Blog guest: Andrej Barna

A member of the Serbian National Team, Andrej Barna, has made his swimming career through various jumps and flip turns in the European and world championships. Today, as a swimmer for the University Louisville Athletics, USA, and as the Swimming Dad #Blog guest, he talks about how the right dives and flip turns made him successful in the pool.

At the 2015 World Championship in Kazan he was the fastest Serbian member of the 4x100 freestyle relay (the team consisted of Ivan Lenđer, Uroš Nikolić and Boris Stojanović).

By swimming 50 meters freestyle at the 2018 European Championship in Glasgow, 20- year-old Barna found his place in the swimming history, as he broke the 10-year-old Serbian national record held by the trophy winner Milorad Čavić.

Why is diving so important for a swimmer?

Diving is so important for every swimmer as it gives him/her the initial momentum, and the better start means the better momentum during the race. The same applies to flip turns, as it is vital to do them right so that you keep the momentum, without wasting your energy. Improving your start and flip turns ensures better swimming because you don’t have to compensate for the lost momentum.

How often have those right dives and flip turns made you win, and how often have they made you “lose” the race?

I work a lot on my start and flip turns, and I think I’m still far from the “perfect” start and flip turn, but they have definitely helped me a lot in all my races.

How to master your dive and flip turn, have you got any advice or a secret?

When it comes to start, it is vital to get into the water in the smallest possible point and with the

least possible resistance. What I used to do was to practice by repetition, and observe from different angles, until I made the right dive. As for the flip turns, the point is to curl up as much as you can, so that you could turn faster, and to dive a bit before you start your flip turn.