Elite athletes appear different – physically – from the rest of us; they seem to have been ‘born to greatness.’ For instance, the world’s best freestylers are much taller than average, with supple joints, broad shoulders and narrow hips. Their bodies seem designed to maximise power, minimise drag and produce naturally superior stroke length. They also receive the best coaching and have time to train many more hours per week, to build upon those physical advantages.
But elites also share a less obvious advantage over average athletes: studies have shown they possess far greater kinesthetic, or sensory, awareness. And while elites in all sports have superior self-sensing ability, it rises to its highest level in swimming. This is because swimmers are immersed in a sensory-rich environment, in which every square millimetre of skin receives feedback from the water. We literally swim in a ‘sea of information’ which offers potentially invaluable guidance on how to increase efficiency. Coaches call this ‘feel for the water’ and speak of it as a little-understood quality that some athletes just have from birth and others… well, those unfortunates just lack it.