Performance Development of European Swimmers Across the Olympic Cycle

Born, Dennis-Peter; Schönfelder, Michel; Logan, Oliver; Olstad, Bjørn Harald; Romann, Michael

doi:10.3389/fspor.2022.894066

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The present findings provide interesting insights for coaches and professionals involved in competitive swimming because it is well known that time differences at the elite level are becoming increasingly narrow (Born et al, 2022) and that marginal gains may represent improvements of practical importance when it comes to medal eligibility. Therefore, despite the lack of large differences in the different physiological, biomechanical, or perceptive parameters between the BJ and PLA groups, the small effects on some of the monitored parameters could provide key insights into where some marginal gains could be achieved.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 83%

Effects of beetroot juice intake on repeated performance of competitive swimmers

Moreno

Morencos²,

Vicente-Campos³

et al. 2023

Front. Physiol.

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Background: Beetroot juice is a sport supplement with a high level of evidence on the physical performance enhancement. However, in swimming, there is no clear data about the effects of beetroot juice on performance.Objective: To investigate whether an acute intake of beetroot juice (BJ) improves the performance of competitive swimmers in a repeated maximum swimming effort.Method: Thirteen national-level swimmers (six females and seven males), participated in this randomized, double-blind crossover study. In two different trials, swimmers ingested a 70-mL placebo shot (.04 mmol NO3−; PLA) or a 70-mL Beet-It shot (6.4 mmol of NO3−beet juice [BJ]) 3 h before undergoing a 6 × 100-m front-crawl maximal effort test with 7 min rest between each 100 m.Results: Overall, 100-m times showed no difference between the BJ and PLA groups (p = .364), although a possibly shorter time was observed for BJ in the last repetition (p = .104; mean difference [MD] = −.99 s, mean-based inference [MBI] = 49/51/0). Participants in the BJ condition showed a possibly lower rate of perceived exertion in the first (p = .242, MD = −.85, MBI = 70/28/2) and second repetitions (p = .165, MD = 1.15, MBI = 83/16/1), whereas Total Quality Recovery scale scores were likely higher in the first (p = .110, MD = 1.15, MBI = 83/16/1) and third (p = .082, MD = −.77, MBI = 70/29/1) repetitions compared with those in the PLA group. Blood lactate concentration [La+] levels showed no differences between groups in any of the repetitions (p > .05, unclear), and we observed an increase in 100-m times for both BJ and PLA (BJ: p = .014, MD = −1.51 s; PLA: p = .029, MD = −1.57 s) after the fifth repetition.Conclusion: No clear differences in performance were observed in a 6 × 100-m repeated sprint test by competitive swimmers when supplementing (or not) with BJ. However, there was a trend toward a better recovery between efforts and a better tolerance of fatigue when swimmers ingested BJ.

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Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 83%

Effects of beetroot juice intake on repeated performance of competitive swimmers

Moreno

Morencos²,

Vicente-Campos³

et al. 2023

Front. Physiol.

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“…Starts were performed with the same material requirements as in major international swimming competitions (starting block with equal dimensions as the Omega OSB11 or the Omega OBL2 PRO backstroke ledge). Start time, defined as time between starting signal (light trigger of the starting device visible in the video footage) until the head of the swimmer passed the 15-m mark, was taken as outcome measure for further analyses ( Morais et al, 2019 ; Born et al, 2022b ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tracking performance and its underlying characteristics in talented swimmers: a longitudinal study during the junior-to-senior transition

