How The Elite Race The SCY 200 Free Volume 1: The Data, The Art, The Science

Courtesy: Doug Cornish, the founder of Swimpler. Follow Swimpler on Substack here.

Introduction: Swim coaches are incredible problem solvers. However, they struggle to overcome obstacles due to a lack of accessible, actionable information.

In my 23-year coaching career, I’ve had many questions to which the answer required some research. In my post-coaching career, I simplify complex swimming concepts for delivery to the masses through my business, Swimpler.

This is the first installment.

HOW THE ELITE RACE THE SCY 200 FR – A SERIES

THE DATA, THE ART, THE SCIENCE – Volume 1

That night I woke up in a panic and shot straight up in bed. My first meet as a coach was the next day: a swimmer was going to ask me how to swim a 200 Freestyle. After 20 minutes, a yellow notepad contained 12 different ways that I recalled coaches instructing me to swim the race. I wasn’t confident in any of the suggested race strategies, and I coached my first meet feeling like a fraud not “knowing” the answer.

I wanted to know the truth, not regurgitate what a coach told me once. My solution was to study the fastest SCY 200 freestylers. Over several years in the early 2000s I charted the splits of the top-8 swimmers at NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Championships. What I found was a distinct and repeated pattern of splits – revealing a strategy aligned with what we know about energy systems.

Our Covid downtime allowed me to replicate the data set, which currently holds all A-Final splits from 2015-2025.

THE DATA

1. The data is only from the A-Final at the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Championships
2. To determine the Best/First 50 ratio, I only included best 50s that occurred either at conference or NCAA championships of the same season.
3. The data is the average of all splits from 2015-2025 NCAA A-Final Swims.

Women 200 FR

• 1st 50 = 1.92 seconds slower than best 50
• 2nd 50 = 1.85 seconds slower than 1st 50
• 3rd 50 = 0.30 slower than 2nd 50
• 4th 50 = 0.14 slower than 3rd 50
• Worst-First 50 = 2.42

Men 200 FR

• 1st 50 = 2.04 seconds slower than best 50
• 2nd 50 = 1.91 seconds slower than 1st 50
• 3rd 50 = 0.41 slower than 2nd 50
• 4th 50 = 0.26 slower than 3rd 50
• Worst-First 50 = 2.61

• CLICK HERE to access the data set.

THE ART

During a myriad of conversations with other coaches on this data set, one coach gave me what has held up to be the most accurate and helpful acronyms for race strategy – CBAR.

I apologize for not recalling who gave it to me. I would give a major shout-out if I did.

• C – Control
• B – Build
• A – Attack
• R – Race

1st 50 = CONTROL

Control your emotions, technique, and speed such that your first 50 is approximately 2 seconds slower than your best 50. Avoid speed-limiting mistakes, and do not sprint the first 50.

2nd 50 = BUILD

Begin to build your speed over the second 50 such that your split is within 2 seconds of your first 50. The effort to build should be spread out over the whole 50. Two of the most taxing mistakes in swimming include a sudden decrease or a sudden increase of speed.

3rd 50 = ATTACK

After you’ve patiently built to “attack speed” you reach the most pivotal moment of the race. Understanding this moment is critical, and it is explained in more depth below. The details of your swimmer’s “attack” should be specific to their needs, strengths, and weaknesses and include helpful cues. While some swimmers may shorten their stroke, others may decrease their kick involvement as a response to the fatigue stimuli.

ATTACK CUE EXAMPLES:

• Increase kick tempo during the 3rd 50 to support your desired higher stroke rate on the last 50.
• Keep head low, enabling the hips to remain in contact with the surface, minimizing the drag.

4th 50 = RACE

Everyone is hurting in the 4th 50. It’s time to shut off the strategy and race. If you cut corners when you hurt in practice, it will show here in the form of poor technique response to fatigue stimuli.

THE SCIENCE

SIMPLIFIED ENERGY SYSTEM PHASES OF THE 200 FR

Phase 1: 0-6 Seconds (1st 50)

• ATP-PCr fuels the first 6-8 seconds of a race.

Phase 2: 6-10 Seconds (1st 50)

• ATP-PCr system depletes.
• Anaerobic glycolysis up-regulates to replace the diminishing energy production of the ATP-PCr system.

Phase 3: 10-40 Seconds (1st-2nd 50)

• Anaerobic glycolysis is the primary energy system.

Phase 4: 40-60 Seconds (2nd-3r 50)

• Between 30 and 40 seconds of the 200 FR the output of the anaerobic system begins to diminish.
• The aerobic energy system up-regulates to meet the demand amidst diminishing returns from the anaerobic system.

Phase 5: 60 Seconds to the end of the race (3rd-4th 50)

• Though the aerobic energy system is the primary energy system during the final phase, it’s critical to note the presence and impact of the endocrine system.

ALL PHASES: ENDOCRINE SYSTEM INTERACTION

At all points of a race, the endocrine system can boost or suppress the energy being produced. It plays a big role during races, especially the end, but it is RARELY discussed and seldom factors into race strategy design.

If you are passing someone who is fatiguing, your body will release energy-boosting neurotransmitters. If you are fatiguing and getting passed, your negative thoughts will trigger the release of energy-sucking neurotransmitters.

DEEPER EXAMINATION OF THE THIRD 50

During the 3rd 50 the aerobic energy system is attempting to replace the declining output of the anaerobic energy system. There are three important and related points to be made here:

1. Going out too hard will hasten the depletion of the anaerobic energy system, making the transition incredibly difficult. The larger the energy need that you establish early, the larger the void to be filled by the aerobic energy system during this phase. The aerobic energy system has limitations of which swimmers become painfully aware during the 3rd 50.
2. Failing to accurately target the transition from anaerobic to aerobic energy system in training is a major factor in the difficulty that swimmers experience in this race. The transition is specific to the duration and intensity of the effort, which needs to be practiced. If you are not training race strategy and execution at the EXACT duration and intensity that will be experienced in the race, you are failing to program the energy system transfer and delivery, leaving your swimmer inadequately prepared for the race.
3. The “bonk” that swimmers feel is the aerobic energy system failing to up-regulate sufficiently to replace the energy that had been provided by anaerobic glycolysis. It is most often due to a combination of poor strategy and ineffective training.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The 200 freestyle isn’t a mystery. It’s a puzzle—one that the best swimmers solve through smart strategy, intentional training, a deep understanding of how the body fuels performance, and elite technique. By studying patterns, energy systems, and the art of racing, we can move beyond guesswork and toward consistent, replicable excellence.

This was Volume 1 in an ongoing series on how the best swim the SCY 200 FR. In future installments, I’ll dive deeper into:

• A teachable system for race strategy
• Gender-based trends and split differences
• What separates the sub-1:30s from the rest
• And a breakdown of Luke Hobson’s 7 x sub-1:30 swims