Why are there so many teenagers in Olympic swimming?

lllllajko wrote:

Yeah but hurdles/steeple are contrived too

Those are obstacles. You still run over them.

There is no backwards run, run where you cross your legs, run where you have to jump two feet up every stride.

You are correct about the hips. A lot of girls' swim times become stagnant (for a year+) around the age of puberty due to the change in anatomy. We lose a lot of female swimmers at this age out of frustration. While the males' anatomy and hormones are taking off at this time.

786ytrbnc wrote:

lllllajko wrote:

Yeah but hurdles/steeple are contrived too

Those are obstacles. You still run over them.

There is no backwards run, run where you cross your legs, run where you have to jump two feet up every stride.

There are more contrived events in track and field than in any other sport. Running every possible distance, running while jumping over things. And what about the steeple? It's not enough to just jump over barriers, some have to have water. Why?

And then there is jumping. Why do we have the triple jump? It's not enough to see how far someone can jump - let's have another event where the competitor has to hop, step and then jump. Or an event to see how high someone can jump with a pole.

What about throwing? There is throwing a spear, throwing a heavy ball, and swinging a heavy ball with a chain on it. Then are separate events where competitors have to do everything. And we haven't even got to walking races.

cawebber wrote:

You are correct about the hips. A lot of girls' swim times become stagnant (for a year+) around the age of puberty due to the change in anatomy. We lose a lot of female swimmers at this age out of frustration. While the males' anatomy and hormones are taking off at this time.

No. You are incorrect regarding female body build. Female body build assists in keeping females on water surface. Men are about 12% faster than women per running event, 60m to Marathon. Runners do not compete against other runners. Runners do not compete against a clock. Runners are fighting gravity. Running is a series of triple jumps. I have not bothered to compare men & women in racing walking events or ultra races. Fact is in sprinting and running, extra weight from fat slows sprinters and runners, 60m to Marathon. Average females usually have x 2 body fat of average males. Elite female athletes usually have x 2 body fat of elite male athletes. 50m freestyle is neuromuscular coordination and power. As male & female athletes get closer to 1500m, the percentage differences between male and female narrows. This is for every freestyle event: 50m to 100m to 200m to 400m to 800m to 1500m. Let us wait for all the returning medalists from 2016 to show what they can and cannot do. We are likely to see most of the (18-20) year old swimmers who are are now about age 24 swimming slower sans weight gain. Shoulder injuries and maybe sick of swimming somewhat is why teenagers likely outperform the mid-twenties females. A few posters stated dense bones possessed by those in their mid-twenties. That is possible. If it were hips, as you stated, females would be near their peak before age 12. Swimming is not like gymnastics. Swimmers do not have to be built like little girls to achieve their best.

I could think of a couple of reasons off the top of my head.

1. Burnout is incredibly high in swimming. These kids typically start at 3-4 and often do doubles from 7/8th grade on.

2. Financially being a swimmer is a poor decision. I would think many college grads move on instead of continue to pursue swimming. (A teammate of mine from club swimming swan at Harvard and finished 9th at Olympic trials and that was her last race ever. She said there was no reason to put off her career to keep pursuing the olympics)

not sure if this was mentioned, but this is always a 'female' thing

there is one teen exception [Tunisian, 400m free male], all the rest are female. I see some red flags aroound said Tunisian as well. Lets leave it at that [distance type event, coming from an area known for certain enhancements, etc]

which is the way it has always been, forever in swimming

the male 'generational talent' (tm) such as Dressel/Phelps/Adrian/etc, will make a relay or something in their 18th/19th year if it just so happens the olympic window lines up with their birthdate and that age