Pacing profiles, variability and progression in 400, 800 and 1500-m freestyle swimming events at the 2021 European Championship

Performance intra-variability has not been studied in long-distance swimming. The aims were to describe the pacing profile in 400-, 800- and 1500-m freestyle events and to analyse the variability (coefficient of variation[CV]) and performance progression (%Δ) within and between rounds. A total of 256 swims of 130 eliteswimmers (70 males and 60 females) were analysed at the 2021 European Championship (indoor long-course). Linear mixed-effect models were applied for each swimmer and race time performances to obtain the CV and %Δ between each lap and rounds (i.e. heats and final). T-test was conducted to compare the CV between medallist and non-medallist. First and last laps were the fastest (p < 0.001) in all events compared to the intermediate laps which showed an evenly-pace. Parabolic pacing profile was adopted in all events. Male swimmers obtained a CV-average of 0.52 ± 0.49% between rounds (−0.64 ± 0.8%Δ) and females, a CVaverage of 0.70 ± 0.45 (−0.71 ± 0.92%Δ). Medallist swimmers obtained higher CV between rounds (1.00–1.08%) compared to non-medallist finalist (0.22–0.47%). Parabolic pacing profiles were adopted in 400-, 800-, and 1500-m races. The best swimmers adopt conservative strategies in heats to improve their performance in final, obtaining higher CV and %Δ between rounds.This study was supported by grants awarded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Spanish Agency of Research) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); PGC2018–102116–B–I00 ‘SWIM II: Specific Water Innovative Measurements: Applied to the performance improvement’ and the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport: FPU19/02477, FPU 16/02629, and FPU17/02761 grants