Selected Antropometric Characteristic of Swimmers vs. Kinematics of the Swimming Start

Abstract We researched for relationships between selected anthropometric parameters of the elite swimmers and their performance considering the biomechanical structure of the swimming start as well as preferred back plate position. The study group consisted of 13 female and 14 male swimmers. First, anthropometric measures were obtained with a 3D scanner (Mephisto EX-PRO, 4D Dynamics Bvba, Belg). Subsequently, participants performed a kickstart. An instrumented starting block and four video cameras were used to collect kinematic data of the starts. The footage was analyzed using SIMI Motion software. Then Pearson’s correlation coefficient was calculated. Athletes of both sexes with greater body height and longer upper limbs preferred to position the back plate further from the front of the starting block (r > 0.5). The duration of the push-off phase decreased with increasing body height and lower limb length (r = 0.64; r = 0.68). Males with higher body mass and longer upper limbs covered a longer distance during the flight phase (r = 0.75; r = 0.58). In the female group, a positive correlation was shown for torso length and flight time and distance (r = 0.67; r = 0.74). Males with higher body mass had shorter total start time (r = -0.67). Conscious individual choice of the starting position can result in an improvement in the quality of the swimming start. The obtained results allow for monitoring and evaluation of the individual technique of the swimming start and thus improve the training process.