How And Where To Start Your Catch In Freestyle

The freestyle catch is helped by the right entry and extension. In middle to long distance swimming there’s two things we have our athletes focus on to set up the freestyle catch correctly. The first is to enter the water with your fingertips first. To do this your arm can’t be fully extended before you enter, it must finish it’s full extension forward underneath the surface.

The fingertips should always enter first and the final extension of the arm happens under the water

Then extend to your armpit depth to begin your catch. This causes you to be in a streamlined position with your body line long and horizontal to the water’s surface.