Dragging can easily make you came the last position in a swimming competition. Every minute is of essence; a simple and single mishap means losing. You should avoid dragging as much as possible because the swimming competitors will be picked from the best of the best. The first secret is to know how to balance.
You balance by maintaining horizontal position with the water. You can specialize in one or more of the methods of swimming like The Dolphin Kick, Backstroke, Freestyle swimming, Butterfly stroke and Breaststroke. Each of the se has its won styles of swimming but in all the swimming styles you should avoid drag by maintain horizontal level with water.