Swimmers more fit than runners

Good thoughtful analysis. Bro this board is going to be good you trolled well.

ftfy

Fitness is activity-specific.

It would not not surprise me. Swimmers can hammer every day in practice because they don't have to deal with gravity and body weight issues. On another thread someone claimed swimming doesn't have easy days.

I'm guessing this allows swimmers to maximize fitness in a way that is simply not possible for running.

Housenoy wrote:

It would not not surprise me. Swimmers can hammer every day in practice because they don't have to deal with gravity and body weight issues. On another thread someone claimed swimming doesn't have easy days.

I'm guessing this allows swimmers to maximize fitness in a way that is simply not possible for running.

Agreed. The OP's analysis is nonsense of course, but by most measures of fitness, elite swimmers are more fit than elite runners.

balding wrote:

It appears to me swimmers are more fit than runners as they tire less the further their event goes.

Looking at it roughly timewise:

50 free = 200m

100 free = 400m

200 free = 800m

The world record for 100 free is 46.91. The world record for 400m is 43.18. So around 3.73 seconds difference.

The world record for 200 free is 1:42.00, world record for 800m is 1:40.91. So only 1.09 seconds difference.

In doubling the distance, the swimmer has tired less.

400 free world record is 3:40.07. Whilst a mile is slightly more than double 800m at 1609.34m, the mile record is only 3:43.13. The swimmer has now caught and passed the runner as far as endurance goes!

So the swimmer is clearly outlasting the runner when it comes to distance also.

Does this mean the talent in middle distance running is weak?

To me, quite clearly swimmers are better endurance athletes.

They push off the wall at every turn which is MUCH faster than swimming.

If they had to swim in one long race like in open water they would slow more linearly.

Man, I thought this thread was going to be about body shape/weight... Ledecky is borderline morbidly obese. And Phelps has triceps fat like my grandma.

Brit Historia wrote:

Man, I thought this thread was going to be about body shape/weight... Ledecky is borderline morbidly obese. And Phelps has triceps fat like my grandma.

Ledecky is 5'11 155lbs. That is actually very close to ideal. Why do you come here to post nonsense like that?

Coming from a former swimmer, it's just a different kind of fitness. This is a stupid post. Nothing to see here, move along.

What about Water Polo? Those mofos are some fit peeps. And don't sleep on the Shot Put folks. We all know that you can't spell fitness without the shot put.

This discussion is useless. Everyone knows crossfit is the true test of fitness.

I'm assuming you are not trolling to begin with:

Firstly the drag in water vs air surely plays a role here both in the speed/effort (obvious) and the total time.

Secondly, a standing start/start from blocks has a lot less relative advantage as oposed to a dive. Also the dive has also the same covering distance regardless of the distance (a dive in a 50m race has probably the same power as in a 200m race even when the paces are different).

Like another poster said they bounce off each 50m.

Infering any conclusion about general fitness in swimming vs running knowing the above factors surely play a role, is almost as bad as comparing Bolt vs Phelps based on number of Olympic medals alone (I'm assuming you also know the same distance in swimming can be covered in many styles).

Great! Now Michael Phelps will switch over to sprints where he'll be the greatest sprinter ever. Usain Bolt, watch out!

usatf secret weapon wrote:

Great! Now Michael Phelps will switch over to sprints where he'll be the greatest sprinter ever. Usain Bolt, watch out!

Nobody wants to see an uncoordinated white guy run a 14.2 sec 100m...

Listed are Katie Ledecky's WR ratios, 800/400, 2.0581966. WR athletics ratios, women 800/400, 2.379831933. Katie Ledecky is extremely fit for (100 to 1500)m freestyle. There is no way Ledecky would maintain that 2.05+ ratio, T&F, 800/400. I have great respect for freestyle elite swimmers but swimmers are not necessarily better endurance athletes.

Finally, someone with a logical response.

Obviously, y'all haven't seen Ledecky up close... she's built like a tank, much like a rugby player. Super thick torso.

Like another poster said they bounce off each 50m.

Assuming there's any validity in this discussion in the first place, with that turn at the wall they are also completely reversing direction. So consequently, there's a bit of momentum loss doing so as there is slowing approaching the wall, slight though it may be. The dolphin kick to regain momentum in the other direction, while powerful for some, still takes a bit of distance until the full stroke takes over.

No Way wrote:

Brit Historia wrote:

Man, I thought this thread was going to be about body shape/weight... Ledecky is borderline morbidly obese. And Phelps has triceps fat like my grandma.

Ledecky is 5'11 155lbs. That is actually very close to ideal. Why do you come here to post nonsense like that?

Kate Upton is 5'11/140. I am betting that 9/10 guys think that is more ideal.

Seriously unless you see her step on the scale, you don't have a clue what she weighs. How many woman do you think self report weights 10-15lbs lower than their real weight? About as many as guys that add an inch.