By Delaney Lanker, Swimming World Magazine College Intern (From the Archive)
I once had a coach tell me that butterfly was the easiest stroke. At the time, I just looked at him and rolled my eyes. But, here I am years later, a Division I butterflier, and I might have come to believe him. This means I must have gone crazy right? But after endless 100 and 200 butterfly sets and constantly sore shoulders, it doesn’t seem that bad anymore.
But you don’t choose the butterfly life. The butterfly life chooses you.
1. Your butterfly is just as fast as your freestyle.
Yup, it’s come to that now. When I have to do a timed 100 freestyle off the blocks, all I can hope is that the time is faster than the 100 fly I did right before it. Because, when nine times out of 10 the answer to the question “do I have to do this butterfly?” is yes, sometimes it is just easier to do a set butterfly than freestyle.
2. You secretly like the 200 fly.
Photo Courtesy: Peter Bick
Yes, the 200 fly is my favorite event. It’s a love/hate kind of relationship but at the end of the day, I’d pick the 200 fly over any other event (except for maybe the 50).
With all of the butterfly at practice we do, a 200 fly in a race seems like nothing. Those long butterfly training trip sets are something you live and die for. Knowing they will hurt, feeling like the lifeguard may have to come in and save you at any moment but remembering that at the end of the season, it will all be worth it.
So yes, I like the 200 fly more than your average swimmer, but but there is no better feeling than finally touching the wall at the end of the race.
3. Coaches can’t use it as a punishment.
Photo Courtesy: Taylor Brien
When coaches threaten to make you do 100s butterfly after practice because of lazy practice habits like breathing into and out of your walls, it’s not punishment for us butterfliers, its just an extension of the practice we already had that day.
But please don’t make us do breaststroke.
4. Your hips don’t lie.
We can dolphin kick for days and sometimes wishing we were a mermaid is all that can get us through the end of a long set. Any good butterflier knows the secret to the stroke is actually swimming it as little as possible, and rather underwater kicking your way through the race.
And let’s be honest, Shakira’s hips don’t have anything on those of a butterflier.
