Sarah “Mergoddess” Bofinger, who recently competed in the Carol Chidester Memorial Swim Series Meet No.6 at the Arundel Training Center in Annapolis, says it was good preparation for the upcoming competition she’ll participate in next month.
“It was a great event and I’d like to thank everyone who complimented me on how good my breaststroke is looking these days. My hope is that the swim prepared me for the Long Course Meter 100 next month in Indiana,” says Sarah Bofinger.
Sarah credits her success to training with Dual Boards.
“Prior to the swim meet, Coach Jose helped me set new goals which included increasing my Dual Board drilling yardage throughout the training week.”
Sarah says Dual Boards helped her execute better buoyancy in her daily practice, enabling her to float better during the meet. In fact, she swam her first 200 BR of 2:58:91, an achievement Coach Jose calls a “solid” swim!
Unlike many of her peers, Julia Whittle didn’t begin swimming until she was in her thirties.
You would never know it.
Now a champion swimmer, Julia was enroute to competing in multiple swim meets before the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. When COVID restrictions hit and swimming competitions came to a halt, it forced Julia to decrease her time in the water. That’s when Rip Current Sports Founder and CEO, Coach Jose Gallagher, approached Julia with an opportunity to test his revolutionary swim aid, Dual Boards.
She not only began dropping her times but she did so with minimal swimming.
Pre-COVID, Julia had been training five hours per week and competing in five meets per year. From October 2021 until today, she’s been training with Dual Boards as her sole piece of equipment. For 40 minutes per day, she intermittently uses Dual Boards to elevate her body and attain optimal body alignment.
“I’ve seen a major change!”, claims Julia. “Since implementing Dual Boards into my routine, I’ve been achieving my best times to date during practice sessions.”
In fact, in late fall of 2021 when she started her Dual Boards journey, Julia’s 50 Freestyle, from a push, was 50 seconds. On January 20th of 2022, Julia pushed a 42 second time which is faster than her best shave and taper time, with a fast suit, of 42.73.
Julia’s 50 Butterfly has also improved since she started beta testing the swim aid. Her original best competition time was 54.14 seconds. Most recently in February, Julia pushed a 51 second swim, and her time continues to improve. If her swimming continues on the same path, she will have her standard cut in no time, a huge goal for competitive swimmers.
Julia is another great example of how a single piece of equipment can help mold a champion swimmer!
When Rip Current Sports’ Jose Gallagher invented Dual Boards, a revolutionary swim aid designed to give users instant success in the water, he had elite swimmer Sarah Bofinger at the top of his mind.
Bofinger, who was born with hip dysplasia and underwent seven surgeries for her condition, found solstice in the water and quickly discovered her talent for swimming. As a child, Sarah joined the Fredrick Area Swim Team in Frederick, Maryland. Today she is an accomplished Internationally Classified swimmer.
Most recently, on Saturday, February 12th, she competed in the 2021-22 Carol Chidester Memorial Swim Series Meet No.5 in Annapolis where she beat her old 50 yard breaststroke best time by 0.58 seconds. She also defeated her previous 100 yard breaststroke best time by almost 2 seconds. Sarah accredits her latest achievements to Dual Boards.
“I started using the boards for warm up at the end of December, training with them a minimum of 2 times per week,” she said. “With Coach Jose cheering me on, I got faster and faster.”
Sarah explained how Dual Boards helped her create a natural buoyancy in her body that she maintained when swimming the breaststroke.
“When swimming, I could feel it when I pushed down with my hands to grab water. Thanks to training with the boards, my breaststroke, which has been my worst stroke, has become my best!”
Dual Boards are the size of an adult baseball glove and are perfect for any swim level. To use, a swimmer simply places their hand flat on the board under the tubing and adjusts, and they are ready to float, kick, balance and breathe in their preferred position.
As for Sarah Bofinger, she is excited to continue training with the boards and hopes to hit her next goals – swimming even faster than ever.