Racing in the 21st Century: A Longitudinal Analysis of Stroke Choices, Underwater Strategies, and Pacing Strategies at the United States Olympic Swimming Trials (2000-2021)
Restricted (Penn State Only)
- Author:
- Doyle, Ben
- Area of Honors:
- Kinesiology
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Jim Pawelczyk, Thesis Supervisor
Mark Dyreson, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Swimming
Performance Trends
Stroke choices
Racing Strategy
Underwater Strategy
Pacing - Abstract:
- There has been a significant improvement in elite swimming performance, particularly in sprint (100m) and middle distance (200m) events for both men and women, throughout the 21st century. The goal of this study was to identify changes in underwater racing strategy, pacing, and swimming velocity (vS) that have developed throughout the 21st century. Finalists in the men’s and women’s 100- and 200m races of all four strokes at the 2000-2021 US Olympic Swimming Trials (n=759) were analyzed in real time (2000-2004) or retrospectively using frame-by-frame video analysis (2008-2021) of each length. Races were separated into the broad parameters of swimming time (ST) and non-swimming time (NST). The largest component of NST, underwater time (UWT), was used as a proxy of underwater strategy. Distance per cycle (DPC), cycle rate (CR), and vS over time and over each lap of the race were used to assess the evolution of surface swimming and pacing. There were significant decreases in total race time (RT) in all 16 events from 2000-2021 (p<0.001), and NST significantly increased from 2000-2021 in 15 of 16 events (p<0.05). Although year-over-year changes were variable, NST was always greatest in the 2021 USOT. vS significantly changed in 9 of 16 races over time, with 8 showing increases (p<0.05) and the women’s 200m backstroke showing a decrease, particularly from 2016-2021 (p<0.05). The accompanying changes in DPC and CR did not show a consistent pattern, suggesting that athletes continue to seek combinations of DPC and CR that will maximize racing velocity. With regard to pacing strategy, all 16 events showed a significant decrease in vS from the first to second halves of both all 100- and 200m races (p<0.05); a decay in vS suggestive of fatigue. Two events (women’s 100m breaststroke and butterfly) showed significant interaction effects for Year•Distance (p<0.001), with better maintenance of vS over time particularly for the second 50m. The findings of this study clearly suggest that increases in NST, likely resulting from increased utilization of underwater dolphin kicking and breaststroke pullouts, are largely responsible for the improvements in overall performance throughout the 21st century. Though some races demonstrated additional increases in vS, the changes in stroke choices leading to these increases were not consistent, nor were they as impactful as the changes in NST. The evolution of vS throughout the race has remained largely consistent over time, but in some races athletes appeared to prioritize velocity in the second half, suggesting some advantage to this strategy in the less economical short-axis strokes (breaststroke and butterfly). This study provided a comprehensive overview of changes at the elite domestic level of swimming and clearly identified the utilization of the underwater phase to benefit race performance.