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Coronavirus pandemic
Finding fluidity in time of Covid
The ability to adapt is at the heart of national swimming coach Widmer's novel solutions
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National swimming coach Stephan Widmer, his mask on, keeps the appropriate social distance as he monitors the progress of Amanda Lim at the OCBC Aquatic Centre.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF SINGAPORE SWIMMING ASSOCIATION
Rohit Brijnath Assistant Sports Editor, Rohit Brijnath
In a coffee shop in Kallang a man is extending his arms to mimic the movement of a lizard. This is not a class in animal behaviour, but a lesson in dry-land exercises from a swimming savant. National swimming head coach and performance director Stephan Widmer, his cappuccino going cold, is explaining how coaches work in a Covid time.
With swimmers initially stuck at home during the circuit breaker, coaches had to be inventive. You can't swim on land, says Widmer, but you can crawl on the floor, staying low, arms reaching out like a lizard. "It is quite challenging. What you have to do is connect from the fingers in the front to the feet in the back. The main aim is engaging the core."
