Strength of top swimmers

USA Swimmings 2000 Olympic Trials Project Link to the study www.usaswimming.org/.../DesktopDefault.aspx Under Implications – Performance implications vs. time spent doing dryland for distance swimmers and sprinters are described. Numbers 2, 3, and 4 We took a multidisciplinary approach to identifying characteristics and skills of Olympic Trials qualifiers by assessing psychological, biomechanical, training, and anthropometric characteristics. While the variables we measured do not provide a complete picture of successful swimmers, it is a step towards understanding characteristics related to success. The specific characteristics we assessed included: Background information: gender, age, experience in swimming, performance history, training history Psychology: sport motivation; goal orientation; social support, mental preparation Anthropometrics: limb lengths and girths, height and sitting height, weight, and vertical jump Race Analysis: swimming velocity, stroke rate, distance per stroke. Let’s look at the process we took in assessing our Olympic Trials Qualifiers: In mid-April, 500 athletes were randomly selected from the USA Swimming database of athletes who had qualified for Olympic Trials. The 500 selected athletes were sent a letter soliciting their participation and a packet of forms to complete. The personal coach of each athlete was also sent a letter explaining the project and asking him/her to remind the athlete to complete the forms. Follow-up postcards were sent to the athletes approximately three weeks after the initial mailing. Because some athletes were unable to take anthropometric measures, the USA Swimming sport science staff set up a testing site at the Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. Athletes who fell into this category were sent letters reminding them to stop by the testing room to complete the measures. All data was entered into an Excel database for statistical analyses.Of the 500 randomly selected athletes, one hundred and forty-four agreed to participate in the project by returning the packet of forms (representing a 29% return rate). Implications Based on background information there are following conclusions of relevance for coaches and athletes. The average age started swimming is 6.5 year for females and males. There are non-significant differences between swim strokes for females as well for males. The average age started swimming round year has small differences between events. Male distance swimmers have a statistically lower starting age when compared to sprinters. It shows that sprinters can begin their long-term training later than distance swimmers. Sprinters and distance swimmers have similar average weekly dryland hours and number of workouts per week. But distance swimmers have significantly higher weekly swimming workload volume and number of hours spent swimming than sprinters. It means that distance swimmers swim higher workload volume in workouts than sprinters, as expected. Females and males Olympic Trial qualifiers have similar swimming and dryland workload volume. There are no significant differences in workload parameters between females and males. But male freestyle sprinters have significantly higher dryland workload volume than female freestyle sprinters. Female sprinters as well as male sprinters and distance swimmers have tendency to increase dryland workload volume with age. But it doesn’t seem to have an influence on performance progression since there is a negative relationship between improvement and dryland hours per week for sprinters as well as distance swimmers. Therefore athletes should increase dryland workload carefully with age, especially distance swimmers. Coaches and athletes should make a decision about increase of dryland workload based on evaluation of relation between dryland workload and performance progression. In some cases, higher strength on dryland can lead to the reduction of performance because of higher drag in water. Thus, this data suggests that sprinters should work not only on dryland but also on transition from dryland to the water (swimming with resistance, surgical tubing, paddles etc.), which is especially important for the older swimmers. As data show the later swimmers started long-term training (age started swimming and age started swimming year round) the more they tend to work on dryland. However, it seems that dryland workload volume isn’t related to performance improvement for distance swimmers as well as for sprinters. Therefore, swimmers should pay more attention to the swimming workload instead of dryland workload. There was a significant relationship between improvement and the age the athlete started swimming year round. This data suggests that the later swimmer begins long-term training the greater we find the rate in performance progression to be. Last year improvement has no relation with average of weekly swimming yardage for sprinters. It suggests that sprinters should pay more attention to quality of work instead of quantity. For distance swimmers, especially females, last year improvement has positive relation with average of weekly swimming yardage. Therefore, based on the distance swimmers’ data from this study, the greater workload volume the higher improvement in performance. The age started swimming and round year swimming has negative relationship with weekly yardage in sprinters, while these parameters have positive relationship in distance swimmers. Hence, if sprinters started to swim earlier they tend to adapt to the higher workload volume and need to swim more for higher performance. If distance swimmers started to swim earlier they tend to swim lower workload volume.Respectfully submitted - Budd

