The breaststroke pullout is sometimes called the fifth stroke, and for good reason: a clean, powerful pullout off the start and every turn can gain a swimmer a full body length on the field before the first breaststroke kick even happens. It’s also one of the easiest places to get disqualified, since the stroke, kick, and surfacing sequence are all tightly regulated.
This guide breaks the pullout into its individual phases, explains the breaststroke pull technique that powers it, covers the World Aquatics rules that govern it, and gives you drills to turn a shaky underwater pullout into a reliable source of free speed.
Quick Answer
A legal breaststroke pullout is: push off in a tight streamline, take one optional dolphin kick, perform one breaststroke arm pull all the way back to the legs, then one breaststroke kick. After that, the head must break the surface before the hands turn inward at the widest part of the second arm stroke of the swim, counting the pullout pull as the first.
The Breaststroke Pull: Arm Technique Explained
The underwater pullout borrows its arm action from the breaststroke pull used in normal swimming, so improving one improves the other. Most coaches describe two working patterns: a shallower, wide, ‘heart-shaped’ pull that sculls out, catches, sweeps in, and recovers in one continuous circular path, and a straighter pull built around an early vertical forearm, closer in feel to a butterfly pull. Both rely on a high-elbow catch — elbows stay up near the surface while the hands and forearms press back as a single unit, rather than the hands dropping first and the elbows trailing low.
On the pullout specifically, that same high-elbow pull is extended all the way back to the thighs instead of stopping at the hipline, which is what makes the pullout stroke different from every other breaststroke pull in the race. Patience matters more than speed here: swimmers who rush the pull-down tend to bend the elbows early and turn a propulsive pull into a weak paddle, while swimmers who keep the arms straighter through the first half of the pull and only fold the elbows once the hands pass the shoulder line get noticeably more distance per stroke.
The Pullout Step by Step
Push-off and streamline: leave the wall with hands stacked, arms squeezed against the ears, and legs together, forming as straight a line as possible. Drag increases fast with any bend in the hips or lower back, so this position sets up everything that follows.
The single dolphin kick: the rules permit one butterfly-style (dolphin) kick at any point before your first breaststroke kick. It’s optional, but nearly every competitive swimmer takes it while still in streamline because it adds speed without costing anything legally.
The pull-down: this is the one arm stroke the rules allow to travel all the way back to the legs, instead of stopping at the hipline as in normal breaststroke swimming. Bend the elbows to roughly a right angle, point the fingers down and back, and pull with patience rather than rushing — the goal is to finish the stroke with the hands near the thighs, not to yank the arms through as fast as possible.
Recovery and the breaststroke kick: bring the arms back forward close to the body (not out wide) while drawing the heels toward the hips for a single breaststroke kick. The legs must kick simultaneously, with no alternating, scissor, or flutter action allowed.
Surfacing: the pullout pull counts as the first arm stroke, so the next arm pull is the second stroke. The rule requires some part of the head to break the surface before the hands turn inward at the widest part of that second stroke — timed well, the head naturally pops up right as the hands sweep outward and begin turning in, which is also where a swimmer gets the most propulsion out of the stroke.
The Rules That Make or Break Legality
Order matters: after the start or a turn, the swimmer may take one arm stroke completely back to the legs, during which the body may be submerged, and one dolphin kick is allowed at any point before the first breaststroke kick. Taking more than one pullout stroke, more than one dolphin kick, or a dolphin kick after the first breaststroke kick is a disqualification.
Leg symmetry: from the first breaststroke kick onward, both legs must move simultaneously, with no alternating movement. A common DQ is an uneven or ‘scissor’ kick where one foot turns out and the other turns in, often from asymmetrical hip rotation during the pull-down.
The surfacing rule: breaststroke is judged by a timing rule rather than a set distance underwater. Some part of the head must break the surface before the hands turn inward at the widest part of the second arm stroke after the start or a turn. Surface late relative to that stroke and it’s a DQ, regardless of how far off the wall it happens.
No extra dolphin kicks: outside of that single permitted kick in the pullout, any dolphin or butterfly-style kicking during breaststroke swimming is illegal at any point in the race. The hipline rule is also waived just once — during normal breaststroke swimming, the arm pull can’t go back past the hipline, but the pullout is the one exception, which is exactly what makes it a distinct, separately-coached skill rather than just ‘one more breaststroke stroke.’
Drills to Build a Faster, Legal Pullout
Breaststroke with dolphin kick: swim breaststroke but replace every breaststroke kick with a dolphin kick. It isolates the pull-down and recovery so you can focus purely on arm mechanics without worrying about kick timing.
Power pulls with a pull buoy: trap a buoy between the thighs and take full pullout-style pulls, pressing straight back against the water on each stroke. This builds the strength and feel needed to finish the pull near the thighs instead of giving up halfway.
Side wall pull: press a forearm flat against the pool deck and try to ‘pull it through’ the deck. It teaches swimmers to feel the forearm and hand working as one paddle, which carries directly into a stronger pull-down.
Streamline-kick-pull-kick-surface repeats: do the full five-phase sequence off every wall in practice at race intensity, not just as a warm-up formality. Because the pullout happens off every single wall, small technical flaws compound over a whole race, so it’s worth drilling on its own rather than as an afterthought to starts and turns.
Tips / Common Mistakes
Lifting the head early is probably the most common speed killer — it breaks the streamline and adds drag well before the swimmer needs to breathe. Keep the head between the arms until the pull-down and kick are finished.
Bending the elbows too soon during the pull turns a powerful pull-down into a weak, splashy paddle. Keep the arms straighter through the first part of the pull and only bend once the hands pass the shoulder line.
Rushing the whole sequence is a close second. Treat the pullout as five connected phases — streamline, kick, pull, kick, surface — rather than one fast blur; efficiency, not raw speed, is what makes a pullout gain distance.
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Breaststroke Pullout & Pull Technique FAQs
How many kicks are allowed in a breaststroke pullout?
Two: one optional dolphin (butterfly) kick, which may be taken at any time before the first breaststroke kick, and then one breaststroke kick. Additional kicks of either type before surfacing are illegal.
Can you take more than one arm pull during the pullout?
No. Only one arm stroke is allowed to travel all the way back to the legs before the swimmer kicks and then continues swimming breaststroke normally, with later pulls staying at or before the hipline.
How far can you swim underwater in breaststroke before surfacing?
Breaststroke is governed by a timing rule instead of a set distance. Some part of the head must break the surface before the hands turn inward at the widest part of the second arm stroke after the start or turn, counting the pullout pull as the first stroke.
What’s the difference between the breaststroke ‘pull’ and the ‘pullout’?
The pull is the ongoing arm action used throughout breaststroke swimming, which must stop at the hipline. The pullout is the single, one-time exception off a start or turn where that pull is allowed to continue all the way back to the thighs before the kick and surfacing sequence.
Is the dolphin kick in the pullout mandatory?
No, it’s optional. Most competitive swimmers take it because it adds speed for free within the rules, but a swimmer can legally skip straight from streamline to the pull-down and breaststroke kick.
What’s the most common reason swimmers get disqualified on a pullout?
Surfacing too late relative to the second arm stroke, taking an extra dolphin kick after the first breaststroke kick, or breaking leg symmetry with a scissor-style kick are the three most common pullout-related disqualifications.
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