Garmin Swim tracks your stroke, stroke, stroke

The Olympic swimmer in you might want to jump back in the pool and have a go with a new gadget coming, designed to tell you how good a freestyler or backstroker you actually are.

Garmin’s latest watch is the “Swim”, a specifically named fitness wristwatch designed to be light on the wrist and useful for monitoring your statistics in the pool you’re training in.

While it doesn’t have the GPS you might expect out of a Garmin product, the watch does feature an accelerometer, as well as a bunch of neat programming to determine how many strokes you’re making, your distance, length, and pace.

The statistics recorded by the Swim watch can also be uploaded to Garmin’s Connect website via a Mac or Windows PC for analysation and sharing with others. Support for wireless and USB is included with the Garmin Swim, making it possible to synchronise the information easily.

“Garmin Swim offers users some of the same functionality of Garmin’s Forerunner 910XT, which has been popular with users for its ability to provide detailed swim metrics in the pool,” said Gamrin’s Ian Edwards. “With no need to charge the device, swimmers can be sure they’ll always be able measure workout information like time, distance and pace.”

Garmin’s Swim also functions like a regular watch, supporting dual time zones and an alarm, making it something you never really have to take off.

The Garmin Swim wristwatch is heading to stores in July and carries a recommended retail price of $169.