Section for High-Performance Sports, Swiss Swimming Federation, Bern, Switzerland.
Department for Elite Sport, Swiss Federal Institute of Sport Magglingen, Magglingen, Switzerland.
Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2023 Dec 7;19(2):164-172. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2023-0171. Print 2024 Feb 1.
To investigate performance progression from early-junior to peak performance age and compare variety in race distances and swimming strokes between swimmers of various performance levels.
Using a longitudinal data analysis and between-groups comparisons 306,165 annual best times of male swimmers (N = 3897) were used to establish a ranking based on annual best times at peak performance age. Individual performance trajectories were retrospectively analyzed to compare distance and stroke variety. Performances of world-class finalists and international- and national-class swimmers (swimming points: 886 [30], 793 [28], and 698 [28], respectively) were compared across 5 age groups-13-14, 15-16, 17-18, 19-20, and 21+ years-using a 2-way analysis of variance with repeated measures.
World-class finalists are not significantly faster than international-class swimmers up to the 17- to 18-year age group (F2|774 = 65, P < .001, ηp2=.14) but specialize in short- or long-distance races at a younger age. World-class breaststroke finalists show faster breaststroke times compared to their performance in other swimming strokes from an early age (P < .05), while world-class freestyle and individual medley finalists show less significant differences to their performance in other swimming strokes.
While federation officials should aim for late talent selection, that is, not before the 17- to 18-year age group, coaches should aim to identify swimmers' preferred race distances early on. However, the required stroke variety seems to be specific for each swimming stroke. Breaststroke swimmers could aim for early and strong specialization, while freestyle and individual medley swimmers could maintain large and very large stroke variety, respectively.
研究从青少年早期到最佳表现年龄的成绩进展，并比较不同表现水平游泳运动员的比赛距离和泳姿多样性。
使用纵向数据分析和组间比较，对 3897 名男性游泳运动员的 306165 次年度最佳成绩进行分析，根据最佳表现年龄的年度最佳成绩建立排名。回顾性分析个人表现轨迹，比较距离和泳姿多样性。使用双向方差分析和重复测量对 5 个年龄组（13-14 岁、15-16 岁、17-18 岁、19-20 岁和 21 岁及以上）的世界顶尖决赛选手和国际级和国家级游泳运动员（游泳积分分别为 886[30]、793[28]和 698[28]）的成绩进行比较。
世界顶尖决赛选手在 17-18 岁年龄组之前并不比国际级游泳运动员快（F2|774=65，P<.001，ηp2=.14），但他们在更年轻时就专注于短距离或长距离比赛。世界顶尖蛙泳决赛选手从早期开始就在蛙泳项目中表现出更快的成绩（P<.05），而世界顶尖自由泳和个人混合泳决赛选手在其他泳姿中的表现差异较小。
虽然联合会官员应该瞄准晚期人才选拔，即不早于 17-18 岁年龄组，但教练应该尽早确定游泳运动员喜欢的比赛距离。然而，所需的泳姿多样性似乎因每种泳姿而异。蛙泳运动员可以尽早并强烈地进行专项化，而自由泳和个人混合泳运动员可以分别保持较大和非常大的泳姿多样性。
