Important Notice: Our web hosting provider recently started charging us for additional visits, which was unexpected. In response, we're seeking donations. Depending on the situation, we may explore different monetization options for our Community and Expert Contributors. It's crucial to provide more returns for their expertise and offer more Expert Validated Answers or AI Validated Answers. Learn more about our hosting issue here.

Why Does the Fastest Swimmer Anchor a Relay?

Anchor fastest Relay swimmer
0
Posted

Why Does the Fastest Swimmer Anchor a Relay?

0

Its obvious right? Ok but before you read on, say the answer to yourself. Is it because he is the most able to make up any lost time by the earlier teammates? Because in the anchor leg you know exactly what needs to be done? Now what about this argument: The total time is just the sum of the individual times. So it doesn’t matter what order they swim in. That would be true if everyone was swimming (running, potato-sacking, etc.) as fast as they could. But it is universally accepted strategy to put the fastest last. If you advocate this strategy you are assuming that not everyone is swimming as fast as they can. For example, take the argument that in the anchor leg you know exactly what needs to be done. Inherent in this argument is the view that swimmers swim just fast enough to get the job done. (That tends to sound wrong because we don’t think of competitive athletes as shirkers. But don’t get drawn in by the framing. If you like, say it this way: when the competition demands it, the

Related Questions

Thanksgiving questions

*Sadly, we had to bring back ads too. Hopefully more targeted.