Does a jammer-type racing swimsuit improve sprint performance during maximal front-crawl swimming?

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Biomechanics
• Human Performance

Background:

• Advanced swimwear, such as jammer-type racing swimsuits (RS), is designed to enhance swimming performance.
• The specific effects of RS on key performance metrics during different swimming efforts require detailed investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of jammer-type racing swimsuits (RS) on swimming performance during arm-stroke-only (pull) and whole-body stroke (swim) efforts.
• To compare the effects of RS against conventional swimsuits (CS) in well-trained male collegiate swimmers.

Main Methods:

• Twelve male collegiate swimmers performed maximal effort 25-m front-crawl tests in both RS and CS.
• Tests included arm-stroke-only (pull), whole-body stroke (swim), and a system to measure active drag (MAD pull).
• Measurements included swimming velocity, intra-abdominal pressure (IAP), stroke indices, drag-swimming velocity relationship, and maximum propulsive power.

Main Results:

• Significantly higher swimming velocities were observed with RS during both pull (1.59 m·s⁻¹) and swim (1.77 m·s⁻¹) compared to CS (1.57 m·s⁻¹ and 1.74 m·s⁻¹, respectively).
• Stroke length was significantly greater when wearing RS during both pull (1.68 m) and swim (1.83 m) compared to CS (1.63 m and 1.81 m, respectively).
• No significant differences were found for intra-abdominal pressure or other measured variables.

Conclusions:

• Jammer-type racing swimsuits enhance swimming performance in well-trained male swimmers.
• The improved performance is primarily attributed to increased swimming velocity and stroke length.
• RS offer a demonstrable advantage over conventional swimsuits in competitive swimming scenarios.