Torri Huske Uses New Breathing Pattern to Break 50 Fly American Record

2022 FINA WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Torri Huske has been on fire so far this week in Budapest, breaking the American Record in the 100 fly en route to a gold medal, finished on the podium in the 100 free and now has broken her second American Record of the week in the women’s 50 fly with a 25.38.

Following her breakthrough performance last summer, where she qualified for her first US Olympic team, Huske moved west to train at Stanford University with coach Greg Meehan, and the change is clearly paying dividends. In her post-race interview, Huske discussed how she changed her breathing pattern from her pre-Stanford days to help maintain a better rhythm for the 50 and helped her to take the second seed into tomorrow’s final.

In her 100 fly, Huske breathes every other stroke, while historically in the 50 she breathed much less frequently. Working with the Stanford staff, Huske and her coaches decided to prioritize rhythm over limiting breathing, and made the switch to breathe every other stroke, the same as her 100.

After today’s 50 fly semi, Meehan told SwimSwam that they don’t spend much time focusing on the 50 fly in her training. Instead, the focus is on her first 50 speed for the 100, and knowing that she can take out the 100 in 25.7 gives them confidence in that breathing pattern for the 50 as well, with just a slightly increased tempo.

Huske will have one more opportunity this week to display the change, with the women’s 50 fly final slated for tomorrow night. She enters tomorrow as the second seed behind Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom, the current World Record holder.

 

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zdhamme86
2 years ago

Although far from anything resembling elite, I find my rhythm and perform better breathing every stroke or every other stroke in fly. Just tested this theory in a race this past weekend breathing every 6 strokes in a 50 LCM fly and I’m almost certain I’d have gone faster breathing every two.

TomTom
2 years ago

Breathe in the 50? Interesting- Sarah Sjostrom hasn’t done that in years but the WR is getting old… at the same time she is the only one going sub25

Yabo
Reply to  TomTom
2 years ago

I feel like no breath is definitely the way to go if you train for it and can do it no breath. If you don’t it’s probably better to stick to something you’re used to. Just my two cents though

Beverly Drangus
2 years ago

I remember seeing an interview with Eddie Reese where he talked about the importance of minimizing breathing in fly and how doing so made a big difference for one of his swimmers (maybe schooling). Interesting how completely opposite approaches can work well for different people.

Beverly Drangus
Reply to  Beverly Drangus
2 years ago

Correction, Eddie is talking about Austin Staab in short course not taking a breath on the last lap, then transitions to how Schooling dropped time in the 100LCM by going from breathing every stroke to breathing one up one down (contrasting with Phelps who breathed every stroke). About 1:20 into the interview with Brett Hawke if anyone’s interested.

swimlikeafishdrinklikeafish
2 years ago

She should learn from Dressel and bury her head the 15m of her 100.

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  swimlikeafishdrinklikeafish
2 years ago

He buried his head so much he was a no show.

Fobby Binke
Reply to  Ol' Longhorn
2 years ago

🎤 drop

Dressel 46.8
Reply to  Ol' Longhorn
2 years ago

Well he won the 50 fly so…

Ferb
2 years ago

“We’re all faster when we keep our head down.”

-Eddie Reese

BadShoulder
Reply to  Ferb
2 years ago

Michael Phelps would like to have a word with you

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  BadShoulder
2 years ago

The amazing thing was the famous finish with Cavic, breathing every stroke right into the wall. No age grouper in the country would do that.

Yabo
Reply to  BadShoulder
2 years ago

Phelps didn’t really train sprint though, he just happened to be good enough to be better than most sprinters most of the time because of how good he is in general. He had very little raw speed until 2009 I feel like.

Ferb
Reply to  BadShoulder
2 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhpp0AIfSvQ

Eddie: “Michael Phelps can do his thing and get away with it. That doesn’t mean the other 99 out of 100 can do that.” (This was right after Texas put six up in the A-final of the 100 fly at NCAA’s.)

Yikes
Reply to  Ferb
2 years ago

Yeah I guess it depends on the person. Alex Walsh breathes every stroke and says she’s faster and smoother that way, seems to work for her!

oxyswim
Reply to  Yikes
2 years ago

I think Alex Walsh is only faster that way because that’s how she swims all of her fly in training. And as someone who races the 200 in SC, and the 400 IM that makes sense. If the 50 fly was a focus for her and she spent a lot of time working on that event specifically, I think she would see an eventual shift.

Henry Ford
2 years ago

Interesting strategy