Abstract
Although the role of underwater phases is well-known, no study has taken an interest in describing and quantifying the distance and time spent in apnea as a condition for optimal performance. This study aimed to investigate the impact of time and distance spent underwater and surface parameters on the swimming performance of elite swimmers. The performances of 79 swimmers in 100-m freestyle were analyzed (short-course). The underwater and spatiotemporal parameters of three groups have been recorded: finalists of the 2018 World Swimming Championships (WORLD), French swimmers who reached a 100 m performance time under 50 s at the 2018 French National Championships (UND50), and those who reached a 100 m performance time above 50 s (UP50). The WORLD group spent more distance underwater (37.50 ± 4.92 m) in comparison with UND50 (31.90 ± 4.88 m, p < 0.05) and UP50 (31.94 ± 4.93 m, p < 0.01) groups. The total percentage of non-swimming time was higher for WORLD (39.11 ± 4.73%) vs. UND50 (34.21 ± 4.55%, p < 0.05) and UP50 (33.94 ± 5.00%, p < 0.01). In addition, underwater speed was higher for WORLD (2.54 ± 0.05 m/s) compared with UND50 (2.46 ± 0.09 m/s, p < 0.05) and UP50 (2.38 ± 0.11 m/s, p < 0.01). Three parameters among the underwater phases (i.e. distance underwater, speed underwater, and total percentage of non-swimming time) determine the 100-m freestyle short course performance. These data suggest an appropriate focus on specific apnea training to improve underwater skills during short-course swimming performances.
Highlights
Swimming competition analysis is highly documented, and numerous studies have investigated the features of spatiotemporal parameters during swimming competitions to determine their influence on the performance of swimmers (Craig et al, 1985; Huot-Marchand et al, 2005; Hellard et al, 2008).A swimming race includes the swimming phases and the so-called non-swimming phases, namely, the start and the turns, such as underwater swimming segments
The mean swimming performance was higher for the swimmers of World Swimming Championships (WORLD) with a total time matching 97.48% of the worldrecord, whereas the swimmers of UND50 and upper to 50 s (UP50), respectively, represented 91.27% and 88.27% (p < 0.001)
Similar results were observed for the total non-swimming time (%), which was higher in the WORLD compared with the UND50 (p < 0.05) and UP50 (p < 0.01)
Summary
Swimming competition analysis is highly documented, and numerous studies have investigated the features of spatiotemporal parameters during swimming competitions to determine their influence on the performance of swimmers (Craig et al, 1985; Huot-Marchand et al, 2005; Hellard et al, 2008).A swimming race includes the swimming phases and the so-called non-swimming phases, namely, the start and the turns, such as underwater swimming segments. During 200 m races, the 15 m time after the start is better for the swimmers to cover in apnea large underwater distances (Veiga and Roig, 2015), benefiting from the reduction of wave drag under the water (Vennell et al, 2006). The modifications on the start or turn distances (especially in the last turn) could represent the overall time improvements of a practical importance for 200 m elite swimmers (Veiga et al, 2016). In these 100 m events, the average velocity of these underwater sections seems to be a key for the race performances. In short-course events, the greater contribution of nonswimming phases could emphasize a more significant effect on the performance where underwater phases can represent up to 60% of the race distance (FINA rules)
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