The aims of this study were to determine whether propulsive force (peak force, mean force, impulse, rate of force development) and stroke rate change during two minutes of front crawl tethered-swimming and to correlate them with the stroke rate and swimming velocity in 200m-front crawl swimming. Twenty-one swimmers (21.6±4.8 years, 1.78±0.06 m, 71.7±8.1 kg), with 200m-front crawl swimming
... [Show full abstract] performance equivalent to 78% of the world record (140.4 ± 10.1s), were assessed during two minutes of maximal front crawl tethered-swimming (propulsive forces and stroke rate) and 200m-front crawl swimming (stroke rate and clean velocity). Propulsive forces decreased between the beginning to the middle instant (∼20%; p<0.05) but remained stable between the middle and the end instants (∼6%; p>0.05). The peak force was positively correlated with the clean velocity in the 200m-front crawl swimming (mean r=0.61; p<0.02). The stroke rates of the tethered- and 200m-front crawl swimming were positively correlated (r = 45; p≤ 0.01) at the middle instant. Therefore, the propulsive force and stroke rate changed throughout the two minutes of tethered-swimming and the peak force is the best propulsive force variable tested that correlated with 200m-front crawl swimming performance.