Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the magnitude of the
swimming performance change during the final 3 weeks of training (F3T) leading
to the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Olympic swimmers who took part in the same
event or events at the Telstra 2000 Grand Prix Series in Melbourne, Australia,
(26 - 27 August 2000), and 21 - 28 d
later at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games (16 - 23 September
2000) were included in this analysis. A total of 99 performances (50 male, 49
female) were analysed. The overall performance improvement between pre- and
post-F3T conditions for all swimmers was
2.18 ± 1.50 % (p < 0.0001),
(range - 1.14 % to 6.02 %). A total of
91 of the 99 analysed performances were faster after the F3T and only 8 were
slower. The percentage improvement with F3T was significantly higher
(P < 0.01) in males
(2.57 ± 1.45 %) than in females
(1.78 ± 1.45 %). In conclusion, the
pre-Olympic F3T elicited a significant performance improvement of
2.57 % for male and 1.78 % for female swimmers at
the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. The magnitude was similar for all competition
events, and was achieved by swimmers from different countries and performance
levels. These data provide a quantitative framework for coaches and swimmers to
set realistic performance goals based on individual performance levels before
the final training phase leading to important competitions.
Key words
Taper - reduced training - competition - gender - training
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I. Mujika, Ph. D.
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