Pandemic-Induced Reductions on Swim Training Volume and Performance in Collegiate Swimmers

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant training disruptions during the 2020–2021 season, due to lockdowns, quarantines, and strict adherence to the pandemic protocols. The main purpose of this study was to determine how the pandemic training restrictions affected training volume and performance in one collegiate swim team. Cumulative training volume data across a 28-week season were compared between a pandemic (2020–2021) versus non-pandemic (2019–2020) season. The swimmers were categorized into three groups (sprinters, mid-distance, and long-distance) based on their training group. The performance times of 25 swimmers who competed in the regional championships, during both the non-pandemic and pandemic year, were compared via one-way ANOVA. Twenty-six male and 22 female swimmers commenced the 2020–2021 (pandemic) season, with 23% of the swimmers voluntarily opting out. Three COVID-19 cases were confirmed (2%) by the medical staff, with no long-term effects. Significant reductions in the average swim volume were verified in sprinters (32,867 ± 10,135 vs. 14,800 ± 7995 yards; p < 0.001), mid-distance (26,457 ± 10,692 vs. 17,054 ± 9.923 yards; p < 0.001), and long-distance (37,600 ± 14,430 vs. 22,254 ± 14,418 yards; p < 0.001) swimmers (non-pandemic vs. pandemic season, respectively). In the regional performance analyses, the sprinters swam faster (n = 8; −0.5 ± 0.6 s), while the mid-distance (n = 10; 0.17 ± 2.1 s) and long-distance (n = 7; 6.0 ± 4.9 s) swimmers swam slower (F = 11.76; p = 0.0003; r2 = 0.52). Thus, the pandemic caused significant reductions in swim training volume, with sprinters performing better and long-distance swimmers performing worse at the regional championships.

Swimming at the Time of COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study among Young Italian Competitive Athletes

“…In fact, the proportion of athletes who reported SARS-CoV-2 infection in the sample examined was lower than that registered nationwide (cumulative incidence rate = 7.7% in August 2021), confirming that the swimming pool does not represent a high-risk place if adequate infection control measures are adopted [ 12 , 19 ]. This is in accordance with a study performed on a collegiate swim team in the USA, which reported an incidence value equal to 2% during the 2020/21 season [ 20 ].…”

“…Some studies performed in other countries have shown that the pandemic influenced swimming performance in competitive athletes. In particular, a performance regression was registered during the 2020 French national championships, after eight weeks of lockdown without training, mainly among females, long-distance, and breaststroke swimmers [ 26 ]; the analysis of data points from Poland, Spain, Russia, Turkey, and Denmark championships from 2019 to 2020 showed improvements in symmetrical techniques, i.e., breaststroke and butterfly [ 27 ]; a performance analysis carried out on a collegiate USA swimming team between the 2020–2021 and 2019–2020 seasons highlighted significant reductions in swim training volume, with sprinters performing better and long-distance swimmers performing worse at the regional championships [ 20 ]; and a performance time deterioration in the 200, 300, and 400 m was found in Greek swimmers after an 11-week lockdown, while no changes were detected in 4 × 50 m and 50 m tests [ 28 ]. These findings suggest that the pandemic caused significant abstention from swimming and a reduction in training volume, leading to reduced aerobic fitness and impaired technical ability; when adopted, dryland training allowed the athletes to maintain strength and to preserve their sprint ability.…”

Study On The Factors That Determine Abandonment In Performance Sport In Romania

“…Regarding the effect of the pandemic on the daily and weekly volume swam by athletes, research conducted by Perez et al (2022) showed that the most affected are long distance swimmers of 800 m and 1500 m Freestyle, to an insignificant extent they have those in the middle distance were also affected, especially the 200 m swimmers, and the sprinters improved their performance, thus strengthening the authors' conception of the qualitative approach to training to the detriment of quantity.…”

Prediction and Analysis of Tokyo Olympic Games Swimming Results: Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Swimmers’ Performance

“…Regarding this, the pandemic-induced restrictions were reported to offer performance advantages to sprinter swimmers and to be deleterious to long-distance swimming performance. Swim performance declines during the pandemic were mostly evident at regional championship events, while swimming performance was largely unaffected at the national level [ 25 , 36 ]. Additionally, the younger athletes had additional time to develop their potential even further and to get close to leaders’ performance [ 22 ].…”

“…Moreover, reduced training volume during short periods of COVID-19 lockdown were reported to be higher for low level athletes than at the elite national level. Therefore, it can be argued that high level sprint swimmers, training for the Tokyo Olympics, may not have suffered such high levels of adverse effect on performance due to the low training volumes [ 35 , 36 ].…”