Sports
Top 3 Swimming Mistakes According to Coach Wanderley Santos
Analyzing 189 athletes across a 30-point biomechanical assessment, coach Wanderley Santos details key propulsion and drag flaws.
Based on nearly 200 biomechanical assessments of swimmers and triathletes, coach Wanderley Santos identified the most common technical flaws in the water. Learn how a high elbow catch, breathing support, and core engagement dictate swimming performance.
Pinpointing exactly what holds an athlete back in the pool requires a structured method and a clinical eye. In an analysis shared on the Café com Tri podcast—in an episode also addressing swim preparation for triathlon—coach Wanderley Santos detailed findings from 189 individual biomechanical assessments conducted at Care Club, covering everyone from beginners and children to elite athletes such as Santiago Ascenço and Luiz Ohde.
PUBLICIDADE (GAM) — 1250x250
The 30-point method: propulsion versus resistance
The protocol developed by Wanderley breaks down technical analysis into 30 biomechanical items, divided equally into two key categories: 15 items focused on motor patterns in the propulsive phase (arm and leg actions that push the body forward) and 15 targeting body positions in the resistive phase (everything creating drag and slowing forward movement). According to the coach, identifying the true bottleneck is the only way to prescribe effective swim drills—doing propulsion drills when the real issue is excessive drag will not lead to progress.
The three most common swim mistakes
Data compilation revealed three technical errors consistently repeated by the vast majority of swimmers. The first and most frequent mistake is the inability to maintain an early vertical forearm and high elbow catch, compromising leverage and the ability to apply force against the water.
The second critical flaw is dropping the lead arm during breathing. Every time the head turns to breathe, the lead arm tends to sink prematurely. In addition to eliminating forward support and pull leverage, this loss of balance breaks body alignment and drastically increases hydrodynamic drag.
Finally, the third major error is a lack of core engagement and hip instability. When an athlete fails to stabilize their torso or rotates excessively, the legs splay apart to compensate for the imbalance, disrupting kick propulsion and creating extra drag. For Wanderley Santos, targeting these three pillars—lead-arm support, a high-elbow catch, and core stability—resolves technical flaws for roughly 90% of swimmers.
PUBLICIDADE (GAM) — 1250x250
