Front-crawl stroke-coordination and symmetry: A comparison between timing and net drag force protocols

Abstract This study compared stroke-coordination and symmetry using traditional timing methods and net drag force profiles. Twenty elite front-crawl swimmers Federation Internationale de Natation (FINA ranking 908 ± 59) were tested to identify the influence of both gender and breathing. A total of six randomised free-swimming trials were conducted: (i) three breathing, (ii) three non-breathing. Net drag forces were measured using an assisted towing device and the magnitude and location of minimum and maximum was determined to create a stroke symmetry index. Within the breathing condition, there were significant differences between the two symmetry index methods. Using the timing index, all 10 female participants, and seven males, illustrated symmetrical timing. For the net drag force profile, only three females and zero males exhibited a symmetrical minimum net drag force; and only four females and two males demonstrated a symmetrical maximum net drag force index. No differences existed within the non-breathing condition. There was a small (5.2%) difference in the location of maximum net drag force, when stratifying by gender. During the breathing condition, gender also influenced the percentage of overlap for the breathing stroke by 25.2%, and 14.6 % for the non-breathing stroke. A combination of the traditional timing based and net drag force based profile can guide future swimming technique intervention strategies.