School of Health and Sport Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Australia.
Musculoskeletal Science & Sports Medicine Research Centre, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK.
J Sports Sci. 2020 Apr;38(8):839-847. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2020.1735983. Epub 2020 Mar 5.
Swimmers with limb deficiency are a core population within Para Swimming, accordingly this study examined the contribution of limb segments to race performance in these swimmers. Data were obtained for 174 male Para swimmers with limb deficiency. Ensemble partial least squares regression showed accurate predictions when using relative limb segment lengths to estimate Para swimmers' personal best race performances. The contribution of limb segments to performance in swim events was estimated using these regression models. The analysis found swim stroke and event distance to influence the contributions of limb segments to performance. For freestyle swim events, these changes were primarily due to the increased importance of the hand, and decreased importance of the foot and shank, as the distance of the event increased. When comparing swim strokes, higher importance of the thigh and shank in the 100 m breaststroke compared with other swim strokes confirms the separate SB class. Varied contributions of the hand, upper arm and foot suggest that freestyle could also be separated from backstroke and butterfly events to promote fairer classification. This study shows that swim stroke and event distance influence the activity limitation of Para swimmers with limb deficiency suggesting classification should account for these factors.
肢体残疾的游泳运动员是残奥游泳的核心群体,因此本研究考察了肢体部位对这些游泳运动员比赛成绩的贡献。研究获得了 174 名男性肢体残疾的残奥游泳运动员的数据。集合偏最小二乘回归显示,使用相对肢体节段长度来估计残奥游泳运动员的个人最佳比赛成绩时,可以进行准确预测。使用这些回归模型来估计肢体部位对运动表现的贡献。分析发现游泳姿势和比赛距离会影响肢体部位对运动表现的贡献。对于自由泳比赛,随着比赛距离的增加,手部的重要性增加,而脚部和小腿的重要性降低,这是造成这种变化的主要原因。在比较游泳姿势时,100 米蛙泳中大腿和小腿的重要性高于其他泳姿,这证实了 SB 级别的独立性。手、上臂和脚的贡献各不相同,这表明自由泳也可以与仰泳和蝶泳分开,以促进更公平的分类。本研究表明,游泳姿势和比赛距离会影响肢体残疾的残奥游泳运动员的活动受限程度,这表明分类应考虑这些因素。