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Three‐dimensional analysis of intracycle velocity fluctuations in frontcrawl swimming
Author(s) -
Psycharakis S. G.,
Naemi R.,
Connaboy C.,
McCabe C.,
Sanders R. H.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2009.00891.x
Subject(s) - mathematics , medicine , physics
The purpose of this study was to determine accurately the magnitude and changes of intra‐cycle velocity fluctuation ( V fluc ), maximum ( V max ) and minimum velocity ( V min ) of the center of mass during a maximum 200 m frontcrawl swim, and to examine whether they are associated with performance. Performance was indicated by the mean velocity ( V mean ) of the stroke cycle (SC) in the swimming direction. The relative V fluc , V max and V min were also calculated as a percentage of V mean , while V fluc was calculated for all three directions. Eleven male swimmers of national/international level participated in this study and their performance was recorded with four below‐ and two above‐water‐synchronized cameras. Four SCs were analyzed for the 200 m swim (one for each 50 m). Anthropometric data were calculated by the elliptical zone method. V mean generally decreased throughout the test. V max and V min were positively correlated to performance and were significantly higher in SC1 than in the other SCs. However, the relative V max and V min values were remarkably consistent during the 200 m and not associated with performance. Despite the noteworthy magnitude of V fluc in all directions, they were in general not correlated with performance and there were no significant changes during the test.