Standing tall

Swimming Technique, Jul-Sep 2003 by Odeven, Ed, Mochizuki, Hideki

Although short in stature, Japan's Kosuke Kitajima-blessed with extraordinary technique-is a giant among breaststrokers.

Size doesn't always matter. But let's face it: elite male swimmers, such as Australian Ian. Thorpe and American Michael Phelps, are usually big, strong fellows.

Kosuke Kitajima is an exception to the rule. The skinny, 5-foot-8 3/4-inch Japanese native is a world-class swim-mer who relies more on skill than size.

The 20-year-old from Tokyo had a breakthrough year in 2002, highlighted by a gold medal finish in the 200 meter breaststroke at the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea in October.

In that race, Kitajima shattered the oldest record in men's swimming, win-ning the 200 meter breaststroke in 2:09.97. That bettered the mark (2:10.16) set by American Mike Barrowman in 1992 at the Barcelona Games. With the record, Kitajima became only the second Asian male to set a world record in the pool since 1972 when Nobutaka Taguchi set a WR in the 100 breast. (Kitajima's matk was lowered even further as Swimming Technique was going to press, when Russia's Dmitri Komornikov clocked 2:09.52 on June 14 at the Mare Nostrum meet in Barcelona.)

Kitajima and his Tokyo Swimming Center teammates trained at Northern Arizona University's High Altitude Sports Training Complex this past spring for three-and-a-half weeks. After a morning workout in early April, Kitajima and his longtime TSC coach, Norimasa Hirai, sat down with Swimming Technique and spoke about Kitajima's success, his beginnings in the sport as well as his training.

That record-shattering performance last October shocked even Kitajima.

"I honestly didn't know I was going that fast," says Kitajima through interpreter Eri Ono. "It was only when I hit the wall and looked up that I realized it was a world record."

"A world record at this Games-in Asia-is a big, big thing for me," he continues. "I have worked hard for this for a long time, and I don't feel I have even reached my limit."

Neither does Hirai: "We believe Kitajima will break the world record again." Others share the coach's opinion, because, in the words of Japanese team manager, Shigeo Ogata, "His technique is perfect."

Natural Ability

But it didn't happen overnight.

Kitajima hasn't always been a world-class athlete. Like many children growing up in Tokyo, Kosuke began swimming at a young age.

Between the ages of 5 and 7, "I just swam with the other kids for fun," he recalls. Then it got more serious-a scheduled activity, not just a hobby.

When he turned 7, Kosuke joined a swim team. By age 10, he began competing in Japan's Junior Olympic national championships. And this forced him to expand his in-the-water skills.

"When I turned 10, I used to do the individual medley," he says. "But in order to attend these competitions, I added the breaststroke to my repertoire."

At 14, he began preparing for years of international competition by joining the Tokyo Swimming Center, where he started working under the watchful eye of Hirai.

That was in 1996, and instantly, Hirai became aware of Kitajima's unique ability.

"His strength is that he really has strong ankles," Hirai says.

The coach provided a fine analogy to explain why strong, flexible ankles are vital to a swimmer's success. He likened the ankle snap to a baseball pitcher's wrist. That quick snap enables the pitcher to get more movement on his pitches. Similarly, for a swimmer, a quick ankle snap is an integral part of swimming side by side against Olympic-caliber foes. (See sidebar, "Kitajima's Ankle Snap," by Hideki Mochizuki, page 10.)

Says Hirai: "He had it naturally. He originally had this ability, so we put more attention to developing it.

"When I met him for the first time, I knew a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of his swimming techniques, but I thought the ankle snap was really a strength for him," the coach continues. "So I encouraged him to develop the ankle snap instead of finding out his weaknesses. I know gliding is a really important factor to have higher speed, but when I met him and saw his strengths, I knew that the ankle snap could be applied to him. I just put more attention on developing his strengths rather than changing his weaknesses."

Says Kitajima: "He encouraged me to develop this technique since the very beginning."

Key Components

Recalling Barrowman's gold medal-winning, record-setting performance a decade ago in Barcelona, Hirai says his philosophy and Barrowman's share one common characteristic: "Strong gliding is a key."

In simple terms, according to Hirai, Kitajima's formula for success in the breaststroke consists of four key aspects:

* Ankle snap

* Kicking

* Glide

* Strokes

The process of mastering these steps, Hirai explains, begins by improving the ankle snap.

How is this accomplished? For Kitajima, "We've done training-in-the-water sessions using a pull-buoy," Hirai says. "Usually when we're using a pull-buoy, he wouldn't use the snap-well, maybe a little bit."

Essentially, the kinetic energy of the snap to the kick to the glide serves as a catalyst for the most important part of the race, i.e., the actual breaststroke.