Relationship between physical characteristics and 200-metre swimming performance in young amateur swimmers

Purposeː In swimming, elbow extension and flexion are among the most important movements involved in the front crawl upper body propulsive phase. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the characteristics of young swimmers in relation to 200-m performance. Methods: 16 male swimmers (Age: 13.13 ± 2.06y; Body Mass: 60.88 ± 18.58 kg; Height: 164.75 ± 13.77cm) underwent three laboratory tests followed by a 200m swim-test. Results: There was a significant relationship between the isometric elbow strength and 200-m speed (P < .05). Results also showed a significant relationship between the isokinetic contractions at angular velocities of 60°/sec and 180°/sec of elbow flexors and swimming performance (P < .05). However, the relationship between the isokinetic contractions at the angular velocities of 60°/sec and 180°/sec of elbow extensors and swimming performance was not significant (P > .05). There was no significant relationship between the values of the anaerobic and peak power and 200-m speed (P > .05) following the Wingate test. The variable “Isokinetic – Acceleration Time (msec) - Flexion 180°/sec” had a significant and negative effect on speeds (B = -.001, P-value = .029; R2 = .298, Adj R2 = .248), while the variable “Isokinetic - Acceleration Time (msec) - Extension 60°/sec” also had a significant and negative effect on speeds (B = -.006, p-value = .013; R2 = .368, Adj R2 = .323).Conclusions: Assessment of physical characteristics may help coaches understand the potential of their swimmers in a specific swimming event. Therefore, talented swimmers may be identified at an early age. Keywords: performance; isometric; contraction; isokinetic; elbow; Wingate.