Katie Ledecky TI Technique

19 year old swimming legend Katie Ledecky

 

Reach Below Sleek Body Front

66 year old TI Founder Terry Laughlin

 

Katie Ledecky has has had a busy week at the FINA World Swimming Championships in Budapest, which conclude this weekend.   So far she has won four gold medals, in the 400m and 1500m freestyles plus the 4 x 100 and 4 x 200 free relays. She also finished 2nd to world-record-holder Federica Pellegrini of Italy in the 200m free. Her final race, the 800m free, in which she is

A question we often hear is: “Does [prominent elite swimmer] swim with TI Technique?”

Our standard response is: “We take no credit for the technique of [prominent elite swimmer]. They learned it from their coaches and developed it over many years. Which is certainly true of Katie Ledecky

However: We strive continuously to refine TI technique and ensure that it’s on the cutting edge. We spend much time studying the technique of the world’s best swimmers—in all strokes—looking for aspects of their form that are not limited to those with youth or special athletic gifts, but are learnable by all.

In the screenshot at top from one of Katie’s races last month at the World Championship Trials, we can identify points of technique that are precisely the same as those we teach. Moving from front to rear, they are

  1. Her sloped leading arm with a flexed wrist, and hand below the deepest part of the body as she applies initial pressure on the water.
  2. Her ‘hidden’ (mostly submerged) head, aligned with her spine.
  3. Her left arm forward of her head, poised to enter the water, while right hand is still forward of her head.
  4. Her upper torso rotated OFF her stomach (not ON her side).
  5. Her left hip poised to drive down and propel her past her right-hand-grip.

Now compare with the screenshot of  66 y.o. TI Head Coach Terry Laughlin and ask yourself “Does Katie Ledecky swim with TI technique.” The correct answer is that TI teaches techniques that made her the best freestyler in the world.

You can learn all five of the technique points listed above in our 1.0 Effortless Endurance and 2.0 Freestyle Mastery downloadable Self Coaching Courses and Workshops.unknown