Coordination and propulsion and non-propulsion phases in 100 meter breaststroke swimming

• Published in: Acta of bioengineering and biomechanics Vol. 16; no. 4; pp. 83 - 89
• Main Authors: Strzała, Marek, Krężałek, Piotr, Kucia-Czyszczoń, Katarzyna, Ostrowski, Andrzej, Stanula, Arkadiusz, Tyka, Anna K, Sagalara, Andrzej
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Poland 2014
• Subjects: Adolescent; Biomechanical Phenomena; Humans; Leg - physiology; Male; Movement - physiology; Swimming - physiology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1509-409X
• DOI: 10.5277/ABB-00021-2014-03

The main purpose of this study was to analyze the coordination, propulsion and non-propulsion phases in the 100 meter breaststroke race.
Twenty-seven male swimmers (15.7 ± 1.98 years old) with the total body length (TBL) of 247.0 ± 10.60 [cm] performed an all-out 100 m breaststroke bout. The bouts were recorded with an underwater camera installed on a portable trolley. The swimming kinematic parameters, stroke rate (SR) and stroke length (SL), as well as the coordination indices based on propulsive or non-propulsive movement phases of the arms and legs were distinguished.
Swimming speed (V100surface breast) was associated with SL (R = 0.41, p < 0.05) and with TBL tending towards statistical significance (R = 0.36, p < 0.07), all relationships between the selected variables in the study were measured using partial correlations with controlled age. SL interplayed negatively with the limbs propulsive phase Overlap indicator (R = -0.46, p < 0.05), but had no significant relationship to the non-propulsion Glide indicator.
The propulsion in-sweep (AP3) phase of arms and their non-propulsion partial air recovery (ARair) phase interplayed with V100surface breast (R = 0.51, p < 0.05 and 0.48 p < 0.05) respectively, displaying the importance of proper execution of this phase (AP3) and in reducing the resistance recovery phases in consecutive ones.