The swimming world has been buzzing lately about the Enhanced Games.
For those unfamiliar, the Enhanced Games are essentially attempting to market themselves as an alternative sporting event where performance-enhancing drugs are openly allowed. Unsurprisingly, the concept has created controversy, debate, curiosity, outrage, fascination, and about 47,000 arguments online from people who suddenly think they’re sports scientists.
Let’s make one thing very clear before we continue:
We do not condone the Enhanced Games or the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport.
That’s not what this article is about.
What is interesting, however, is what the swimming performances from these conversations continue to reveal:
Even in discussions around enhancement, technology, recovery, and extreme performance…
Technique still matters. A lot.
And honestly?
Probably more than most people realize.
A lot of people outside swimming think speed comes from brute force.
Bigger muscles.
More power.
More effort.
Just go harder, right?
Wrong.
Swimming is not football.
It’s not powerlifting.
It’s not a dead sprint on land.
Water punishes inefficiency immediately.
You can be:
…and still lose to somebody with better:
That’s what makes swimming unique.
One of the funniest realities in swimming is that beginners often think swimming harder means swimming faster.
Meanwhile, experienced coaches are standing on deck saying:
“Relax more.”
Because in swimming:
The water is brutally honest.
If your technique breaks down: You slow down.
Immediately.
One of the biggest takeaways from all the recent discussions surrounding sprint swimming is this:
Even at the absolute highest levels of speed…
The fastest swimmers in the world still rely on:
Not just raw output.
This is especially true in sprint freestyle.
People see a 50 freestyle race and think: “They’re just muscling through the water.”
No.
Elite sprinters are incredibly technical.
In fact, sprint freestyle may be one of the most technically demanding events in the sport because everything happens at maximum speed.
Tiny mistakes become huge mistakes.
At Swim With Milo, one of the concepts we constantly talk about is:
Distance per stroke.
How far are you traveling every time your hand enters the water?
Because it doesn’t matter how fast your arms move if you’re slipping through the water.
That’s like:
Motion is not the same as propulsion.
The best swimmers in the world are not just moving fast.
They are:
That principle doesn’t disappear because somebody gets stronger.
Older swimmers remember the super suit era.
Suddenly:
But here’s what’s important:
The swimmers still needed world-class technique.
The suits amplified efficiency.
They did not magically create it.
If your body position was bad? Still slow.
If your timing was off? Still slow.
If your catch mechanics were weak? Still slow.
Swimming has always been a sport where efficiency multiplies performance.
Young swimmers sometimes watch elite performances and think:
“I just need to get stronger.”
But strength without technique becomes a ceiling.
Not a shortcut.
That’s why so many swimmers plateau.
They:
…but never improve the actual mechanics of movement.
The result?
More fatigue.
Same speed.
Triathletes are especially guilty of chasing output instead of efficiency.
Many believe: “If I just get fitter, my swim improves.”
Not necessarily.
Swimming is different from biking and running because the environment itself is unstable.
You must:
before power truly matters.
That’s why so many triathletes can:
…but still struggle swimming 100 yards smoothly.
Technique ages better than brute force.
That’s one of the beautiful things about swimming.
If you improve:
you can continue improving even as you get older.
In fact, many masters swimmers see major gains not because they suddenly became fitter…
…but because they finally learned how to stop fighting the water.
Technology changes.
Training evolves.
Recovery methods improve.
Conversations around enhancement will continue.
But one thing has remained true for generations:
The swimmers who move through the water best usually win.
That’s why coaching matters.
That’s why video analysis matters.
That’s why clinics, private lessons, and technical development matter.
Because swimming has never been purely about output.
It’s about:
The real takeaway from all this discussion surrounding the Enhanced Games is not:
“How strong can humans become?”
The more interesting question is:
“How efficiently can humans move through water?”
Because even with all the debates around performance enhancement, one thing remains incredibly obvious:
Great technique still wins.
And in swimming…
It probably always will.
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