled that swimmers performing the backstroke had to surface after 15 meters.

That's a cool story. What other sports have had to change the rules because of innovation? I think recumbent bicycles are prohibited at most races. The Fosbury Flop was not banned and became the standard.

I couldn't find a lot of information about the fish kick, but there are a few good videos. The mako has all the humans beat.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLII_I8EvTCpYy7S0Uwd8JSzykEm0YuG2w