Understanding more about competitive swimmers and their athletic potential
requires organized, systematic and consistent evaluation. The evaluation and
training control of swimmers give the coach valuable information about an
athlete's improvement, stagnation, or deterioration in training and competitive
performance. Assessments addressing both biological and physical aspects are
usually called biophysical studies. This type of integrated approach allows a
deeper understanding of the determinant variables in swimming and how they
combine to enhance performance. However, few biophysical studies have been
conducted on age-group swimmers, and almost all of them have been crosssectional
rather than longitudinal in design. Although cross-sectional analysis is
relevant, it is not sufficient to fully describe time-course and factors influencing
progression over a training period. The aim of this Thesis was to quantify change
in and relationships between energetics, technique and anthropometrics
characteristics in age-group swimmers during a training traditional periodization
design. For that aim, we developed and validated methodological tools and
protocols. Useful tools have been developed for the sports/research community,
highlighting the importance of a biophysical approach to evaluate swimming
performance through longitudinal studies.
We validated the 400-m test (T400) against the gold standard 7 x 200-m
incremental intermittent protocol, comparing physiological and biomechanical
characteristics in national level age-group swimmers. We also paved the way
towards a straightforward analysis of oxygen uptake (V̇ O2) kinetics in exercise by
developing a freely available and open-source software, which eases the V̇ O2
kinetics analysis in exercise, and can be applied for research and performance
diagnostics in elite, sub-elite or recreational athletes. We then performed three
longitudinal experiments. In the first longitudinal study, physiological and
biomechanical effects of a typical off-season period were quantified in age-group
swimmers, controlling growth and non-swimming specific physical activities
performed during this training cessation period. In the second study, we
quantified changes and contributions of energetic, technique and anthropometric
profiles across the first training macrocycle (16-week) in a traditional three-peak
swimming season. Finaly, we identified changes in energetics, technique and
anthropometric profile while following age-group swimmers over a training
season trough a traditional three-peak preparation program. We are confident
that these methodological and longitudinal studies provide relevant tools and
cientific contribution to the sports and scientific community, helping to better
understand the relationships between performance-related domains