et al. 2023

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The present study strived to gain a more profound understanding of the distinctions in development between swimmers who are considered to be on track to the senior elite level compared to those who are not. Longitudinal data of 29 talented sprint and middle-distance swimmers (12 males; 17 females) on season best performances (season best times) and underlying performance characteristics (anthropometrics, starts, turns, maximal swimming velocity, stroke index [SI, an indirect measure of swimming efficiency] and lower body power) were collected over four swimming seasons (median of n = 3 seasons per swimmer). Based on their season best performance at early senior age (males aged 18–19; females aged 17–18), some swimmers were considered to be on track to reach the elite level (referred to as high-performing seniors; 6 males and 10 females), whereas others were not (referred to as lower-performing seniors; 6 males and 7 females). Retrospectively studying these swimmers (males and females separately), we found that all high-performing seniors were already on track to the elite level at late junior age (males aged 17; females aged 16), evidenced with faster season best performances throughout their transition compared to their lower-performing peers (p < 0.05). Independent sample t-tests revealed that high-performing seniors significantly outscored their lower-performing peers on maximal swimming velocity (males and females), starts and turns (males), SI (females) and lower body power (females) at late junior age (p < 0.05). Additionally, multilevel models showed faster rates of development for high-performing seniors on turns and maximal swimming velocity (males), and SI (females) compared to lower-performing peers during the junior-to-senior transition (p < 0.05). Particularly, the higher initial levels of swim performance and underlying characteristics at late junior age as well as the ability to keep progressing on season best performances (males and females), turns and maximal swimming velocity (males), and SI (females) during the junior-to-senior transition, may be crucial factors in the attainment of swimming expertise.

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“…Participants of the European swimming championships are video monitored for television broadcasting and race analyses by the Ligue Européenne de Natation (LEN), which is the organiser of the event. The present study was conducted as a part of a larger investigation project [ 11 ], which was preapproved by the institutional review boards of the Swiss Federal Institute of Sport Magglingen (Reg.-Nr. 140_LSP_072021) and conducted according to the ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects of the World Medical Association (WMA Declaration of Helsinki).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Time stamps were exported to a specific spreadsheet (Excel 365, Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, DC, USA) to calculate split times and stroke parameters. Inter-rater reliability for breakout time, breakout distance, swimming speed, stroke rate, and distance per stroke showed a mean intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.99 [ 11 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The present study was conducted as a part of a larger investigation project [ 11 ], which was preapproved by the institutional review boards of the Swiss Federal Institute of Sport Magglingen (Reg.-Nr. 140_LSP_072021) and conducted according to the ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects of the World Medical Association (WMA Declaration of Helsinki).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Differences in Race Characteristics between World-Class Individual-Medley and Stroke-Specialist Swimmers

Gonjo

Polach

Olstad

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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The purpose of the present study was to investigate differences between world-class individual medley (IM) swimmers and stroke-specialists using race analyses. A total of eighty 200 m races (8 finalists × 2 sexes × 5 events) at the 2021 European long-course swimming championships were analysed. Eight digital video cameras recorded the races, and the video footage was manually analysed to obtain underwater distance, underwater time, and underwater speed, as well as clean-swimming speed, stroke rate, and distance per stroke. Each lap of the IM races was compared with the first, second, third, and fourth laps of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle races, respectively. Differences between IM swimmers and specialists in each analysed variable were assessed using an independent-sample t-test, and the effects of sex and stroke on the differences were analysed using a two-way analysis of variance with relative values (IM swimmers’ score relative to the mean specialists’ score) as dependent variables. Breaststroke specialists showed faster clean-swimming speed and longer distance per stroke than IM swimmers for both males (clean-swimming speed: p = 0.011; distance per stroke: p = 0.023) and females (clean-swimming speed: p = 0.003; distance per stroke: p = 0.036). For backstroke and front crawl, specialists exhibited faster underwater speeds than IM swimmers (all p < 0.001). Females showed faster relative speeds during butterfly clean-swimming segments (p < 0.001) and breaststroke underwater segments than males (p = 0.028). IM swimmers should focus especially on breaststroke training, particularly aiming to improve their distance per stroke.

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Performance Development of European Swimmers Across the Olympic Cycle

Cited by 8 publications

References 35 publications

Effects of beetroot juice intake on repeated performance of competitive swimmers

Effects of beetroot juice intake on repeated performance of competitive swimmers

Tracking performance and its underlying characteristics in talented swimmers: a longitudinal study during the junior-to-senior transition

Differences in Race Characteristics between World-Class Individual-Medley and Stroke-Specialist Swimmers

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