INTRODUCTION: Due to the low efficacy of the swimming movement and relatively high resistance of water, pacing is crucial for swimming performance [1]. Cross-sectional studies show that in the 200m freestyle event, adolescent swimmers tend to start too fast, as an even pacing behaviour has been proposed to yield the best performance and is preferred by elite adult swimmers [1,2]. Studies in speed skating have indicated that during adolescence, pacing behaviour develops to better fit the task demands and that an early development of pacing behaviour relates to a higher performance level in adulthood [3]. It is therefore hypothesised that the pacing behaviour of 200m freestyle swimmers will develop towards a more even pacing behaviour during adolescence, and adolescent swimmers of a higher performance level already exhibit a more even pacing behaviour. METHODS: Total race time and 50m split times were gathered of male (m) and female (f) swimmers` season best 200m freestyle performances between 2000 and 2021 (n=16645, 6848 female; 4.1±1.3 observations per swimmer). Included swimmers had a minimum of three season best times (SBT) between 12-18 years old and were categorized by comparing their best SBT to the prevailing world record: competitive (<116%) or recreational (116-125%). Using the lmer4 package in R, longitudinal multilevel models, in which repeated measures (level 1) were nested within individual swimmers (level 2), were used to analyse the effect of age and performance level on the normalized velocity in each 50m section (p<0.05). RESULTS: Comparing 12 and 18 years old swimmers, the models predicted older swimmers to go relatively slower in the initial 50m (m: -1.22%, f: -1.12%), faster in the 50-100m (m: 1.20%, f: 0.77%) and 100-150m sections (m: 1.31%, f: 1.12%), and slower in the final section (m: -1.56%, f: -1.02%). Compared to the recreational swimmers, the competitive swimmers were relatively slower in the initial section (m: -1.20%, f: -1.01%) and faster in the 100-150m (m: 0.64%, f: 0.56%) and 150-200m sections (m: 0.38%, f: 0.11%). In the 50-100m section, competitive males were slower (-0.04%) and competitive females were faster (0.16%) than their recreational peers. CONCLUSION: With age, adolescent swimmers hold back at the start of the race to achieve a higher velocity in the middle sections, overall achieving a more even pacing behaviour. Higher performing adolescent swimmers already exhibit a more even pacing behaviour compared to lower-performing swimmers. The current study used a rigid longitudinal design and large sample size to provide robust evidence that pacing behaviour of swimmers develops during adolescence and that pacing behaviour is linked to performance during adolescence. Coaches could use the data provided in the current study as benchmarks to monitor their swimmers` pacing behaviour development, guiding junior swimmers on the road towards elite performance.
© Copyright 2022 27th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science (ECSS), Sevilla, 30. Aug - 2. Sep 2022. Julkaistu Tekijä Faculty of Sport Science - Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Kaikki oikeudet pidätetään. / Kääntänyt https://www.DeepL.com/Translator