How to do a rollover turn in the swim

The rollover turn is an ideal manoeuvre for 90º turns. It also works well for 180º turns but requires more practice.

The rollover turn’s advantages are that it’s very fast and requires very little extra effort.

However, you do have to take one extra stroke to swim past the buoy before you perform the turn and it’s not so good if space is tight.

1. Approach the buoy at full speed, sighting it one final time to guarantee your approach is tight and on the correct line.

2. Take one stroke past the buoy before rolling onto your back, ready to change direction. With the arm closet to the buoy, perform a single backstroke.

3. Draw your outside arm across your body, using the action to change your direction as you roll back onto your front.

4. Now you can concentrate on getting back up to swimming speed as quickly as possible because your change of direction is complete.

How to turn around a buoy

• Get better at tumble turns and touch turns
• Best technique for swimming round buoys in a triathlon

220 Triathlon Team Journalists, reviewers, coaches and athletes

About

The 220 Triathlon team is made up of vastly experienced athletes, sports journalists, kit reviewers and coaches. In short, what we don't know about multisport frankly isn't worth knowing! Saying that, we love expanding our sporting knowledge and increasing our expertise in this phenomenal sport.