Does a jammer-type racing swimsuit improve sprint performance during maximal front-crawl swimming?

ABSTRACT

We investigated the effects of jammer-type racing swimsuits (RS) on swimming performance during arm-stroke-only (pull) and whole-body stroke (swim) in 25-m front-crawl with maximal effort. Twelve well-trained male collegiate swimmers wore RS and a conventional swimsuit (CS) and performed three tests: pull, swim, and pull using the system to measure active drag (MAD pull). Swimming velocity and intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) were determined in all tests. Stroke indices during pull and swim and drag–swimming velocity relationship and maximum propulsive power during MAD pull were also determined. Swimming velocities during pull and swim while wearing an RS (1.59 ± 0.13 and 1.77 ± 0.09 m·s⁻¹, respectively) were significantly higher than those wearing a CS (1.57 ± 0.14 and 1.74 ± 0.08 m·s⁻¹, respectively). Stroke length during pull and swim was significantly greater while wearing an RS (1.68 ± 0.12 and 1.83 ± 0.13 m, respectively) than wearing a CS (1.63 ± 0.10 and 1.81 ± 0.13 m, respectively). However, no significant differences were confirmed between the other variables in all tests. In conclusion, swimming performance is improved when wearing an RS compared with a CS.

KEYWORDS:

• Active drag
• MAD system
• intra-abdominal pressure
• stroke length
• stroke rate

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Associate professor Shunsuke Yamaji at the Fukui University for advice on statistical matters.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Descente and Ishimoto Memorial Foundation for the Promotion of Sports Science; JSPS KAKENHI [Grant Number 18K10848].