Michael Phelps changed swimming in many ways. Not only did the 23-time Olympic gold medalist bring popularity and mainstream interest to the sport, but inside the pool itself, a lot of what Phelps did shaped the way future generations trained and raced.
In butterfly, Phelps is perhaps most well known for breathing every stroke, something certain coaches might regard as a cardinal sin, but Phelps showed as long as it doesn’t have a negative impact on your body position, it doesn’t slow you down (and can make you faster, especially over 200 meters).
Phelps also paved the way for underwater fly kick to be utilized more frequently in races, and showed how fast a loping freestyle technique could be.
But Bob Bowman, Phelps’ coach for the entirety of his career, believes that the way Phelps used a continuous kicking motion throughout his stroke was the biggest contribution he had to the 200 butterfly, the event in which he was most dominant over the course of his career.
His biggest contribution to 2fly. Continuous kicking action. @MichaelPhelps https://t.co/ETB6Uj4Xk9
— Bob Bowman (@coach_bowman) June 26, 2023
In the clip above, which comes from the 2001 World Championships when Phelps broke the world record in the 200 fly to win the first world title of his career, you can see Franck Esposito (middle) and Tom Malchow (top of screen) both let their legs glide for a moment in between fly kicks, while Phelps (bottom of screen) is constantly kicking.
Phelps’ constant kick is certainly more fatiguing, but also helps drive up the stroke rate—there’s no time to glide with the arms if the legs are constantly moving.
Phelps’ ability to employ this technique, which was helped by his unmatched shoulder flexibility, allowed him to lower the world record eight different times in the 200 fly, becoming the first swimmer sub-1:55 in 2001 (1:54.92) before retiring with the record at 1:51.51 in 2009.
After winning the world title in 2001, Phelps defended the 200 fly crown in 2003, and followed up by winning Olympic gold in 2004, 2008 and 2016, adding a silver in 2012. After sitting out of the event at the 2005 World Championships, he won three more titles in 2007, 2009 and 2011.
Has anyone located a video of Phelps’ first world record yet?
I know it’s slightly off topic but I believe this remains a frustrating mystery in the swimming community and I would like it resolved.
https://swimswam.com/the-first-swim-that-really-meant-something-20-years-since-phelps-first-wr/#comment-884897
I’m so glad all of these armchair coaches think they are better at assessing Michael Phelps’ stroke than his coach of 20 years.
Bowman is clearly a great authority on what made MP’s stroke work *for MP*. But a “contribution” is something given to *others*. Bowman is a top expert on that too, but he merits less deference on that question than on the first one.
The only word I can ever use to describe watching MP swim fly is that his stroke seems to unfurl over the course of the 200.
I don’t know of anyone’s stroke over any distance since that I would describe in the same way.
First let me say Phelps is the unquestionable GOAT. While Phelps did this kick very well it isn’t his contribution. Swimmers all over the world kicked like this for at least 3 decades before Phelps. Check out Mark Spitz neh the whole heat of 200 flyers at the 1972 Olympics. All of which were using 2 kicks per arm cycle. Doc taught this back in his Science of Swimming book.
Phelp’s low profile, chin low hips high were his super power along with his incredible underwaters. In my opinion he would have swum faster utilizing some breathing pattern especially in the 100.
As for his 200 fly. He goes 4:03 400 IM and 49 100 fly how is… Read more »
Franck and Tom were both WR holders in 200 fly. Franck sometimes got DQ due to his kick. Tom could only continuously kick when he didn’t breath. Both Tom and Franck mostly used their arms.
I imagine Malchow *could* have added a second kick at the finish of his pull. There’s a reason for some swimmers to choose not to have a second kick, especially on breathing strokes: that second downkick brings the feet low, out of the body line, such that the swimmer’s body presents a “/” shape to the oncoming flow, which adds drag. And this effect is greater on breathing strokes, where the swimmer’s head is higher. Skipping a second downkick lets you keep your feet near the surface, behind the rest of the body, reducing drag. On non-breathing strokes, the head is lower and the hips higher, so it’s easier to keep a second downkick closer to the surface and more… Read more »
I always thought Tom had 2 kicks but there was a pause when he breaths versus a continuous kick when he wasn’t breathing.
