The Relationship Between Strength and Power Measures With Sprint Freestyle Performance in Division 1 Collegiate Swimmers

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between strength and power measures with sprint freestyle performance in Division 1 collegiate swimmers. Ten male subjects with an average age of 20.1 years (SD = 2.2) and eight female subjects with an average age of 19.4 years (SD = 1.3) participated in the study. The subjects performed a maximal-effort 45.72-meter freestyle swim test, a one-repetition-maximum (1-RM) weighted pull-up test, a non-countermovement jump (NCMJ), and a barbell back squat velocity test. The data distributions were normalized by creating Z-scores for each variable measured and the sum of the three-dryland tests The data were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation analysis. The results showed an inverse association between the sum of the three-dryland performance Z-scores and the 45.72-meter sprint swim time (r = -0.77, p < 0.05) in male subjects. The results showed an inverse association between the sum of the three-dryland performance Z-scores, the relative pull-up Z-scores, the back squat velocity Z-scores, and the NCMJ height Z-scores with the 45.72-meter sprint swim time (r = -0.86, r = -0.66, r = -0.67, r = -0.75; p < 0.05) in female subjects. The findings of this study show the importance of possessing both strength and power characteristics on land for successful sprint swimming performance.