Underwater and surface strategies of 200 m world level swimmers

Pacing strategies of elite swimmers have been consistently characterised from the average lap velocities. In the present study, we examined the racing strategies of 200 m world class-level swimmers with regard to their underwater and surface lap components. The finals and semi-finals of the 200 m races at the 2013 World Swimming Championships (Barcelona, Spain) were analysed by an innovative image-processing system (InThePool (R) 2.0). Free swimming velocities of elite swimmers typically decreased throughout the 200 m race laps (-0.12 m . s(-1), 95% CI -0.11 to -0.14 m . s(-1), P=0.001, eta(2)=0.81), whereas underwater velocities, which were faster than free swimming, were not meaningfully affected by the race progress (0.02 m . s(-1), -0.01 to 0.04 m . s(-1), P=0.01, eta(2)=0.04). When swimming underwater, elite swimmers typically travelled less distance (-0.66 m, -0.83 to -0.49 m, P=0.001, eta(2)=0.34) from the first to the third turn of the race, although underwater distances were maintained on the backstroke and butterfly races. These strategies allowed swimmers to maintain their average velocity in the last lap despite a decrease in the free swimming velocity. Elite coaches and swimmers are advised to model their racing strategies by considering both underwater and surface race components.