Bodysurfing Into The Finish Of An Ocean Swim

Courtesy of Jacuzzi Surfer, Nazaré, Portugal.

As the summer ocean swimming season rolls around in the Northern Hemisphere, thousands of open water races will feature on-the-beach starts and finishes.

The beach finishes often comes after open water swimmers navigate the surf and whitewater as they swim and bodysurf into shore.

Kalani Lattanzi shows how best to bodysurf towards the finish through the waves, although his bodysurfing venue in Nazaré, Portugal, is undoubtedly much larger and more treacherous than any sanctioned or mass participation ocean swim:

1. Keep kicking as your body is propelled forward in the waves.
2. Keep one arm forward with a flat palm that can guide you straight or towards the left or right.
3. Keep the other arm either at your side or continuing to stroke in order to catch the wave.
4. It is well worth a few seconds to wait and catch a wave rather than let the crashing wave go over you. As the wave pushes you forward, you can most often bodysurf forward faster than you can swim or even sprint.

Copyright © 2008-2019 by World Open Water Swimming Association