Analysis of Stroke Organization in the Backstroke as a Function of Skill

Many studies have demonstrated the importance of technical ability in stroke organization of swimmers. Chatard, Collomb, Maglischo, and Maglischo (1990) suggested that skilled swimmers, compared to those less skilled, were characterized by a higher stroke frequency and superposition of both arm actions, this motor pattern being more economical in terms of energy cost. Chollet, Chalies, and Chatard (2000) used an index ofcoordination to accurately quantify the lag time between the propulsive phases of each arm in crawl, showing that the lag time decreased with increased performance level.This lower relative duration oflag time (-4.2%) was associated with longer propulsive pull and push stroke phases (+4.1%) and shorter nonpropulsive entry and catch phases (-3.4%). However, such observations have been limited to front crawl swimming. Research devoted to stroke organization in the backstroke is scarce; little information exists in the literature describing the stroke pattern. Costill,Maglischo, and Richardson (1992) and Maglischo (1993) stated that the ideal coordination in high-level swimmers would conform to the opposite model, a mode of coordination providing continuous propulsive actions in which one arm begins the pull phase while the