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/]
- 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.
- 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).
- 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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