I think it’s a thing, my understanding is that adult height is determined by long bone growth which accelerates in early to mid puberty. But in late puberty the growth plates fuse and that’s it. So when kids become tall relative to their peers at 11, 12, 13 it may be that they have entered that rapid phase earlier but it is also likely they will reach their final height earlier. Whereas kids who grow steadily through those years, and then have additional rapid height gain aged 14,15,16 might end up taller as adults. This is one of the reasons that very early puberty is sometimes treated with hormone blockers, otherwise very short adult height can result.
Similar to others in this thread, I find my swim is the one most affected by external factors
Was out in costume all day yesterday and then a train ride across London to meet GF from her flight back from JFK to drive her back, meant I didn’t eat until about 22:30 last night.
5 1/2 hours of not great sleep meant I was considering not getting up and heading to the pool.
But off I went.
Started off ok with 20 x 100m sitting at 1:30-1:32, then another 10 about the same.
At the 30 mark, I dropped the pace down to just “swim” and was coming in about 1:36-1:37
At 50 I thought I could hit today’s target of 60, but my calf had other ideas and started to cramp.
Switched to pull/paddles and managed another 14 before my arms went “nope”
I would say this is very much about swimming as, all other things being equal, taller humans are faster in the water ! And I would bet there are a lot of parents of swimmers who would be very interested in what you have to say.
I just remember being told by the health visitor that the graph of a child’s height has a 90% chance of remaining consistent into adulthood, i.e. if the child is in the bottom 30% for their age there is a 90% chance they will remain in the bottom 30% as an adult. Maybe they were wrong ?
Why taller swimmers are faster is interesting. I tend to think it’s possibly more about them being likely to have long arms and big hands than their height per se.
I have a 10cm longer reach than my height but I am short with monkey arms. It was useful when I used to box. For elite swimmers they are often tall and have long arms, which in absolute terms gives them a bigger ‘paddle’ for propulsion. (Rather than in relative terms)
Fascinating.
I knew that all things being equal longer boats were faster than shorter boats, and I suppose it must have an effect with swimmers too, though the figures quoted in that article appear a bit high to me. I may be wrong but I still think the longer arms and bigger hands are just as significant, if not more so.
That article goes on to say height is not such an advantage in an Ironman. That certainly makes sense because when running (in particular) you are having to drag a lot more weight around ? Similarly with cycling up hills ? Did I read some where that specialist hill climb cyclists tended to be smaller / lighter ?
Is there any truth in the Old Wive’s Tale (can you even say that these days…) that the size of a child’s feet is a good indicator of how tall they will grow ?
I had a good swim last night and hit breaking point. I love that feeling
I think it was 25s, 100s and 50s, rest, and repeat. The second time around the 100s and 50s were on the same pace time, so I was only getting 3 seconds to rest after the 100 fatigue, but by the last one (i think we did 6 50s) and I had to go without any rest!
Outdoor swim this evening and then a triathlon event at the weekend. Swim should be fine, but I think my bike is going to be a it lame.
Oh dear, I had an accident yesterday and have been diagnosed with a broken hand, the knuckle of my 2nd finger right hand. Have been told I need an operation on Monday to wire it up so it heals in the right place and I’ll have to wear a pot for 4 weeks. The doc said it’d be 6 weeks before I can swim again and Gawd knows what state my hand and lower arm will be in by then… The doc said it was not certain by any means my hand would be as good as it was before the accident and I’ll be out of the water for a total of 7 weeks… The only positive is I was out of the water for 8 months during Covid so 7 weeks doesn’t frighten me so much as it would at one time !
Have the esteemed members of this forum got any advice or encouragement for me ? ! ?
How long will it take to get the fitness and strength back in my lower arm / hand ?
On the medical front should I be concerned the knuckle bone might have started healing in the wrong place having waited 6 days to operate ?
I know, right! For the first time in my life, I actually felt fast in the water. Obvs I knew what was going on. But then I realised that there are people that swim that fast just normally! Crazy talk.
I phoned the Hand Clinic (about something else actually) and they set my mind at rest over this point. Apparently two weeks is the critical deadline. So one week (since fracture) should be fine.
It’s right across the 6 weeks hols so have had to cancel two holidays, camping and a canal boat) !