USA Swimmings 2000 Olympic Trials Project Link to the study www.usaswimming.org/.../DesktopDefault.aspx Under Implications – Performance implications vs. time spent doing dryland for distance swimmers and sprinters are described. Numbers 2, 3, and 4 We took a multidisciplinary approach to identifying characteristics and skills of Olympic Trials qualifiers by assessing psychological, biomechanical, training, and anthropometric characteristics. While the variables we measured do not provide a complete picture of successful swimmers, it is a step towards understanding characteristics related to success. The specific characteristics we assessed included: Background information: gender, age, experience in swimming, performance history, training history Psychology: sport motivation; goal orientation; social support, mental preparation Anthropometrics: limb lengths and girths, height and sitting height, weight, and vertical jump Race Analysis: swimming velocity, stroke rate, distance per stroke. Let’s look at the process we took in assessing our Olympic Trials Qualifiers: In mid-April, 500 athletes were randomly selected from the USA Swimming database of athletes who had qualified for Olympic Trials. The 500 selected athletes were sent a letter soliciting their participation and a packet of forms to complete. The personal coach of each athlete was also sent a letter explaining the project and asking him/her to remind the athlete to complete the forms. Follow-up postcards were sent to the athletes approximately three weeks after the initial mailing. Because some athletes were unable to take anthropometric measures, the USA Swimming sport science staff set up a testing site at the Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. Athletes who fell into this category were sent letters reminding them to stop by the testing room to complete the measures. All data was entered into an Excel database for statistical analyses.Of the 500 randomly selected athletes, one hundred and forty-four agreed to participate in the project by returning the packet of forms (representing a 29% return rate). Implications Based on background information there are following conclusions of relevance for coaches and athletes. The average age started swimming is 6.5 year for females and males. There are non-significant differences between swim strokes for females as well for males. The average age started swimming round year has small differences between events. Male distance swimmers have a statistically lower starting age when compared to sprinters. It shows that sprinters can begin their long-term training later than distance swimmers. Sprinters and distance swimmers have similar average weekly dryland hours and number of workouts per week. But distance swimmers have significantly higher weekly swimming workload volume and number of hours spent swimming than sprinters. It means that distance swimmers swim higher workload volume in workouts than sprinters, as expected. Females and males Olympic Trial qualifiers have similar swimming and dryland workload volume. There are no significant differences in workload parameters between females and males. But male freestyle sprinters have significantly higher dryland workload volume than female freestyle sprinters. Female sprinters as well as male sprinters and distance swimmers have tendency to increase dryland workload volume with age. But it doesn’t seem to have an influence on performance progression since there is a negative relationship between improvement and dryland hours per week for sprinters as well as distance swimmers. Therefore athletes should increase dryland workload carefully with age, especially distance swimmers. Coaches and athletes should make a decision about increase of dryland workload based on evaluation of relation between dryland workload and performance progression. In some cases, higher strength on dryland can lead to the reduction of performance because of higher drag in water. Thus, this data suggests that sprinters should work not only on dryland but also on transition from dryland to the water (swimming with resistance, surgical tubing, paddles etc.), which is especially important for the older swimmers. As data show the later swimmers started long-term training (age started swimming and age started swimming year round) the more they tend to work on dryland. However, it seems that dryland workload volume isn’t related to performance improvement for distance swimmers as well as for sprinters. Therefore, swimmers should pay more attention to the swimming workload instead of dryland workload. There was a significant relationship between improvement and the age the athlete started swimming year round. This data suggests that the later swimmer begins long-term training the greater we find the rate in performance progression to be. Last year improvement has no relation with average of weekly swimming yardage for sprinters. It suggests that sprinters should pay more attention to quality of work instead of quantity. For distance swimmers, especially females, last year improvement has positive relation with average of weekly swimming yardage. Therefore, based on the distance swimmers’ data from this study, the greater workload volume the higher improvement in performance. The age started swimming and round year swimming has negative relationship with weekly yardage in sprinters, while these parameters have positive relationship in distance swimmers. Hence, if sprinters started to swim earlier they tend to adapt to the higher workload volume and need to swim more for higher performance. If distance swimmers started to swim earlier they tend to swim lower workload volume.Respectfully submitted - Budd