Summer McIntosh Used The Golden Mean To Win Gold In The 200 Fly

The French Swimming Federation has released detailed statistics on all the swimming finals at the Paris Olympics, and in this article, we will analyze the women’s 200-meter fly final.

• See the men’s 400 IM Breakdown Here
• See The men’s 200 Fly Breakdown Here
• See The men’s 200 Breast Breakdown Here
• See The men’s 200 IM Breakdown Here
• See The men’s 200 Free Breakdown Here
• See The women’s 100 Fly Breakdown Here

The women’s 200 butterfly was the event of Summer McIntosh‘s third medal. The race unfolded as expected, with a battle between the Canadian and the American Regan Smith, also challenged in the early stages by the Tokyo 2021 champion Zhang Yufei.

If I had to give just one reason why Summer McIntosh won the 200 butterfly in Paris, it would be because the girl knows the golden mean, how to balance. She skillfully managed her breathing, underwater work, and speed changes according to her own limits and sensations, without over or under performing based on external stimuli. Summer’s victory demonstrated her great sense of equilibrium and moderation.

From the graph below, you can already see the key points to analyze to understand the aforementioned phrase. For example:

• High speed applied by Zhang, which resulted in a sharp drop in the second quarter of the race.
• Summer McIntosh‘s third lap, the only one to maintain the same speed as the second 50 meters.
• The constant speed changes near the underwater phases of Regan Smith.

But let’s analyze it meter by meter

We will analyze the race by dividing it into two parts and focusing on certain details. In the first part, we’ll look at the non-swimming actions like the start and the underwater phases. In the second, we’ll focus on the swimming parts, the turn, and the finish.

NON-SWIMMING PHASES

Start

• • Despite the excellent start and underwater phase of Regan Smith, the American did not achieve the highest peak speed among the three medalists, approaching the over water segment with a speed of 2.84 m/s.

Underwater

• The American swimmers never disappoint when it comes to underwater phases; in fact, they were the only ones to swim 50 meters underwater.
• Regan Smith covered 26.5% of the race underwater, Alex Shackell 24%, compared to Summer McIntosh’s 18.5%.
• Despite this, the most efficient underwater phases were Summer McIntosh‘s ones, who swam with an average of 1.95 m/s underwater, and Zhang Yufei with 1.96 m/s, compared to the 1.88 m/s of Regan Smith.

SWIMMING PHASES

45-Meter Standings

1. Zhang Yufei 24.09
2. Summer McIntosh +0.33
3. Regan Smith +0.59

• • Just like in the 100m butterfly, Zhang Yufei emerges as the fastest in the early part of the race. With an excellent start and underwater phase, paired with a very reactive stroke, the Chinese swimmer touches the wall first with a few tenths of a second ahead of her competitors.
  • The disadvantage of the American swimmer Regan Smith is evident, as she loses two more tenths in the swimming phase over just 20 meters.

1st Turn and Push-off

65-Meter Standings (At the exit of the second underwater phase)

1. Zhang Yufei 42.53
2. Summer McIntosh +0.50
3. Regan Smith +0.86

95-Meter Standings

1. Zhang Yufei 55.67
2. Summer McIntosh +0.37
3. Regan Smith +0.66

• • Thanks to her turn, where she exits the underwater phase with a speed of 1.73 m/s, faster than her rivals, the Chinese swimmer Zhang Yufei increases her lead and reaches the halfway mark of the second length with a half-second advantage.
  • However, during these 30 meters, it’s an evidence that the Chinese swimmer is starting to lose speed significantly (this is graphically visible by following the blue line in the pic).
  • By the 100-meter flags, her advantage has shrunk.

2nd Turn and Push-off

115-Meter Standings (At the exit of the third underwater phase)

1. Summer McIntosh 1:08.15
2. Zhang Yufei +0
3. Regan Smith +0.28

125-Meter Standings

1. Zhang Yufei 1:14.67
2. Summer McIntosh +0.12
3. Regan Smith +0.52

145-Meter Standings

1. Summer McIntosh 1:27.64
2. Zhang Yufei +0.08
3. Regan Smith +0.45

• • The efficiency of the underwater phase is no longer the same for Zhang Yufei, who loses a tenth of a second just between the flags and the turn; and then is especially overtaken by Regan Smith during the underwater phase.
  • In the first swimming phase, as shown in the graph, Zhang tries to accelerate again and temporally takes the lead; however, it is clear that those were her last reserves of energy.
  • By the time she reaches the final turn, the Chinese swimmer is fading, and Summer McIntosh moves ahead with a 0.66-s advantage.

Final Turn and Push-off

165-Meter Standings (At the exit of the fourth underwater phase)

1. Summer McIntosh 1:40.03
2. Regan Smith +0.40
3. Zhang Yufei +0.85

In the final turn and underwater phase, Regan Smith sees the benefits of her powerful underwater swimming, covering 13.22m underwater and easily overtaking the Chinese swimmer, also cutting the gap to the Canadian in half.

Final Phase

195-Meter Standings

1. Summer McIntosh 1:59.83
2. Regan Smith +0.91
3. Zhang Yufei +2.03

• • The final 30 meters, like the last two laps, are unmatched by Summer McIntosh. The 17-year-old, who knew when to wait and accelerate, regained the tenths lost to the American, pulling almost a second ahead.
  • Summer’s speed between 165-195m is 1.52m/s.
  • At the finish, Regan Smith gains 0.1s on the champion, approaching the wall better, compared to the “short” finish of Summer McIntosh. Meanwhile, the Chinese swimmer Zhang Yufei had a much longer approach.

Final Results

1. Summer McIntosh 2:03.03 OR
2. Regan Smith 2:03.84
3. Zhang Yufei 2:05.09

Stroke and Breathing Analysis

• Summer McIntosh’s stroke efficiency is significantly superior to her competitors (1.84m/stroke).
• In the first lap, all three swimmers used the stroke cycle 1 head down – 1 breathing.
• From the second lap onwards, while Regan Smith continued with the same cycle, Summer McIntosh switched to the cycle 1 head down – 2 breathing.
• Zhang Yufei, on the other hand, breathed almost every stroke, keeping her head down only 3 or 4 times per lap.

CONCLUSION

Looking at the race overall, it can be said that Summer McIntosh generally maintained a higher speed than her competitors throughout the race. The only point where Regan Smith had a slightly higher speed than the Canadian was between 75 and 95 meters. However, the key to McIntosh’s victory and Olympic record was her management of the third and fourth laps: she was the only swimmer to touch and surpass the speeds maintained during the first two laps. Zhang Yufei swam very quickly until the first part of the third lap, but then struggled more and more in the last two laps.