Summer Paralympic Games Paris 2024

[Gianlu33 5,920]

Assunta Legnante

A true legend! Another gold for her amazing career.

[heywoodu 16,434]

Something I just started wondering and together with a colleague couldn't really get a clear answer to: what exactly makes blind swimmers slower than non-blind swimmers?

 

Like, take a sport like powerlifting, where you lay on your back and lift a weight up. If you're blind, that should make zero difference for the sport, whereas in for example running, alpine skiing or cycling it's pretty obvious how a blind person is slower, what with the corners and all.

 

But in swimming, once one gets over the of course considerable mental barrier of being able to swim straight and daring to go 100%, what makes one slower than a non-blind swimmer, is there some physical aspect to that as well?

 

Definitely not meant to minimize performances, so I tried to be careful with my wording, just genuinely curious as to how that works  

 

 

[Orangehair43 312]

I wonder if the USA will suffer in the decades to come as international adoptions are more and more restricted. Sevreal of the USA’s most important Paralympians were international adoptees. 

[Gianlu33 5,920]

Frist medal ever for Italy in para-powerlifting

[Grassmarket 4,249]

2 hours ago, heywoodu said:

Something I just started wondering and together with a colleague couldn't really get a clear answer to: what exactly makes blind swimmers slower than non-blind swimmers?

 

Like, take a sport like powerlifting, where you lay on your back and lift a weight up. If you're blind, that should make zero difference for the sport, whereas in for example running, alpine skiing or cycling it's pretty obvious how a blind person is slower, what with the corners and all.

 

But in swimming, once one gets over the of course considerable mental barrier of being able to swim straight and daring to go 100%, what makes one slower than a non-blind swimmer, is there some physical aspect to that as well?

 

Definitely not meant to minimize performances, so I tried to be careful with my wording, just genuinely curious as to how that works  

 

 

Try it for yourself.  Do you go faster when you are in the middle of the pool on your own or when you at the very edge and constantly worrying about hitting the wall or brushing against the lane divider, colliding with your neighbour etc?

[heywoodu 16,434]

7 minutes ago, Grassmarket said:

Try it for yourself.  Do you go faster when you are in the middle of the pool on your own or when you at the very edge and constantly worrying about hitting the wall or brushing against the lane divider, colliding with your neighbour etc?

That's what I meant with the mental barrier. Like for me, as someone who is not used to swimming blind, there is no way I'd dare to go as fast as I can when swimming blind. But at some point, at this kind of level, I kind of assume that due to thousands of hours of training, this has become so much 'second nature' to them, that they're not that worried anymore about whether or not they are swimming straight, which got me wondering what exactly makes them be for example 10-15 seconds slower in the 100m breast stroke.

[Grassmarket 4,249]

8 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

That's what I meant with the mental barrier. Like for me, as someone who is not used to swimming blind, there is no way I'd dare to go as fast as I can when swimming blind. But at some point, at this kind of level, I kind of assume that due to thousands of hours of training, this has become so much 'second nature' to them, that they're not that worried anymore about whether or not they are swimming straight, which got me wondering what exactly makes them be for example 10-15 seconds slower in the 100m breast stroke.

I can only think it's going straight because when you train to that extent you're surely counting strokes and not worried about the wall so much.

[heywoodu 16,434]

1 hour ago, Grassmarket said:

I can only think it's going straight because when you train to that extent you're surely counting strokes and not worried about the wall so much.

Exactly. And judging by how they race, most of the time they're going straight, or at least not with such curvature that they'd lose 10+ seconds.

[heywoodu 16,434]

ChatGPT with a few answers as well  (including most mentioned things)

 

Spoiler

You're right that the turns, although they have an impact, explain only a small part of the total time difference, especially since there is only one turn in a 100-meter race. Other factors have a much larger impact on the 10 to 20-second difference. Here's an overview of the factors likely to have the biggest influence:

1. Swimming in Straight Lines

Swimming in a straight line without visual cues is probably one of the main reasons for the time loss. Non-disabled swimmers can orient themselves by following lines on the bottom of the pool and swim the most efficient route. Blind swimmers, on the other hand, rely on their sense of feel and rhythm, which can cause them to deviate slightly from a straight line and potentially swim more meters. Even small deviations add up over the race, leading to cumulative time loss.

2. Loss of Optimal Speed and Pace

Without visual feedback, it’s harder for blind swimmers to precisely control their pace and stroke rate. Non-disabled swimmers can continuously adjust their speed based on visual information, such as seeing where they are in the pool, how far away their competitors are, and how close they are to the turn or finish line. Blind swimmers lack this feedback, making it harder to maintain optimal pacing. This can lead to slower intermediate times and less control over speeding up at key moments during the race.

3. Efficiency of Technique and Timing

Visually able swimmers can constantly adjust their swimming technique and timing. For example, in backstroke or butterfly, swimmers often use visual reference points to coordinate their strokes and breathing. Blind swimmers have to rely completely on feel for this timing, which can be less efficient. Even a small loss in technical efficiency due to mistimed strokes or breaths can translate into significant time loss over an entire race.

4. Energy Conservation Due to Caution

Because blind swimmers don’t have visual information, they may conserve slightly more energy for uncertain moments, such as approaching the turn or reaching the finish line. This means they may sometimes push less aggressively than non-disabled swimmers, who know exactly where they are and are confident in their surroundings. This caution can lead to a slightly more conservative and therefore slower race.

5. Tapping and the Turn

While tapping and the turn do have a small effect on time (usually a second or so), it adds on top of the other factors that contribute to time loss.

Conclusion

Of these factors, swimming in a straight line and loss of optimal speed and pacing are likely the most significant causes of the large time difference between blind and non-disabled swimmers. These two aspects can affect speed throughout the entire race, leading to cumulative time loss, much more than just the turn alone.

 

[Grassmarket 4,249]

Getting down to results in Blind Tandem races -  v  for the guys,  v  for the ladies.