See How Ryan Lochte's Innovative Swimming Technique Helped Earn His Olympic Medals
Has he discovered the next big thing in competitive swimming?
Since the first Summer Olympic games in 1896, the sport of competitive swimming has undergone many changes to both the design of pools and swimwear in an effort to optimize the speed of swimmers. This includes the invention of the flip-turn, which was first introduced in 1936 by Al Vande Weghe, a 16-year-old high school student at the time. Weghe has since been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1990 for this innovation, and the technique has become the standard for all competitive swimming since. The flip-turn has seen no changes until now thanks to Ryan Lochte, whose slightly altered method of flip-turning has shaved off almost a second from his lap time, a huge difference in competitive swimming. Check out the video above to learn why the “Lochte Turn” has helped him win 12 Olympic medals.
