LONDON — If projections hold, Missy Franklin of Centennial will prove at the Olympic Games that she’s the best backstroker in the world. The 17-year-old senior-to-be at Regis Jesuit High has the world’s top times in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke.
But what makes a good backstroker? How did Franklin record the best times in the world over the past year?
“No. 1, they’ve got to maintain that long access,” said her coach, Todd Schmitz. “Keep it long from fingertips to toes.”
“Long” and Franklin are in the same sentence a lot. At 6-foot-1, she has the length Schmitz talks about and is able to maintain that length throughout a 200-meter race. Any bob of the head, or unneeded rotation of the shoulder, could cost her a fraction of a second, and a possible medal.
“You watch a lot of swimmers who aren’t backstrokers, what happens is they start swimming like this, almost,” Schmitz said, raising his head forward from his shoulders to demonstrate. “Their head comes back and they’re looking back instead of having their head back and maintaining that natural body position.”
Schmitz said proper fundamentals in the backstroke make it an easier stroke than the freestyle for most swimmers.
“It’s easier to swim naturally like that,” Schmitz said. “Because then what happens is as soon as that head, which is a natural tendency, comes up, what do we do? We’re swimming uphill.
“People say, ‘What do you mean swimming uphill?’ Just watch if somebody’s swimming with their head up in freestyle. It’s like they’re trying to swim out of the water instead of swimming through it.”
How easy is the backstroke? Depends on whom you talk to.
Ryan Lochte, the former world-record holder in the 200 backstroke, said it’s the hardest stroke on his legs.
“Depends on who you’re talking to whether it’s easier or not,” Schmitz said. “I think Missy’s figured out that she can swim some easy backstrokes, but even when she swims some easy backstrokes she has those components to be in that control position.”
Franklin has long arms, long legs and big feet, all of which help but are no guarantee of success.
“Many people will say you have to be long, you have to be tall,” Schmitz said. “You know what? If you look at Ryan Lochte, he’s not as tall as Michael (Phelps), or Missy, but he’s a pretty darn good backstroker.”
