One of the hardest things to do in the open water is to resist the temptation to look up. While it is occasionally necessary to look up and forward (sighting) towards the next turn buoy, to a swimmer in front, to the finish, or to the other shore, swimmers should swim with their head down, both in the pool and the open water – not with their eyes looking forward.

Sometimes, this general rule must be relaxed when you are drafting off other swimmers or need to sight the next buoy or finish. So when you need to look up, do so correctly.

Try not to breathe when your eyes are looking forward and try to maintain a balanced stroke and not drop your hips too much when you are lifting your head to the side or forward.

When thinking about how straight and still your head should be in the open water, and how perfectly aligned it should ideally be with your spine – no matter what the conditions – we are reminded how well the best swimmers in the world hold their head position when looking at the video below.

She is not an open water swimmer (yet), but Missy Franklin is impressive on how she maintains the position of her head…and her drill to help her learn the correct position. She looks good and looks up.



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