HEMATOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO TRAINING AND TAPER IN COMPETITIVE SWIMMERS- RELATIONSHIPS WITH PERFORMANCE

The purpose of this study was to monitor hematological changes during 12 weeks of intense training and 4 weeks of taper in 8 highly trained competitive swimmers, and to assess the relationships between hematolo gical variables and competition performance. Venous blood samples were obtained in the mid-season (wk 10), before taper (wk 22) and after ta per (wk 26). Swimmers participated in actual competitions within 1 wk of each blood testing. Comparisons were made between swimmers improvin g performance with taper by more than 2% (n = 4), efficient (GE) or le ss than 2% (n = 4), less efficient (GLE). Hemoglobin (Hb), mean corpus cular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpusc ular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) increased significantly during tr aining. MCH and MCHC decreased during taper while serum iron tended to increase (P = 0.07). Improvement in performance during taper was posi tively correlated with post-taper red cell count (RCC): r = 0.83, P < 0.05. GE swimmers had higher pre- and post-taper RCC, and post-taper H b and hematocrit. In conclusion, intense training and taper appeared t o influence the hema tological status and performance capacity of the studied group of swimmers.