We believe there are several reasons why swimmers will only continue to get faster and faster and faster over the next several generations:

1. Potential
Modern man has been doing some kind of land-based activities (e.g., running, jumping, throwing, carrying) for tens of thousands of years. But only a very, very, very small sliver of mankind has been swimming for that same period. As more and more people swim, the upside to continue to improve – relative to land-based activities – is much higher.

2. Equipment
For most of the hundreds of years that mankind has been swimming as a competitive sport, training equipment has been non-existent. In contrast with the past, training equipment from fins to snorkels and training modalities from SwiMetrics to KAATSU will continue to be used more and will help swimmers get more efficient in the water.

3. Strength
Swimmers will continue to get stronger through more effective dryland exercises that will translate to faster hand speed in the water, greater core strength and more powerful propulsion from the legs.

4. Mindset
Swimmers will continue to believe they can swim faster. From people swimming at near freezing temperatures to the next generation of Olympic stars who are now breaking the age-group records of athletes like Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin, athletes will continue to believe they will swim faster and, therefore, they will.

5. Population and Pools
As the world’s population continues to expand and the number of swimming pools continues to grow on every continent, the total number of swimmers on the Earth will increase. Out of that increasing pool of population, there will be an increasing number of talented swimmers developing into stars. These stars will push each other to mutual greatness and the tides will rise for the entire aquatic community.

What will be the end game?

What will be the end result of these trends and assumptions?

50, 100, 200 years from now, we believe the times will be much faster and the exploits of swimmers in every body of water will be mind-boggling viewed from the Year 2013.

To see how far swimmers have come since 1905, visit this fun app created by the World Open Water Swimming Association several years ago (Virtual Racing).

Copyright © 2013 by World Open Water Swimming Association