Background: The Olympic preparation of athletes has been highly influenced by COVID and post-COVID syndrome. As the complex screening of athletes is essential for safe and successful sports, we aimed to repeat the 2019-year sports cardiology screening of the Olympic Swim Team before the Olympics and to compare the results of COVID and non-COVID athletes. Methods: Patient history, electrocardiogram, laboratory tests, body composition analysis, echocardiography, cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) were performed. We used time-ranking points to compare swimming performance. Results: From April 2019, we examined 46 elite swimmers (24 ± 4 years). Fourteen swimmers had COVID infection; all cases were mild. During CPET there was no difference in the performance of COVID (male: VO2 max 55 ± 4 vs. 56.5 ± 5 mL/kg/min, p = 0.53; female: VO2 max 54.6 ± 4 vs. 56 ± 5.5 mL/kg/min, p = 0.86) vs. non-COVID athletes (male VO2 max 56.7 ± 5 vs. 55.5 ± 4.5 mL/kg/min, p = 0.50; female 49.6 ± 3 vs. 50.7 ± 2.6 mL/kg/min, p = 0.47) between 2019 and 2021. When comparing the time results of the National Championships, 54.8% of the athletes showed an improvement (p = 0.75). Conclusion: COVID infection with short-term detraining did not affect the performance of well-trained swimmers. According to our results, the COVID pandemic did not impair the effectiveness of the preparation for the Tokyo Olympics.

Born, DP, Stöggl, T, Petrov, A, Burkhardt, D, Lüthy, F, and Romann, M. Analysis of freestyle swimming sprint start performance after maximal strength or vertical jump training in competitive female and male junior swimmers. J Strength Cond Res 34(2): 323–331, 2020—To investigate the freestyle swimming sprint start performance before and after 6 weeks of maximal strength compared with vertical jump training. With a between-group repeated-measure design, 21 junior swimmers (12 female and 9 male) competing in national and international championships performed 2 weekly sessions of either maximal strength (heavy-loaded back squat and deadlift exercise) or vertical jump training (unloaded box jumps) for 6 weeks during the precompetition phase of the seasonal main event. Session ratings of perceived exertion were used to compare the load of both training programs. Before and after the training period, sprint start performance was investigated on a starting block equipped with force plates synchronized to a 2-dimensional motion capture system. Total training load did not differ between the 2 groups. Sprint start performance and most kinematic and kinetic parameters remained unaffected. In pooled data of the U17 swimmers, however, 5-m, 15-m, and 25-m split times were improved with maximal strength (p = 0.02, 0.03, and 0.01), but not with vertical jump training (p = 0.12, 0.16, and 0.28). Although there was no global effect, focus on the subgroup of U17 swimmers showed an improved sprint start performance with 2 sessions of maximal strength training integrated into a 16-hour training week. Although outcomes of the conditioning program seemed to be affected by the training history and performance level of the athletes involved, strength and conditioning coaches are encouraged to introduce maximal strength training at a young age.

BackgroundOrganization of mass sport events in the COVID-19 era is utterly complicated. Containments measures, required to avoid a virus outbreak, force athletes to compete under circumstances they never experienced before, most likely having a deleterious effect on their performance.PurposeWe aimed to design a so-called athlete-friendly bubble system for the International Swimming League 2020 event, which is strict enough to avoid a COVID-19 outbreak, but still provides a supportive environment for the athletes.MethodsTo avoid the feeling of imprisonment, athletes were permitted to spend a certain amount of time in the parks surrounding the hotels. Such alleviations were possible to apply with strict adherence to the hygienic and social distancing protocols and regular COVID-19 testing. Evaluation of every COVID-19 positive case was key, and if prolonged PCR positivity or false positive PCR result was identified, the unnecessary quarantine was planned to be lifted. Return to play protocol (RTP) was planned, in case of a COVID-19 infection of an athlete inside the bubble. To test, if the athlete-friendly system provided a supportive environment, we evaluated athlete performance.Results11,480 PCR tests were performed for 1,421 individuals. 63 COVID-19 positive cases were detected, of which 5 turned out to be clinically insignificant, either because of prolonged PCR positivity or because of a false positive result. 93.1% of the positive cases were detected in the local crew, while no athlete got infected inside the bubble, as the two infected athletes were tested positive upon arrival. RTP was provided for two athletes. 85% of the athletes showed improvement during the bubble and 8 world records were broken.ConclusionThe applied protocol proved to be effective, as no athlete got infected inside the bubble, moreover, the athlete-friendly system supported the athletes to improve their performance.

В статье затрагивается одна из самых обсуждаемых в настоящее время тем – мировая экономика в условиях COVID-19. В частности, рассматриваются особенности развития российско-китайских отношений в период пандемии. В 2020 году страны всего мира столкнулись с множеством сложностей, связанных с проблемами в логистике, функционированием производств, обеспечением доступности различных туристических направлений и др. Именно поэтому в современных условиях развитие сотрудничества и сохранение дружеских отношений между государствами является главной задачей. Проведен анализ показателей внешнеторгового оборота России и Китая, текущей ситуации в таких важных сферах взаимодействия, как энергетика, наука и техника, туризм, рассматриваются предпринимаемые государством пути преодоления трудностей, представлены результаты торгово-экономических отношений под влиянием пандемии. Авторы рассматривают основные тенденции развития, поддержания и стабилизации отношений в период пандемии между Россией и Китаем. This paper touches on one of the most discussed topics at the present time the global economy in the context of COVID-19. In particular, the features of the development of Russian-Chinese relations during a pandemic are considered. In 2020, countries around the world are faced with many difficulties associated with problems in logistics, the functioning of production facilities, ensuring the availability of various tourist destinations, and much more. That is why the development of cooperation and the preservation of friendly relations between states is the main task in modern conditions. The paper analyzes the indicators of the foreign trade turnover of Russia and China and presents the results of trade and economic relations under the influence of the pandemic. The paper also provides an analysis of the current situation in such important areas of interaction as energy, science and technology, tourism, and examines the ways of overcoming difficulties undertaken by the state. The authors consider the main trends in the development, maintenance and stabilization of relations during a pandemic between Russia and China.