There is no doubting the pedigree of coach Mel Marshall MBE, who guided Adam Peaty to his current World Record time of 56.88 in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke. Marshall’s ‘Project 56’ regime drove the success of the unique swimmer, who has now shaved 1.58 seconds off previous record-holder Cameron van der Burgh’s London 2012 Olympic Games time.
Marshall got used to the idea of incremental gains herself during her two Olympic Games and numerous medal-winning appearances for Great Britain at Commonwealth Games at World Championships, but she believes she may now have found the ultimate advantage in the shape of the Athlee camera and video feedback system.
Split screen instant replays are coaches’ power-up
“I’ve been utilizing Athlee at the top level now since I got hold of it at the start of 2022, and it’s just such a vital part of athletes’ feedback,” says Marshall. “The instant replay, split across a four-way split screen with 10, 30 or more seconds delay between each is such a user-friendly way of understanding and improving every skill. It’s such a powerful tool.”
Athlee’s split screen delays do away with the need for constant rewinding, meaning that coaches can catch errors or learning points and then cognitively drill improvements with swimmers before they go again, programming delays into the playback systems of between 10 and 60 seconds.
“It gives you that understanding of where they are in the water, what it looks like and what needs to shift,” says Marshall. “The majority of the actions are underwater, so having a camera that is easy to drop in and go in five minutes is priceless. With other cameras you’d be messing with the cables or the battery pack, setting up.”
Seeing those who are born to breaststroke
Marshall believes that Athlee is ideal for Peaty’s specialism of breaststroke, as so many of the details of the stroke are hidden from view during practice or racing. She also sees it as the most complex of strokes, with its lack of matching rhythm between arms and legs adding to its complexity.
“I always say that I think breaststroke is a born, not bred,” she says. “But I do think that it needs to be taught really well in terms of three things. You need to teach timing; you need to make sure you have the pull, kick, glide; and developing foot speed early on and having that whip of a kick developed within the stroke is really important. You’re looking for that return to line, taking that the propulsion phase, in terms of the pull and the press out, tuck into the corners, wrap the elbows and then, ultimately, the timing of the kick, returning the stroke to the line. Because that’s where you get the travel forward with breaststroke once you’ve taken the arm pull.”
Breaststroke breakdown
Marshall is keen to point out how the Athlee camera can capture and show her every aspect of the breaststroke, from start to finish, taking in each cycle of stroke and every aspect of a practice run or race. From entering the water to the very last touch, it allows her to analyse a form that is mostly executed beneath the water, and to improve each movement within a complete cycle of the breaststroke and every stage of a race.
“Starting with the ‘Magic V’ is really important,” she says. “Take the out sweep, stay connected with the water, wrap the fingertips round and then what you want to do is make sure you tuck into the corners with that stroke – that lovely bit at the bottom of the stroke that almost sits at a right angle, which is where you get that propulsion forward. You wrap the elbows through, then the hands travel through, back to the Magic V. You need to be almost 85% through that pull pattern before you initiate the kick, and then glide.”
This examination of every part of the cycle is vital for Marshall when she is developing swimmers, working on one aspect at a time and rehearsing a few small details from that part alone, recoding technique via repetition in the pool so that the swimmer can be their best.
“With Adam Peaty, I used to say he looked like a JCB eating up the water,” she says. “He was getting so much connection through key points in his stroke. Those who get the connection points in the stroke look higher on the water because they purchase well under the water. Even under fatigue they still look like they are moving rather than ‘sea horsing’, as I call it when breaststrokers get tired.”
Which breaststroker are you?
“I think there are two ways to do breaststroke,” says Marshall. “If you’ve got a long torso and shorter legs then making the glide last is best. If you have longer legs and a shorter torso then there’s an element of making the rate work for you. So you look at Adam and he’s a much higher rater than most people. Where he would kick, the timing of it and finding the line didn’t change. He just did it faster than anybody else.”
Despite her success with Peaty’s kick, Marshall is keen to point out that there is more to the stroke than leg and foot work. The gains to be had in working on the pull aspect of the stroke can be more than some may think.
“A lot of people would say breaststroke is 70% kick,” she says. “I would disagree with that. I would say there’s as much investment in the pull as the kick. If you watch footage from Adam underwater, he’s got a perfect timing with where his hands are, how much propulsion he gets out of his feet and the foot speed that he’s got available. He’s kicking his hands on to the next stroke, which is quite special. That is what took him to the 56.88.”
Creating the next Adam Peaty
When asked what take the next record holder up to and beyond Peaty’s amazing times, Marshall is keen to point back to the Athlee camera and its analytical advantages.
“I think the more you watch things, the more you analyse things,” she says. “Using the camera means I see things I had no idea were going on underneath the water, and little intricacies I would never have spotted if I didn’t have that instant visual slowdown of what’s going on. The more you watch humans, the more you see how different people are, the more you get a picture of how to make things better. Sometimes you don’t know what the problems are because can’t see them. The Athlee opens up all of those opportunities to see what the issues are in that space.”
If you want to find out more about how Athlee can help you see detail you’d otherwise miss, as well as giving you cues for training programmes then please visit www.athlee.com to book your short online demo.
NB: Mel Marshall’s participation in this interview is entirely independent, and she is not compensated by or affiliated with Athlee.
Athlee is a SwimSwam partner.
