TECHNIQUE ITEMS FROM THE VIII INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF BIOMECHANICS AND MEDICINE IN SWIMMING

Stewart, A., & Kagaki, H. (1998). Making a splash. Sportscience News, September-October. [https://www.sportsci.org/]

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  1. Mitsumasa Miyashita (Japan) pointed out that a swimmer's velocity varies during a single stroke cycle. It increases when the propulsive forces exceed the resistive forces and decreases when it falls below the resistive forces.
  2. Minoru Fujishima (Japan) suggested that the reduction of resistive forces would increase the velocity in strokes with a large resistive component (i.e., breaststroke and butterfly). Pulling equally with the left and right arms would reduce oscillations in velocity during crawl and backstroke. Implication: Swimmers should concentrate on maintaining constant velocity within a stroke cycle by avoiding surges from a dominant limb or a particular part of a stroke (e.g., breaststroke kick).
  3. Jane Cappaert reported that the exceptional performances of elite swimmers results from their better streamlining that reduces resistive forces as opposed to producing significantly higher propulsive forces. Implication: Reducing active drag is essential for achieving high levels of performance in competitive swimming.

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