It is said that you are born a breaststroker, not made.
A bit like goalkeepers in football, they are seen as different, a breed apart.
Olympic and world 200m champion Daniel Gyurta happily admits breaststrokers are “a bit oddball”.
Not for them the preening, swagger and stardust of the freestyle sprints. Instead, laid-back seems to be a popular description.
Olympic 100m champion Cameron van der Burgh agrees you are born to swim breaststroke.
“I think probably, yes. I think the stroke is so different to anything else, we can’t race in freestyle or any of the other strokes and the other guys can’t race in our stroke.
“I think the mentality is so different… the personalities are completely different.”
Fellow 100m Olympic champion Ruta Meilutyte adds: “I don’t think I chose to be a breaststroker, it just happened I guess. I just started to love that stroke.”
Maybe one of the things that sets them apart is the emphasis on technique: if one element falters, the entire stroke is affected.
Ruta says: “I just really focus on the feel of the water and how I engage every part of my body to move as efficiently as possible in the water.
British swimmer Adam Peaty had a stellar 2014 when he didn’t so much step on to the international stage…
