Swimming in Tune: How To Explain Our Sport To A Music Lover

A Letter to a Musician Friend

Dear Friend, today I dare you: I’ll try to spark your curiosity about swimming in just a few words.

I know you’re more into music than sports, so here’s a bold statement for you: did you know that Leon Marchand and Taylor Swift actually have more in common than you might think? Okay, you probably have no idea who Leon Marchand is, right? Let’s rewind a bit.

Let’s go back to August 2024, during the exciting days of the Paris Olympics. Throughout the year, swimming artists like Leon Marchand, Summer McIntosh, and Torri Huske climbed all the world ranks and got ready for the most important performance of their lives.

The stage set for it was the La Defense Arena, the very same stage where Taylor Swift performed during the Paris dates of her Era’s Tour.

Inside the arena the atmosphere was surreal. The 15,000 spectators who had come from all over the world were shouting, whistling, and singing as they waited for the concert race to begin. International artists walk the runway toward the instrument that gives voice, life, and the start of their performances. Not a microphone this time, but the starting block.

No countdown, no pre-chorus, just a “Take your marks—go!” to kick off each performance-race. Just as fans listen in silence, with their ears tuned to recognize the first note of a song, spectators fall silent before the start of a race. Then it’s a crescendo of speed, emotions, and intensity that ends up, amidst the cheers of the crowd, with the final lap that locks in the result. The final lap is a bit like the final chorus of your favorite song: on one hand, you can’t wait for it because it’s the best moment, the most heartfelt, the one you’ll sing at the top of your lungs; but on the other hand, you know the song—and the race—will end with it. So you watch and listen, joining the entire La Defense Arena as it sings in unison the name Leon Marchand, hoping perhaps for an encore.

But here’s the twist: swimmers can’t do the typical fake-exit of musicians, coming out of the water and returning to entertain the crowd after a few minutes. Yet, Leon Marchand might disagree.

Because Marchand released an album with five tracks in Paris, all certified masterpieces, including four gold records – medals, but also (Olympic) records for real.

His album wasn’t just celebrated for its beautiful tracks but also for his ability to switch genres effortless. Here are his most iconic tracks:

  • 400 IM – the classic opener everyone knows by heart, featuring an insane solo.
  • 200 Butterfly – a progressive track with an unexpected final chorus (just like Leon’s comeback against Kristof Milak in the last lap).
  • 200 Breaststroke – can you think about Post Malone who can switch from trap to country in less than an hour? That’s exactly what Marchand did when he won this race, less than two hours after clinching the 200 butterfly.
  • 200 IM – like the 400 IM, it’s the typical concert closer, where everyone knows what’s coming, but the final chorus still gives you goosebumps.

So, when the crowd cheered for an encore after his 200 butterfly win, Leon stepped out of the pool only to dive back in for another hit: the 200 breast, yet another gold record.

THE IMPORTANCE OF TIME AND RHYTHM

If I haven’t convinced you yet, let me show you something else we have in common.

You probably thought only singers and musicians cared about time, don’t you? I trust you know how important time is for athletes like swimmers, but you might not realize that going faster isn’t their only concern.

As I said, swimmers are like artists—they also follow a rhythm, a coded language based on their genre and instrument. In their case, the main instrument is their body, and the genres are the different swimming strokes. Depending on the phase of the race and on the knowledge of their body, swimmers develop different rhythms.

For both, there’s the concept of tempo—the number of steps, beats (bpm), strokes, notes, or kicks completed within a given time frame. This is the basis of every performance, musical or aquatic, providing the skeleton and setting a fixed structure to follow. For example, a punk song often has a high bpm (140-200 bpm), just as a sprint freestyle event, like the 50m, will feature high stroke rates (50-60 strokes/min).

Rhythm, however, is the internal structure of a composition. It’s the pattern of movement relative to both musical genres or swimming strokes. For instance, punk music’s rapid, it has repetitive chords and syncopated drumming which evoke agitation, while classical music is more soothing. Similarly, every stroke has its rhythm, like for fly, where each cycle includes one arm stroke and two kicks, or freestyle, where the rhythm varies by event (a long-distance swimmer will kick less per stroke compared to a sprinter).

Finally, there’s the timing, the ability of staying on beat—the precision with which a musician or swimmer executes their movements at the right time.

For swimmers, this means optimal coordination of different body parts to perform their strokes effectively. Examples include breaststroke, where perfect timing means kicking precisely as the arms finish their pull and extend forward, or butterfly, where the two kicks must align with the arm movements. Similarly, freestyle breathing should occur just as the hand begins its push phase, clearing space for the head to rotate.

Just as a musician off-beat ruins a song—something everyone notices—a swimmer off-rhythm is just as apparent to expert or novice eyes alike, resulting in a significant loss of efficiency.

WHEN TWO WORLDS COLLIDE – SWIMMING PLAYLIST

To wrap up, let’s meet halfway. I’ll let the singers, who speak your language, show you that swimming and music are just two worlds that can indeed collide.

  • FlyCody Simpson
  • The Swimming Song – Loudon Wainwright III
  • I Go Swimming – Peter Gabriel
  • Backstroke – Dizzy
  • Channel Swimmer – 10cc
  • Olympic Swimming – Andy Matt

Listen to the playlist here

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Soapy
5 days ago

what about My Suit Fell Down When I Dove In by Soapy

LebronFan54
5 days ago

LebronFan54 has never heard of these songs.

Butterfly swimmer
5 days ago

How about Swim by Chase Atlantic?

Reilly
5 days ago

What about Swimming Pools by Kendrick Lamar?