The influence of tactical positioning on performance in world-championship freestyle swimming
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5284567 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Craig A Staunton (0000-0001-8023-1498, Halmstad University, corresponding author), Craig Staunton, Jesús J Ruiz-Navarro (0000-0002-0010-7233, Universidad de Granada), Peter Edholm (0000-0002-5401-9255, Halmstad University), Dennis-Peter Born (0000-0002-1058-4367, Swiss Federal Institute of Sport Magglingen SFISM) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Pages | 1600554-1600554 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-09 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Frontiers in Sports and Active Living (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2624-9367 • E-ISSN: 2624-9367 |
| Publisher | Frontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3389/fspor.2025.1600554 |
| PMID | 40552353 |
| OpenAlex | W4411161491 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 33 |
PurposeThis study examined tactical positioning and pacing in short-distance (100 m), middle-distance (200 m, 400 m) and long-distance (800 m, 1,500 m) freestyle events, focusing on the influence of race distance, competition round (HEAT vs. FINAL), and sex.MethodsRace data from multiple World Championships (2013-2023) were analyzed. Spearman's rank correlations (ρ) were calculated to examine rank stability across race distances, competition rounds, and sex. Additionally, lane distributions of Top3 finishers were analyzed to assess the impact of lane position on race outcomes.ResultsRank correlations increased progressively from the first to the final lap across all race distances (p 0.05). Central lanes (4 and 5) were associated with the highest Top3 finish rates, while outer lanes (0, 1, 8, and 9) had the lowest, particularly in long-distance events.ConclusionFinals foster more dynamic race strategies, with increased positional changes. Rank stability was achieved at a relatively earlier proportion of the race in long-distance events compared to middle-distance events. By the final lap, rank stability converged across all distances, suggesting that race order was largely set before the last lap, emphasizing early tactical positioning over late-race surges. These findings offer insights into optimizing race tactics and pacing in elite swimming
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Turn Performance Variation in European Elite Short-Course Swimmers
The variability of competitive performance and pacing strategies in different rounds of the 400 m and 800 m freestyle swimming races at the 2017–2024 World Swimming Championships
Short-course performance variation across all race sections
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |