drafting during swim?

Not trying to question the validity of your buddy's opinion, but is he a triathlete or does he have a lot of open water experience with large groups of people?  Drafting in the water is about reducing the amount of energy it takes to propel yourself forward (i.e. the person in front of you "breaking" the water), and you can see (if done correctly) a 20-30% reduction in energy spent.  ** Note that these are just numbers that I've read on other threads here and on ST, so take it for what its worth, I have no evidence to back these up.

I think drafting in the water can do two things, either reduce your energy spent, or allow you to hold on with a faster swimmer since they are breaking the water ahead of you.

Your friend is wrong, to put it bluntly.  In fact, drafting is even helpful in a pool.  One reason the American men won the 4x100 relay in the Olympics is because the French swimmer swam too close to the left lane line which allowed the American swimmer to get a small draft and edge him out at the wall.

It has even more significant advantages in open water when you get get right on someones feet or hip.

I am questioning the validity of your buddy's opinion.  It's not valid.  He is wrong.

Here are some numbers from a study published in the Official Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine...

The RESULTS found were as follows: Behind a passive lead swimmer, passive drag was significantly reduced by 20%, and behind an active lead swimmer, it was reduced by 9%. At the side of a passive lead swimmer, passive drag was significantly increased by 9%, and at the side of an active lead swimmer, it increased by 8%.

Oxygen uptake was significantly reduced by 25% behind a passive lead swimmer, by 11% behind an active lead swimmer, and only marginally changed at the side of a lead swimmer.

Effects of Drafting on Hydrodynamic and Metabolic Responses in Front Crawl Swimming

Edited by newleaf 2009-07-27 3:44 PM

There is definitly some benefit to drafting on the swim. 

If you are new to open water swimming, though, I wouldn't worry much about it.  If you happen to be swimming at a similar speed to someone near you, you'll benefit by swimming right behind that person, or to the side at his/her hip.  For most people, however, it isn't worth a fast acceleration to catch up to someone 10 yards ahead of you so you can draft off of him, or slow down and wait for a draft target to pass you so you can draft.  If it's convenient, draft; if not, don't worry about it. 

Brian

very well put! thanks

i look forward to drafting off my buddy next time!

Drafting in the water is like drafting on a bike. It enables you to swim at a faster pace and expend less energy doing so. Years of swimming practice proved this one, when I was the 2nd swimmer in the lane I could hold a faster pace for longer, when I was the lead swimmer in our lane I couldn't. Often in swim meet races our strategy was to move closer to a lead swimmer's lane to catch his wake. This is effective when you are at his hip. In OW it is more effective to get in right on the lead swimmer's feet and match his/her pace. You really need to be right on the swimmer, once you drop back a few feet you drop out of the draft zone. If you often touch the lead swimmer's feet you'll be right in the right spot - though you might tick somebody off doing so - so be prepared to get a hard kick in your face.

I don't agree with your friend that there is no benefit to drafting, however, I find in OW swims and triathlons I don't draft very often, for many reasons.

First of all, I prefer to swim in more clear water. To get drafting opportunities you need to be in more of a crowd than I like. Then, you need to find the right person to draft; not too slow and not too fast. This isn't always easy and it takes energy to find the right person. Then, that person needs to swim in a way that's easy to draft. If they hold a steady pace and a tight line, sure, draft off them. But more often than not they are ziz-zagging around, speeding up and slowing down and generally just getting in my way. It's not worth the effort to try to stay with them, especially if you sprint to catch up to them and then they slow down. In the worst-case scenario they aren't sighting well and could lead you off course. In some cases the amount of sighting required to stay with them isn't worth it.

It seems like every time I try to draft in a race I just end up giving up on the idea and swimming my own race.




Edited by econway 2009-07-27 4:02 PM

I'm sure it does, but I find that 80% of the people in the water are slower than I am... so finding someone to draft off it an issue.

Not to mention, I don't trust anyone's sighting ability.

At my 3 mile OWS recently, a pack of swimmers missed the finish line and swam to the boat dock... all because they were following some guy up front who wasn't sighting properly.

not only are the benefits visible by the amount of energy you save but if they are properly sighting you can get into a rhythm and trust they know where they are going and just watch their feet.

Never waste any energy sighting.

This user's post has been ignored.

