Abstract
International elite Para swimmers form a large portion of the overall multi-medalist winning population. For the highest performing Para swimmers, world class performances were achieved across different strokes. The aim of this study was to quantify the level of involvement across different events and to examine this in relation to the level of performance. The performances in swimming speed of the top 100 females and males for both Para- and non-disabled swimmers were collected in 11 race events between 2009 and 2019 (4,400 performances for 307 Para females and 365 Para males, 605 non-disabled females, and 715 non-disabled males). We tallied the number of events in which each swimmer was involved. Swimmers were grouped according to the total number of race events in which they participated. Then the association between involvement and level of performance was investigated. Para swimmers with impairment from classes seven to 14 were involved in a range of race events across different strokes. The most common combination for both Para and non-disabled athletes was over similarly distanced races of the same stroke (50 and 100 m freestyle). The more race events in which Para swimmers involved, the higher the level of performance that was achieved. This trend can partially be explained by the less concentrated competition pool for Para swimmers compared to able-bodied swimmers. Para swimmers with minimal and no physical impairment perform in multiple race events more often than able-bodied swimmers. Fewer Para swimmers at the international level and a less concentrated competition pool could explain these differences.
Highlights
Para swimming was first introduced into the Paralympics Games in Rome in 1960
The aim of this study was to investigate the specificities of the international Para- and non-disabled swimmers according to their involvement in multiple race events, performance level, impairment class among Para swimmers, and age
– There is a less concentrated competition field for Para swimmers (PS); as shown in Figure 3, the mean performance gap to the faster PS is greater on all race events compared to the non-disabled swimmer (NDS) which are highly concentrated near to the best performance; – Higher performance levels were present for PS with minimal or no motor impairment who took part in more race events, especially among females; – In the majority of the race events analyzed, female PS were younger than female NDS
Summary
Para swimming was first introduced into the Paralympics Games in Rome in 1960. It has one of the highest medal counts at the Paralympics Games alongside track and field and cycling (Tweedy and Howe, 2010). Involvement in Swimming Race Events performances have progressed more than Olympic swimming performances over the past two decades for the majority of impairment classifications (Burkett et al, 2018) Another feature of Para swimming race events is that they seem to provide an opportunity for Para swimmers (PS) to win across several distances and strokes despite a fewer race events available compared to non-disabled swimmer (NDS). Trischa Zorn is the world’s most successful female Paralympic swimmer, winning 37 gold medals for a total of 55 medals between 1980 and 2004 over all types of stroke styles from 50 to 400 m She is followed by Beatrice Hess who won 20 gold medals between 1984 and 2004 in freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, the individual medley (IM) over several distances from 50 to 200 m. From the junior national level (Stewart and Hopkins, 2000) to sub-elite level (Dormehl and Williams, 2016), high level non-disabled swimmers tend to perform in one or two race events with the most common overlap in races consisting of the 50 and 100 m freestyle
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