Over the pasl 10 years. the factors that contribute ta swimming successlully at top national and international competitions have been analyzed by leading sports scientists such as Dr Bruce Masan of Ihe Australien Instilule of Sport. Competilion analysis breaks down racing into its various components.- Start time: The first 15 m (from the starting signal to the time the swimmer's head crosses the 15m mark from the starting wall).
- turn time: A distance of 7.5 min and out of the wall (taken from the point where the swimmer's head passes through a point 7.5 m from the wall into a turn and continues until the swimmer's head passes through the same point 7.5 m from the wall on the way out of the turn).
- Finish lime: The final 5m (from Ihe time the swimmer's head passes the 5 m mark from the finish wall to the actual hand touch on Ihe wall).
- Stroke lenglh: The distance the swimmer's head moves during a complete arm cycle (from right-hand entry to the next right-hand entry).
- Stroke rate (or stroke freguency): The number of stroke cycles per minute.
- Swimming speed (or velocity)
- Split limes (each 25/50 m segment of the race)
by Wayne M. Goldsmith
