The "Leaning Tree" Syndrome

Some swimmers look similar to a rooted tree leaning over with only it's roots keeping it from falling over, slowly falling towards the water.

We described this phenomenon and showed it in still photos in the Same Starts section.  Now let's see this in animated action.

The arms have rotated around, then slowly up, then out forward while the legs are going down and horizontal with the water.

The main problem with this particular start is the length of time between the bending or squatting and the arms going up while the legs are going down.  The problem is the slow forward leaning and falling motion, instead of the rapid squat and then quick jump up-and-out, is a waste of time that should have been taken care of before the starter's signal.