Changes in breaststroke swimming performances in national and international athletes competing between 1994 and 2011 -a comparison with freestyle swimming performances.

Romuald Lepers,Thomas Rosemann,Christoph Alexander Rüst,Mathias Wolfrum,Beat Knechtle

doi:10.1186/2052-1847-6-18

Abstract

BackgroundThe purpose of the present study was to analyse potential changes in performance of elite breaststroke swimmers competing at national and international level and to compare to elite freestyle swimming performance.MethodsTemporal trends in performance of elite breaststroke swimmers were analysed from records of the Swiss Swimming Federation and the FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) World Swimming Championships during the 1994–2011 period. Swimming speeds of elite female and male breaststroke swimmers competing in 50 m, 100 m, and 200 m were examined using linear regression, non-linear regression and analysis of variance. Results of breaststroke swimmers were compared to results of freestyle swimmers.ResultsSwimming speed in both strokes improved significantly (p < 0.0001-0.025) over time for both sexes, with the exception of 50 m breaststroke for FINA men. Sex differences in swimming speed increased significantly over time for Swiss freestyle swimmers (p < 0.0001), but not for FINA swimmers for freestyle, while the sex difference remained stable for Swiss and FINA breaststroke swimmers. The sex differences in swimming speed decreased significantly (p < 0.0001) with increasing race distance.ConclusionsThe present study showed that elite male and female swimmers competing during the 1994–2011 period at national and international level improved their swimming speed in both breaststroke and freestyle. The sex difference in freestyle swimming speed consistently increased in athletes competing at national level, whereas it remained unchanged in athletes competing at international level. Future studies should investigate temporal trends for recent time in other strokes, to determine whether this improvement is a generalized phenomenon.

Highlights

The purpose of the present study was to analyse potential changes in performance of elite breaststroke swimmers competing at national and international level and to compare to elite freestyle swimming performance
Whipp and Ward [5] predicted that there would be no limits to human performance in running, and women would eventually run faster than men, while Cheuvront et al [2] concluded that running performances by both men and women had already reached a plateau
Temporal trends have not been examined in other strokes, and new world records in breaststroke and freestyle swimming were set by both men and women during the 2012 Olympic Games [8], suggesting that swimming performance has not reached its limit

Summary

Introduction

The purpose of the present study was to analyse potential changes in performance of elite breaststroke swimmers competing at national and international level and to compare to elite freestyle swimming performance. Nevill et al [3] suggested that freestyle swimming performance had reached the limits of human capability. World record speeds improved significantly during the 1960s and 1970s, but levelled off early in the 21st century [3]. This conclusion was further supported by Seiler et al [6] and Johnson et al [7]. Temporal trends have not been examined in other strokes, and new world records in breaststroke and freestyle swimming were set by both men and women during the 2012 Olympic Games [8], suggesting that swimming performance has not reached its limit

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