Sex-based differences in front crawl and butterfly sprint performance in age-group swimmers

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Human Physiology
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Sprint swimming performance in age-group athletes is influenced by a complex interplay of physiological and biomechanical factors.
• Understanding sex-related differences in swimming performance is crucial for targeted training program development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify key variables affecting 50 m sprint performance in front crawl and butterfly strokes.
• To determine the primary predictors of sex-based performance disparities in these swimming techniques.

Main Methods:

• Thirty national-level age-group swimmers (15 boys, 15 girls) were assessed.
• Evaluations included anthropometry, maturation, neuromuscular performance, anaerobic critical velocity, tethered swimming force, and stroke mechanics.

Main Results:

• Boys exhibited significantly higher upper-body force output and anaerobic critical velocity (AnCV) compared to girls.
• Front crawl tethered swimming force (47%) and butterfly lower limb neuromuscular performance (29%) explained the most variance.
• Push-up peak force and body height were key discriminators in front crawl; push-up force and stroke index in butterfly.

Conclusions:

• Upper-limb neuromuscular performance and stroke efficiency effectively predict sex-based differences in sprint swimming.
• Findings provide a framework for sex- and technique-specific training strategies in young swimmers.