Scientists Jack Brehm and Elizabeth Self from the University of Kansas offer an explanation of what might be going on here. In , they developed the 'motivational intensity theory' — a theory which hypothesised that people only put in as much effort into a project as they believe is needed. No more, no less. What's striking about the theory is that it predicts that it doesn't matter how big the prize for that effort is, whether it's a gold medal or a piece of fruit from a tree.
All that matters is whether somebody thinks they're doing what needs to be done to get what they want. In other words, they only put in the amount of effort they believe is absolutely necessary. So what does this have to do with Lane 8? What it means is that swimmers in Lane 8 who cannot see the other competitors may not get the motivational impetus they need to win. Whether this theory has any truth to it is open to interpretation. But psychological barriers can prove difficult to overcome, and they may not be as complex as the one explained above.
Swimmers can be a superstitious bunch and, sometimes, lane preferences will have nothing to do with water resistance or not being able to see your rivals. A favoured lane could be as simple as a lucky number, or a lane that brought them a previous good performance. It's important not to be disheartened when swimming from a wide lane.
After all, some of swimming's greatest successes have come from the outside lanes. Let's take a look at a few. Back in the s, Franziska van Almsick and Kieren Perkins both proved that you don't need a middle lane to produce exceptional performances. That world record time of Two years later, over a considerably longer distance, Australian Perkins won a m freestyle gold medal from Lane 8 at the Olympic Games.
At that time, it was the third fastest time in history. If you want a more recent example, you only have to look at Duncan Scott's stunning victory in the m freestyle at the European Championships in Glasgow. Scott had only just crept into the final as the eighth fastest qualifier, but produced a phenomenal swim over the last 50m to win gold from Lane 8.
While mathematical calculations, and a staggered start, ensure that athletes don't run different distances, some say there are still advantages to being in the middle lanes. Racing in lane eight means starting "ahead" of the other competitors to allow for the extra distance on the bend.
Michael Baker, a m coach at Loughborough University, explains why this matters. Some athletes have enough confidence in their ability that they don't feel they need this. Those who progressed from the heats are placed in lanes based on their qualifying speeds, with the fastest in the middle. Lane placement from fastest to eighth-fastest time: 4,5,3,6,2,7,1,8. It used to be that lanes 1 and 8 were considered slower due to reflected waves off the side, but modern pools have wave reduction systems so this is no longer the case.
Apart from the physical differences, swimmers may gain psychological advantages, and the lane in which this happens depends on the swimmer.
I have met professional swimmers who like to swim in lanes that are near the side, stating reasons which include being able to monitor all 7 other swimmers during 1 breath, as opposed to 2 breaths if the swimmer was near the middle lane. However, that swimmer specialised in freestyle, and the opposite may be true for breaststrokers and butterflyers, who may see other swimmers more clearly in the middle lanes.
Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. In swimming, is there a competitive advantage to being in one lane or another?
Ask Question. Asked 9 years, 3 months ago. Active 4 years, 4 months ago. Viewed 46k times. Improve this question. Hard to answer objectively since there's the bias that faster swimmers in prelims are generally placed in center lanes for finals.
From experience, swimming in center lanes is better than lanes against the wall because you can see other swimmers better makes racing easier and you don't get tossed around in the waves that bounce off the side wall. Add a comment. Khaki shorts. Mental training book. Coaches briefcase. The gift of motivation. The gift of a personal best time. What does deck seeded mean? Deck Seeding — a procedure of assigning swimmers to lanes and heats immediately before each event. DQ — Disqualification.
Event — A portion of a meet competition broken down by stroke and oftentimes by age, gender and relay type. What is a lap in Olympic swimming? In an Olympic-size meter pool, one lap is 50 meters. In an American short-course yard pool, a lap is 25 yards.
What does seed mean in swimming? Seed time is the fastest time a swimmer or team of swimmers has swum an event prior to the submission of entries for the meet. For individuals, this is the time entered for the swimmer for the event, and is a good goal to try to beat. It also factors into lane placement and heat number. What is lane swimming? Swimmers swim up one side of the lane and down the other — swimming in very long ovals rather than up and down the same line.
This is the clever bit — each lane has a board telling you which side to swim up and which side to swim down.
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