Why Do Swimmers Slap Themselves Before Swimming? Rituals ...

• 
• Entertainment
• Television
• Trending
• Influencers
• Human Interest
• Exclusives
  • Distracted With
  • All Exclusives
• Link to Facebook
• Link to Instagram
• Link to X
• Link to Email Subscribe

toggle

• 
• Entertainment
• Television
• Trending
• Influencers
• Human Interest
• Exclusives
  • Distracted With
  • All Exclusives
• Link to Facebook
• Link to Instagram
• Link to X
• Link to Email Subscribe

If you’ve been tuning into the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, you might be wondering things like, "Why do swimmers wear two caps?" or "Why do they slap themselves before diving into the pool?"

Article continues below advertisement

U.S. swimmer Lilly King, hailed by USA Today as “the queen of psyching out her opponents,” slaps her thighs for dramatic effect, intimidating other opponents with the sound. (At the 2017 worlds, she stood over Russia’s Yuliya Efimova in the ready room, slapping her leg for “a good five minutes,” as Yahoo! Sports reported.)

But the body-slapping serves another purpose for other swimmers. Read on for more info!

Why do swimmers slap themselves before swimming?

Matt Barbini, USA Swimming’s director of performance, explained these pre-race rituals to Today, saying that some swimmers and coaches believe slapping one’s body helps increase blood flow to their muscles.

“So you’ll see people go up and down their arms and across their chest,” he said. “And they consider it part of their warmup or activation, just making sure that there’s sort of maximal blood flow going to those parts of the body before you swim.”

Article continues below advertisement

He also speculated that the body-slapping and the water-splashing serves a psychological purpose, too: “Anything that sort of kills those in-between moments before the race starts, I think helps keep athletes calm, and it helps to distract them from the nerves. And then the fact that there’s some sort of scientific backing behind it, I think, lends some credibility and makes people more likely to adopt it.”

Why do swimmers splash themselves before swimming?

Matt told Today that swimmers splash themselves with water for two reasons: One, some swimmers think the water helps lock their swimsuits in place, and two, they douse themselves with pool water to help themselves adjust to the water temperature after their pre-race warmups.

Article continues below advertisement

“You’re diving into 80-degree water, which is fairly cool, and so the difference between your body temperature and the water is significant,” Matt adds. “Some athletes can find that to be a little bit of a shock to the system. So by splashing water on yourself, you’re lessening the shock of diving into the water.”

Why do swimmers wear two swim caps?

You may also have noticed that many swimmers double up on swim caps. This is to reduce drag in the water. The inner cap is made from latex, which clings to the head better. The outer cap, meanwhile, is made from silicone, which doesn’t wrinkle as much as latex and is thus more hydrodynamic.

Article continues below advertisement

Wearing two swim caps also helps swimmers keep goggles in place, since they can sandwich the goggle strap between the two layers. That can prevent mishaps like the one U.S. swimmer Lydia Jacoby experienced during the Olympic mixed 4x100m medley relay in July 2021, when her goggles slipped down her face when she dove into the pool.

Lydia Jacoby 'Pulled Through' Relay 'as Best as I Could' After Goggles Fell Off Diving Into Pool https://t.co/FKyriN2bA2

— People (@people) July 31, 2021

“I’ve never really had that happen before,” Jacoby said after the race, per to USA Swimming. “It’s out of my control at that point once I was in the water, so I just swam as best I could with what was happening at the moment.”

So, it seems that all these swimming "rituals" serve a very important purpose.

AdvertisementMore from Distractify

Why Do Swimmers Put Milk in Their Eyes? (Yes, You Read That Right)

Team USA Artistic Swimmer Daniella Ramirez Says She Puts Gelatin in Her Hair for Performances

Why Did Michael Phelps Retire? The Swimming GOAT Is the Most Decorated Olympian of All Time

Latest Summer Olympic Games News and Updates

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

About Distractify

About UsPrivacy PolicyTerms of UseDMCASitemap

Connect with Distractify

Link to FacebookLink to XLink to InstagramContact us by Email

Privacy & Legal

Opt-out of personalized adsManage Privacy OptionsManage Privacy Options

© Copyright 2026 Engrost, Inc. Distractify is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.