2 for the Gold Olympics challenge: Big Al tries backstroke swimming, Missy Franklin he is not

Big Al and the backstroke

Big Al works on his backstroke at McClure Pool in Tulsa.
Photographer: Johnny Thomason
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Big Al and the backstroke

Big Al works on this backstroke technique at McClure Pool in Tulsa.
Photographer: Johnny Thomason
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Big Al and the backstroke

Big Al works on his backstroke at McClure Pool in Tulsa.
Photographer: Johnny Thomason
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Big Al tries the backstroke


Photographer: KJRH
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Posted: 08/06/2012

TULSA - When we started these 2 for the Gold stories, and we jumped in the McClure pool, I thought the backstroke would be the easiest.

Wrong, chlorine breath.

It looks to be a nice leisurely stroke, with the opportunity to possibly catch some rays at the same time.

Not quite.

Check out behind the scenes photos from our 2 for the Gold shoots. On your phone? Use this link bit.ly / bigalphotos to see the pictures.

Oklahoma high school eight-time state champion Eastman Holloway admits the backstroke is his hardest stroke.

"Basically, at the end of a 200-meter backstroke, I usually, my legs are numb and my abs are killing me," said Holloway.

It's a rough race, and what I didn't realize is that there is more to it than just lying on your back.

"When you are doing backstroke, you want to keep your head straight, and your body position, and you want to rotate your body not with your head," said Holloway. "So your head should be straight. I have trouble with it. when your arms are going up you want to follow your hand and rotate with your pinky in first and keep your abs up."

Abs? What abs?

I thought I could freestyle halfway decent..

The breaststroke? At least I could keep my head above water..

But the backstroke?

Forget about it.

Check out the video to see how I did. If you're reading this on your phone or iPad go to our Video section to watch me in action.

Also, don't forget to go to our Facebook page and vote for the event you'd like to see me or Cayden compete in.

Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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