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Performance Development of European Swimmers Across the Olympic Cycle

The aims of the study were to (1) quantify the performance development of race times and key performance indicators of European swimmers across the last Olympic cycle (from 2016 to 2021) and (2) provide reference values for long-course swimming pool events for both sexes from 50 m to 1,500 m includi...

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Autores principales: Born, Dennis-Peter, Schönfelder, Michel, Logan, Oliver, Olstad, Bjørn Harald, Romann, Michael
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9231649/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35755613
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2022.894066
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author Born, Dennis-Peter
Schönfelder, Michel
Logan, Oliver
Olstad, Bjørn Harald
Romann, Michael
author_facet Born, Dennis-Peter
Schönfelder, Michel
Logan, Oliver
Olstad, Bjørn Harald
Romann, Michael
author_sort Born, Dennis-Peter
collection PubMed
description The aims of the study were to (1) quantify the performance development of race times and key performance indicators of European swimmers across the last Olympic cycle (from 2016 to 2021) and (2) provide reference values for long-course swimming pool events for both sexes from 50 m to 1,500 m including butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, and individual medley. Individual events from the 2016 and 2021 European swimming championships were included. Specifically, 246 men (age: 24.2 ± 3.4 years, FINA points: 890 ± 40) and 256 women races (age: 24.2 ± 4, FINA points: 879 ± 38) of the finalists were recorded and key performance indicators and split times analyzed. Performance differences in finalists of the 2016 and 2021 European championships were determined by an independent t-test and Cohen's d effect size. Reference values were retrieved from 2021 European championship finalists and are provided for all key performance indicators. Race times improved significantly (P < 0.05) or showed moderate (d = 0.5–1) to large effect sizes (d > 1) in 14 (men) and 6 (women) out of 16 events. Improvements were primarily evident in 100 m and 200 m events for males, as well as BR and sprint events for female swimmers. While start times improved in 15 (men) and 14 (women) events, turn times remained inconclusive in both sexes. Generally, breakout distances increased. Clean swimming velocities were faster in 12 (men) and 5 (women) events. In particular, for alternating swimming strokes, i.e., backstroke and freestyle, effect sizes indicated improved swimming efficiency with an inverse relationship between reduced stroke rate and increased distance per stroke. Coaches and performance analysts may use the present reference values as comparative data for race analyses and to specifically prepare swimmers for the various race sections. Data on the performance development should be used to analyze swimmers' potential and set goals for the various events and the next Olympic cycle.
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spelling pubmed-92316492022-06-25 Performance Development of European Swimmers Across the Olympic Cycle Born, Dennis-Peter Schönfelder, Michel Logan, Oliver Olstad, Bjørn Harald Romann, Michael Front Sports Act Living Sports and Active Living The aims of the study were to (1) quantify the performance development of race times and key performance indicators of European swimmers across the last Olympic cycle (from 2016 to 2021) and (2) provide reference values for long-course swimming pool events for both sexes from 50 m to 1,500 m including butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle, and individual medley. Individual events from the 2016 and 2021 European swimming championships were included. Specifically, 246 men (age: 24.2 ± 3.4 years, FINA points: 890 ± 40) and 256 women races (age: 24.2 ± 4, FINA points: 879 ± 38) of the finalists were recorded and key performance indicators and split times analyzed. Performance differences in finalists of the 2016 and 2021 European championships were determined by an independent t-test and Cohen's d effect size. Reference values were retrieved from 2021 European championship finalists and are provided for all key performance indicators. Race times improved significantly (P < 0.05) or showed moderate (d = 0.5–1) to large effect sizes (d > 1) in 14 (men) and 6 (women) out of 16 events. Improvements were primarily evident in 100 m and 200 m events for males, as well as BR and sprint events for female swimmers. While start times improved in 15 (men) and 14 (women) events, turn times remained inconclusive in both sexes. Generally, breakout distances increased. Clean swimming velocities were faster in 12 (men) and 5 (women) events. In particular, for alternating swimming strokes, i.e., backstroke and freestyle, effect sizes indicated improved swimming efficiency with an inverse relationship between reduced stroke rate and increased distance per stroke. Coaches and performance analysts may use the present reference values as comparative data for race analyses and to specifically prepare swimmers for the various race sections. Data on the performance development should be used to analyze swimmers' potential and set goals for the various events and the next Olympic cycle. Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-06-10 /pmc/articles/PMC9231649/ /pubmed/35755613 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2022.894066 Text en Copyright © 2022 Born, Schönfelder, Logan, Olstad and Romann. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Sports and Active Living
Born, Dennis-Peter
Schönfelder, Michel
Logan, Oliver
Olstad, Bjørn Harald
Romann, Michael
Performance Development of European Swimmers Across the Olympic Cycle
title Performance Development of European Swimmers Across the Olympic Cycle
title_full Performance Development of European Swimmers Across the Olympic Cycle
title_fullStr Performance Development of European Swimmers Across the Olympic Cycle
title_full_unstemmed Performance Development of European Swimmers Across the Olympic Cycle
title_short Performance Development of European Swimmers Across the Olympic Cycle
title_sort performance development of european swimmers across the olympic cycle
topic Sports and Active Living
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9231649/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35755613
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2022.894066
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