![]() ![]() The underwater phase has been identified as the most important determinant of start and turn performance, as this is when the swimmer is traveling fastest through the water ( Guimaraes and Hay, 1985 Seifert et al., 2007a Connaboy et al., 2010 Tor et al., 2014a, b, c, 2015). ![]() However, to date, no study within a competition setting has examined the technique trends displayed by elite swimmers or sought to assess the effectiveness of each technique throughout the underwater pullout following a breaststroke start or turn. It has been suggested that altering the placement of the kick may have consequences on the physiological demands of the underwater phase, the swimmers body alignment and consequently, resistive drag ( McCabe et al., 2012). It has been observed anecdotally that the placement of the butterfly kick relative to the pullout arm action varies across swimmers. Considering the rules as prescribed by FINA, swimmers typically execute the underwater breaststroke pullout in the following manner: (1) passive glide with arms outstretched in a streamlined position overhead, (2) perform a pullout action of the arms so that they are extended at the sides of the trunk, (3) recovery of the arms and breaststroke kick toward breaking the surface, (4) that one butterfly kick takes place sometime before the breaststroke kick. At any time prior to the first breaststroke kick after the start and after each turn a single butterfly kick is permitted.” This latest iteration has resulted in various emerging techniques or movement pattern sequencing of the underwater breaststroke pullout phase, as swimmers aim to determine how best to utilize the butterfly kick (if at all). ruling states that: “After the start and after each turn, the swimmer may take one arm stroke completely back to the legs during which the swimmer may be submerged. After subsequent modifications, the current FINA ( 2017) SW 7.1. A pullout is defined as the period from toe immersion following the start, or toe-off at the turn wall, until the swimmer breaks the water surface to commence free breaststroke swimming. A significant amendment in 2005 to the breaststroke event, permitted the inclusion of one butterfly kick during the underwater breaststroke pullout following a start or turn. In competitive swimming, rules and regulations associated with performing starts and turns have evolved over the decades and are governed by Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA). It was concluded that the results of this study will serve as an up-to-date resource for coaches and swimmers working with elite breaststroke swimmers and as a useful insight to current underwater pullout trends. This study found no significant difference in terms of performance outcome with respect to each of these techniques, indicating that technique selection should be guided by one's individual preference. ![]() This indicates that male and female swimmers should not be coached adhering to the same technical model. Although the most common underwater pullout technique utilized by elite competitive breaststroke swimmers was the Combined technique ( n = 71), followed by the Fly-Kick First technique ( n = 65) and the Pull-Down First technique ( n = 14), it was observed that technical selection deviates according to gender. From the 150 trials analyzed, three different pullout techniques were identified: the Fly-Kick First technique, the Combined technique and the Pull-Down First technique. An above-water camera was used to identify and measure the different phases of the underwater pullout techniques, which was found to be a highly accurate methodological approach (ICC = 0.97). The sample included 60 swimmers ( n = 26 male, n = 34 female) competing across the 50, 100, and 200 m long-course breaststroke final races from the World Championships 2015, 2017, 2019 and Olympic Games 2016. The aim of this study was to characterize the underwater breaststroke pullout technique trends and to assess the effectiveness of each technique as utilized by elite male and female swimmers. Since the rule change permitting the inclusion of one dolphin kick during the underwater breaststroke pullout phase following a swim start or turn, there has been an emergence of several different pullout techniques adopted by elite swimmers. 5Forethought Pty Ltd., Melbourne, VIC, Australia.4New South Wales Institute of Sport, Performance Support, Sydney, NSW, Australia.3British Swimming, Sports Science and Sports Medicine, Loughborough, United Kingdom.2Faculty of Science and Engineering, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom.1School of Sport, Sport and Exercise Sciences Research Institute, Ulster University, Belfast, United Kingdom.Carla McCabe 1 *, Emma Mosscrop 2,3, Ryan Hodierne 4 and Elaine Tor 5 ![]()
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