Quantifying and assessing biomechanical differences in swim turn using wearable sensors

Abstract

The swim turn makes up a substantial portion of the total swim time in competition, and efficient turns can determine finishing positions in many competitions. Swim turns can be a neglected area of performance gain. This is largely due to the difficulty in extracting performance measures that might lead to improvement. An inertial sensor was used to assess the different phases of the swimming turn and the data were then compared to the synchronised video data. As a case study, two elite swimmers, a competitive pool swimmer and an elite Triathlete, were compared as a demonstration of the technology as a potential tool for routine use. The participants were asked to perform their typical tumble turn at two velocities. Timing of the rotation relative to the turn's push off was measured. The inertial sensor detected differences in rotation between the two swimmers tested. The sensor reported that push off occurred for the competitive swimmer before 90°and for the Triathlete after 90°of rotation and was confirmed by video footage.

Keywords:

• swimming
• tumble turn
• inertial sensor
• performance
• efficiency

Acknowledgements

First and foremost, the author appreciate the participants who gave up their valuable time to participate in this study. Acknowledgement and appreciation also goes to the Australian Research Council who awarded the relative research grant to Dr James, Professors Thiel and Burkett; the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Dr Lee's 2012 research fellowship and the Queensland Academy of Sport for supporting the research and development of the inertial sensor technology. No financial inducements or conflicts of interest were associated with the research or publication.