INTRODUCTION: Water sports performance optimisation relies on specific, reliable procedures to assess physiological and biomechanical improvement, useful for coaches to monitor the athlete`s conditions and predict future performance. [1,2,3]. A new approach to swimming coaching has been offered by innovative wearable technologies and waterproof coatings. They provide not only reliable and objective analysis of stroke mechanics and race performance, but also of physiological qualities such as the anaerobic capacity, all directly in free swimming [5]. The present study aimed to assess if a free-swimming protocol with inertial sensors may provide an effective assessment of kinematic and functional capacity in swimmers, specialized in four different techniques, by measuring speed and stroke parameters and their correlation with race time. METHODS: Twenty-five highly trained national level [4] swimmers (13 male, 12 female) were recruited for the study. An all-out 75m bout in each athlete competition swimming technique was performed by all subjects in a short course swimming pool. The athletes were instructed to reach maximal velocity as fast as possible and to keep it till the end of the trial. During the protocol, temporal and kinematic variables were recorded through a waist-mounted inertial sensor and analysed as previously described [5]. Blood lactate concentration and RPE were assessed after the end of the test. RESULTS: Average velocity in all four techniques was significantly correlated with the Time Race on 50m (r = .959, p < .05) and 100m (r = .973, p < .05). The average velocity was strongly correlated with stroke length and stroke efficient index (r = .779 and r = .702, p < .05), demonstrating how velocity may be affected by these variables even over short distances. Concerning the Fatigue Index, a significant correlation was highlighted with the total blood lactate production recorded after the end of the test (r = .567, p < .05). Finally, a negative correlation between RPE and stroke length - stroke efficient index was found (r = -.716, r = -.658, p < .05). CONCLUSION: Velocities were related to kinematic variables and to swimming performance in 50m and 100m competitions. Swimmers with higher fatigue index presented more blood lactate concentration at the end of the tests, those with worse kinematic qualities suffered higher perception of effort. Therefore, temporal, and kinematic variables measured by the inertial sensor in the 75m all-out tests may be applied to infer and predict swimmers` performance and functional capacity in all four techniques and can be used for training monitoring and planning during the season.
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