Berkoff’s Blastoff Takes Stroke Back and Beyond

As a former backstroker, I was shocked out of my chair by the “Berkoff blastoff.” The blastoff was not a new idea, but a new event.

As when the stroke changed from inverted breaststroke to inverted freestyle, the racers and records of the past have become irrelevant to this new and mutant event.

They should be remembered within the context of an event of completely different character and quality. Don’t call a blastoff race a backstroke race.

GORDON ELKINS

Venice