Ian Thorpe's Stroke
By Rich Strauss

This is a frame-by-frame of Ian Thorpe's freestyle.

Pay particular attention to:

• Frames 5 and 6: look how aggressive his catch is, in particular how quickly he goes from full extension to bent elbow. THAT, my friends, is probably 75% of swimming propulsion, getting that one little bit nailed.
  
  
• Frames 11 and 12: look at how fully extended his body is, and his position relative to his left shoulder. He is fully rotated and the inside of his shoulder is probably touching his jawline.