Is Better Freestyle Swimming Technique Associated With Better Performance?

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Swimming technique is widely believed to influence performance, but few studies have quantified this relationship using an objective, pool-side technique assessment. PURPOSE: To determine the relationship between freestyle swimming technique and swimming performance using a poolside technique assessment. METHODS: Freestyle swimming was assessed for technique errors during normal practice near the beginning of the season in 27 Division III college swimmers (16 females, 19±1 years, 1.75±0.11 m, 71.0±10.4 kg). Seven freestyle swimming techniques were considered errors: (1) hand crossing the midline of the body at entry, (2) straight-arm recovery, (3) hand entering with the thumb first, (4) inadequate or excessive shoulder roll, (5) hand crossing the midline of the body during the underwater pull-through, (6) elbow dropping during the pull-through, and (7) excessive neck flexion/extension. Six of the errors were assessed bilaterally, resulting in a maximum possible score of 13 errors. Swimming performance was determined by each participant’s best freestyle event from the end-of-season meet as a percentage of the conference record. The correlation between errors and performance was assessed with Pearson’s r. One participant was removed due to a late-season injury that affected their ability to train and compete. RESULTS: Participants averaged 2.7±1.7 errors (range: 0-5). Their performance averaged 94±3% of the conference record (range: 87-99%). There was a significant negative correlation of moderate strength between number of errors and performance: r = -0.59, p = 0.01, R2= 0.35 (Figure). Fewer errors corresponded with better performance. CONCLUSION: The fewer freestyle technique errors a swimmer made, the faster their best freestyle race time was as a percentage of the conference record. Technique explained 35% of the variance in performance. This study is one of the first to demonstrate this relationship using objective, pool-side assessment criteria.