Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1905-10-06
The Style Of Stroke Is Of More
Importance Than
Strength.
A is THE FASTEST
The Dog Paddle" of Our Kid Days
Is Now Considered as the Hardest
and SIowcst Method
in Use.
From the New York tribune.

water. making as much pother as a
shovel-nosed yacht, the more impress
sionable exclaim, What magnificent
muscles he has"
But strength does not win alone. The
style of stroke also has something TO
do with the success OF a swimmer. For
example, a new stroke, which Is said
10 produce greater speed than any 9TH
err, has recently been introduced at the
New York Athletic club by Gus Sund-
strom, the swimming expert. 1t Is
aptly, or inaptly. according to ones
point OF view. called the crawl" The
stroke apparently originated In Aus
tralia. It's introduction In New York,
according TO Mr.. Sundstrom, came
about in this way:
w have every year in February in
the swimming pool of the New York
Athletic club match with the Brook
line club of Boston. Last year they
beat us four out of the six events, so /
began to study up on the crawl /
practiced In the tan when no one wes
around, and when / was certain hat I
could make a second better time In
twenty-five yards with 1t than / had
done before l invited q number OF peo-
pie to come and watch me. / had them
time me, and / did the distance in IL 3-5
seconds The worlds record is IL 1-5 Sec
onds. OF course, hat record doesn't
stand, for the timekeepers were not
official. Well, / taught some OF the
swimmers the crawl and we had
something up our sleeves when we met
the Brookline men his year. Four OF
our men had done IL 1-5 seconds or bet
ter In practice with the new stroke.
When the match came off we won
everything. In the 200-yard relay race
we beat the record made by the Brock
line team h yea before by seven Sec
onds."
Insptly Named.
1t will therefore be seen that the
stroke called the crawl la inaptly
named from the point of view of speed.
Judging from Mr.. Sundstrom's testi-
mony, the men who use 1t travel
through the water like motor boats.
The stroke, If waggling the feet and
paving the water constitute a stroke,
certainly suggests crawling in appear
ance, and from this point of view it is
rightly named. In the crawl" the
feet are moved backward n forward
upon the ankles as hinges, the feet
moving alternately and as fast as pos
sible. In the arms circular or contin-
BUS movement has been developed.
Up to the time of the discovery of the
crawl the only movements developed
for the legs in swimming were the
froglike spasmodic kick and variations.
In the crawl the legs lie stretched
astern, with no movement above the
knee and little above the ankle.
The arm movement of the crawl" Is
a modification OF the well known "trud-
geon," or double overarm stroke. IN
stead, however, of throwing the arms
forward out of the water alternately to
the full length, the arms are crooked
until they suggest the plucked wings OF
a chicken, and dipped smartly almost
in front of the face. They are dipped
as rapidly as the swimmer can bring
them forward from the finish of the
stroke and without regard to the move
ment of the feet. Other arm strokes
can also be used with the crawl" foot
movement. Mr.. Sundstrom has devised
a combination which he calls the
windmill" With the waggling feet
he combines the "~trudgeon" swimming
on his back. He says he ecures even
the crawl lies in the fac that 1t
throws the body On top Of the water
md thus reduces resistance.
The Continuous Motion.
The tendency In swimming for speed
In this country appears to be toward
securing ar even, continuous move
ment, the limbs alternating in such a
way that there is no cessation Of prog
ress. In Germany swimming seems to
nave taken the opposite direction. In
that country all the limbs are moved
simultaneously. Between the violent
kick and the simultaneous push with
the arms or the water, the body almost
loses Roadway, and must be set In mo-
ton again with the next stroke. This
method Is said to be easier than the con-
tinuous movement OF the American
swimmer, as there Is a ome Of rest
between strokes.
In both countries the aim of the
swimmer who desires speed Is to get as
much OF his body out Of the water as
possible. For the same reason a racing
yacht is built with a shallow under
body, In order to reduce the resistance.
The overarm strokes, in which the
arms are lifted above the water before
the swimmer catches the wave for the
next stroke. accomplish this purpose.
For this a the simple and easy
breast stroke, which is the first step
away from the timid youths dog pad
die" produces the least speed. In the
breast, or chest, stroke one swims after
the name of the frog. 1t Is easiest
for the beginner, because more Of the
body is submerged. Speed with this
stroke IL difficult also for other rea-
sons. The leg motion is not entirely
-.atural. The side arm stroke is bet
ter for speed. because in this the legs
are ClOSeu together INK u pair VI SClS-
sors and the muscles used in walking
are brought into play.
The "Trudseon."
There are several strokes for the
arms. There is the side arm stroke,
with the body OH edge. In this the
arms are swept backward alternately
In front of the body, the legs are, hen
brought Jack to the beginning through
the water. One may swim with either
side up in this stroke. Then there is
the oyerarm side stroke. This is the
same, except hat the upper arm is
reached out ahead over the water when
recovering for the succeeding stroke.
And last, but not least, is the "trud-
geon." The "trudgeon' suggests a
windmill. In this stroke both arms are
brought forward over the water In the
recovery, the strokes being taken alter
nately. When swimming In this fash
ion the body writhes through the wa
ter, turning from side to side, and the
frog kick Is used by most experts. II
Is a stroke hat produces speed. Fol
long distance swimming the side arm
stroke Is the favorite. For short dis
lance the "trudgeon," with slight modi-
~ications to suit individuals. has gener-
ally been considered the fastest. but
now has come the crawl" to increase
speed still further.