Courtesy of eo SWIMBETTER, a SwimSwam partner.
The sport of swimming is evolving. Swimmers and coaches are finding new ways to swim smarter, moving beyond the old routine of mindlessly grinding out yard after yard staring at the black line. Technique is taking centre stage, and technology is playing an increasingly vital role in the quest for faster, more efficient swims. After all, a crappy technique will limit even the fittest swimmer’s performance.
Enter eo SwimBETTER. Used by Olympic medallists like Pan Zhanle, Kyle Chalmers, and Paige Madden in preparation for Paris, eo SwimBETTER is far more than your average swim tracker. Sure, it measures the essentials – laps, time, strokes, stroke rate, and distance per stroke (DPS) – but it goes beyond that by offering in-depth insights into your stroke technique.
What can be measured can be improved.
For the first time ever, with eo SwimBETTER swimmers can measure every single stroke with objective data collected 50 times per second, and access that data just seconds after getting out of the pool.
Fast Feedback Loop: A Game Changer for Immediate Improvement
One of the standout features of eo SwimBETTER is the Fast Feedback Loop. After just two laps, data can be downloaded, technique reviewed, and targeted adjustments made and retested. It only takes a few seconds to download your data, giving you the ability to fine-tune your performance in real-time.
Let’s get into the first few metrics eo SwimBETTER tracks to help refine technique.
Stroke Rate and Force: Improve Your Efficiency at Different Speeds
Two of the critical insights eo SwimBETTER provides is the relationship between stroke rate and total force. Your data will reveal:
- your average force per stroke – by either lap or stroke – mapped against your stroke rate.
- left- and right-hand variances across the lap – showing if one hand is generating more force than the other.
- how changes in stroke rate impact your force – do you start losing water when you increase your stroke rate?
Understanding the link between stroke rate and force is key to becoming more efficient at different speeds.
eo SwimBETTER Stroke Rate & Force Chart – Lap View
Force Field: Know Where Your Power is Going
Generating force in swimming is important, but understanding where that force is applied is crucial. The Force Field metric helps you understand the distribution of your hands’ force. It:
- breaks down the percentage of force applied in the propulsive direction, hand drag, as well as up, down, left, and right.
- highlights how much energy is wasted through inefficient force application.
Knowing your force distribution allows you to focus on maximising propulsive force to increase speed. As a guideline, distance swimmers should aim for 70-75% of their force to be propulsive, while sprinters should target 55-60%, with the remainder split across the left, right and downward directions. Any upward or hand drag forces should ideally be at 0%.
eo SwimBETTER Force Field Chart – Lap View
Stroke Path & Hand Velocity: Find Your Optimal Stroke Path
Is your hand too deep, sweeping too wide, or crossing over your body? eo SwimBETTER’s Stroke Path and Hand Velocity chart gives you a detailed look at your stroke path. It:
- breaks down your stroke into the Glide, Pull, and Recovery phases.
- shows your hand path from multiple angles: Side On (to assess depth), Overhead (to check if it’s crossing your body or going too wide), and Head On (combined depth-width view).
- shows your hand velocity at any point in the stroke to track where you’re generating the most speed.
By focusing on your stroke path, you can optimise your technique and eliminate common inefficiencies like crossing over your midline or sweeping too wide, likely resulting in wasted force going laterally and robbing your propulsion (speed).
eo SwimBETTER Stroke Path & Velocity Chart
Consistency: Be Better More Often
Consistency is key to maintaining good technique, especially under fatigue. eo SwimBETTER tracks every stroke across different sets to reveal:
- stroke anomalies, such as an in- or out-sweep.
- signs of stroke degradation over time, especially as fatigue sets in.
- any asymmetry between your left and right hands including the impact of breathing on your stroke.
Tracking consistency helps you refine your form and sustain strong technique, even at the end of a gruelling race or training session.
eo SwimBETTER Consistency Chart
More To Uncover
There are more in-depth charts that delve further into force direction and the correlation of your hand path to your force. We’ll cover these in a future article, but if you’re too curious to wait, you can watch the Stroke Phases, Force vs Time, and Stroke Path & Force explainers on eo’s YouTube channel where you’ll also find a bunch of other informative videos on the benefits of eo SwimBETTER.
eo SwimBETTER’s algorithms are optimised for analysis of freestyle, backstroke and butterfly with breaststroke coming in 2025.
What’s Next: AI-Powered Insights
Among other things, an exciting feature in the pipeline is AI-powered feedback. Thanks to an ongoing project with the University of Sydney, eo SwimBETTER will soon automatically detect common technique issues and provide actionable tips for improvement. All future improvements in functionality like AI will be available to all eo SwimBETTER membership holders at no additional cost. AI will apply feedback on not just your future swims but also retrospectively across all your past swims.
Find out more about eo SwimBETTER at eolab.com/SwimBETTER or follow them on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn @eosportslab.
