Kinematical and neuromuscular aspects related to performance during the swimming start

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the performance of the start off the swimming block with kinematical and neuromuscular parameters (flight distance and flight time). Ten male swimmers (26.4 ± 6.6 years, 76.4 ± 6.6 kg, 1.81 ± 0.07 m) participated in the study. A video camera (30 Hz) was used to obtain the kinematic variables: flight distance, flight time, maximum height, start angle and entry angle. Muscle power was assessed via the performance of a Squat Jump on a force plate. Jump height, power and peak of velocity were analyzed. Pearson correlation was used to correlate kinematic and neuromuscular variables with starting performance. The level of significance was set at 5%. A significant correlation between the starting angle and both the flight distance (r = -0.59) and the flight time (r = 0.88) were found; also, a positive correlation was found between maximum height and flight time (r = 0.59). No significant correlation between swimming start performance and neuromuscular parameters (p>;0.05) were found. We can conclude that performance in the swimming start was related with the start angle and maximum height. Muscle power did not affect swimming start performance in this study.