The relation between selected anthropometric variables and the sports results of early pubescent swimmers

Background: Relationships between anthropometric parameters and sports results in swimming are well documented, but only few studies concern young athletes. Scientific evidence does not indicate definitely which anthropometric variables determine swimming performance among pubertal athletes. Material and methods: Forty-one swimmers at the mean age of 12.2 years (including 15 females) were examined. Body composition was assessed with a Tanita BC 545N device. Body height, hand length, hand width and arm span were also measured. Anthropometric data were compared to results of 50 m freestyle and 200 m individual medley. Results: Calculations made by Pearson’s coefficient revealed significant correlations between body height, arm span and hand length and the freestyle results. The relationships between anthropometric measurements and 200 m individual medley results were significant only in boys. The other variables showed weak and insignificant correlations with sports results. Conclusions: Results of our study suggest that in early adolescence body height and upper limb dimensions affect swimming performance much more than body composition