Research Information System
Türk Spor ve Egzersiz Dergisi , vol.27, no.3, pp.514-522, 2025 (TRDizin)
This study aimed to investigate the effects of underwater distance and underwater velocity, measured from the starting dive, on the 25 m and 50 m swimming speeds of male swimmers in short-distance freestyle and butterfly events. A total of 164 male swimmers (aged 12.34±0.36 years, with a training age of 2.82±0.67 years, a body height of 153.20±7.55 cm, body mass of 44.53±8.05 kg, and body mass index of 18.90±2.47 kg/m²) voluntarily participated in the study (74 competed in both freestyle and butterfly, 37 competed only in freestyle, and 35 competed only in butterfly).Their race performances were recorded throughout the competition using three cameras positioned around the pool. The video footage was analyzed with Kinovea 2023.1.2 software to determine underwater distances and durations, the first and second 25 m split times. The data were normally distributed and analyzed using simple linear regression. Regression analyses revealed that, among fast freestyle swimmers, underwater velocity (R² = .564, p = .001) and underwater distance (R² = .361, p = .001) significantly contributed to 50 m race performance. Similarly, for fast butterfly swimmers, underwater velocity (R² = .345, p = .001) and underwater distance (R² = .272, p = .001) were identified as significant predictors of 50 m race speed. The findings indicate that underwater velocity is a key performance variable contributing to the 50 m race speed across all groups. However, among faster swimmers, underwater distance also provided an additional significant contribution. The findings indicate that elite swimmers not only exhibit higher underwater velocities but also use underwater distances more efficiently, highlighting their importance in short-distance race performance.” Keywords: Sprint, underwater spread, underwater speed, short distance, swimming speed.