I noticed that with Malchow’s legs that he does have a continuous kick when he wasn’t breathing. Unfortunately you can’t swim a 200 fly without breathing…
I’m young enough that this has just been how fly was taught to me and all I’ve ever observed in races, but that is a profound difference.
Murray Stephens was Michael’s coach until age 11. By that time Michael had set a slew of NAGs. Bob Bowman didn’t get to NBAC until 1996
Someone get Phelps’s “mommy and me” swim class instructor on the phone.
Uhh, Bowman is a GREAT coach, but I disagree entirely with this statement.
You disagree because Michael has made contributions bigger than this to the 2fly? Or because you think continuous kicking is not useful?
I just don’t think it’s the best way to swim a 200 fly; in my opinion, Phelps was able to swim this way due to his extreme flexibility and endurance.
Phelps has made great contributions to the sport, but I personally don’t think his stroke for butterfly is the ideal stroke for most people.
Flexibility and endurance are both things you can train. It’s almost as if you’re interpreting Bowman’s advice as the “secret sauce” to become an all-time great.
I understand that he was double jointed practically everywhere, and he didn’t create lactic acid like the average person, but that’s what separates an Olympian from a mid-major collegiate swimmer who is still considered VERY good.
I should have clarified that continuous kick is fine but I disagree with the amplitude of the kick and how leg-driven that stroke is, being that I think most swimmers would be better off not utilizing that much energy on their legs.
There’s lots of Olympians who aren’t as double jointed and also create more lactic acid than Phelps.
I’m genuinely curious and would like to ask you more, what do you think is the downside of continuous kicking, assuming enough fitness to maintain the kick?
I should have clarified that continuous kick is fine but I disagree with the amplitude of the kick and how leg-driven that stroke is, being that I think most swimmers would be better off not utilizing that much energy on their legs.
But, yes, the main reason is fitness. People will say that “you just need to train to be able to maintain that”, but you’re sacrificing other parts of fitness/training if you do that. Also, in my opinion, the vast majority of swimmers will not be able to maintain that leg kick the whole way. Other reasons are simply the amount of flexibility required is beyond what most people have and possibly even increased drag.
Downsides are (1) the energy spent on the second kick (though this might be offset by energy savings to the arms), and (2) the drag caused by the feet and lower legs at the bottom of the second kick as they go below the body line.
Your point is noteworthy, and probably true for swimmers with longer legs. Continually kicking does not require superior flexibility. But I see your point on endurance, definitely need that to kick all of a 200M fly. The biggest advantage to continually kicking in butterfly is the high hip position. A high hip position will reduce the amount of drag a swimmer creates, because of a more horizontal body position. However, if a swimmer can keep their hips near the surface during the arm recovery without the second kick, then they’ll likely save a lot of energy for the end of the race (see Mireia Belmonte 200 fly 2016 Rio for example). Phelps was a pioneer when he started to kick… Read more »
I should have clarified that continuous kick is fine but I disagree with the amplitude of the kick and how leg-driven that stroke is, being that I think most swimmers would be better off not utilizing that much energy on their legs.
Milak modeled his stroke straight from Phelps.
I should have clarified that continuous kick is fine but I disagree with the amplitude of the kick and how leg-driven that stroke is, being that I think most swimmers would be better off not utilizing that much energy on their legs.
I see many differences in Milak’s and Phelps’s strokes. I don’t understand why people say they are so similar.
I agree. What works for these in some ways unique and extremely talented people may not necessarily work for the majority of other people. Same way as if you ask an average person to swim breaststroke with the same tempo and power output as Adam Peaty. Should we learn from the top athletes? Absolutely! But blindly copy them will not work. Imho
Agreed. A notable example being Don Talbot note believing Ian Thorpe’s stroke was not ideal, saying Thorpe relied too much on legs/kicking. Keep in mind this was when Thorpe was miles ahead of the competition. Was Talbot correct? Probably for the vast majority of swimmers. For Thorpe? Maybe not given Thorpe’s feet are gargantuan.