In the 200 yard Individual medley also known as the Im is one of the most difficult events of competing in the high school level. It takes mental and physical disiplain just to finish the event , yet alone do well in it. the reason why it is so hard is because it requires the swimmer to swim all the strokes in one race making you tired very quickly. The Im makes you have to do the equal amount of strokes in the order of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. for those who don't know the 200 is 8 laps which means you do a 50 of each strokes in the 200 which means you have to do 2 laps of each stroke.
The butterfly is the hardest stroke out of the 3 other strokes for most people. people have to realize when swimming the butterfly length not to over push them selves to get a lead if they do that there bound to lose it somewhere else in the race , because it is long and there is much room for error. I recommmedn going out in around 80 percent of your fastest of your ability, a non swimmer might say how do you go 80 percent but if have been swimming for a while you get to learn what you are capable of. Also while swimming the butterfly you have to watch your breathing. most swimmers breath everystroke when doing it, yet I don't recommend it. I think the first lap you should breath every three and the second lap you should breath every two. the reason why I think this is because it takes energy to breath so if you breath every stroke you might get tired , you shouldn't breath every 4 or 5 strokes because then you won't get the required oxygen and that will also make you tired. Some ther tips on the butterfly would be to remember basic tips such as to reach far with you arms and to kick high with your legs.
The next stroke is the backstroke many people think this is the easiest stroke in the Im tied with breast stroke because you can breath when you need to , well I disaggree with that also. you should regulate your breathing when doing the backstroke it will make you go faster and the backstrioke is normally where you want to take a lead. When you first start the backstroke you should start with a long stream line under the water. For those who don't know a stream line is, it is when you kick under the water to a piont before you start using your arms. When doing the stream line becareful of two things , first make sure you kicking as hard as you can, if your not it does not pay to do the streamline, and two if your going to do the streamline make sure you don't kick past the fifteen metter make because if you do you will be disqualified which means that your race does not count for pionts even if you win. Once you start to stroke you should have three things on your mind. 1 kick you legs, remember while kicking your legs to piont your toes it will help you go faster. 2 keep your head back, this is important because if you don't you will most probably sink except if you kick really hard , yet that just takes energy a way from you that you can not afford to lose. The 3 thing is to keep your but up...I think that also helps you stay afloat but I will be honest I don't really know ...