Stroking Rates of Open Water Swimmers during the 2019 FINA World Swimming Championships

The aim of the present research was to examine the stroking rate (SR) values of successful and non-successful swimmers in the 10 km and 25 km races of the FINA 2019 World Swimming Championships. Data from 175 participants (95 men and 80 female) were classified according to their finishing positions. There were no meaningful differences in the overall SR values displayed by successful or non-successful participants during the 10 km and 25 km open water races of the FINA 2019 World Swimming Championships. However, there were changes in the SR throughout the races that depended on the swimmer’s performance group and gender. Successful swimmers in the 10 km event typically displayed even SR in the first 5 km but, unlike the remaining performance groups, increased their SR at some point in the second 5 km of the race. In the 25 km race, successful female swimmers presented an even SR profile for most of the race, whereas successful males presented a more variable profile. Nevertheless, no relationships between partial or average SR and finishing positions occurred, either in the 10 km or in the 25 km race. Changes in the SR values should be included in the race plan of open water swimmers according to tactical and pacing strategies.