Turn Fast, Swim Fast

Another way to make your times faster, even by a split second, is to have fast turns. For any event that will work. There can be a freestyle turn, backstroke turn, and butterfly/breaststroke turn.

The freestyle flip turn is the simplest. It's kind of like doing a somersault in the water except you are close to the wall and after around three-fourths of the somersault (flip turn), you put you feet closer to the wall and push off. When you push off you will still be on your back, but after you push off (but before you come to the top of the water) you turn back onto your stomach. When you reach the top of the water you continue swimming freestyle.

The backstroke flip turn is very similar to the freestyle flip turn. When you are swimming back stroke and you get to the flags that are hung above the pool you count your strokes until you get to the wall. One stroke less than your count, you are going to flip on your stomach and repeat the action I explained in the paragraph above. Instead on flipping back onto your stomach after you push off the wall, you are going to stay on your back. When you reach the top of the water, you will continue swimming backstroke.

The butterfly turn is the same thing as the breaststroke turn. You will swim butterfly or breaststroke into the wall and then touch with two hands and pull back with one arm, elbow first, lean to that side, bring your other arm with you and push off of the wall in a streamline. It is very important to touch with two hands because if you don't then you will get disqualified (DQ) from the event.

Next there are three more types of legal turns. Fly to back, back to breast (also known as the suicide turn), and breast to free. You would use those turns when you are swimming an individual medley (IM). An IM is just one event that would involve you swimming all four strokes. The fly to back, and the breast to free turns are very similar to the butterfly or breaststroke turn. For the fly to back turn you would swim fly into the wall and do the same thing with pulling back your elbow, but instead of pushing off on your side to stomach, you will push off on your back. When you get to to surface of the water you will start swimming backstroke. When you get to the wall that you have to turn to breast, there are two ways that you can turn. One way is easier, but slower, and the other way is harder, but faster. The first way you can turn is swimming backstroke into the wall and when you get to the last stroke and that hand touches the wall, pull your legs back and push off the wall with having your other arm follow. The second way you can do that turn is known as the suicide turn. It is called that because it's scary to do. When your hand hits the wall from your last backstroke stroke you will need to tuck into a tight ball and pull your self back and do a backward somersault. When you get on your stomach, you push off and do an underwater pull out. After that , when you reach the top of the surface, you start to swim breast stroke. The breast to free turn is the exact same thing as the breaststroke turn except instead of swimming breaststroke after you turn, you will swim freestyle.

In the video below, you can watch Natalie Coughlin, an Olympic swimmer, talk and teach more about flip turns!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyw4ftnyZ18&feature=related