v = (Pm*Ep)/D
At first this strange formula would appear to have nothing to do with swimming in a pool, but science tells us that a swimmer’s speed is studied and measured based on these letters; just for fun, let’s try and interpret them and we will see they have something to teach us.
(v) SPEED
v stands for swim speed and so we are talking about the average distance travelled over a set period of time; to make that clearer, if somebody swims 100 metres freestyle in a minute, they will cover 1.666 metres per second or travel at 6 km/h, which would be considered a good walking speed on dry land, but is close to the speed of a small motor boat in the water..
However, it is difficult to talk about average speed in swimming, because the power coming from a swimmer’s limbs makes them move forward in continual “accelerations and decelerations” and… if we take into consideration, for example, the start and turns, their top speed is over double their average speed in a race. This explains why a swimmer has just one goal in a race: “to slow down as little as possible”.
(Pm) MECHANICAL POWER
Pm (mechanical power) is the power a swimmer “exerts” in the water. In this case, it is only logical to make comparisons with a machine. Power…
