Amongst the 1120 swimmers taking to the pool this week for the swimming events at Marine Messe Hall A in Fukuoka, a small number are following in the footsteps of their parents who also took on the best swimmers from across the globe at a World Aquatics Championships.
One of these athletes who was born into ‘swimming royalty’ is Harper Barrowman, the daughter of breaststroke pioneer Mike Barrowman.
Barrowman Senior is recognised as one of the all-time legends of the sport. An International Swimming Hall of Fame member, Olympic champion, and World Aquatics Championships gold medallist, Barrowman broke the 200m Breaststroke world record on six occasions over eleven years during a remarkable winning streak where he took 15 of 16 major national and international titles.
However, despite all his medals and accolades, it is Barrowman’s breaststroke technique for which he is most remembered. He brought the ‘Hungarian’ or ‘wave-style’ to prominence, and the majority of the top-end breaststrokers here in Fukuoka are now swimming in a similar style to the now 54-year-old American.
At the time Barrowman’s technique was revolutionary. A combination of quick arm recovery and a rolling ‘wave’ body movement, his impact on the stroke was such that when he finished lowering the world mark to 2:10.16 in 1992 – a time that would remain untouched until the turn of the century – he had taken a staggering 12.63 seconds off John Hencken’s time set just twenty years earlier in 1972.
Despite her father’s breaststroke legacy, Barrowman junior was quick to assure the World Aquatics team after her 200m Freestyle heat swim that she was happy to leave the breaststroke to her father.
“He’s an inspiration and I’m so happy to be able to follow in his footsteps, but he did use all the breaststroke genes and didn’t leave me any,” joked Barrowman junior.
“He did save the freestyle for me though.”
An accomplished junior swimmer in her own right, 17-year-old Barrowman represents her father’s adopted homeland of the Cayman Islands, with her first large international meet at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
She told World Aquatics that she does occasionally watch footage of her father and that he serves as a constant reminder of how lucky she is to have the opportunity to compete across the globe.
“Honestly, to see footage of him swim, and then to be able to get in the water at an international meet like this and race alongside so many accomplished people, it’s honestly just amazing,” said Barrowman.
“It’s so cool to be able to race people that are your idols, and your inspiration, it’s really a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”