It’s difficult to dispute the notion that the Division I NCAA Championships are the “fastest meet on earth” considering the short course yard format. The speeds attained are undoubtedly faster than those at the Olympics, and although the Short Course World Championships could have a case, it is difficult to dispute that the NCAAs are the fastest meet in the world given the additional swimming needed in the short course meter pool.
Because of this, the skill set needed to succeed in college is very different from what it is in other countries. For this reason, international recruits with strong resumes who come from all over the world are not guaranteed success in the NCAA.
Underwater work is the most valuable talent in collegiate swimming, according to our most recent poll.
Over the years, it has continued to evolve. It used to be possible for a strong “over the water” swimmer to compete in the NCAA despite having questionable underwaters, but that is no longer the true.
The first two nights of the NCAA Championships had enough of it on show.
Even though Leon Marchand is the fastest freestyle swimmer in the world, his underwater skills are what allowed him to set new U.S. Open Records in the 200 and 500 free distances (1:28.97 and 4:12.31, respectively).
He shattered his month-old record by nearly four seconds and won the 500 free by more than four and a half seconds. See how strong he is off every single wall:
That’s an apparent example, as is the way that Gretchen Walsh was unstoppable last week on her way to shattering women’s records; however, it’s evident that swimmers must be proficient in their underwater techniques in order to compete in the NCAA.
Although we were aware of this prior to the survey’s release, the fact that underwaters garnered 72.8% of the vote—nearly three-quarters of the total—made it clear how crucial they are.
Sprinting ability was the only other choice that received more than 10%.
Due to the significance of double-point relays, swimmers who can excel in the 50 and 100 free and, to a lesser extent, the 50s and 100s of the other strokes, have multiplied worth in NCAA and conference championship meets, earning the sprinting option more than 13% of votes.
The points available for distance swimmers are significantly lower than those for sprinters because there are only three individual events in college championship meetings that are longer than 200 yards, and the ability to “sprint” practically carries over to 200s in SCY.
The capacity to cover numerous strokes on a medley relay or compete in a separate event to score points was the next most valued attribute, coming in at 8.9%.
A few votes were cast for turns and starts/relay exchanges respectively. They are significant, though not as much as underwaters, and more so in SCY than in long run. Blistering underwaters can compensate for a poor turn or start, but a strong turn—where you gain tenths of a second on your rivals—will not make up for subpar undersea work.
