Swimming turn performance: the distinguishing factor in 1500 m world championship freestyle races?

Abstract

Objective Turn sections represent the second largest part of total race time in 1500 m freestyle races and may substantially affect race results. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate individual race strategies and compare the effect of start, swim, and turn performances between short-course and long-course races. Video footages were collected from all 16 male finalists at the 2018 short and 2019 long-course World swimming championships (age 23.06 ± 2.3 years, FINA points 941 ± 42) for subsequently analysis of start, turn, and swim performance. Results The larger number of turns in short-course races resulted in significantly faster race times (p = 0.004), but slower mean turn times compared to long-course races (p < 0.001). Total race velocity closely correlated with swim and turn but not start section velocity in short- (r ≥ 0.80, p ≤ 0.017) and long-course races (r ≥ 0.83, p ≤ 0.011). Analysis of individual race strategies showed that turn performance affected race results in 6 (75%) and 3 (37.5%) of the 8 world-best 1500 m swimmers in short-course and long-course races, respectively. Medal standing was improved for 1st, 3rd, and 4th ranked short- as well as 1st and 2nd ranked long-course finalist. Coaches, athletes, and performance analysts may carefully consider the importance of turn performance additionally to free-swimming skills.

Turn Performance Variation in European Elite Short-Course Swimmers

“…Thus, the increased number of turns in short-course races increases average race velocity by 2.0 ± 0.6% compared to long-course races [18], resulting in a close correlation between the initial 10 m following wall contact and total race time (r = 0.83) [17]. A new perspective on turn performance on development in the 1500 m freestyle performance was demonstrated by a detailed analysis of the 2018 and 2019 world championship events [19]. On average, swimmers turned 0.07 s faster in long-compared to short-course races.…”

“…On average, swimmers turned 0.07 s faster in long-compared to short-course races. The greater number of turns in short-course races performed at this faster pace indicates the potential to improve the world record by 2.10 s [19]. Indeed, despite slightly slower clean swimming times, the world record was recently improved by 1.18 s in the men's 1500 m freestyle event at the 2021 Short-Course World Championships, which was attributed to the overall 2.30 s faster turns [20].…”

“…As turn performances provide important success factors for short-course races [16,19,20] and become progressively slower throughout a race [12,13,19,21], more consistent turn times may distinguish higher-from lower-ranked swimmers. Furthermore, pacing strategies differ between short-and long-distance races [2,6,7,13,14,21].…”

Performance Development of European Swimmers Across the Olympic Cycle

“…With the continuous development, up-to-date analyses are required to quantify recent performance progression during the Olympic cycle. Detailed race analyses discover potentials and exhibit perspectives for future performance developments specific to sex, race distance, and swimming stroke (Polach et al, 2021;Polach and Born, 2022). In particular, the recent Olympic cycle requires scientific attention.…”

“…As start performance correlated with the swimmers' strength abilities (West et al, 2011), on-land training routines and strength and conditioning programs are specifically designed to improve the acyclic phases, i.e., start and turn performances (Bishop et al, 2013), which became increasingly important indicators for modern swim races (Morais et al, 2019;Born et al, 2021;Polach et al, 2021). Indeed, the new world record in the men's 1,500 m short-course freestyle (FR) event was broken by improved turns rather than clean swimming performance (Polach et al, 2021;Polach and Born, 2022). Therefore, in addition to total race time, performance development must be assessed for each race section and key performance indicator separately.…”