Wright, B. V., White, J. C., Parry, T. E., Willmott, A. P., Nelson, C. S., Cornett, A. C., & Stager, J. M. (2005). Maximum hand, head, knee, and toe depths during the competitive swimming start differ with race distance. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 37(5), Supplement abstract 624.

Competitive swimmers' starts were filmed during a swimming meet. The depths of the hands, head, knees, and toes were recorded for 50, 200, and 400 freestyle events.

There were no significant differences between genders. Maximum depths for each body part were all significantly different between 50 and 200/400 events but not between 200 and 400 events.

Implication. The depth of the dive should be shallower for 50-m events than for 200/400 events.

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