The biomechanics of freestyle and butterfly turn technique in elite swimmers

Nicol, Emily; Ball, Kevin; Tor, Elaine

doi:10.1080/14763141.2018.1561930

Cited by 33 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…This is probably due to the lack of knowledge in motor control aspects of swimming turns. Swimming turns have been analyzed descriptively (such as studies reviewed in the present study) or in details with biomechanical equipment (e.g., force platform and underwater cameras [ 30 ]). However, it is currently unknown how swimmers adjust their swimming motion toward the end of each lap to prepare for the following turning motion.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Race Analysis in Competitive Swimming: A Narrative Review

Gonjo

Olstad

2020

IJERPH

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Researchers have quantified swimming races for several decades to provide objective information on race strategy and characteristics. The purpose of the present review was to summarize knowledge established in the literature and current issues in swimming race analysis. A systematic search of the literature for the current narrative review was conducted in September 2020 using Web of Science, SPORTDiscus (via EBSCO), and PubMed. After examining 321 studies, 22 articles were included in the current review. Most studies divided the race into the start, clean swimming, turn, and/or finish segments; however, the definition of each segment varied, especially for the turn. Ideal definitions for the start and turn-out seemed to differ depending on the stroke styles and swimmers’ level. Many studies have focused on either 100 m or 200 m events with the four strokes (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle). Contrastingly, there were few or no studies for 50 m, long-distance, individual medley, and relay events. The number of studies examining races for short course, junior and Paralympic swimmers were also very limited. Future studies should focus on those with limited evidence as well as race analysis outside competitions in which detailed kinematic and physiological analyses are possible.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Race Analysis in Competitive Swimming: A Narrative Review

Gonjo

Olstad

2020

IJERPH

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“…The sex differences were~9.7% and~7.1% in individual medley and~10.1% and~6.1% in freestyle, respectively [45]. For elite male and female butterfly and freestyle swimmers at national level, the sex difference in peak swimming speed was lower in butterfly than in freestyle [31,46]. For national and international breaststroke and freestyle swimmers, the sex differences in swimming speed increased over time for national swimmers, but not for international swimmers for freestyle, while the sex difference remained stable for both national and international breaststroke swimmers [30].…”

Section: Sex Difference and Swimming Strokesmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…These analyses of changes in performance over the years have been performed for elite pool swimmers [5], for open-water swimmers [7,8] and for master swimmers competing in freestyle [4], backstroke [2], butterfly [1], breaststroke [3], individual medley [11] and in 3000-m open-water swimming [14]. In pool-swimming, performance was improved for most distances in both elite and master swimmers in backstroke [49], freestyle [31,46], breaststroke [30], butterfly [1,50], individual medley [11,30] and in 3000-m open-water swimming [14].…”

Section: Changes In Swimming Performance Over Yearsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex Differences in Swimming Disciplines—Can Women Outperform Men in Swimming?

Knechtle

Dalamitros

Barbosa

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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In recent years, the interest of female dominance in long-distance swimming has grown where several newspaper articles have been published speculating about female performance and dominance—especially in open-water ultra-distance swimming. The aim of this narrative review is to review the scientific literature regarding the difference between the sexes for all swimming strokes (i.e., butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle and individual medley), different distances (i.e., from sprint to ultra-distances), extreme conditions (i.e., cold water), different ages and swimming integrated in multi-sports disciplines, such as triathlon, in various age groups and over calendar years. The influence of various physiological, psychological, anthropometrical and biomechanical aspects to potentially explain the female dominance was also discussed. The data bases Scopus and PUBMED were searched by April 2020 for the terms ’sex–difference–swimming’. Long-distance open-water swimmers and pool swimmers of different ages and performance levels were mainly investigated. In open-water long-distance swimming events of the ’Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming’ with the ’Catalina Channel Swim’, the ’English Channel Swim’ and the ’Manhattan Island Marathon Swim’, women were about 0.06 km/h faster than men. In master swimmers (i.e., age groups 25–29 to 90–94 years) competing in the FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) World Championships in pool swimming in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke, individual medley and in 3000-m open-water swimming, women master swimmers appeared able to achieve similar performances as men in the oldest age groups (i.e., older than 75–80 years). In boys and girls aged 5–18 years—and listed in the all-time top 100 U.S. freestyle swimming performances from 50 m to 1500 m—the five fastest girls were faster than the five fastest boys until the age of ~10 years. After the age of 10 years, and until the age of 17 years, however, boys were increasingly faster than girls. Therefore, women tended to decrease the existing sex differences in specific age groups (i.e., younger than 10 years and older than 75–80 years) and swimming strokes in pool-swimming or even to overperform men in long-distance open-water swimming (distance of ~30 km), especially under extreme weather conditions (water colder than ~20 °C). Two main variables may explain why women can swim faster than men in open-water swimming events: (i) the long distance of around 30 km, (ii) and water colder than ~20 °C. Future studies may investigate more detailed (e.g., anthropometry) the very young (<10 years) and very old (>75–80 years) age groups in swimming

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“…However, excess breath holding increases anaerobic demand and may interfere with swimmers free-swimming abilities [31]. Therefore, with increasing race distance, swimmers successively reduce length of underwater phase down to 4.64±0.23m in the 1500m freestyle [28] While long-distance swimmers apply rather slow and energy saving leg kicking [32], push-off from the pool wall and undulating kicking during the underwater phase place a high demand on the leg muscles [11]. Future research needs to investigate whether length of the underwater phase and conditioning of leg muscles may provide potential for future performance developments in long-distance swimmers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Contribution of start performance in 50 m events was 26.1% [7] but continuously decreased for 100 m and 200 m races [8,9] and may be of minor importance for 1500 m freestyle [8,10]. Here, turns that are used for directional change and to reaccelerate the swimmer by pushing of the pool wall at the beginning of each lap may substantially affect the race result [11]. The turn sections are commonly analyzed from 5 m before wall contact until resurfacing after the underwater phase, which varies in its length depending on the race distance [12,13].…”

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confidence: 99%

Swimming turn performance: the distinguishing factor in 1500m World championship freestyle races?

Polach

Thiel

Kreník

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Objective Turn sections represent the second largest part of total race time in 1500 m freestyle races and may substantially affect race results. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate individual race strategies and compare the effect of start, swim, and turn performances between short-course and long-course races. Video footages were collected from all male finalists at the 2018 short- (n = 8, age 22.8 ± 2.4 years, FINA points 953 ± 27) and 2019 long-course World swimming championships (n = 8, age 23.3 ± 2.2 years, FINA points 951 ± 23) for subsequently analysis of start, turn, and swim performance. Results The larger number of turns in short-course races resulted in significantly faster race times (p < 0.001), but slower mean turn times compared to long-course races (p < 0.001). Total race time closely correlated with swim and turn but not start section time in short- (r ≥ 0.76, p ≤ 0.030) and long-course races (r ≥ 0.96, p < 0.001). Analysis of individual race strategies showed that turn performance affected race results in 9 of the 16 world-best 1500 m swimmers and improved medal standing of 1st, 3rd, and 4th ranked short- as well as 1st and 2nd ranked long-course finalist. Coaches, athletes, and performance analysts may carefully consider the importance of turn performance additionally to free-swimming skills.

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The biomechanics of freestyle and butterfly turn technique in elite swimmers

Cited by 33 publications

References 16 publications

Race Analysis in Competitive Swimming: A Narrative Review

Race Analysis in Competitive Swimming: A Narrative Review

Sex Differences in Swimming Disciplines—Can Women Outperform Men in Swimming?

Swimming turn performance: the distinguishing factor in 1500m World championship freestyle races?

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