The dolphin dive might look difficult but it’s easily mastered with a bit of practice. The best Olympic swimming speed is 2m per second, but with the dolphin technique you can cover 3-4m per second if you do it well.
That might not sound a lot but it could put you up to 10m ahead of your rivals in the first 5secs of racing. This isn’t ideal if the swim start/finish area is crowded and compact. But if you’re at the front and have space, it’s a great card to have up your sleeve to put distance between yourself and the opposition.
1 Reach forward after diving in, hold the seabed and pull your legs up under you (as if you’re doing a squat thrust). It’s the same method when you reach the end of the swim but without the dive.
2 Drive off your legs and dive forward into the water, throwing your arms out ahead of you to gain extra momentum and cover a greater distance.
3 Drop your chin, lift your hips and try to avoid belly flopping. Remember: you’re diving into shallow water with a lot of momentum, so be careful not to spear into the ground.