Determinants of the energy cost of middle distance front crawl swimming among black swimmers

A. DELLAL, Pui Lam WONG, S. AMBASSA, Andrew Ward SMITH

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

Abstract

This study aimed to determine which factors influence the energy cost and speed of the Senegalese swimmers in the 400-m front crawl. Thirteen black elite swimmers (19.9±4.1 years old) of the Senegal national team took part in this study. Anthropometric, physiological, and technical parameters were measured. The maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and energy cost were evaluated after two sub-maximal 200m (Swim1 at 1.10m.s-¹ and Swim2 at 1.22m.s-¹) and one 400-m front crawl performed in competition (Swim3). The VO2 increased with the swimming speed with an increment of 14.0% from 1.10 to 1.22m.s-1 (p < 0.001). The energy cost was 52.4±3.4ml.m-¹ (Swim1) and 57.7±3.5ml.m-¹ (Swim2) and they were positively correlated with stroke frequency (r ranged from 0.46 to 0.62), but negatively with stroke length (r ranged from -0.54 to -0.85). The 400 m swimming speed performed was positively correlated with body mass (r=0.57, p < 0.05), body surface area (r=0.67, p < 0.05), hydrostatic lift (r=0.80, p < 0.001) and vital capacity (r=0.87, p < 0.001). The findings show that the energy cost was affected by height, weight, vital capacity, buoyancy, stroke length, stroke frequency and body surface area. However, it appears that stroke length was the best indicator for performance in the 400-m front crawl for the black swimmers. Copyright © 2011 International Journal of Motor Learning and Sport Performance.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)37-45
JournalInternational Journal of Motor Learning and Sport Performance
Volume1
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2011

Citation

Dellal, A., Wong, D. P., Ambassa, S., & Smith, A. W. (2011). Determinants of the energy cost of middle distance front crawl swimming among black swimmers. International Journal of Motor Learning and Sport Performance, 1(1), 37-45.

Keywords

  • Swimming
  • Energy cost
  • Anthropometric parameters
  • Buoyancy
  • 400-m front crawl

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