The backstroke flip turn done right: count from the flags, roll past vertical onto the breast, somersault, push off on your back and 15 m underwater.
The backstroke flip turn is the trickiest turn in swimming — because you arrive on your back but can only somersault cleanly over your front. That is exactly why an exception rule exists: on the last approaching action you may turn past vertical onto the breast and initiate the turn with a continuous arm pull (single or in the double-pull variant).
The error many switchers make: they roll onto the breast too early and effectively swim two front-crawl strokes — that is against the rules. What is allowed is exactly one continuous transition from the back over the breast into the somersault, with no separate extra stroke.
This guide builds the turn cleanly: the approach and counting, the roll-over, the somersault, the push-off on the back and the transition into the 15-metre underwater phase. Wall contact and the underwater phase are among the measurable determinants of backstroke performance — a fast turn is pure race speed, not a formality.
As soon as you swim under the backstroke flags (5 metres from the wall), you start the run-in and count your strokes to the wall — you know the number from your orientation training. This lets you hit the wall at full speed without braking or peeking.
On the last stroke you roll under control around the long axis onto your breast while this one arm continues the pull. This is the only moment in backstroke where you may be on your breast. The transition is a single fluid movement, not additional front-crawl swimming.
Straight from the front position you go into the compact forward somersault as in the crawl turn: chin to chest, tight tuck, fast rotation. The smaller you make yourself, the faster you spin. The hands help to pull the body around.
Place the feet shoulder-width on the wall and push off powerfully — here you are back on your back, as the rule for leaving the wall requires. In the streamline (hands stacked, arms by the ears) you shoot flat and deep away from the wall.
Move straight into the dolphin kick on your back and hold the tight streamline. You may stay submerged up to 15 metres; time the breakout to full speed. A good turn is only finished at surfacing, not at wall contact.
The turn brings high speed toward the wall — calibrate the distance slowly first so you do not hit your feet or head on the wall during the somersault. Practise the turn in a free lane without oncoming traffic. Anyone who does not yet have a solid crawl flip turn learns that first before adding the roll-over. With dizziness or loss of orientation after the somersault, take the pace off and automate the movement pattern dry or slow first.
Train the timing of the roll-over in isolation: swim toward the wall, roll onto the breast on exactly the last stroke and briefly freeze before you somersault — this teaches you to feel the transition as one movement and not break it into two front-crawl strokes. Combined with your counted flag distance, the turn becomes the second acceleration zone in the race instead of a brake. You gain time not in the lane but at the wall.
Yes, but only as part of a continuous turning action. The rule allows rolling past vertical onto the breast on the last approaching action and initiating the somersault with a continuous arm pull. What is not allowed is two separate front-crawl strokes before the wall — it is one continuous transition, not front-crawl swimming.
Via the backstroke flags and your counted strokes: the flags hang 5 metres from the wall, and from there you count your fixed stroke number. This gets you there at full speed without braking or lifting your head. This calibration is half the battle of every good backstroke turn.
Yes. The rule requires you to leave the wall on your back. So you roll onto the breast only briefly for the somersault, plant the feet and push off clearly on your back again. A push-off on the breast or side leads to disqualification.
Up to 15 metres, then the head must surface — the same rule as after the start. Exploit the underwater phase with a clean dolphin kick on your back, because it is often faster than over-water swimming. But time the breakout clearly before the 15-metre mark, or disqualification looms.
Underwater Dolphin on Your Back: the Fifth Stroke