INTRODUCTION: Swimmers should be in a good body shape and need muscular force in order to achieve a successful performance. For example, arm-span appear to be important determinant of front-crawl swimming performance in young swimmers1 and swimming force is related to sprint swimming velocity2. The purpose of this study was to identify the anthropometric characteristics, body composition and strength as predictors of performance of the 50 m front-crawl swimming in pre-pubertal and pubertal male and female swimmers. METHODS: Seventy-two swimmers (n=72), were divided into two groups, pre-pubertal (n=30) aged 10.5±0.5yrs and pubertal (n=42) aged 13.7±1.5yrs. They underwent a battery of anthropometric, body composition and muscle strength measurements. The Principal Components Analysis (PCA) extracted three components, Component-1: Anthropometric-Tethered Swimming Force (TSF), Component-2: Body Composition and Component-3: Body Dimension. These components were then used in a simultaneous multiple regression procedure to determine which components best explain the variance in swimming performance. RESULTS: Based on the PCA, the Component-1 explained 65.1% of the total variance, Component-2 the 14.6% and Component-3 the 8.2% respectively. In total sample, the anthropometric and TSF were significantly correlated with performance (r=-0.71, p<0.001). When the multiple regression models were applied to the pre-pubertal swimmers (y=27.242-0.420*TSF+1.01*c-arm), 90.9% of the variation was explained by the average TSF (83.7%) and arm circumference (7.2%) while in pubertal swimmers (y=-38.661-0.111*TSF), the 70.4% of the variation was explained only by the average TSF. CONCLUSION: Selected anthropometric characteristics and strength are important determinants of successful performance. Although morphological characteristics composed one dimension of successful performance, muscle strength may be useful in explaining differences in swimming score. These findings may have practical implication for both training and talent identification in swimming.
© Copyright 2010 Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming XI. Veröffentlicht von Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.