Experimental study of the performance of competition swimmers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to consider which characteristics are related to a high velocity in water during swimming. The study was performed on 13 of the best competition swimmers of the region of Lyon (France). The collected data were:$\dot V_{O_2 }$ max, measured during leg-work ($\dot V_{O_2 }$ max LW), during arm-work ($\dot V_{O_2 }$ max AW), and the hydrodynamic resistances measured when the swimmers were towed at the speed of 1.80 m/sec. The cardiac output was measured for four of the subjects. The swimmers were characterized by a mean$\dot V_{O_2 }$ max LW of 56 ml/kg/min and by a high value of the ratio$\frac{{\dot V_{O_2 } \max {\text{ }}AW}}{{\dot V_{O_2 } \max {\text{ }}LW}}$ which reached 99% for three of them. There was a very high correlation (r = 0.90 and 0.91) between the mean speed calculated from the best performances in competition swims of 400 m and 1500 m and a value which is thought to express the aerobic energy available to the swimmer:

$$\dot V_{O_2 } \max water:\dot V_{O_2 } \max {\text{ }}AW + \frac{{\dot V_{O_2 } \max {\text{ }}LW - \dot V_{O_2 } \max {\text{ }}AW}}{6}$$