The aim of the study was to analyze the kinematic parameters of the push-off start during the underwater glide in competitive swimmers. 74 swimmers participating in the Spanish Championships were filmed and analyzed by DLT-2D photogrammetry after the push-off start in crawl, backstroke and butterfly. Between genders there were differences in distance and speed. Male swimmers covered greater distances (1.37±0.06 vs 1.20±0.05 m, η2 = 0.02, F = 3.85, p = 0.05) and were faster (2.36±0.03 and 2.08±0.03 m/s, η2 = 0.14, F = 36.14, p<0.001) than female swimmers. Between strokes there were greater differences in time (η2 = 0.06, F = 6.76, p = 0.00) and distance (η2 = 0.38, F = 67.08, p< 0.001), than in speed (η2 = 0.05, F = 5.63, p< 0.001). During the backstroke, less time (0.50±0.04 s) and distance (1.01±0.07 m) were used, being the slowest style (2.12±0.04 m/s). In butterfly, less time (0.63±0.04 s) and distance (2.25±0.04 m) were used, while crawl was the fastest (2.30±0.04 m/s). These results allow us to characterize the underwater glide phase and provide useful data for both competitive swimmers and coaches to improve performance.
Copyright: © 2024 Alfonso Trinidad. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.