Swimming history

[CoachBillL]

For anyone with an interest in the evolution of the freestyle stroke, I recommend the short film “Taris,” about a French champion of the 1930’s (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOyNsig5hls.) It’s by a director of genius, the great Jean Vigo, who made only a few films and died young. “Taris” incorporates some (for the time) advanced cinematic techniques – slow and reverse motion and some underwater photography. Almost everything about Taris’ stroke is “wrong” by our standards, but it's fascinating, and the photography is so good you can really see what's going on. (There is also a Vigo collection available on DVD from Netflix which includes all of his work, including the immortal “Zéro pour Conduit” and “L’Atalante.)

[terry]

Thanks for the head's up Bill. There's a wonderful public pool in Paris called Piscine Jean Taris. I had only one brief visit to Paris in early December about 10 years ago. While there I walked through the predawn streets each morning from my lodging in St. Germain to the pool, accompanied mainly by an army of green-clad streetcleaners. Those hours are my fondest memory of Paris.