Race strategy (defensive tactics)

Swimmers can use several defensive tactics to counter the offensive tactics described a few days ago.

Countering a competitor who goes out faster than expected

A swimmer should never allow a competitor to build a big lead during the early portions of a race. The opponent mey become motivated and energized if allowed to establish a substantial lead, and he may become more difficult to overtake later. A swimmer should stay close enough to overtake his rival, even if it means swimming faster than planned early in the race. If a swimmer and an opponent have similar times, the opponent will be working hard to stay ahead and will not have a strong finish. The fact that the opponent cannot pull away may also demoralize that person. Consequently, if the swimmer stays close behind, he may be able to take the lead when the opponent starts to tire.

Countering a competitor who goes out slower than expected

Swimmers should not be afraid to take the lead when a competitor goes out slower than expected. Some swimmers are so devoted to negative splitting that they expect to be behind in the early stages of races, and they refuse to take the lead even when the pace is too slow. Swimmers with good aerobic endurance, particularly those with marginal sprint speed, should not allow themselves to be tricked into swimming slowly during the early portions of a race. They should know their best pace for each race well enough that they cannot be fooled into making this mistake. They may find themselves outsprinted at the end by a faster but less enduring opponent if they do not build an early lead when they can.

Countering a breakaway sprint in the middle of a race

Swimmers should not let a competitor sprint away from them at any point in a race, even if the pace required to stay with the competitor seems too fast. If a swimmer and his opponent have similar times, the opponent will probably use more energy trying to mave ahead than the first swimmer will use to stay close. An opponent  who can get away may gain confidence. On the other hand, an opponent attempting to break away can become discouraged if the attempt fails. In that case, the swimmer who stayed close may be able to overtake the competitor and win the race.

Countering drafting by a competitor

Defensively, swimmers should try to swim in the center of their lanes so that competitors cannot draft off them. When an opponent tries to draft, a swimmer should move to the other side of the lane to reduce the draft. That move should take place during a turn when the swimmer can change sides without swimming a greater distance. Swimmers should always be aware of the lane positions of opponents to either side of them.

Countering an opponent's attempt to hide

Swimmers should make it their business to know the lanes in which their major competitors are swimming so that they can keep an eye on them during the race. Athletes can do this by reading the published lane assignments for the race or by listening to the announced lane assignments before the race. Swimmers should never go to the block unaware of the position of their major competitors in a race.

Teaching offensive and devensive racing strategies

A good training procedure for preparing swimmers to use offensive tactics and to counter devensive tactics during races is to have them swim some of their practice repeats at speeds that are both faster and slower than the pace they plan to use for certain races. By swimming faster than race pace in training,  they will learn how much they can deviate from their intended pace without losing too much speed later in their races. By the same token, swimming slower than their race pace in practice will help them realize when they are being maneuvered into swimming too slow in races.

Coaches should counsel swimmers when they make offensive or devensive errors during races and then design drills to train them to use proper tactics. Time trials and broken swims are excellent for this purpose.