We blink an average of once every four seconds in order to moisturize our eyes and protect them from irritants, but when our eyes are encased in plastic and enveloped in a body of water, does anything change?
These are physiological questions that just came to mind. Inquiring minds want to know the answers:
1. With goggles on and face in the water, do open water swimmers blink as much in the water as they do outside of the water on land?
2. Do open water swimmers blink more if there is lots of turbulence and surface chop in the water?
3. Do open water swimmers blink less when they are sighting and focusing on where to navigate ahead?
4. Can an escort boat crew pick up winks from a channel swimmer in the water?
5. As on land, are female swimming blinkers more prolific than their male counterparts?
6. Do mirrored or dark goggles lead to less blinking?
Photo shows world 25K champion and 2012 Olympian Alex Meyer although it is unclear how much he blinks while swimming.
Copyright © 2011 by World Open Water Swimming Association