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Michael Phelps is a name that will forever be etched in the history of the Olympics for his record 28 medals. He has also created many records in the sport of swimming.
Strokes are an integral component of swimming. The four main strokes of swimming are butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. Swimmers breathe every two, three, or four strokes, according to Gold Class Swimming. However, Michael Phelps breathes every stroke.
The reason for this was provided by his coach, Bob Bowman. In 2008, while speaking to ESPN about Phelps' butterfly stroke, Bob Bowman said:
"I think he just has a better rhythm when he breathes every stroke. He's getting more air, and that's a good thing. When he picks his head up every stroke he balances better."
Bowman believed that Phelps' rhythm was better as he breathed every stroke. The technique allowed the GOAT Olympian to get more air. Picking up his head during each stroke also increased his balance.
Though most swimmers don't breathe during every stroke, the legendary Olympian does so to maintain his rhythm and balance. He adopted a technique that better suits his physiology while swimming.
MySwimPro's co-founder and CEO, Fares Ksebati, analyzed Phelps' butterfly stroke in 2021 and seemed impressed that Phelps was able to maintain good technique despite the setbacks of breathing every stroke:
"Michael breathes every stroke, which is often frowned upon since breathing is the slowest part of the stroke and causes the hips to drop slightly. Despite this, he is able to maintain good technique and a high body position," said Fares.
He also said that the GOAT Olympian has an incredible dolphin kick (the kicking technique performed in the butterfly stroke).
When Bob Bowman discussed Michael Phelps' various strokes
Further into the interview with ESPN in 2008, Bowman discussed the various strokes of Phelps. Speaking about the backstroke, Bowman said:
"He gets better distance per stroke, holds onto more water per stroke. He's also a little flatter (in the water) than he used to be. And he's stronger."
According to ESPN, Bowman worked hard to refine Michael Phelps' pull and streamline his body position in the water.
Though Phelps isn't bad at breaststroke, it is the only stroke he isn't capable of dominating, as per ESPN. While speaking about the ace swimmer's breaststroke, Bowman said:
"It's so much better in every way. What we worked on is coordinating his arms and his kick, and activating his core muscles in every way."
Then, while speaking about the freestyle stroke of the champion swimmer, his coach said:
"We worked on trying to do some drills like Alex, riding the stroke. He was always a very good kicker. What we've worked on most is distance per stroke, maximum amount of water pulled."
Bowman and Phelps tried out some drills for freestyle swimming, following the example of former Russian freestyle swimmer Alexander Popov, who was a freestyle legend with powerful and efficient strokes. While training, they concentrated mostly on the distance covered per stroke.
