Relationships among swimming performance, body composition and somatotype in competitive collegiate swimmers

Relationships were determined between sprint swimming performance and estimates of body composition and somatotype components in competitive collegiate swimmers. Forty-three women and 31 men underwent anthropometric and hydrodensitometric measurements at the beginning of a competitive season. There were significant partial correlations (swim stroke was partialed out) between swimming performance (time in a competitive 100-yard swim of each swimmer's major competitive stroke) and height (-0.466, p < 0.01), the mesomorphic (0.404, p < 0.01) and ectomorphic (-0.398, p < 0.01) components of somatotype, percent body fat (0.351, p < 0.05), and fat-free weight (-0.332, p < 0.05) among the women, but no significant correlations among the men. Twenty-three of the women and 21 of the men were also measured and timed at the end of the competitive season. Again, there were significant (p < 0.01) partial correlations (season and stroke were partialed out) between swimming performance and height (-0.766), fat-free weight (-0.657), body weight (-0.437), and the ectomorphic (-0.441) and mesomorphic (0.392, p < 0.01) components of somatotype in women, but no significant correlations among the men. These findings indicate that measurements of body composition and somatotype may be predictors of swimming performance in women but not in men.