Beyond the First Second: Mastering the Underwater Start
The first second of a race begins on the block, but it does not end there. It may start the race, but the following factors write the story. A clean entry can give a swimmer the lead, yet it is only one piece of the equation. A swimming race is like climbing a staircase, with each step bringing the swimmer closer to the top. The start is the first step, but there are many more to climb. Streamline, dolphin kick, and breakout are the steps that carry speed forward. Miss a step, and the momentum fades in an instant. Master them, and the first stroke begins with an edge. The first step underwater is a tight streamline.
Peanut Butter & Jelly: Swimming’s Simplest Formula
What is one of the first things kids learn in swim lessons? Peanut butter and jelly. Swimmers know it more formally as a streamline. Streamline is the core of swimming and a key part of every great start. A tight streamline off the blocks lets swimmers carry maximum speed into the water. It is the second step on the staircase essential to success. The body should form one straight line with arms overhead, hands stacked on top of each other (like a PB&J), squeezing the ears, chin tucked, legs tight, and toes pointed. Coaches often say to imagine a line running from the top of your head through the bottom of your feet. Stay tight on that line, and you enter the water like a torpedo, straight and fast.
The streamline is built to reduce drag in both the water and the air. To take full advantage, it must start immediately off the block. The quicker the arms get into position, the less drag is created, and the faster the entry. Streamline preserves the momentum. The dolphin kick is what builds on it.
The Fifth Stroke: Power Beneath the Surface
The rule book lists four strokes. Swimmers know there is a fifth, the dolphin kick. The fifth stroke shows its value right off the start, turning the streamline into power and distance underwater. Often referenced as the fastest movement in swimming, the dolphin kick is a powerful undulation driven by the hips and core. When paired with a tight streamline, the swimmer can travel faster underwater than on the surface. This combination of power and efficiency creates an early underwater edge that often decides who takes control of the race.
The importance of the dolphin kick has only grown. This has developed legends in the sport. David Berkoff shocked the sport with his “Berkoff Blastoff.” Ryan Lochte used the first 15 meters off each wall to build his dominance. Today, Gretchen Walsh and Leon Marchand show how the fifth stroke continues to shape champions, using explosive underwaters in races to seize control. That dominance does not happen by accident. At the highest level, programs break down underwaters in ways never done before.
The University of Virginia works with its math professors to analyze swimmer performance through advanced data. Their models focus on finding drag underwater and eliminating it. They do this by breaking down movements to show where speed is lost and how it can be preserved. By turning underwater into numbers, University of Virginia shows how vital it is to carry momentum and power off the block. This new scientific approach reinforces that every step of a race matters. The fifth stroke provides the power, but the breakout turns it into pace.
Breaking the Surface and Breaking Away
To master every level of the start, a perfect breakout is a necessity. The breakout is only a small fraction of the race, but it is the kickstart to pure speed. Often, swimmers rush the first stroke and break streamline too early. That rush to the surface kills the speed generated from the explosion off the block and carried through the kick. Perfectly timing the first stroke with breaking the surface separates an efficient breakout from a wasted one.
A perfect breakout continues the power from the block, the streamline, and the dolphin kick. Keeping streamline tight and the body flat to the water through the breakout maximizes the speed and strength generated off the start. The breakout may be overlooked, but it is the difference between carrying speed forward or watching it disappear.
Every Step Matters
The start is no longer a single motion but a sequence of skills that show how much the sport has changed. The streamline, dolphin kick, and the breakout have shifted from quiet details to defining weapons. They prove that swimming is not only about the strokes on the surface, but about protecting every bit of speed before the first stroke begins. These skills remind us that the smallest things matter, and in a sport measured by milliseconds, no step can be skipped. Streamline, dolphin kick, and the breakout are the steps that turn launch into momentum and momentum into control. Mastery of each step is not optional, it is the standard for winning.
