INTRODUCTION: Dopsaj, Matkovic, and Zdravkovic (2000) showed that fully tethered swimming is a worthwhile tool for measuring maximum swimming force (Fmax), and valid to predict 50-m-crawl sprint times. In addition to that, in this study it is assumed that a fully tethered crawl swim test can also be used to measure swimming technique by quantifying the variation of the propulsive force on the rope. Thus, the study aims at the validation of the relative standard deviation (rSD) of the swimming force in a fully tethered 6-s-maximum crawl sprint test. METHODS: 33 male and 27 female elite swimmers of the German junior national team performed 3 maximum crawl sprint trials under fully tethered conditions. The over all swimming force exerted on a steel rope was measured by a load cell. In a first step, the influence of fatigue was eliminated by partializing out the specific variance resulting from the test duration (time) on the dependent force variable by regression analysis. For the residual data of the 6-second stationary force-time curve of each individual the standard deviation was calculated, and then expressed as percentage of the mean force. A small intra- and intercyclic variation of the swimming force is interpreted as a high technical proficiency of the swimmer. RESULTS: Not only the mean swimming force, but also the inter- and intracyclic variation of the swimming force during the 6-seconds all-out test is significantly correlated with the personal best competition time in the 50-m-freestyle swimming. In the boys group, all crawl sprint times below 24.0 s are associated with relative standard variation coefficients of the exerted force in the fully tethered swimming test below 70 percent of the mean swimming force of the individuals. In the girls, no significant correlation (rtc = .08; p = .337; n = 29) between the rSD of the swimming force and the crawl sprint performance could be found. DISCUSSION: The significant correlation between the crawl sprint competition times and a low variation of the propulsive forces exerted in a fully tethered 6-seconds all-out sprint test underline the validity of the test procedure in elite male swimmers.
© Copyright 2010 Biomechanics and Medicine in Swimming XI - Abstracts. Julkaistu Tekijä Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. Kaikki oikeudet pidätetään. / Kääntänyt https://www.DeepL.com/Translator