Introduction: Talent identification in swimming has been the focus of research for several decades, with special emphasis on selected physiological and anthropometrical traits, combined with maturation. However, the effectiveness of these strategies remains broadly debatable. The aim of this study was to confirm retrospectively if the performance-correlated variables in age group swimmers were effective in predicting later sport success as adults. Methods: The sample of this study comprised 178 females (13.0±0.8 years old) and 205 males (14.9±1.0 years old) swimmers, selected at national level according to their best season performance. The swimmers were categorized in two groups according to the criterion of ranking among the 10 best annual national times in any swimming event, in the next two Olympic cycles following age group evaluations that occurred from 1999 to 2005. Data collected at the time, consisting of week load volumes and training experience, standard anthropometric measurements, hydrodynamic drag force influencing characteristics as glide distance after a wall push-off (GD) and buoyancy test (B) and performance protocols as the 15 m sprint velocity (SV) and mean velocity and stroke rate at a 30 minutes continuous swimming (T30), were compared between the Elite and the Subelite groups thus formed. Results: Swimmers integrating the Elite group had been late maturers, as determined by the ratio between bone and chronological ages (p=0.03 and 0.05, for males and females, respectively) and were already better performers at young age (p.0.001 for both sexes). They had been also taller and had longer limbs (p.0.001 for males and p=0.003 for females). Adding to this, both boys and girls of the Elite group presented higher trunk flexion (p.0.02 for males and p.0.04 for females) and B (p.0.001 for both sexes) and boys also had higher GD (p=0.01) and had been through lower week volumes than their counterparts (p.0.04). Finally, the Elite group, in both sexes, has had better results in T30 distance (p=0.001 for males and p=0.005 for females) and had lower mean stroke frequency during this test (p=0.002 for males and p=0.02 for females). Discussion: In a previous report, explanatory models were developed identified the T30 aerobic test as the strongest predictive variable of race performance (1). We looked back to age group evaluation protocols and concluded that young swimmers predictive variables of performance were powerful on discriminating the success at adult level. Maturity status at the moment of the age-group evaluations is confirmed as a key variable for talent identification in swimming. Remarkably, if week training volumes did not influence future success in female swimmers, top ten male swimmers seem to have had even better results with less training when they were younger.
© Copyright 2014 19th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Amsterdam, 2. - 5. July 2014. Julkaistu Tekijä VU University Amsterdam. Kaikki oikeudet pidätetään. / Kääntänyt https://www.DeepL.com/Translator