Why is Rebecca Soni So Fast?

If you've been reading the blog the past two years, you know that I am above all passionate about one stroke: breaststroke. So when Marc Randell posed the title of this blog to me in an e-mail, I couldn't help but respond. So, just how does Rebecca Soni do it?

First, I have to admit that the first time I watched Soni swim in person I was unimpressed. It was 2008 Olympic Trials, and she was swimming the 100 breaststroke. She went out fast but with erratic timing. It eventually caught up to her and she fizzled out the last twenty meters. She could, however, be forgiven some nerves in her first Olympic trials meet. She would later qualify in the 200 and well, since then she's been pretty darn good.

Soni's career is evidence both of her own determination and of the growing knowledge of how to coach the stroke, much of which we owe to her coach, David Salo. Before Soni, the typical elite female breaststroker in the US ascended to world class speeds by the beginning of high school. In 1996, 14 year old Amanda Beard was America's top breaststroker- Megan Jendrick (Quann at the time) would follow as a 16 year old in 2000. Soni was a junior national qualifier at age 14 but certainly not a world beater- nor was she at 16.

So how does she now regularly blow by Beard, Quann, Leisel Jones (Olympics at 15), Jessica Hardy (WR at 18) and more? Soni uses a stroke that is free from many of the inefficiencies that plague other top breaststrokers. We'll start with Jones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaryiyhbyEU

Watch specifically the close up starting at 3:31. Jones visibly descelerates as she finishes her pull. Her powerful kick means she still gets great distance per stroke but with every pull she is also bleeding speed that she has built up. You can also see at 3:36 how she doesn't even come remotely close to straightening her arms for a tight line at the conclusion of her stroke. Like many breaststrokers, Jones relies on a lot of brawn and fitness. Now lets watch Beard:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpEwY3ynZg8

There is a good close up of her stroke at 3:14. Beard has a tendency to overpull- that is she sweeps so wide and in that she creates lift. This looks very impressive, but lift upwards does very little to move you forwards in swimming. Now finally lets watch Soni:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwPY0pqv1pk

Soni is not without flaws, just like any swimmer. However, what Soni does so well and what has only gotten better over the last few years is timing. I couldn't find any embeddable footage from this past summer, but this race from last summers World Champ trials come close. We get a nice tight side shot of her at  the 1:08 mark.

Notice how even as she tires, Soni's legs are ready to kick when her pull moves to the recovery phase. In comparison to Beard and Jones, it may seem like Soni has very poor distance per stroke. There is no doubt in my mind- Soni does not pull or kick as hard as either of the other two. However, in breaststroke it is particularly true that as you put more power into a kick or pull, you also increase resistance. Rebecca Soni is the water bug of breaststrokes- she takes a compact, simple pull and kick and then gets in the only "good" body position breaststrokers ever reside in, the streamline following the conclusion of the arm recovery and kick. She is economy in motion- very little of her energy goes up or down- most of it goes forward.

Rebecca Soni is living evidence that proper breaststroke form is not built overnight or discovered by luck in 14 year old females. I look forward to continuing to watch her dominate opponents with this unassuming approach.