Post-competition blood lactate concentrations in collegiate swimmers

The purpose of this investigation was to quantitate post-competition lactate (LA) concentrations of swimmers during a competitive collegiate meet. Blood LA was measured by an enzymatic method on 23 subjects 5 min after each race event. The largest mean LA concentration of 25.7 mM/L was observed in swimmers after competing in the 200-yd individual medley. Swimmers in the 200-yd butterfly, back, breast and freestyle races had similar mean blood LA concentrations (ranging from 16.4 to 20.6 mM/L). Swimmers in the two longest events, the 500-yd and 1,000-yd free style races, had mean LA concentrations of 15.6 and 10.0 mM/L, respectively. To account for the effects of motivation, LA concentrations were measured following maximal effort noncompetitive 100 and 200-yd swims. LA concentrations were slightly greater in conjunction with faster performances for the competitive as compared to the noncompetitive 100 and 200-yd swims.