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

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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.