Technical Skills Influences on Front Crawl Tumble Turn Performance in Elite Female Swimmers

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Biomechanics
• Swimming Performance

Background:

• The tumble turn is a critical skill in competitive swimming, significantly impacting overall race time.
• Technical proficiency in the tumble turn involves complex coordination of kinematic and kinetic variables.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the technical skills, specifically kinematic and kinetic variables, during the tumble turn between elite and sub-elite female swimmers.
• To identify key biomechanical differences that contribute to superior tumble-turn performance.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a three-dimensional (3D) underwater motion analysis protocol to capture kinematic data.
• Employed a piezoelectric 3D force platform to measure kinetic variables during the push-off phase.
• Analyzed 37 kinematic and 16 kinetic variables, correlating them with 3-meter Round Trip Time (3m RTT).

Main Results:

• Elite swimmers exhibited significantly faster approach and whole-turn times compared to sub-elite swimmers.
• Elite swimmers demonstrated greater horizontal speeds of the head during approach and after the push-off.
• Key differentiating factors included upper and lower body extension indices, horizontal impulse, and lateralization of the push-off, all favoring elite swimmers.

Conclusions:

• Elite female swimmers possess distinct biomechanical advantages in their tumble turns, characterized by higher speeds and improved force application.
• Specific kinematic and kinetic variables, such as horizontal impulse and body extension, are strongly correlated with faster tumble-turn performance.
• These findings provide valuable insights for targeted training interventions to enhance swimming technique.