Breaststroke Skills In Male Elite Swimmers Detected By Means Of A Speed Meter

Abstract

A speed meter was developed that can measure the moving velocity of a competitive swimmer. The athlete swims a distance of 25m pulling a fine wire line out from a reel. The wire passed over a generator that was interfaced with a computer so the speed and distance of the wire line movement could be converted into velocity in m/sec (Maglischo, 2003.). With the speed meter, changes in velocity during one or more stroke cycles could be measured and analyzed. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine if the speed meter could be used for analysis and improvement of breaststroke swimming performance. METHODS The velocity curves were compared for five male competitive breaststroke swimmers (18 to 23 years of age). One swimmer was an international competitor, two others had reached the national but not international level, and the final two swimmers were members of a University collegiate team but had not reached national or international levels of achievement. RESULTS The velocity curves of the lower achieving swimmers were compared to those of the high achievers and the following differences were noted. At one point in each stroke cycle the minimum velocity slowed almost to 0 for the lower achieving subjects but did not decline as much for the international and national level swimmers. The peak velocity during the kick phase was greater for the high achieving swimmers (Jonckheere-Terpstra Test, p <0.001). CONCLUSION These results suggest that improvements in breaststroke performance were dependent upon increasing the minimum velocities within each stroke cycle and improving the peak velocity of the breaststroke kick.