Track start, flip turn, and the 15-meter underwater phase: sequential power, the hole principle, and dolphin kicks to claw back every tenth of a second.
## Introduction Why do you lose race time in the moments you're not even swimming? Honest answer: start, turn, and underwater phase often decide the race — not the stroke technique in between. Your top speed in the entire race happens right as you enter the water off the start, and your second-highest speed comes off the wall after a turn. Skip maximizing these phases and you're giving away tenths of a second before you've even taken a stroke.
On sprint distances especially, these exact transitions often make the whole difference between the podium and the middle of the pack. If you've already perfected your stroke technique, this is where you find your next big chunk of time — not in the water, but in the air and just below the surface.
## What You Need - Starting block with wedge: an adjustable rear foot wedge is non-negotiable - Racing goggles: flat, hydrodynamic profile, tight seal so they don't shift on impact - Sufficient water depth: at least 1.8 meters — don't practice in anything shallower
### 1. Starting Position: Track Start with Wedge On "take your marks," one foot grips the front edge of the block with your toes, the other rests on the rear wedge. Your hands also grip the front edge, your center of mass shifts back, head down, neck neutral. Keep your muscle tension high — every tenth of a second of reaction time counts.
### 2. The Launch: Sequential, Not Simultaneous On the starting signal, your hands yank your body forward instantly into the launch angle. The trick: the rear leg explodes off the wedge first, immediately followed by the front leg pushing off the block edge — sequential, not simultaneous. Your arm swing forward accompanies the launch and gets stopped precisely at the right moment.
### 3. Flight and Entry: The Hole Principle In the air, you form an extended rocket position, head tucked between your upper arms, chin to chest. The ideal entry angle is 10 to 20 degrees — flatter than you'd think. With the hole principle, your hands, head, torso, and legs slide through the exact same point on the surface, like passing through a single hole, keeping frontal resistance to a minimum.
### 4. Flip Turn and Explosive Wall Push Approaching the wall, your last stroke stays close to your body, your chin presses hard to your chest, and your torso rotates extremely fast around its horizontal axis. Both feet land on the wall simultaneously, knee angle around 90 degrees. The push-off is explosive — you're briefly on your back in streamline, then roll straight back to your front.
### 5. The 15-Meter Underwater Phase and Breakout After both starts and turns, you're allowed to swim fully submerged for up to 15 meters — use every bit of it. There's no wave resistance underwater, so tight, whip-like dolphin kicks driven from your core and hips are faster than swimming on the surface. The breakout — surfacing into your first stroke — has to be timed to the millimeter: only once the push's momentum drops to your normal race pace do you break the surface with a powerful first stroke. Important: don't breathe on that first stroke, or you kill the momentum you just built.
## Common Mistakes - Pushing off with both legs at once: erases the entire advantage of the track start and costs you distance immediately. - Too flat a flight arc: leads to a belly-flop entry with massive braking effect — almost all your launch energy is gone instantly. - Lifting your head on the breakout: breathe too early or lift your head on that first stroke and your hips drop, abruptly killing the speed you built underwater.
## Safety Notes Start dives with a steep entry angle up to 20 degrees risk serious neck injury if the water isn't deep enough — never practice these in shallow or non-swimmer areas. Never hyperventilate (excessive fast, deep breathing) before a start dive or long underwater phase — it can trigger a life-threatening blackout underwater with no warning breathing urge beforehand. Always have an experienced coach check new start variations before you practice them at race pace — the flip turn especially forgives very little when the execution goes wrong.
## Pro Tip The secret to a fast start isn't in your legs — it's in your hands and arms. Elite swimmers focus, on the signal, not primarily on the leg push but on yanking themselves forward off the block edge with their hands as fast as possible. That hand-pull shifts your center of mass forward before the legs even push — so your legs end up pushing against a body that's already moving. That maximizes horizontal acceleration massively.
### Why is the track start faster than the grab start? In the track start, your feet are positioned front-to-back instead of side-by-side. That extends your acceleration path and allows sequential extension of both legs — which measurably shortens reaction time compared to the classic grab start with parallel feet.
### How deep does the water need to be for start dives? At least 1.8 meters, ideally more depending on federation and pool rules. Only practice start dives in a designated deep-water swimmer area, never in shallow water — the neck injury risk is otherwise too high.
### What does the "hole principle" mean for water entry? Your hands, head, torso, and legs should enter the water through the exact same point on the surface, as if sliding through a single hole. That minimizes frontal resistance on entry and preserves the speed you built during the dive.
### Why can't I breathe right on the breakout? Your first stroke after the underwater phase needs full power to hold your surface speed. Breathe during it and you inevitably lift your head, your hips drop, and you kill exactly the momentum you worked hard to build underwater.
### What's the maximum allowed underwater distance after a start or turn? Under most competition rules (like German Swimming Federation regulations), up to 15 meters fully submerged is allowed before your head must break the surface. Maxing out those 15 meters is a real competitive edge at elite level, since resistance is lower underwater than on the surface.
### How often should I train starts and turns separately? Schedule at least one to two sessions a week dedicated specifically to start and turn work, separate from regular distance swimming. These movements need isolated repetition under fresh conditions, since they come out technically very different under fatigue than they do at the start of a session.
Pacing & Zones: CSS and Polarized Training