Drafting is useful, BUT you have to find someone who is going the right speed for you. If you kill yourself trying to stay in a faster persons draft, it's not worth it. However, if you find someone who is going about as fast as you or maybe just a little faster and you can draft off them, then that can be a big help.

I was curious too. I didn't read the actual article. I too only have 2 OWS to my credit. The first one didn't count because my wave was first and I was the first one out of the water. The second though, was different. I found someone to draft off of. I got on the guys hip and it actually felt like I didn't have to pull. He was dragging me along.  To make sure he was a good candidate to draft from, I broke away and immediately had to start working again. He was swimming at my pace.  I did not feel that when I was behind someone.  Anyone else experience this? Maybe I was not close enough to his feet, I don't know. I didn't want to tap anyones feet.  Anyway, to me, it felt better to be at the hip.

X2 on basically everyone's post. Drafting in the swim is huge, but you have to position yourself right to truly get the benefit.

I'm going to have to heavily disagree with this one.
If you've ever spectated an OWS or looked around during one, you'll see that an alarming number of swimmers weave ALL over the place. Start reading race reports on this web site and you'll run into tons of swimmers who found themselves off course because they aren't great sighters. Sighting every X strokes will save you 10s or even 100s of yards in extra swimming by not going off course.

I've had people cut perfectly perpendicular at a 90 degree angle in front of me on a swim, totally clueless that they were swimming almost upstream and in the opposite direction they should have been. It's really in your best interest to learn to sight.
 

I don't have that problem, but I have found that 100% of the people I try to draft off are slower than me. I can never find the right feet.

X2 with Lisa.  I took two Tri-Newbys out for an OWS yesterday (as I have several times) one not a good swimmer at all, the other a decent swimmer, but awful at sighting.  We did 200M back and forth 4 times.  They reached the "finish line" at the same time every time.  The difference, awful swimmer was sighting, decent swimmer was not... I even joked when he arrived one time "How was the Bahamas?  Are you trying to catch the Gulf Stream?"

its difficult to draft in OW especially at races.  out of 8 sprint races i have done it successfully 2 times.

its hard to find the correct pace, someone that is sighting correctly. 

+1  I believe theoretically that swim drafting saves energy, but in execution it's rare.  I'm a "masters" (old) wave now.  Half way through a triathlon swim, I'm still chasing the fastest old guys, climbing over the slowest of the young guys, and getting passed by the fastest women.  So of course, as you would on a bicycle ride, I follow the pace booty (the hot chicks).  Don't be offended ladies, all one can see in a swim is the color of a swim cap when sighting and occasionally some feet.  On the bike, it's a different story ; )

Swim drafting is race legal.  And if it is really +20% benefitial, do two or three pros work together, and alternating pulls (paceline) and break away from the pack?

Back to my problem. So what I need to do is go out faster than my average sustainable pace, in order to find the feet of someone who will, all other things being equal, swim at 10% faster than my usual average pace, and swim on his toes, and even though it's 10% faster, because it's 20% easier, it should feel 10% easier, right? 

It's just like catching the tail of the lead pack in a century bike ride.  If you do not go out "too fast" (faster than your usual average) in order to hang with them (suck wheel), you won't see them again all day.  Right?

And if you extrapolate this, and fiqure 1/4 of the people in any wave are slow and know they're slow so they're on the back.  Then 1/4 are fast and know they're fast and are going out F A S T so they're on the front.  Then 1/4 (1/2 of the mid-pack) are just doing their own thing, but they're fresh at the start and they're pumped because THIS IS IT, RACE DAY, so they're going out too fast and will fade.  Then 1/4 (the other 1/2 of the mid-pack) have thought about this drafting thing and are determined to catch the feet of the elite.  When you add this up 3/4 of the wave are going out very fast and there will be a lot of attrition in the first 400 yards as the pretenders get sorted out.  Thus the rugby scrum at the start.  Right?

Bill

Swimming is about angles and pressure on the water-Its not like the air...

Could there be some benefit from drafting behind someone-Sure but it isnt proven-A lot of times people just like having someone to pace them in front so can feel less pressure and start to relax...

As an ex national level swimmer I think its a shame that so many people are on here writing about "facts" when their opinions are closer to "fiction"... Choppy water is not good for anyone so I would stay off someones side but you could follow someone so you dont have to sight so often...this may help!