Physiological and biomechanical cohort study for improving international competitiveness of elite swimmers

本研究旨在阐明优秀游泳运动员游泳成绩的决定因素，各训练阶段在一年中这些决定因素的变化，以及特定训练对这些因素和游泳成绩的影响。结果表明，优秀游泳运动员的成绩并不一定与代谢能力有关，而是与技术特征密切相关，如更高的推进力、更高的推进效率和更低的阻力。代谢能力在一年内变化较大（~10%），另一方面，阻力-速度关系和最大推进功率等技术特征非常稳定，具有很高的可重复性。此外，研究表明，特定的训练可以提高最大推进力，从而提高代谢能力，从而提高游泳成绩。

The present study aimed to clarify the determinants of swimming performance of elite swimmers, the changes in those determinants of each training period through a year, and the effect of specific training on those factors and swimming performance. As the results, the performance of the elite swimmers was not necessarily related to metabolic capacity, but was well related to technical characteristics, such as higher propulsive power, higher propelling efficiency, and lower drag. The changes in metabolic capacity through a year were rather large (~10%), on the other hand, the technical characteristics such as drag-velocity relationship and maximal propulsive power were very stable, and highly-reproducible. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that specific training enhances maximal propulsive power associated with enhanced metabolic capacity, and consequently improves swimming performance.