STROKING CHARACTERISTICS IN FREESTYLE SWIMMING AND RELATIONSHIPS WITHANTHROPOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between v elocity, stroke length, and stroke rate in freestyle competitive event s in order to compare male and female swimmers' results and assess the ir relationships with anthropometric characteristics.?Three hundred th ree male and 325 female swimmers of national and international levels were tested during competition. Solutions adopted in each freestyle ev ent had specific characteristics affecting the stroke rate/stroke leng th ratio according to distance of the race. Differences in velocity be tween men and women primarily resulted from differences in stroke leng th. If the velocity and stroke rate/stroke length ratio depend on the distance swum and the sex of the swimmer, this survey shows the nondis criminating aspect of anthropometric characteristics. Although swimmer s achieved very similar velocity values with different combinations of stroke length and stroke rate, one must appreciate the average rime a nd space characteristics currently used by the best male and female sw immers to optimize their performances.