Article

What makes a successful relay start in swimming?

Taylor & Francis
Sports Biomechanics
Authors:
  • Deutsche Berufsakademie Sport und Gesundheit
  • Hong Kong Sports Institute
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In the past, studies and book recommendations on relay starts in swimming have been predominantly focused on the change-over time (COT) as a performance criterion. Aside from the circular backswing start with parallel foot placement, few studies have analysed differences in the take-off movement including step approaches as well. Although trends could be identified, the results remained still somewhat inconclusive. In contrast, no study has examined as has examined whether a reduction of COT in between wall contact of the income swimmer and the take-off of the outgoing swimmer is an optimal relay start strategy, as advocated by various swimming experts. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare two different relay start strategies: offensive strategy minimizing COT and conservative strategy to maximize horizontal peak force (HPF). In this regard, a learning intervention with 24 elite-level swimmers (12 females, 12 male) was conducted to compare both strategies regarding relay start time, HPF and COT. Subjects were randomly assigned to two feedback groups: COT versus HPF at take-off. The results of this study showed a clear advantage for HPF feedback for relay start performance measured by wall contact of the incoming swimmer and head passage at 7.5 m of the outgoing swimmer. In addition, similar reductions in COTs were found in both training groups. In conclusion, swimmers should focus on force production rather than minimizing COT. For the latter, deteriorating consequences for force production must be considered.
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The aim of this study was to analyse the significance of various biomechanical parameters in swim start performance for the grab and track start techniques. To do so, structural equation models were analysed, incorporating measurements for the take-off phase, flight phase and entry phase. Forty-six elite German swimmers (18 female and 28 male; age: 20.1 ± 4.2 yrs; PB (100 m Freestyle): 53.6 ± 2.9 s) participated in the study. Their swim start performance was examined within a 25-m sprint test. Structural equation modelling was conducted in separate models for the block time, flight time and water time and in a combined model for swim start time. Our main finding was that swim start time is predominantly related to water time and determined to a lesser extent by block time and flight time. We conclude that more emphasis should be given to the water immersion behaviour and the gliding phase when analysing swim start performance. Furthermore, significant differences were found between the grab start and track techniques as regards the biomechanical parameters representing the take-off phase and water phase.
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This study examines the hand and foot reaction force recorded independently while performing the kick-start technique. Eleven male competitive swimmers performed three trials for the kick-start with maximum effort. Three force platforms (main block, backplate and handgrip) were used to measure reaction forces during starting motion. Force impulses from the hands, front foot and rearfoot were calculated via time integration. During the kick-start, the vertical impulse from the front foot was significantly higher than that from the rearfoot and the horizontal impulse from the rearfoot was significantly higher than that from the front foot. The force impulse from the front foot was dominant for generating vertical take-off velocity and the force impulse from the rearfoot was dominant for horizontal take-off velocity. The kick-start’s shorter block time in comparison to prior measurements of the grab start was explained by the development of horizontal reaction force from the hands and the rearfoot at the beginning of the starting motion.
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This paperback edition is a reprint of the 2000 edition. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of linear mixed models for continuous longitudinal data. Next to model formulation, this edition puts major emphasis on exploratory data analysis for all aspects of the model, such as the marginal model, subject-specific profiles, and residual covariance structure. Further, model diagnostics and missing data receive extensive treatment. Sensitivity analysis for incomplete data is given a prominent place. Several variations to the conventional linear mixed model are discussed (a heterogeity model, conditional linear mixed models). This book will be of interest to applied statisticians and biomedical researchers in industry, public health organizations, contract research organizations, and academia. The book is explanatory rather than mathematically rigorous. Most analyses were done with the MIXED procedure of the SAS software package, and many of its features are clearly elucidated. However, some other commercially available packages are discussed as well. Great care has been taken in presenting the data analyses in a software-independent fashion. Geert Verbeke is Professor in Biostatistics at the Biostatistical Centre of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. He is Past President of the Belgian Region of the International Biometric Society, a Board Member of the American Statistical Association, and past Joint Editor of the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A (2005--2008). He is the director of the Leuven Center for Biostatistics and statistical Bioinformatics (L-BioStat), and vice-director of the Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and statistical Bioinformatics (I-BioStat), a joint initiative of the Hasselt and Leuven universities in Belgium. Geert Molenberghs is Professor of Biostatistics at Universiteit Hasselt and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. He was Joint Editor of Applied Statistics (2001-2004) and Co-Editor of Biometrics (2007-2009). He was President of the International Biometric Society (2004-2005), and has received the Guy Medal in Bronze from the Royal Statistical Society and the Myrto Lefkopoulou award from the Harvard School of Public Health. He is founding director of the Center for Statistics and also the director of the Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and statistical Bioinformatics. Both authors have received the American Statistical Association's Excellence in Continuing Education Award in 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2008. Both are elected Fellows of the American Statistical Association and elected members of the International Statistical Institute.
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Many published papers include large numbers of significance tests. These may be difficult to interpret because if we go on testing long enough we will inevitably find something which is “significant.” We must beware of attaching too much importance to a lone significant result among a mass of non-significant ones. It may be the one in 20 which we expect by chance alone. Lee et al simulated a clinical trial of the treatment of coronary artery disease by allocating 1073 patient records from past cases into two “treatment” groups at random.1 They then analysed the outcome as if it were a genuine trial of two treatments. The analysis was quite detailed and thorough. As we would expect, it failed to show any significant difference in survival between those patients allocated to the two treatments. Patients were then subdivided by two variables which affect prognosis, the number of diseased coronary vessels and whether the left ventricular contraction pattern was normal or abnormal. A significant difference in survival between the two “treatment” groups was found in those patients with three diseased vessels (the maximum) and abnormal ventricular contraction. As this would be the subset of patients with the worst prognosis, the finding would be easy to account for by saying that the superior “treatment” …
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This investigation was conducted to examine the various theories that have been proposed to explain the enhancement of jumping performance when using an arm swing compared to when no arm swing is used. Twenty adult males were asked to perform a series of maximal vertical jumps while using an arm swing and again while holding their arms by their sides. Force, motion and electromyographical data were recorded during each performance. Participants jumped higher (0.086 m) in the arm swing compared to the no-arm swing condition and was due to increased height (28%) and velocity (72%) of the center of mass at take-off. The increased height at take-off was due to the elevation of the arm segments. The increased velocity of take-off stemmed from a complex series of events which allowed the arms to build up energy early in the jump and transfer it to the rest of the body during the later stages of the jump. This energy came from the shoulder and elbow joints as well as from extra work done at the hip. This energy was used to (i) increase the kinetic and potential energy of the arms at take-off, (ii) store and release energy from the muscles and tendons around the ankle, knee and hip joint, and (iii) 'pull' on the body through an upward force acting on the trunk at the shoulder. It was concluded that none of the prevailing theories exclusively explains the enhanced performance in the arm swing jump, but rather the enhanced performance is based on several mechanisms operating together.
Comparison among three types of relay starts in competitive swimming
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