Change of the age and performance of swimmers across World Championships and Olympic Games finals from 1992 to 2013 – a cross-sectional data analysis

König, S.; Valeri, Fabio; Wild, Stefanie; Rosemann, Thomas; Rüst, Christoph Alexander; Knechtle, Beat

doi:10.1186/2193-1801-3-652

Cited by 33 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The present study includes swim performances of multiple generations, necessitating the correction of evolution in a given sport . The continuous increase in world‐class performances at Olympic Games and World Championships clearly reflects the evolution in a sport, as well as the improvement of world records . For example, at the 100 m freestyle event, the world record for females has been improved from 54.48 seconds to 51.71 seconds with 2.9 seconds (~5.3%) from 1994 to 2017 and for males from 48.42 seconds to 47.04 seconds (fastest time in textile) with 1.38 seconds (~2.9%).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multigenerational performance development of male and female top‐elite swimmers–A global study of the 100 m freestyle event

Post

Koning

Visscher

et al. 2019

Scandinavian Med Sci Sports

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The present study investigated longitudinally the performance development of a multigenerational sample of competitive swimmers. The aim of the study was to provide unique insight into the junior toward senior performance development of those few who reached top‐elite level. Season Best Times (SBT) of 100 m freestyle performance of international swimmers, (1.305 males, aged 12‐26 and 1.841 females, aged 12‐24) competing in at least five seasons between 1993 and 2018, were corrected for the prevailing world record (WR). Swim performance was defined as a relative measure: relative Season Best Time=(SBT/WR) × 100. Based on rSBT, four performance groups were defined: top‐elite, elite, sub‐elite, and high‐competitive. Results Univariate analyses of variance showed that male top‐elite swimmers outperformed high‐competitive swimmers from the age of 12, sub‐elite swimmers from the age of 14 and elite swimmers from the age of 18 while female top‐elite swimmers outperformed high‐competitive and sub‐elite swimmers from the age of 12 and elite swimmers from the age of 14 (P < .05). Frequency analysis showed that male top‐elite swimmers for the first time achieved top‐elite level between the 17 and 24 years old (mean age of 21) while female top‐elite swimmers started to perform at top‐elite level between the 14 and 24 years old (mean age of 18). Conclusion Male and female top‐elite swimmers are characterized by a high‐performance level from 12 years on and progressively outperform swimmers from similar age. However, this goes together with a large variety in the individual pathways toward top‐elite level within and between sexes.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multigenerational performance development of male and female top‐elite swimmers–A global study of the 100 m freestyle event

Post

Koning

Visscher

et al. 2019

Scandinavian Med Sci Sports

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A potential explanation for the findings for the unchanged participation in younger age groups (<40 years) could be the fact that the fastest freestyle swimmers in younger age groups still compete at world-class level races such as the World Championships and the Olympic Games (Allen et al 2014;Allen and Hopkins 2015;König et al 2014). However, also, other reasons might explain this trend.…”

Section: Participation Increased In Women and Menmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Improvements in freestyle swimming performance in elite swimmers competing at a world-class level (e.g., World Championships, Olympic Games) are well investigated (König et al 2014;Nevill et al 2007;O'Connor and Vozenilek 2011;Stanula et al 2012). Nevill et al (2007) analyzed swimming speeds in 100-, 200-, and 400-m freestyle world record times since 1957 for men and women and found that swimming speeds showed a period of Baccelerated improvement^during the 1960-1970 period, but were plateauing after 1970.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance trends in master freestyle swimmers aged 25–89 years at the FINA World Championships from 1986 to 2014

Knechtle

Nikolaidis

König

et al. 2016

AGE

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Performance trends in elite freestyle swimmers are well known, but not for master freestyle swimmers. We investigated trends in participation, performance, and sex difference in performance of 65,584 freestyle master swimmers from 25-29 to 85-89 years competing in FINA World Masters Championships between 1986 and 2014. The men-to-women ratio was calculated for each age group, and the trend across age groups was analyzed using single linear regression analysis. Trends in performance changes were investigated using a mixed-effects regression model with sex, distance, and calendar year as fixed variables. Participation increased in women and men in older age groups (i.e., 40 years and older). Women and men improved race times across years in all age groups and distances. For age groups 25-29 to 75-79 years, women were slower than men, but not for age groups 80-84 to 85-89 years. In 50, 100, and 200 m, women reduced the sex difference from 1986 to 2014 in age groups 30-34 to 75-79 years. In 400 m, women reduced the gap to men across time in age groups 40-44, 45-49, and 55-59 years. In 800 m, sex difference became reduced across time in age groups 55-59 and 70-74 years. In summary, participation increased from 1986 to 2014 in women and men in older age groups, women and men improved across time performance in all distances, and women were not slower compared to men in age groups 80-84 to 85-89 years. We expect a continuous trend in increasing participation and improved performance in master freestyle swimmers.

show abstract

“…Athletic performance increases from birth to youth reaching at peak levels at some points in early adulthood and declines thereafter (Moore 1975;Tanaka and Seals 1997;Berthelot et al 2012). The age at which peak performance is achieved is different depending upon sports disciplines and is typically in the range of 20-30 years old (Schulz and Curnow 1988;Allen et al 2014;Konig et al 2014). Average ages of peak performance for swimming are younger than those of running (Berthelot et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

A rise in peak performance age in female athletes

Elmenshawy

Machin

Tanaka

2015

AGE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It was reported in 1980s that ages at which peak performance was observed had remained remarkably stable in the past century, although absolute levels of athletic performance increased dramatically for the same time span. The emergence of older (masters) athletes in the past few decades has changed the demographics and age-spectrum of Olympic athletes. The primary aim of the present study was to determine whether the ages at which peak performance was observed had increased in the recent decades. The data spanning 114 years from the first Olympics (1898) to the most recent Olympics (2014) were collected using the publically available data. In the present study, ages at which Olympic medals (gold, silver, and bronze) were won were used as the indicators of peak performance age. Track and field, swimming, rowing, and ice skating events were analyzed. In men, peak performance age did not change significantly in most of the sporting events (except in 100 m sprint running). In contrast, peak performance ages in women have increased significantly since 1980s and consistently in all the athletic events examined. Interestingly, as women's peak performance age increased, they became similar to men's peak ages in many events. In the last 20-30 years, ages at which peak athletic performance is observed have increased in women but not in men.

show abstract

Change of the age and performance of swimmers across World Championships and Olympic Games finals from 1992 to 2013 – a cross-sectional data analysis

Cited by 33 publications

References 47 publications

Multigenerational performance development of male and female top‐elite swimmers–A global study of the 100 m freestyle event

Multigenerational performance development of male and female top‐elite swimmers–A global study of the 100 m freestyle event

Performance trends in master freestyle swimmers aged 25–89 years at the FINA World Championships from 1986 to 2014

A rise in peak performance age in female athletes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About