Biomechanics and bioenergetics of front crawl swimming in young female swimmers

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of energy cost of swimming, anthropometrical/body composition and technical parameters on swimming performance in youn swimmers. Twenty six girls, 14 prepubertal (11.1 +- 0.7 yrs; Tanner stages 1-2) and 12 pubertal (14.7+-1.6 yrs; Tanner stages 3-4) girls participated in the study. Energy cost of swimming (Cs) and stroking parameters were assessed over maximal 400 metre front crawl swimming in a 25 metre swimming pool. The backward extrapolation technique was used to evaluate peak oxygen consumption (VO2 peak) in addition to assessed VO2 peak on a cycle ergometer. A stroke index (SI,m2.s-1 cycle-1) was calculated by mulpiplying the swimming speed by the stroke length. Correlation analysis indicated that SI ( r = - 0.92), VO2 peak ( r = - 0.48) and fat free mass ( r = - 0.61) were the best predictors ( p > 0.001) of swimming performance in studied young swimmers. In addition the backward extrapolation technique could be used to asses Vo2peak in youn swimmers in sport specific conditions. In conclusion, the SI, fat frre mass and VO2peak appear to be the major determinants of ront crawl swimming performance in young female swimmers