Analysis of swimming technique among elite finswimmers

Abstract

Finswimming is a sport where the athlete uses one big monofin to produce the propulsion. The purpose of this study was to describe the parameters of the swimming technique among elite class finswimmers. Methods: 18 elite level monofin swimmers, 10 male (age 25.3 ±5,2 height 182,3 ± 10.9 cm., weight 88.1±4.6 kg) and 8 female finswimmers ( age 24,5 ±3,7 yrs., height 171,1 ± 10.4 cm., weight 63,9 ± 5,1 kg) performed a 15 meter monofin surface swim at full speed. Swimming was registered with a stationary GoPro Silver 3+ underwater video camera at 60 frames/second. Recordings were carried out during the 2015 Finswimming World Championship in Yantai, China and 2016 Finswimming World Championships Volos, Greece. Collected video material was analysed with Race analyser program (Estonia). Results: The average speed of male swimmers was 3.07 ± 0.21 m/s and the stroke rate 130.9 ± 15.28 kick/min. Pitching of the hands was 18±3.86 cm, amplitude of the hip movement was 20.6±8.77 cm while the movement of the ankle was 43.6 ±9,72 cm. Knee bending angle during a kick was 124.7 ±5,41 deg, hip angle at the same time was 169±5.94 deg and angle of the hip at the end of a down beat was 148.6 ±7.95 deg. Female finswimmers had an average speed of 2,68 ±0.09 m/s and a stroke rate of 118,4 ±11.3 kick/min. Pitching of the hands was 15.3 ±6.3 cm, amplitude of hip movements was 16.38 ± 4.28 cm, ankle movement was 42.38±8,16 cm. Knee bending angle during a down beat was 121,5±8,12 deg and a hip angle at the same time was 167.25±6.48 deg. Angle of the hip at the end of a down beat was 148,86±8.82 deg. Conclusion: Current study found that elite men and women sprinter finswimmers can be typified according to characteristic swimming technique parameters in two classes: "fast" sprinters utilising speed of movements (S1) and "strong" sprinters with preference toward strength (S2). Further analysis is needed for confirmation.

Analysis of the Physical Condition of Pasuruan Finswimming Athletes

“…This means, the better the level of a person's physical condition, the greater the possibility to achieve optimal performance in each competition. In finswimming, there are several physical conditions needed by athletes, [5] found main muscle groups related to SF sprint swimming performance among men were knee extensors, hip and trunk flexors. [6] Lung capacity factors and maximal oxygen volume have an effect on apnea in high category dives.…”