Swimming World Presents “Lessons with the Legends: Diving Coach Xu Yiming” – Sponsored By Dolfin Swimwear

Lessons with the Legends: Diving Coach Xu Yiming

By Michael J. Stott

Well known to diving cognoscenti and international diving coaches—and revered at home—diving coach Xu Yiming has been a seminal figure in his native China since the early 1970s.

“He led Chinese diving from a somewhat competitive level to an era of complete dominance during his 20-plus years of coaching the Chinese diving national team,” says University of Southern California diving coach Li Hongping.

And what dominance!

Born in 1942 and a diver himself, Xu won several Chinese national titles, and after securing a 10-meter platform championship at age 30, he turned his attention to coaching. A student of the sport, he was convinced that Chinese divers possessed the physical traits and skills (small size, flexibility, acrobatic skills) as well as the youth and mental concentration (work ethic, spiritualism) to excel on the international stage.

In time, he began cultivating Chinese athletes and traveling the globe, visiting fellow coaches and attending meets often without any divers of his own, but always with a video camera and notepad in hand, absorbing all he could about training techniques, apparatus and training methods.

“When it comes to diving, he is devoted to perfection,” says Li. “He eats, breathes and lives 24 hours a day/seven days a week with the divers in the dormitory on top of the average eight hours of daily training in the pool. Coach Xu is creative in training methods for his divers. He initiated the double, triple and multiple bounces on the springboard for dive training.”

To read more about the impact of Chinese coaching legend Xu Yiming,
Check out the December issue of Swimming World Magazine, available now!

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FEATURES

016 THE TOP 10 PERFORMANCES OF 2019
by David Rieder
This year’s list of top performances in swimming comes exclusively from the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju, where world records went down, the world’s best swimmers established themselves with signature performances, and teenagers took down legends in their best events. The list includes the top five performances for both female and male swimmers, with all swimmers eligible to appear only once.

020 2019 SWIMMERS OF THE YEAR
by John Lohn, Dan D’Addona, Craig Lord and David Rieder
World & American: Regan Smith & Caeleb Dressel, European: Katinka Hosszu & Adam Peaty, Pacific Rim: Ariarne Titmus & Daiya Seto, African: Tatjana Schoenmaker & Chad le Clos

026 TAKEOFF TO TOKYO: WHEN BACKSTROKE WENT ROGUE
by John Lohn
It’s been more than 30 years since the underwater dolphin kick altered the landscape of the backstroke event, and never more so than at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul did it play a greater role.

COACHING

010 LESSONS WITH THE LEGENDS: XU YIMING
by Michael J. Stott

014 SWIMMING TECHNIQUE CONCEPTS: THE VERTICAL JUMP TEST FOR EVENT SELECTION
by Rod Havriluk
The vertical jump is a relatively simple test that reflects a swimmer’s muscle fiber composition, which, in turn, can help select a swimmer’s most competitive events. Using the VJ test to identify swimmers likely to excel in sprint or distance events may not only improve performance at an early age, but also avoid losing sprinters who are averse to distance training and distance swimmers who are discouraged by sprinting.

041 Q&A WITH COACH BYRON MacDONALD
by Michael J. Stott

042 HOW THEY TRAIN KYLIE MASSE
by Michael J. Stott

TRAINING

013 DRYSIDE TRAINING: HOLIDAY TRAINING
by J.R. Rosania

JUNIOR SWIMMER

038 GOLDMINDS: WHAT MAKES GOOD COACHES GREAT?
by Wayne Goldsmith
Coaches change lives. They can inspire ordinary people to achieve remarkable and extraordinary things.

045 UP & COMERS: RYAN HOGAN
by Shoshanna Rutemiller

COLUMNS& SPECIAL SECTIONS

008 A VOICE FOR THE SPORT

009 BEYOND THE YARDS

029 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

044 HASTY HIGH POINTERS

046 DADS ON DECK

047 GUTTERTALK

048 PARTING SHOT

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Swimming World Presents “Lessons with the Legends: Diving Coach Xu Yiming” – Sponsored By Dolfin Swimwear

Lessons with the Legends: Diving Coach Xu Yiming

Get Swimming World Magazine and Swimming World Biweekly FREE When You Become A Member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame

Want More? Subscribe With This Special 2-Year Offer!

New! 1-Year Digital Only Subscription for just $39.95 Order Now!

Get Swimming World Magazine and Swimming World Biweekly FREE When You
Become A Member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame