Abstract
Although swimming is a widely popular, well-researched global sport, the determinates of maximum sprint swimming forces across the four competitive strokes, and their relation to maximal sprint velocity are not known. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to establish the relationship between short duration sprint velocity and maximal force production across the four competitive swimming strokes in elite athletes. Further, this study will also assess relative lower body kicking contributions to total stroke propulsion forces in each of the four strokes. METHODS: This study was conducted with 65 NCAA Division 1 caliber swimmers across two universities and two club teams. Participants performed a series of untethered (2) and semi-tethered (6) bouts in their primary racing stroke. Using a calibrated load cell, maximal forces for full stroke, arms only, and legs only, respectively, were obtained in 3-second durations for each participant. RESULTS: Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to compare the maximum force and velocity within strokes. ANOVA tests were run for the remaining factors: maximum stroke force and maximum legs only force. The main findings of this study are three-fold; maximum force production does highly correlate (r > 0.89) to maximal velocity, maximum force values do not differ between strokes for either men or women (p > 0.2), and the rank-ordering of least to most leg-dominate stroke is freestyle (Male; 92.89 ± 13.02 N, Female; 66.97 ± 10.06 N), backstroke (Male; 96.40 ± 5.31 N, Female; 69.46 ± 3.98 N), butterfly (Male; 133.81 ± 8.37 N, Female; 84.22 ± 9.79 N), breastroke (Male; 140.77 ± 13.30 N, Female 86.64 ± 16.07 N). CONCLUSION: Maximal forces: 1) did not differ across the four strokes for either sex and 2) were the primary determinant of maximal individual swimming velocities across the four competitive swimming strokes, so emphasizing force production in training will likely drive higher performances. Additionally, lower body forces appear to make differing contributions to total stroke forces in a similar manner for both sexes.
Recommended Citation
Hughes, Parker A. and Weyand, Peter G. Dr.
(2026)
"Kicking and Pulling: Are Propulsive Forces the Secret to Peak Swimming Performance?,"
International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2:
Iss.
18, Article 109.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss18/109