Forced inspiratory volume in the first second as predictor of front-crawl performance in young sprint swimmers

The purposes of this study were to determine the extent to which specific anthropometric, conditional, and pulmonary function variables predict 100-m front-crawl performance in national swimmers and compare anthropometric, conditional, and pulmonary function variables between both genders. Two groups (male, n = 8 and female, n = 9) of sprint swimmers (mean age ± SD = 19.4 ± 0.7 years and 16.9 ± 3.2 years, respectively) of national competitive level volunteered for this study. Swimmers performed an all-out 100-m front-crawl swimming test. Physiological parameters of lung function were measured using portable spirometer. Basic anthropometry included body height, body mass, and skinfold thickness. Lower limb strength was measured by countermovement and squat jump tests. Correlation and regression analyses were calculated to quantify the relationships between trial time and each variable potentially predictive. Differences between means of both gender groups were analyzed. Results showed that 100-m race performance correlated significantly with forced inspiratory volume in the first second (FIV1) in male swimmers and with FIV1 and forced vital capacity in female swimmers. Stepwise multiple regressions revealed that FIV1 was the only predictor of 100-m race performance, explaining 66% of 100-m time trial variance in male swimmers and 58% in female swimmers. Gender comparisons indicated significant differences in anthropometric, conditional, pulmonary function, and performance variables. The findings suggest that FIV1 could be a good predictor of performance and it should be evaluated routinely and used by coaches in front-crawl sprint swimmers.