Another way to SKINS the cat!

Bengaluru: Why? Why did I sign up for this," was the question, admittedly, running through Olympian Srihari Nataraj's mind with around ten metres left for the touching pad to win gold in the 50m backstroke SKINS event.

The physical pain was at its peak, making the final moments for the Bengaluru boy the most arduous. It was the 22-year-old's first time at such a race at the Nettakallappa All India Swimming Championship here. 

But, what is the SKINS event?  

While the reason behind naming it SKINS remains unknown, even among those in the fraternity, the format was first introduced at the International Swimming League (ISL) in 2019.

After participants go through the usual qualifying rounds or heats, the top-eight competitors make it to the final that usually takes place in a 25m pool.

The three-round final has two three-minute breaks after the completion of the first and second rounds with the bottom three and then two swimmers getting eliminated respectively.

The top-three then fight it out in the third round for gold, silver and bronze. 

Such a race demands speed, while testing one's endurance. But the main challenge for the swimmers is to strategise their pace well so they have enough left in the tank for the last of the 50m distances. 

"With lactic acid kicking in, the third one always hurts, regardless of how calculated or easy paced the first two have been. I had taken a break from swimming after the Asian Games so it made it tougher," added Srihari. 

Sajan Prakash, the other Olympian in fray here, said racing back-to-back with little breaks wasn’t new for all of them and is akin to some of the drills during regular training sessions. 

"We train to create pain. This is something similar to the speed drills we do during practice and we are kind of used to it. It's all about the legs in the end, how well we turn and do the underwater stretch," explained the star from Kerala, who picked up the 50m butterfly gold.