Analysis of 50-, 100-, and 200-m Freestyle Swimmers at the 1992 Olympic Games

TLDR

The study examined 335 Olympic freestyle swimmers to assess how stroke length, stroke rate, start, turn, and finish times relate to performance across 50‑, 100‑, and 200‑m events. Video analysis of each swimmer’s race was used to quantify stroke and timing variables, compare differences within and between events, and evaluate sex‑based performance differences. Start, turn, finish times, and stroke length emerged as key performance components, with men outperforming women and all variables shifting with increasing distance—start, turn, stroke length, and finish times rose while age, stroke rate, and average velocity fell.

Abstract

The performances of 335 male and female swimmers competing in 50-, 100-, and 200-m freestyle events at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games were videotaped and analyzed to determine stroke length (SL), stroke rate (SR), starting time (ST), turning times (TI = turn in, TO = turn out), finishing (end) time (ET), and average velocity (AV); relationships were then determined among these variables in addition to height, weight, age, and final time (FT). Differences were subsequently assessed within and among the events, and comparisons were made between male and female performances. ST, TI, TO, ET, and SL were identified as principal components of successful swimming performance at each distance. Results revealed statistically significant correlations between factors for all events. The men were older and taller; possessed longer stroke lengths; and started, turned, and swam faster than the women. As the race distance increased from 50 to 200 m, ST, TI, TO, SL, and ET increased for both men and women, while age, SR, and AV decreased.