The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the durations of exhal
ation (DE), inhalation (DI), and inhalatory apnea (DAI) expressed as percen
tage of stroke-cycle duration using two groups (more expert and less expert
) of 6 front crawl swimmers each at near 100-m speed thigh speed) and 800-m
speed (low speed). Two breathing conditions were considered, breathing to
the preferred side with and without a nose-dip. The relationships between s
troking characteristics (swimming speed, stroke rate, and stroke length) an
d the three durations of breathing were examined as a function of skill and
swimming speed. The data show that use of a nose-clip does not significant
ly change those measures. At high speed, the more expert group had a lower
inhalation and a higher exhalation than the less expert group. The stroke r
ate correlated with speed .92 (p<.01 and was mainly associated with inhalat
ion (r=-.78, p<.01). Inclusion of exhalation as a second variable improved
significantly (p<.01) the accuracy of the regression up to .97. At low spee
d, the less expert had lower inhalatory apnea than the more expert. Stroke
length correlated with speed .86 (p<.01) and was mainly associated with inh
alatory apnea (r=.70, p<.05). At high speed, the more expert had a lower in
halation than at low speed, while durations of exhalation and inhalatory ap
nea did not vary significantly. On the contrary, the less expert had a lowe
r exhalation and a higher inhalatory apnea, while duration of inhalation re
mained relatively unchanged. The present study shows that these durations a
nd their relations to stroking characteristics could be considered signific
ant indicators of skill in swimming.